North of the border, a roller coaster win for Red Sox

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When Clay Buchholz gave up three runs in the bottom of the first inning yesterday at Rogers Centre, all I could think was, Here we go again.

But Buchholz got himself out of the inning - and through six more without giving up another run. It's a testament to Buchholz that he didn't melt down completely, even though it was clear early on that he didn't have his best stuff.

It certainly helped that Buchholz's teammates regained the lead for him in the top of the third, led by a grad slam by the often-frustrating A.J. Pierzynski, and a solo home run by prodigal son Will Middlebrooks.

Interestingly enough, it was only after Buchholz left the game that things got tense. The bullpen has so far been the most reliable part of the Red Sox season, but yesterday was an exception. Junichi Tazawa came in for the eighth inning, and promptly gave up a home run.

Traditionally, Tazawa has not pitched well at Rogers Centre (his ERA in Canada is 9.00 - the second worst of anywhere he's pitched after the 27.00 ERA he put up in the third of an inning he pitched at Dodger Stadium).

After Tazawa gave up his second run, John Farrell called out to the bullpen for Chris Capuano, who managed a strikeout and a walk before being replaced by Koji Uehara. The ever-reliable Uehara got the final out in the eighth, and then closed out the ninth - albeit with the slight hiccup of giving a home run to Jose Bautista.

It was a wild ride from start to finish - but even the ugly wins count. Jon Lester takes the mound tonight against knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, giving the Red Sox a chance to sweep the series and get back to .500 on the season.

Red Sox crush Blue Jays

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Last night's Red Sox looked like an entirely different team than the one that got demolished by the Yankees on Thursday. Will Middlebrooks and Shane Victorino are back in action, and their presence helped the offense score eight runs on the hapless Blue Jays.

Jake Peavy pitched seven innings and gave up just a single run, then Chris Capuano and Andrew Miller each pitched a scoreless frame to finish out the contest.

Every Red Sox batter had at least one hit - and the seemingly hopeless A.J. Pierzynski had three. It was a game that triggered pleasant memories of last season, a fantastic romp through Rogers Centre that was almost enough to wipe away the rotten taste from the loss to the Yankees the night before.

Was yesterday's game the harbinger of things to come? Have the Red Sox turned the corner on their horrible start? The return of Middlebrooks and Victorino certainly won't hurt - and now that we know about secret knuckleballer Mike Carp, things are looking up.

Red Sox Never Say Die

[If you haven't seen The Goonies, drop whatever you're doing right now and go watch it.]

Like the Goonies, the 2013 Red Sox never say die. This season, the Sox have come from behind to win 28 games, most recently last night's contest against the Toronto Blue Jays.

As has been the case so many times this season, the win was a true team effort. Starter Ryan Dempster went seven innings and allowed just one run, leaving the game in line for the win. Unfortunately for Dempster, Junichi Tazawa came in and gave up a home run to J.P. Arencibia.

Arencibia's homer tied up the game, and was just the eighth home run allowed by Tazawa in 55.2 innings pitched this year. Craig Breslow pitched an inning before handing the ball off to Koji Uehara, who pitched 1.1 innings, and earned the win after Shane Victorino knocked in two Red Sox runs in the 11th inning.

In past years I haven't been able to muster much optimism when the Red Sox end up in extra innings on the road. Inevitably, I'd stay awake to watch the other team walk off, deliriously happy with their victory.

That hasn't been the case this year. This team seems to want it more than their opponents, and more than previous Red Sox teams. I'll happily stay up to the wee hours of the morning on a daily basis to watch the Sox win games like last night's.

Clubhouse camaraderie... even on days off

Every time I say I couldn't love the 2013 Red Sox any more, they make me reconsider. Even after a disappointing stretch where they went 3-4 against the lowly Astros and the surprising Royals, I can't wait to tune in to tonight's game in Toronto.

The Sox left Kansas City on Sunday night, and spent the off day yesterday in Toronto. Certainly no one could blame the players if they took the day to relax away from baseball, before gearing up for tonight.

Of course, relaxing away from baseball is a foreign concept to Dustin Pedroia, and it seems he found some cohorts to take to Rogers Centre with him for yesterday's Blue Jays/A's game.

Jonny Gomes, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Pedroia scored seats behind home plate to watch the Blue Jays take a 5-1 beatdown at the hands of the A's. Doubtless the trio spent most of the game looking for an edge in the upcoming three-game set against Toronto.

Photo via @Alleycat17

I love everything about this photo. I love that Gomes and Salty seemingly made an effort to remain unrecognized, with a hat and sunglasses. I love that Pedroia - by far the most recognizable of the three - made no such effort. I love that they're basically wearing matching outfits. I even love whatever strange hair situation Salty was dealing with.

Mostly I love that on an off day, they not only chose to spend their time with teammates, but decided to spend it scoping out the competition... because world-class scouting and video departments can only do so much.

It wasn't all seriousness for nine innings, as Gomes and Salty enjoyed some ballpark food late in the game - no official word on Pedroia's dietary choices.

Photo via @Alleycat17

There's obviously nothing wrong with players who take an off day and spend it with their families, or by themselves. But there's something special about a team that truly enjoys each other's company enough to seek one another out when they don't have to.

The word "intangibles" gets thrown around a lot in sports, just like the phrase "clubhouse chemistry," and both things are useless when teams don't have the talent to back them up. The 2013 Red Sox have that talent. They have intangibles, and chemistry, and the greatest collection of beards since the California Gold Rush of the mid-19th century.

I have to stop saying that I couldn't love this team any more, because they just keep proving me wrong.

The Jose Bautista Show

Last night's loss was less a story about Red Sox failings, and more an epic tale of one man proving that high socks give you superpowers. If you do a Google image search for Jose Bautista, it's pretty obvious that he normally wears his uniform the way that nearly all the Red Sox players do: with long pants and socks hidden beneath them. But last night, Bautista went for a different look (in my opinion, a better one), and had an excellent performance to boot.

Bautista hit a solo home run in the sixth inning to put the Blue Jays up 2-0. The blast was the 18th of the year for Bautista, and the 200th of his career, but he wasn't done. After the Red Sox managed to tie the game on a bases loaded, 2 RBI single from Shane Victorino in the bottom of the seventh, Bautista promptly hit a two-run homer in the next frame to put the Jays on top for good.

Even in the field, Bautista thwarted the Red Sox, as his strong throw from right field to the plate in the sixth inning prevented Victorino from scoring the first run of the game for the home team. Bautista's heroics were surely uplifting to Jays fans, but they (along with the performances of the rest of his teammates) prevented Felix Doubront from earning a win (though he did turn in a quality start), and snapped the Red Sox's four-game winning streak. For the sake of the Red Sox, hopefully Bautista returns to his usual style this afternoon.

Exactly as planned

Last night's game went as well as you could hope (excepting Andrew Bailey's seventh inning struggles), as the red hot Red Sox bats managed to oust Blue Jays starter Josh Johnson just one out into the fourth inning. Meanwhile, rookie Allen Webster managed to lower his abysmal 11.25 ERA to a merely terrible 9.50 with six innings pitched and four earned runs allowed.

Webster did improve upon his last outing, allowing six hits in six innings, as opposed to 8 hits in just 4.1 innings last week in Detroit, and he showed pretty good control in last night's game, walking just two batters and striking out three. Webster is definitely improving, and as this was his first season playing even as high as AAA, I'd say he has a very bright future; indeed, he's making me feel woefully unaccomplished, as the righthander is nearly a month younger than I am, and already a big league pitcher.

Webster departed in the sixth inning with a lead, looking to earn his first major league win, but Andrew Bailey came in and recorded two strikeouts before allowing a two-out home run to Edwin Encarnacion, tying the game and erasing Webster as the pitcher of record. Andrew Miller pitched the end of the seventh and the eighth, earning himself a win when Jonny Gomes put the Red Sox on top for good with a pinch hit RBI single, followed by a Jarrod Saltalamachia walk that forced in an insurance run.

For the third day in a row, Koji Uehara, aptly described by Globe reported Peter Abraham as "the game's most exitable 38-year-old," earned the save and copious high fives from his teammates, coaches, translators, and training staff.  Unfortunately for the Jays, their bullpen didn't come through to the extent that Boston's did, as they needed five pitchers to get through the final 4.2 innings.

You really couldn't script things much better than this from the Red Sox point of view, as they've already guaranteed themselves the series split with two games to go. They're still in line for a four-game sweep of a division rival, and they've put themselves in good position to win the final two games, as they've pretty effectively abused the Jays bullpen for two straight days.

It's always about the pitching

Jon Lester was less than spectacular last night, but he managed to get the job done, allowing all four Blue Jays runs in seven innings last night in the 7-4 Red Sox victory. Lester departed the mound in the top of the eighth inning with a jammed hip. At the time of the injury, the lefty was at 94 pitches, and could probably have completed the inning if not for the wet mound that caused him to slip.

Luckily for the Red Sox, Lester has reported that he feels fine, and that neither he nor the Sox medical staff is concerned about any long-lasting effects or missing any future starts. Junichi Tazawa took over for Lester and pitched a clean eighth inning before giving way to closer Koji Uehara for the ninth. Uehara faced the minimum number of Jays batters and struck out two of three to earn his third save of the season.

On the Jays' side of things, Chien-Ming Wang couldn't even make it through two innings, retiring just five Red Sox in his shortened outing, and allowing all seven Red Sox runs in the bottom of the second inning before being pulled for reliever Aaron Loup. Blue Jays skipper John Gibbons had to use four relief pitchers to get through the game, which is certainly a boon to the Red Sox as this series still has three games to go, and a tired opposing bullpen is always an advantage.

Hopefully the Red Sox bats can get to Josh Johnson just as quickly as they got to Wang, because rookie righthander Allen Webster will take the mound for the home team tonight, and he was beat up pretty badly by the Tigers in the first inning of his last start before settling in. Webster is the not-so-proud owner of a 11.25 ERA to go with his 0-2 record and is looking to prove himself, though it's common knowledge that his time is limited regardless of performance, as he'll be optioned back to Pawtucket when Clay Buchholz returns.

No rest in the AL East

Every year, there's talk about how good the American League East is going to be. Every year, there's a discussion of how the five AL East teams will wear each other down, that the unbalanced schedule will be the undoing of at least one of them. And every year, something else is the downfall of the basement dwellers and middling performers in the division - usually a bizarre spate of injuries combined with uncharacteristically poor performance from some franchise players.

This year the American League East is insane: every single team is playing above .500, and each one has something to prove. The Yankees have to prove that they can be something without all of the big-name stars they've relied on for so many years. The Red Sox need to prove that September 2011 and 2012 were flukes. The Orioles need to prove that 2012 wasn't a fluke, and that they are the real deal. The Rays must prove that a winning culture is sustainable in a small market (and a crappy stadium). The Blue Jays, of course, are looking to live up to the hype they generated this offseason.

So far, everybody's doing a heck of a job, as the Jays have the worst record of the lot, and they're doing better than fifteen other teams across baseball. In fact, if the currently last place Toronto Blue Jays were playing in the NL East or the NL West, their record would be good enough for second place. Doubtless the Blue Jays would be doing even better if they hadn't lost some key players to injury in the early part of the season, but they seem to be making up for lost time in the last two weeks, winning 12 of 14 contests headed into this weekend's series.

The Red Sox, of course, are coming off a two-game sweep of the Rockies (themselves playing above .500 until traveling to Boston), and have the recently struggling Jon Lester opening the series on the mound. The Jays will trot out Chien-Ming Wang, recently of the Nationals, but I'll always think of him as a Yankee. Wang pitched in the Bronx from 2005-2009, and there are a number of Red Sox players who have performed well against him.

Dustin Pedroia has hit .278 against Wang in 19 plate apprearences, including a home run and three doubles. Shane Victorino is 2-for-6. Most impressively, David Ortiz has done better than any other single (active) batter, hitting .432 (16-for-37) with four doubles, two home runs, and eleven RBIs against Wang, which coud be key if Jon Lester turns in another start like the last few.

It should go without saying that with Clay Buchholz's status so uncertain, the Red Sox really need Lester to return to the form he displayed earlier this season. Ideally, he would get back on track tonight, starting the weekend series with a dominant performance and a win - I'm sure David Ortiz is chomping at the bit to give him some run support.

Sad loss on a soggy night

The Red Sox seem determined to reverse the success they had in April. Last month it seemed like everything that could go right, went right - so far in May it seems like everything that can go wrong, has gone wrong. After getting swept by the Rangers in Texas, the Red Sox returned home to lose three out of four to the lowly Twins.

Last night's game was particularly painful, as the Sox were in the lead, and the newly repaired John Lackey was looking solid - until he made a throwing error on a play that should have had him out of the inning, but instead led to four unearned runs and an eventual Red Sox loss. [In terms of scoring, and on a mostly unrelated note, I think that if it's a pitcher's error, they should be earned runs.]

If Jon Lester can't stop this skid, nobody can, and since the Twins are departing in favor of the Blue Jays, against whom the Red Sox are 4-2 this season, this is as good a time as any to turn things around. Lester will be going up against Ramon Ortiz, who so far in 2013 claims an ERA of 5.40, more than two full runs higher than Lester's.

The Blue Jays were slated to be a powerhouse in the AL East, while the Red Sox were supposed to be stragglers - so far, that's not the case. Given some of the early season injuries to key Blue Jays players, it's unlikely that Toronto will take the division - but there's certainly time for the Red Sox to fall back to the bottom. They need to pull themselves out of the funk they seem to be in, and tonight is an excellent time to start.

John Lackey officially placed on the DL

John Lackey has officially been placed on the disabled list, retroactive to April 7th, after straining his right bicep in Toronto. Alfredo Aceves will start in his place tomorrow, and will take his slot in the rotation until he can make his return.

Thankfully, the recovery time for a strain like this is much, much shorter than the yearlong recovery from Tommy John surgery that Lackey had just completed. It's a real shame to lose John Lackey to a fluke injury like this, after all of his hard work getting back on the field, and especially because of the solid outing he was turning in against the Blue Jays at the time.

But the way things looked Saturday when Lackey grabbed at his arm and left the game in the middle of an at-bat, the 15-day DL is getting off easy. If Lackey can come back in two weeks and pitch the way he was pitching this weekend, I think it's safe to say that we all dodged a bullet. This is really hurting my fantasy team, but I think I can recover.

Like night and day

It's hard to believe that the team that mustered just two hits over nine innings in yesterday's loss is the same as the one who just destoyed R.A. Dickey and the Jays today. After yesterday's debacle, the Red Sox needed a game like this afternoon's. Jon Lester pitched seven scoreless innings, and the offense absolutely exploded for thirteen runs, including six homers.

Will Middlebrooks had a spectacular game, with three of the six homeruns, a double, and four RBIs - I'll certainly be buying his jersey when I get the chance.  Jose Iglesias continued to rake, going 2-for-5 with a double, and bringing his four game average to .583. Sure, it's a tiny sample size, but Iglesias is clearly making a statement.

And so the Red Sox will return to Fenway for the Home Opener tomorrow, atop the American League East with a 4-2 record having won both of the first two series. I snagged a bleacher seat to tomorrow's game, and I can't wait - will I see any of you there?

Cautious optimism for Lackey

When John Lackey clutched his right arm in the bottom of the fifth inning, I panicked. Though it was pretty obvious that the problem wasn't his surgically repaired elbow, things looked very serious as the heckled John Farrell (stay classy, Toronto) ushered Lackey off the field. 

I had predicted a season of redemption for Lackey early in spring training, and he was pitching like he meant to prove me right, with eight strikeouts through four and a third innings - indeed, his only mistake was a homerun to J.P. Arencibia. If only the Sox had managed any offense at all, things would have looked pretty promising.

As the game went on (and reliever Alfredo Aceves ensured that a win was out of the question), we got the news that Lackey had to leave with "right biceps strain." Afterwards, both Farrell and Lackey expressed optimism, though anything definite will have to wait for an exam in Boston.  Lackey compared the feeling to a severe hamstring cramp, "It's all in the bicep, wasn't elbow. Pretty frustrating, a little scary when it happened for sure."

Lackey also reported that he felt better almost as soon as he made it to the clubhouse, and teammates Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester were reassured once they chatted with him. I have to say that one of the most disappointing things about the situation were the jokes about it on Twitter. I don't care how much you dislike a player, joking about an injury is never funny.

The good news is that Lackey seems to be mostly alright. Severe strains can come with muscle tears and possible surgery - or it could be minor enough that Lackey just needs some rest, and he could make his next start. Here's hoping it's the latter.

Heading north

Perhaps I jinxed things yesterday with my unbridled optimism - I would be the first to admit that optimism isn't a natural state for me, as I'm much more comfortable with the cynic's role. In any case, the Red Sox suffered their first loss last evening, at the hands of the Yankees.

There were some good notes regardless of the loss: David Ross threw out two baserunners last night, and the kids continued to impress. Jackie Bradley Jr. had a double and an RBI, while Will Middlebrooks had two hits and an RBI of his own. Jose Iglesias, clearly gunning to stay with the big club even upon the imminent return of Stephen Drew, went 2-for-3 and bunted for a base hit.

Tonight they'll head north to Toronto, to a welcome that might be rather more hostile than one would normally expect from famously welcoming Canadians. The Blue Jays and their fans weren't exactly pleased when John Farrell deserted them after just two seasons to return to Boston - and you can't really blame them for feeling somewhat betrayed.

I can't imagine the hostility could last too long. Toronto is more of a hockey town than a baseball one, and we all know that Canadians are pretty much incapable of holding onto non-puck related anger for too much time. Either way, I'm sure Farrell won't let a few boos get to him.

The next generation of knuckleballers

Yesterday in the game against Toronto, the Blue Jays started knuckleballer and 2012 Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey against the newest Red Sox knuckleballer, Steven Wright. After Tim Wakefield retired during last year's spring training, the Red Sox went out and acquired Wright from the Indians for prospect Lars Anderson in July.

Although the Sox are now in need of some depth at first base, the Wright trade seems to be a good one. After a successful seventeen year trip down knuckleball lane with Tim Wakefield, the Red Sox were ready to invest some time in the next generation.

Wright is just 28, and if he was a "conventional" pitcher, he'd be entering his prime. For knuckleballers, a player's prime is somewhat more difficult to pinpoint; Wakefield had one of his best seasons when he was 40, then became an All Star for the first and only time when he was 42.

Wake is headed to spring training to work with Wright, and help Wright with the pitch as previous generations of kuckleballers assisted Wakefield. Because Wakefield doesn't have an official role with the Red Sox like former teammates Jason Varitek and Pedro Martinez, he's free to help out when and how he sees fit, and he's going to start by passing on his considerable knuckleball wisdom.

Tim Wakefield: 200 Game WINNER.

Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield finally got to the 200-win mark this evening during the Red Sox romp against the Blue Jays.  On his eighth try for history, Wake was less than spectacular, allowing five runs in six innings, and departing when the Sox had a narrow one-run lead.

The blew it open after that, absolutely going to town on the Jays' pen, and looking for all the world like they were unleashing the pent-up aggression from their frustrating losing streak.

I'm going to keep this post short: you all know how I feel about Wakey, and I won't bore you with an account of how every win counts at this point.  You know as well as I do, as well as the Sox do, that the Rays are coming for us, that objects in mirror are closer than they appear, and that the division is ours for the taking - and missing the playoffs isn't yet out of the question, either.

Hopefully this victory can galvanize the troops for the home stretch - every inning counts.

Flirting with .500

Just when you think they're going to turn it around for good, and reach .500 for the first time since Opening day in Texas, they go and hand in a heartbreaker like last night's.  Jonny Lester wasn't himself last night,and he would be the first to say so, admitting that he let his emotions get to him during a first inning where he gave up three runs and the calls just weren't going his way.

Red Sox pitching gave up three home runs in last night's game, and the bats just couldn't keep up, despite homers from Adrian Gonzalez (2), and David Ortiz.  This was not the way the Sox wanted to open the series, with a loss, and Lester only able to pitch 5.1 innings, meaning that the bullpen was more heavily taxed than they would have hoped.

Tonight we have John Lackey going against Jesse Litch, before the Sox head south to New York for a three-game set.  There's an off-day in between, and the rotation has been shuffled so that Clay Buchholz,Josh Beckett, and Lester will pitch against the Bronx Bombers, and Daisuke Matsuzaka won't go until we face the Orioles next week.

Someday the Red Sox will get back to .500.... Maybe it will be this Friday.

Halladay makes history

Last fall, in the immediate aftermath of the World Series, my Phillies fan friends were less than ecstatic. Trust me, I told them, I KNOW how badly it sucks to lose to New York. And then came the news of that blockbuster December trade... You know, the one that sent Cliff Lee to Seattle, Roy Halladay to Philadelphia, and prospects to Toronto so they could start "rebuilding."

MKy roommate, a casual Phillies fan from South Jersey (VERY different from North Jersey, as I was constantly told), was very upset. She didn't know anything about Halladay, and Lee had been the only bright spot in that lost World Series. "Trust me," I told her, "You will absolutely LOVE Roy Halladay."

[Not to mention how much I was going to love watching his brilliance when it didn't often come against MY team, for a change.]

She was skeptical, but let it go - I'm guessing by now she's forgotten that the conversation even took place. At the time, I at first couldn't believe that she didn't know about the excellence that was Doc Halladay, and then I checked myself: Halladay had never played in the playoffs, and had spent his whole spectacular career buried in the American League East. There was no reason that a casual fan of a National League team WOULD know about him.

Well, they've all heard of him now. After the perfect game in May, Halladay went on to have a shut-down season for the Phils, and last night he tossed a one-walk, no-hit gem in Philadelphia to put the Phillies up 1-0 on the Reds in the NLDS. Oh, did I mention that it was only the second no-hitter in Major League history, after Don Larsen's perfect game in 1956?

And in his first postseason start ever. Yeah, I feel pretty good about that offhanded comment last December: Philadelphia is LOVING Roy Halladay.

Royal Pedigree?

Though I didn't take this photo, I was present at Felix Doubront's MLB debut in June, and he struck out Manny Ramirez during his first return to Fenway Park.

It's always about the pitching. Despite two rain delays totaling two hours and forty-three minutes (according to the estimable and meticulous Peter Abraham), Clay Buchholz went six innings and allowed no runs, scattering five hits and three walks.

Daniel Bard relieved then Buch in the seventh inning, and stumped the Jays; despite a wild pitch and a walk, the presumptive close-in-waiting got through the frame with two strikeouts, and without letting up a run.

However, for me, the most interesting pitching performance was by youngster Felix Doubront, who came in to pitch the eighth inning while the Sox were leading by just three runs. As we have come to expect from the young southpaw, Doubront got through the inning with a small hiccup of an infield single.

The Red Sox would score two runs in the bottom of the eighth, and so the warming-Papelbon sat back down and allowed Doubront to finish the contest.

Despite a triple(!) by David Ortiz, I think the most exciting aspect of the game was the pitching of Felix Doubront, who proved (once again) that he is capable of pitching in important situations. Sure, this wasn't the World Series, or even a particularly high-stakes game, but it wasn't a blowout, either.

According to SoxProspects.com, Doubront

"utilizes a 91-94 mph fastball, a very good 79-81 mph changeup with screwball action, and an impressive-but-inconsistent mid-70s curveball. Flawless and fluid downward pitching motion with excellent control. Deceptive delivery, hitters don't pick up the ball until late, causing his fastball to look a little faster. Used to struggle against left-handed batters, but seemed to fix this issue in 2009. He has a reserved and modest demeanor, but is aggressive and poised on the mound. "

Well, we're certainly seeing all that, and I think Doubront's promise extends far beyond being a poised reliever. If so, I think he needs a nickname... Prince Felix, anyone?

I think I can...

The Red Sox are... dare I say it... turning things around. They picked up a game on New York last night - something they failed to do while IN New York - and while the Rays won, I think this team still has a shot.

Call me an optimist (it might be the first time), but I still believe this team can make the playoffs, and do well there. Dustin Pedroia is tentatively expected back next week, and while Kevin Youkilis is not coming through that door, Pedey could provide the spark they need to go on a tear.

Last night's game was a bit of an oddity, as Daisuke Matsizaka was brilliant in the first inning, and fell apart later on, but his teammates had his back, scoring seven runs, and the bullpen was pretty good. Youngster Felix Doubront was particularly impressive, working out of a sixth-inning bases-loaded jam by striking out Travis Snider.

Doubront did allow Jose Bautista to tie the game in the seventh inning with his 35th homer of the season, but again the bats came through (!), with a Mike Lowell home run and a Jed Lowrie RBI double. Papelbon closed it out with limited theatrics, and the Sox notched their sixty-fifth win of the season.

Clay Buchholz is currently going for number sixty six... Let's go, boys!