A Tough Weekend in L.A.

Boston had been rolling and traveled to Los Angeles to take on the Angels.  Unfortunately this was not really a great weekend for the Red Sox as they lost two of three and certainly should have won one of those two.

07/05:  Red Sox 6 (54-34) Angels 2
Felix Doubront has been improving greatly over the last few weeks.  He still starts off a little shaky but then he calms down.  David Ortiz had a pinch hit home run in the 8th inning.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

FELIX DOUBRONT:  6.2 innings, 2 earned runs, 5 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts, Win.

07/06:  Angels 9 Red Sox 7 (54-35)
Boston lead 7-3 going into the ninth inning when, with two outs, the bullpen imploded, not being able to register the last out until the game was tied.  Alex Wilson and Koji Uehara take the blame on the pitching side, while Brandon Snyder threw the ball away to allow the last run to score.  After that, it was pretty clear the Angels would find a way to win and Josh Hamilton hit a two-run home run to wrap it up.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

DANIEL NAVA:  4 for 6, 2 doubles, 2 runs, RBI.

07/07:  Angels 3 Red Sox 0 (54-36)
John Lackey pitched great again as his resurgence continues.  But the offense could not get anything going and Lackey took the tough-luck loss.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

JOHN LACKEY:  7 innings, 2 earned runs, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts, Loss

A Sweep of the Fathers

The Red Sox took on the slumping Padres in Fenway Park this week.  Of course the Padres are without several key players and have some others slumping.  So this was not a shocking victory this week.

07/02:  Red Sox 4 (51-34) Padres 1
One thing that has not been talked about a lot with the success of the Red Sox this year has been the resurgence of John Lackey.  Seriously, he looks great this season.  Brandon Snyder continued his hot hitting since his call-up, which may last longer now that Stephen Drew has officially been placed on the DL.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

JOHN LACKEY:  8 innings, 6 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts.

07/03:  Red Sox 2 (52-34) Padres 1
Jonny Gomes won it with a walkoff home run in the ninth pinch-hitting for Brandon Snyder.  Jon Lester had his best start in weeks but did not factor in the decision.  Koji Uehara got the win.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

JONNY GOMES:  Walk-off, pinch-hit home run.

07/04:  Red Sox 8 (53-32) Padres 2
Allen Webster got his first Major League victory after several attempts.  Brandon Snyder hit his first home run of the year and the Red Sox rolled to a victory.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

JACOBY ELLSBURY:  3 for 4, home run, RBI.

A Rockies Sweep

It was a short two-game series against the Rockies in Fenway Park this week.  Of course these two teams met in the 2007 World Series where the Red Sox flattened them in a four game sweep.  Three members of the Rockies who played in this two-game set were members of the 2007 team.  Troy Tulowitzki would have made four.  The Red Sox also had three players from the 2007 team in uniform this week.

06/25:  Red Sox 11 (46-33) Rockies 4
The Red Sox rolled in this one with four players collecting three hits apiece.  Ryan Dempster pitched well for six innings and collected the win.  Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Daniel Nava, and Jose Iglesias provided the offense.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

DUSTIN PEDROIA:  3 for 5, 2 runs, 4 RBIs, double, stolen base.

06/26:  Red Sox 5 (47-33) Rockies 3
John Lackey was the story of the game as he pitched very well.  Shane Victorino had a three hit game and Daniel Nava drove in two for the win.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

JOHN LACKEY:  7 innings, 8 hits, 2 runs, 12 strikeouts

Ugh, the Tiger Series...

The Tigers are pretty damn good, so it's not horrendously surprising that Boston struggled.  It's the way that they struggled.  Boston lost three out of four.  But in two of those games, they had the lead late in the game.  The bullpen has been troublesome lately, to say the least.

06/20:  Tigers 4 Red Sox 3 (44-31)
This was the worst one.  Boston lead 3-2 going into the bottom of the ninth.  Enter embattled closer Andrew Bailey who immediately gave up a walk then a two-run walkoff home run to Jhonny Peralta.  Lost in that was a good performance by John Lackey, a home run by David Ortiz, and Jose Iglesias continuing to shock the world.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

JOHN LACKEY:  7 innings, 7 hits, 2 earned runs, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts

06/21:  Red Sox 10 (45-31) Tigers 6

Jon Lester's struggles continued.  He had one bad inning but it lead to four Tiger runs.  He gave up five runs once again.  Shane Victorino had a huge game and Jose Iglesias and Stephen Drew each had three hits.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

SHANE VICTORINO:  4 for 5, run, 5 RBIs, home run

06/22:  Tigers 10 Red Sox 3 (45-32)

Allen Webster was once again called up to make a start and he struggled early, giving up a grand slam to former Sox Victor Martinez but then settled down.  He struck out five on the night.  The bullpen was dreadful though with Franklin Morales giving up four runs and Alex Wilson giving up one.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

DAVID ORTIZ:  2 for 4, home run

06/23:  Tigers 7 Red Sox 5 (45-33)

Boston managed to tire out Justin Verlander, knocking him out after five innings, but Felix Doubront did not fare much better.  Boston was ahead into the bottom of the 7th when the tying run scored and then the bullpen melted down in the 8th, giving up three runs.  There was a questionable call in the 8th that hurt quite a bit.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

 DUSTIN PEDROIA:  3 for 4, 2 runs

Red Sox Win 3 out of 4 Against Old Manager's Team

The Red Sox had a four game set against the Cleveland Indians in Terry Francona's return to Fenway Park.  The Indians had been playing very well of late so this was a pretty good matchup.

05/23:  Indians 12 Red Sox 3 (28-20)
Ryan Dempster only lasted three innings, giving up four runs and Clayton Mortenson and Alex Wilson did not fare much better.  By the time Boston handed the ball to the reliable Craig Breslow, Junichi Tazawa, and Andrew Miller, the damage was done.  David Ortiz hit a three run home run to provide all of the offense.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

DAVID ORTIZ:  1 for 3, three run home run

05/24:  Red Sox 8 (29-20) Indians 1
John Lackey was very strong and Mike Carp hit a three-run home run to put Boston ahead in the second inning and they never relinquished.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

JOHN LACKEY:  Win, 7 innings, 2 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts, unearned run

05/25:  Red Sox 7 (30-20) Indians 4
Jon Lester has been slumping a bit of late.  He gave up four runs and Boston was down 4-3 going into the bottom of the eighth when they plated four runs.  Mike Carp drove in the tying run then scored the go-ahead run on Dustin Pedroia's double.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

PEDRO CIRIACO:  3 for 4, run, RBI, double

05/26:  Red Sox 6 (31-20) Indians 5
Felix Doubront struggled through the first two innings and Boston was down 5-2 going into the bottom of the ninth inning when Indians closer Chris Perez imploded, allowing Boston to come to within one run and have the bases loaded.  Perez then got hurt and was taken out for Joe Smith who gave up a two-run walkoff double to Jacoby Ellsbury on the first pitch.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

JACOBY ELLSBURY:  2 for 5, 2 run game-winning double, stolen base

05/09: Twins 5 Red Sox 3 (21-14)

The Red Sox are officially slumping.  Bad defense, not enough offense, and pitching problems have taken a once-promising season and plunged it into doubt.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

JOHN LACKEY: 7 innings, 1 earned run (5 total), walk, 8 strikeouts

04/06 Blue Jays 5 Red Sox (3-2) 0

Tough day for Boston.  John Lackey was pitching well until he strained the bicep in his pitching arm and had to come out of the game.  Not sure how much time he will miss.  Jacoby Ellsbury lead off the game with a double and had two stolen bases, but that was it for the offense until Dustin Pedroia singled in the ninth.  They could not solve J.A. Happ for some reason.  Alfredo Aceves came in after Lackey's injury and let the Blue Jays blow the game open.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

John Lackey (4.1 innings, 2 earned runs, 8 strikeouts, 1 walk)

Ben Cherington Named General Manager

Well so long to Theo Epstein, who will be missed. Ben Cherington takes over the reins as G.M. for the Red Sox. Hopefully his years of apprenticeship under Epstein will pay off and the organization will not miss a beat. Hopefully.

In other news, John Lackey will have Tommy John surgery meaning he will be out for the season. Which makes two Boston starting pitchers in the last year with Matsuzaka being the other one. Hopefully the Red Sox will be able to fill in the rotation behind Beckett, Lester, and Buchholz. Perhaps Wakefield will be back next year.