the joy of sox

Angels  - 000 101 023 - 7 11  0
Red Sox - 003 200 010 - 6  7  1

Jonathan Papelbon allowed two inherited runners to score in the eighth and then, needing only one more strike for the save, allowed three runs of his own.

And the Angels move on to the ALCS.

***

Two quick thoughts: Walking Hunter intentionally was dumb. Should Tito have pulled Bot after Abreu's double made it 6-5? Bot had allowed three straight hits and four hits to his six batters. When did Jeemer get up and was anyone else up with him?

Note: I'm not blaming Francona (not much, anyway). Papelbon tried to get the third out against five hitters and failed.Scott Kazmir (4.89, 93 ERA) / Clay Buchholz (4.21, 112 ERA+)

Terry Francona:

What's happened has happened. Now we'll show up tomorrow, do what we always do on early games -- have 12 pieces of bacon, a Red Bull and go get 'em.

Since 2003, the Red Sox are 13-3 in potential elimination games:

Since the ALDS began in 1995, 17 teams have trailed 0-2. Four of them came back to win the series (23.5%). Here's the list:

1995 - Sea 0-2 to NYY - Won 3-4-5
       Cle 0-2 to Bos - Lost 3
1996 - Cle 0-2 to Bal - Won 3, Lost 4
1997 - Sea 0-2 to Bal - Won 3, Lost 4
1998 - Tex 0-2 to NYY - Lost 3
1999 - Bos 0-2 to Cle - Won 3-4-5
       Tex 0-2 to NYY - Lost 3
2000 - CWS 0-2 to Sea - Lost 3
2001 - NYY 0-2 to Oak - Won 3-4-5
2003 - Bos 0-2 to Oak - Won 3-4-5
2004 - Ana 0-2 to Bos - Lost 3
2005 - Bos 0-2 to CWS - Lost 3
2006 - Min 0-2 to Oak - Lost 3
2007 - LAA 0-2 to Bos - Lost 3
       NYY 0-2 to Cle - Won 3, Lost 4
2008 - LAA 0-2 to Bos - Won 3, Lost 4
       CWS 0-2 to TBR - Won 3, Lost 4

Interesting: An AL team has never gone L-L-W-W-L in an ALDS.One possible reason for Clay Buchholz's poor performance in his last two starts (13 runs in eight innings against Toronto and Cleveland) is that his body is tired from throwing more innings this season than in any other.

2007 - 148.0 (125.1 Port/Paw; 22.2 Bos)
2008 - 155.2 (58.2 Port/Paw; 76 Bos; 21 AFL)
2009 - 191.0 (99 Paw; 92 Bos)

Francona will stick with the same nine hitters in his lineup, though David Ortiz may get moved down with a lefty on the hill.

First Pitch: Dave Henderson
Hendu was "David Ortiz" when David Ortiz was 10 years old.

After us:

Yankees (2)/Twins (0) at 7:00
Phillies (1)/Rockies (1) at 10:00

Red Sox - 000 100 000 - 1  4  0
Angels  - 000 100 30x - 4  6  0

Another four hits, another resounding loss. And the Red Sox will fly back to Boston in an 0-2 hole. Game 3 is on Sunday at noon.

Only four American League teams have come back from being down 0-2 in an LDS -- and two of those four are Red Sox teams (1999, 2003). So it's certainly possible, but this team will have to rouse itself from its offensive slumber to do so.

Beckett and Weaver had a hell of a pitchers duel going until the 7th-inning stretch. Only one player reached base in the first three innings. Both teams scored in the fourth: Jacoby Ellsbury tripled and scored on Victor Martinez's single; then Bobby Abreu singled, took third on Vladimir Guerrero's hit and scored on Kendry Morales's sacrifice fly.

Beckett began the seventh at only 75 pitches and having retired the previous eight batters. He fell behind the first two hitters 3-0, walking Guerrero (his only pass of the game), but battling back to retire Morales. With Juan Rivera at the plate, pinch-runner Howie Kendrick stole second. Kendrick stayed put as Rivera grounded hard to third, but he was able to score on Maicer Izturis's single into right-center, giving LA a 2-1 lead.

Billy Wagner had been up for awhile, but Terry Francona stayed with Beckett. Izturis stole second on the first pitch to Mike Napoli. Then Beckett plunked Napoli with a 2-2 curveball. It was time for a pitching change, but Playoff Tito was nowhere to be seen. Erick Aybar whacked a 2-1 pitch over Ellsbury's head in center for a two-run triple, bringing the curtain down on Beckett's performance.

In the ninth, Kevin Youkilis doubled with one out and Jason Bay walked with two outs, but Mike Lowell flew out to center to end the game. (Boston's other hit was a two-out single by Ellsbury in the eighth.)Josh Beckett (3.86, 123 ERA+) / Jered Weaver (3.75, 121 ERA+)

Is tonight a must-win? It feels like it.

In a best-of-5 series, every game is important. Down 0-2, needing to win three in a row, would be a tough task (especially if the bats remain AWOL). Tied 1-1 with the first two of three possible games at Fenway Park -- I can live with that. (Like I have a choice?)

Beckett:

There are no issues physically at all. Obviously last year was a little bit different. So as far as physically coming in (this year), it's a lot better. Last month it's been better than it was two months ago, so I'm just looking forward to going out there and doing what I'm supposed to do.

Jason Bay:

We had four singles and three errors. That isn't going to win too many ballgames. We need more offense.

The Red Sox were held without a run and without an extra-base hit only five times during the regular season.

Terry Francona "fell ill an hour before first pitch with food poisoning". Bad tacos for lunch, apparently. He missed the introductions and Brad Mills was told he might have to take charge, but Tito was there when the first pitch was thrown. Asked after the game about the umpiring ("What was your main complaint or beef there?"), Tito said: "Don't bring up the word beef, please."

Francona's regular cribbage opponent is now George Kottaras. "Pedey quit 'cause he stinks." ... David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia each were tested for performance-enhancing drugs after last night's game. No word if CB Bucknor was given an eye exam.

The New York Times says Chip Caray "is still prone to bad play calls, descriptive exaggerations and factual errors. ... [There is] a pattern of an announcer out of his element."

Times: Game 3 is set for Noon on Sunday. Game 4 will be at 8:30 on Monday, but would be moved to 7:30 if the Twins-Yankees series is finished. Game 5 in Anaheim is set for 9:30, but will be moved to 8:00 if there are no other games scheduled.And: Twins/Blackburn (0) at Yankees/Burnett (1) at 6 PM

(Background to Molina (and not Dumbo) catching Burnett)

Red Sox - 000 000 000 - 0  4  3
Angels  - 000 030 20x - 5  7  1

Torii Hunter's three run home run in the fifth was all Jon Lackey (7.1-4-0-1-4, 114) and the Angels needed in Game 1.

Boston could get nothing going with the bats. Lackey retired the first eight before a single by Alex Gonzalez and an error on catcher's interference with Jacoby Ellsbury put runners at first and second. But Dustin Pedroia flew out to right to end the inning.

A leadoff single by Jason Bay in the fifth was immediately wiped out by a double play grounder from Mike Lowell. With two outs in the sixth, Pedroia singled and Victor Martinez walked. Lackey fell behind Kevin Youkilis 3-0, but battled back and got out of trouble with a fielder's choice grounder. J.D. Drew began the eighth with a single and went to second on a wild pitch, but Gonzalez, Ellsbury and Pedroia could not move him any farther.

The Angels scored twice in the seventh off Ramon Ramirez and Takashi Saito. It was a strange inning that featured Juan Rivera grounding into a double play, but reaching first safely. The bases were loaded and the play went 5-2-5. The inning ended when Drew threw out Kendry Morales at the plate.

The game was also marked by horrible umpiring. CB Bucknor blew two obvious calls at first base -- one with the runner 4-5 feet from the bag -- both against the Red Sox with Howie Kendrick running, though they both happened in innings in which Los Angeles did not score. The Angels also got burned a few times, including the second out of that 5-2-5 DP. The catcher's interference call by Joe West was also strange.Lineups:

Red Sox                 Angels
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF     Chone Figgins, 3B
Dustin Pedroia, 2B      Bobby Abreu, RF
Victor Martinez, C      Torii Hunter, CF
Kevin Youkilis, 1B      Vladimir Guerrero, DH
David Ortiz, DH         Juan Rivera, LF
Jason Bay, LF           Kendry Morales, 1B
Mike Lowell, 3B         Howie Kendrick, 2B
J.D. Drew, RF           Jeff Mathis, C
Alex Gonzalez, SS       Erick Aybar, SS

Jon Lester (3.41, 139 ERA+) / John Lackey (3.83, 119 ERA+)

Here we go!

While it's great to hear another team deal with endless questions about a seeming inability to beat a certain opponent -- Torii Hunter: "There ain't no team in my head" -- the fact that the Red Sox have beaten the Angels in nine of their last 10 LDS games means little to the series that begins tonight.

Lester thinks there may be an "added confidence. I wouldn't say that in an arrogant way, but we know we've played this team well, and they play us tough."

With Rocco Baldelli "feeling minimally better" yesterday, it seems likely that Brian Anderson will take his spot as an extra outfielder. If so [Update: it's so], this is the Red Sox roster:

Pitchers                Lineup/Bench
Jon Lester              Victor Martinez
Josh Beckett            Kevin Youkilis
Clay Buchholz           Dustin Pedroia
Daisuke Matsuzaka       Alex Gonzalez
                        Mike Lowell
Jonathan Papelbon       Jason Bay
Hideki Okajima          Jacoby Ellsbury
Daniel Bard             J.D. Drew
Ramon Ramirez           David Ortiz
Billy Wagner            
Takashi Saito           Jason Varitek
Paul Byrd               Jed Lowrie
                        Casey Kotchman
                        Joey Gathright
                        Brian Anderson

Theo Epstein:

I'm filled with a lot of anticipation, more than anything else. There's not a lot we can do at this point. ... [W]e're watching the fates unwind.

Joy of Sox poll:Also tonight: the Whine-A-Thon Begins!

P.S.:

Rockies (0)/Phillies (1) - Game 2 at 2:30
Cardinals (0)/Dodgers (1) - Game 2 at 6:00

Spiders - 105 000 100 -  7  8  0
Red Sox - 310 125 00x - 12 11  0

Boston hit five home runs, including two from J.D. Drew and a grand slam by Jed Lowrie. Dustin Pedroia and Alex Gonzalez hit the other dongs.

Jacoby Ellsbury stole his 70th base of the year, George Kottaras came off the bench and singled twice, and David Ortiz singled in two runs in the first, giving him 99 RBI. Jason Bay led the team with 119 RBI.Tomo Ohka (5.45, 83 ERA+) / Clay Buchholz (3,74, 126 ERA+)

On each scorecard, I put the number of the game in the top right corner. Every Opening Day, I write a "1" and think it will take so long to get to "162". When you step back, 162 games is a ridiculously long season. Yet here we are.

The 2009 regular season is nearly complete and the Red Sox are one of the eight teams to be playing in the playoffs (for the sixth time in the last seven years). However, we still don't know who one of those eight teams will be.

The Tigers are Twins are tied atop the AL Central at 85-76 -- with one game to play (Danks/Verlander at 1 and Hochevar/Pavano at 2).

On the morning of September 7, the Twins were a season-worst 7 GB. They have gone 15-4 since September 13, while the Tigers -- who have allowed three more runs (736) than they have scored (733) this year for an 80-81 Pythag -- have won only 10 of their last 25 games.

So the Red Sox will fly to Anaheim after a workout at Fenway on Monday, but they don't know if their series will begin on Wednesday or Thursday. (Indeed, they might not know until Tuesday night; a possible tie-breaking game between Detroit and Minnesota would be played Tuesday afternoon.)

And while the media's talk of players wanting to hit .300 and get 100 RBI because .298 and 99 doesn't look as impressive is silly -- when really, over a long season, it's the same thing -- I admit that I did not want to finish double-digits behind the MFY. And being 8 GB now, we won't.

And speaking of Pythag, the Red Sox "should" be only 1 GB the MFY (93-68 to 94-67), but the Yankees have out-performed their expected W-L by eight games. Grrrr.....

But the real excitement today is the culmination of the W-L contest. There will be no tie-breakers here.

The Red Sox are 94-67 -- and we have:

Aaron Liber      95-67
Bradley Smith    94-68

Spiders - 220 000 200 -  6 10  0
Red Sox - 172 000 01x - 11 11  0

Victor Martinez hit his first career grand slam in the second inning. Dustin Pedroia hit a dong to lead off the first and Brian Anderson went deep in the third.

Beckett: 5-7-4-3-5, 98. After a very rough two innings -- poor control on both the fastball and curve -- he allowed only a single and a walk over the next three innings. Paul Byrd pitched three innings of relief, his first appearance out of the pen since June 2001.

Dusty Brown homered into the Monster Seats in the eighth inning. It was his first major league hit -- and he took a curtain call as the fans chanted "Dus-ty, Dus-ty!". Brown is the 24th player to homer for Boston this season, a new franchise record (23 players went deep in 1996).
Aaron Laffey (3.91, 116 ERA+) / Josh Beckett (3.78, 125 ERA+)

Spiders - 000 020 000 - 2  8  3
Red Sox - 103 000 20x - 6  8  1

After giving up a double to start the game, Matsuzaka retired the next 12 Cleveland batters -- and had thrown only 56 pitches through the first four innings. In innings 2-3-4, he threw 34 pitches, 25 of which were strikes.

He fell into a rut in the fifth: three hits, two walks, two runs -- but he fanned Shin-Soo Choo with the bases loaded to escape further damage. Dice finished with a 6-5-2-3-7, 104 line.

Jacoby Ellsbury doubled to start the Boston first, stole third (# 69) and kept running as Kelly Shoppach's throw went into left field. Jason Varitek began the third with a double (!) as eight Boston batters faced Sowers (3-4-4-2-1, 69). Dustin Pedroia had a sac fly and Victor Martinez and Kevin Youkilis also drove in runs. Yook had a two-run double in the seventh.

Billy Wagner pitched for the second consecutive day for the first time as a member of the Red Sox. He struck out the two batters he faced, throwing only seven pitches.Jeremy Sowers (5.09, 89 ERA+) / Daisuke Matsuzaka (6.08, 78 ERA+)

The ALDS playoff match-ups can be finalized tonight if the Tigers beat the White Sox and the Twins lose to the Royals.

If that happens, then the Yankees will choose which LDS they want: Series A, which begins on Wednesday or Series B, which starts on Thursday. The dates for Games 2-5 are the same in each series; the off-day between Games 1 and 2 is the only difference.

Spiders - 000 000 000 - 0  3  0
Red Sox - 102 000 00x - 3 12  0

Lester (6.1-2-0-1-7, 84) seems fine! Look out, Angels.

                     Pitches
1:  F7  F7  F9          10
2:  F9  F9  P4          11
3:   K  63  P9          14
4:  1B   K 543           7
5:   K   K   K          15
6:  31  2B   K   K      20
7:  63  BB               7

Jacoby Ellsbury got the first of his three singles in the first and promptly stole second (#68). He took third on a force play and scored on Kevin Youkilis's sac fly to right.

In the third, Victor Martinez doubled with one out. Yook singled him to third and David Ortiz's single brought him home. Jason Bay's single scored Yook.

After Lester left, Daniel Bard loaded the bases on a double and a HBP, but got a 6-4-3 double play to wiggle out of trouble. Billy Wagner needed only eight pitches (all strikes) in the eighth (F7, K, 6-3) and Jonathan Papelbon got a OTT ninth on 11 pitches (K, K, 5-3).Carlos Carrasco (9.00, 51 ERA+) / Jon Lester (3.52, 134 ERA+)

Carrasco, a 22-year-old righty, made his major league debut on September 1. This will be his fifth start. In 19 innings, he has allowed 31 hits and 10 walks -- that's a 2.158 WHIP -- while striking out 10.

Lester is back on the hill after taking a line drive off the side of his right knee against the Yankees last Friday. However, he wasn't pitching well that night before his early exit; this will be a tune-up before his ALDS start.

Victor Martinez, who was in the Cleveland organization for 13 years, is excited to face his former team. In 52 games since the trade, Martinez has hit .332. He has also hit safely in 27 of his past 28 games, batting .350 (36-for-103).

Blue Jays - 023 032 011 - 12 17  0
Red Sox   - 000 000 000 -  0  3  0

From the start, it felt like a spring training game. The Boston lineup began with Joey Gathright, Josh Reddick and Casey Kotchman. Rocco Baldelli made his major league debut at third base in the seventh inning. And third-string catcher Dusty Brown pitched the ninth.

The Blue Jats hit another four home runs, including two from Randy Ruiz, who also singled and doubled. Toronto had at least two baserunners in every inning but the eighth -- when they had only a solo home run.

Roy Halladay (9-3-0-2-6, 100) began the night by pitching five no-hit innings and finished with his second consecutive complete game shutout.

Wakefield (3-7-5-2-2, 76) and Manny Delcarmen (1-3-2-0-0, 19) both pitched terribly -- the hits off MDC were a home run, triple and single -- and did nothing to show they belong on the ALDS roster.Roy Halladay (2.90, 151 ERA+) / Tim Wakefield (4.33, 109 ERA+)

And for Games 158, 159, 160, 161, and 162, they rested. With five games remaining in the regular season, Terry Francona's only concern should be making sure every player on the roster is well-rested and ready to go when Red Sox begin the American League Division Series in Anaheim next Wednesday or Thursday.

Jason Bay:

You want to kind of get your legs back under you, but at the same time, you don't want to get rusty, too. It's a fine line. ... The last thing you want to do is kind of go into the playoffs and have to flip the switch. ... A day or two for everyone around here would definitely help. ... just a refresher.

Wakefield is making only his fourth appearance since the All-Star break. He is pitching on eight days rest. ... Halladay has a 1.80 ERA in five September starts.

Blue Jays - 411 010 100 - 8 11  0
Red Sox   - 110 000 050 - 7 14  1

The Jays struck for four runs in the first for the second night in a row.

Boston rallied furiously with two outs in the eighth, highlighted by J.D. Drew's three-run home run to right-center (that changed the score from 8-4 to 8-7) and had runners on first and second with two outs in the ninth, but Kevin Youkilis was caught looking at strike three.

Toronto smacked six home runs, including three by Adam Lind. Buchholz (5-8-7-1-4, 79) gave up the first one (to Jose Bautista) on his first pitch of the night, and allowed five of the six.

The first three Jays against Clay: HR, 1B, HR. It was the first time a Sox pitcher had allowed two home runs in an inning before recording an out since John Burkett allowed bombs to Jason Giambi and Bernie Williams in the first inning on July 21, 2002. The last player to belt three taters in a game against Boston was Frank Thomas (all off Tim Wakefield, on September 15, 1996).Ricky Romero (4.28, 102 ERA+) / Clay Buchholz (3.21, 147 ERA+)

A win tonight clinches the wild card.

And the Red Sox have seriously abused the rookie Romero in four starts this year: 26 hits and 17 walks in 17.1 innings. He's got an 8.83 ERA and a 2.481 WHIP. Boston has hit .377/.506/.652/1.158 against him.

& @ 10 PM: Rangers/Angels.

Blue Jays - 403 220 0 - 11 14  0
Red Sox   - 201 001 1 -  5  7  0

The game was stopped by rain in the bottom of the 7th at 9:33 -- and called at 10:35.

Bowden (3-7-7-1-3, 67) was not effective, though he did retire six batters at one point, including three by strikeout. Hunter Jones (1.2-5-4-0-1, 28) did no better.

Kevin Youkilis hit two home runs -- a two-run shot in the first and a solo blast in the third. David Ortiz crushed a dong in the sixth and Dustin Pedroia had an RBI-double in the seventh a minute or two before the rains came.

Lefty Dustin Richardson (#54) made his major league debut with two outs in the fifth. He needed only one pitch to get out of a 1st-and-2nd jam. He allowed two two-out singles in the sixth, but stranded both runners.Michael Bowden (7.84, 60 ERA+) will start tonight as Josh Beckett has been scratched because of mild back spasms.

Bowden has not started for the Red Sox in 2009, having pitched 10.1 innings in six appearances out of the bullpen. He threw 55 pitches in 2.1 innings against the Yankees on Friday night.Scott Richmond (5.32, 82 ERA+) / Josh Beckett (3,78, 125 ERA+)

Beckett and Richmond faced each other at Fenway on August 28, pitching only five innings each. Boston won the game 6-5.

Boston can clinch the Wild Card if they win tonight and the Angels beat the Rangers in Anaheim (10 PM).

Red Sox - 101 000 000 - 2  8  0
Yankees - 001 002 01x - 4 10  1

The Red Sox had runners at second and third with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but Jacoby Ellsbury grounded weakly back to Mariano Rivera and the Yankees finished a three-game sweep and clinched the AL East.

Texas led the Rays 5-0 after seven innings, but lost 7-6. Boston's WC Magic # is 2.Paul Byrd (6.04, 78 1ERA+) / Andy Pettitte (4.15, 108 ERA+)

Bad news: The Yankees (with a magic number of 1) can clinch the East with a win this afternoon. New York will likely celebrate winning the division at home, but how's about we have them do it on Monday against the Royals? Just for appearance's sake.

MLB.com:

Byrd was the ultimate mixed bag [against the Royals] in his last start, giving up a five-spot in the first inning and then being unscored on for the remainder of an outing that lasted 6.2 innings. ...

Coming back after skipping one turn through the rotation to alleviate fatigue in his left shoulder, Pettitte showed signs of rust in the first inning against the Angels on Monday, quickly running up his pitch count ... Completing the sixth inning and reporting that his shoulder felt strong enough to continue pitching, Pettitte was instead pulled after 91 pitches.

The Red Sox are 6 GA of the Rangers in the Wild Card, with a magic number of 3. Baring some bizarre effing disaster, the final week of the regular season will be little more than exhibition games, getting everyone ready and rested for the ALDS. Rays/Rangers at 3 PM.

Red Sox - 000 000 000 - 0 2 1
Yankees - 000 001 02x - 3 7 0

Sabathia (7-1-0-2-8, 96) clearly outpitched Dice (7-6-1-5-3, 115), although the game was only 1-0 -- a Robinson Cano home run that barely cleared the left field fence -- when the starters left.

New York got two runs off Billy Wagner in the eighth, after a missed catch error by Chris Woodward on a rundown of Brett Gardner off third base. Nick Swisher walked to start the inning and Gardner pinch-ran. Gardner took second on a wild pitch right before Cano struck out. With Melky Cabrera batting, Gardner stole third. Wagner ended up hitting the Dud. Wagner's second pitch to Jose Molina got away from Victor Martinez. He got to it quickly and Boston had Gardner caught off third, but Woodward could not hold onto the baseball. Molina then walked to load the bases. Derek Jeter sasahed for the second out, but Johnny Damon blooped Wagner's 35th of the inning into short right for two runs.

The Yankees blew an excellent scoring opportunity in the fifth. Jeter singled and Damon and Mark Teixeira walked to load the bases. Alex Rodriguez dribbled the ball maybe 15 feet down the first base line. Martinez went out, gloved it, slipped a bit turning around, then dove towards the plate, getting his glove on the dish right before Jeter slid in. Hideki Matsui fouled out to Martinez and Swisher fouled out to Lowell, who made an amazing basket catch down by the tarp.

Sabathia retired the first 11 Red Sox until Martinez walked in the fourth. Lowell began the fifth with a ground ball single into center. CC then KKK'd the side; Lowell stole second (!!!) when Rocco Baldelli fanned for the second out.

Kevin Youkilis was hit with a pitch in both the seventh and ninth innings. Mariano Rivera got the first two outs in the ninth, but Martinez singled to right -- extending his hitting streak to 25 games. He too second on DI and third on a wild pitch before Yook was plunked. Lowell struck out to end the game.

When it looked like Boston might end up with only one hit, Fox had a couple of tidbits. The last one-hitter in a Red Sox/Yankees game was Mike Mussina's near-perfect game at Fenway on September 2, 2001. The last Yankees one-hitter pitched against the Red Sox in New York was on August 9, 1992, when Sam Militello went seven innings (Fox did not mention it was his major league debut).Daisuke Matsuzaka (6.80, 69 ERA+) / CC Sabathia (3.31, 134 ERA+)

Red Sox - 000 102 020 - 5  8  0
Yankees - 104 102 10x - 9 14  0

Lester left the game in the third inning after being hit on the right knee (or the inside of the right knee) by Melky Cabrera. He was able to walk off the field on his own. X-rays were negative and Lester has a contusion on his right quad.

Lester (2.1-8-5-3-3, 78) had a rough outing from his very first pitch, which Derek Jeter grounded into center field.

Victor Martinez homered in the fourth to extend his hitting streak to 24 games. (Chamberlain had retired the first 11 Boston batters.) Ortiz hit a two-run bomb in the sixth.Jon Lester (3.33, 142 ERA+) / Joba Chamberlain (4.73, 94 ERA+)

Since May 31, Jon Lester has a 2.13 ERA, better than every major league pitcher except Felix Hernandez (1.99) over that time period.

5.5 GB with 10 games to play. Common sense says the Red Sox will not storm back and win the East (Baseball Prospectus puts the Sox's chances of doing so at 1.1%), but it remains possible.

Since August 10, when they were swept by the Yankees in a four-game series in New York, the Red Sox are 29-13 -- the best record in baseball over that span. At 91-61, Boston has the 3rd best record in baseball, after the Yankees (97-56) and Dodgers (92-61).

With Boston's Wild Card magic number at 3, the Red Sox could be the first team to pop champagne at the new Yankee Stadium. David Ortiz: "So we don't have to get our clubhouse dirty."

&: Rays/Rangers at 8.

Red Sox - 001 301 014 - 10 15  0
Royals  - 000 000 030 -  3 10  5

Buchholz (6.2-5-0-0-8, 109) breezed through the Kansas City lineup, striking out six of eight batters in one stretch; Victor Martinez and Dustin Pedroia each had two hits, extending their hitting streaks to 23 and 16 games, respectively (the two longest current streaks in MLB, by the way); David Ortiz singled, doubled, homered and drove in three; Jacoby Ellsbury had three singles and two stolen bases (#s 65 and 66); and the Royals were charged with five errors for the first time in seven years.Clay Buchholz (3.49, 135 ERA+) / Anthony Lerew (1st MLB game since May 19, 2007)

Red Sox - 000 060 003 - 9 12  0
Royals  - 000 200 000 - 2 12  0

With one out in the fifth, and the Royals having just taken a 2-0 lead, J.D. Drew singled to left. He would be the first of eight consecutive Boston batters to reach base off Hochevar.

Alex Gonzalez singled to right, Jacoby Ellsbury tripled to left-center, tying the game at 2-2. Dustin Pedroia singled, giving him a 15-game hitting streak and putting the Sox up 3-2. Victor Martinez extended his streak to 22 games with a single to center. Kevin Youkilis walked, loading the bases. Jason Bay hit a first-pitch single to left, scoring two runs. David Ortiz followed with a first-pitch single down the right field line for the sixth run of the inning.

Mike Lowell had grounded out to short to begin the fifth. Now, as the tenth man to bat, he grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the rally. A reader named Dan left a comment on my 3 Outs In An Inning post from April:

Mike Lowell came close to making all three outs in the same inning tonight ... he was responsible for all three outs (although he did not represent all three). Has this happened before?

What Lowell did was not all that unique. Now if he had made only the second out, and then the same eight Sox reached safely and then Lowell ended the inning with a third out in his third AB -- that would have been a first in major league history.

Beckett (6-12-2-1-7, 103) allowed a season-high 12 hits, but he stranded two Royals in each of the first four innings. And he was helped by a caught stealing in the fourth. After Martinez threw out David DeJesus, the next two batters singled, but were both left on base. His only perfect inning was the fifth.

Ortiz clocked a three-run dong to right-center in the ninth.Josh Beckett (3.80, 124 ERA+) / Luke Hochevar (5.79, 75 ERA+)

6.

That is the magic number for both the Red Sox to eliminate the Rangers for the wild card and for the Yankees (who clinched a playoff spot last night) to win the AL East.

Pitchers for this weekend in New York:

Friday: Jon Lester / CC Sabathia
Saturday: Daisuke Matsuzaka / Joba Chamberlain
Sunday: Paul Byrd / Andy Pettitte

Out West: Yankees/Angels at 3:30 and Rangers/A's at 10.

Red Sox - 000 000 010 - 1  2  0
Royals  - 500 000 00x - 5  9  1

Greinke (6-2-0-3-5, 91) pitched as expected, with a nasty slider and a fastball at 96-97 with pinpoint control. He has now allowed only one earned run in his last 35 innings, over five starts.

Byrd (6.2-9-5-4-0, 101) was also good -- as long as you forgot about his first 19 pitches. Four singles and two walks to the first eight Royals he faced put the Sox in a 5-0 hole. However, he was getting seriously squeezed by home plate umpire Andy Fletcher: two of the four balls he threw to Mike Jacobs in the first (who he walked to force in the first run) were clearly strikes. In the seventh, consecutive pitches to the exact same spot in the zone to Billy Butler were called a ball and strike.

Meanwhile, Greinke got a few calls on pitches 6-12 inches outside (two strikes to Ellsbury in the third and two strikes to David Ortiz in the sixth). The final outcome of the game was likely not changed, but it was still annoying and wrong, and Greinke did not need the extra help.

Boston's two hits extended the hitting streaks of both Victor Martinez (21 games, sixth inning single) and Dustin Pedroia (14 games, first inning double). Jacoby Ellsbury stole his 64th base of the year in the eighth.Paul Byrd (5.79, 82 ERA+) / Zack Greinke (2.14, 204 ERA+)

KC has Greinke -- the only choice for the American League Cy Young Award among people with brains.

He had an 0.84 ERA through his first ten starts, his ERA did not go over 2.00 until the All-Star break, he has a 1.24 ERA in his last seven starts, and a 0.34 ERA (one earned run in 29 innings) in his last four starts. In his eight no-decisions, his ERA is 1.95.

If any writer(s) penalize(s) Greinke for his W-L record -- which is 14-8 right now because the Royals have scored more than three runs in only 11 of his 30 starts -- they should be locked up in a mental institution. Instead, they will probably be offered a job as an ESPN Baseball Tonight analyst.

Boston has Byrd, who a couple of months ago was spending his afternoons throwing batting practice to the Georgia Road Runners, the 13-and-under team his two sons play on.

Sometimes mismatches turn out exactly how they "should". Other times, they don't.Out West at 10: Yankees/Angels (Gaudin/Santana) and Rangers/A's.

Red Sox - 006 021 000 -  9 12  1
Royals  - 001 136 10x - 12 11  0

Do you really wanna hear about this one?

As you can see, Boston led 6-0 and 8-2, as DiNardo (5-10-8-6-0, 116) was crapping the couch as if he had come straight from dinner with Royals HoFer George Brett.

Wakefield (5-5-5-7-2, 102) allowed a three-run dong in the pouring rain to Mike Jacobs in the fifth to cut the Sox's lead to 8-5 -- no problem, still a comfy lead, and the tarp should come out soon -- but it was the pen that gave the game away in the sixth.

Manny Delcarmen, fresh off a 4-BF, 2-HR, 2-BB outing on Saturday against the Orioles, started the sixth. The first batter, Josh Anderson, doubled. MDC then got two outs, but gave up an RBI double to Billy Butler (9-6). Then he walked Jacobs on four pitches and gave up a two-run double to Alberto Callaspo (9-8).

Daniel Bard took over, but he was no better. After making Miguel Olivo look positively stupid on fastballs, and getting ahead of him 1-2, Bard suddenly stopped throwing heat and walked him. Then Alex Gordon doubled down the left field line (9-9) and Yuniesky Betancourt singled to right (KC 11-9) before getting tagged out in a rundown for the third out.

There were 18 walks in this game, 13 by the starters.Tim Wakefield (4.22, 112 ERA+) / Lenny DiNardo (5.23, 83 ERA+)

Everyone thinks Wakefield's lower back and left leg are strong enough for him to start -- he showed some slight improvement in strength tests on Saturday -- so he'll take the hill for only the second time since July 8.

DiNardo spent most of this season in Omaha (AAA), with a 3.32 ERA in 29 games (23 starts). He was called up when rosters expanded and has made only two appearances, starts against the Tigers on September 10 and 16.

Jacoby Ellsbury has a team-high 56 multi-hit games. In the two months since being put back in the leadoff spot, he has hit .319 with an OBP of .373. In his last 13 games, he is hitting .408/.491/.571/1.063.

Victor Martinez's hitting streak is now at a career-best 19 games. ... Dustin Pedroia has a 12-game streak.

Out West at 10: Yankees/Angels (Pettitte/Saunders) and Rangers/A's.

Red Sox - 312 101 100 - 9 14  0
Orioles - 000 201 000 - 3  9  0

The Sox jumped on Berken (3-10-6-2-3, 68) right away, as Jacoby Ellsbury and Victor Martinez walked, and Kevin Youkilis, Jason Bay (1-0) and Mike Lowell singled (3-0) in the first. Boston finished the season with a 16-2 record against Baltimore.
Ellsbury (3-for-4, BB, shown stealing base #63 above) doubled in two runs in the third and homered in the seventh. Bay crushed a dong (#35) in the fourth and was HBP with the bases loaded in the sixth. Alex Gonzalez singled and doubled and scored twice.

Dice (5.1-8-3-1-5, 110) was good enough. His fastball command was spotty throughout the game and he relied more on breaking stuff. He allowed at least one baserunner in each inning, but did not walk a man until the fifth -- his 23rd batter. In fact, he had only three three-ball counts.

The Rangers lost to the Angels 10-5, so the Red Sox's Wild Card lead is now up to eight games. The Mariners lit up Joba and the Yankees 7-1, so Boston is now only 5 GB in the East (four in the loss column).Daisuke Matsuzaka (7.02, 67 ERA+) / Jason Berken (6.08, 76 ERA+)

Tony Massarotti, September 18:

Six games up with 17 to play, the Red Sox once again seem destined for October. Under the circumstances, at the risk of jinxing them, maybe it is time to give the Red Sox their due.

Tony, we've been over this. It's okay to say nice things about the Red Sox. Jinxes do not exist. Really.

Why is Nick Green giving himself a haircut?Angels/Rangers at 1 and Yankees/Mariners at 4.

Red Sox - 020 001 350 - 11 17  0
Orioles - 110 100 002 -  5 12  1

After six innings of back-and-forth lead changes, the Red Sox scored eight runs in the space of 15 batters in the late innings.

J.D. Drew drove in four of those eight runs; three of them came on his 21st home run of the year in the eighth. Brian Anderson followed that dong with one of his own. David Ortiz had two doubles, Mike Lowell went 3-for-4, and Josh Reddick hit his second major league home run in the second.

Lester (6-10-3-0-4, 102) was not sharp, giving up a run on a double and two singles to start the Baltimore first, and allowing solo homers to Ty Wigginton and Melvin Mora -- each of which lead off an inning. Manny Delcarmen allowed consecutive shots to Wigginton and Felix Pie to begin the ninth.Jon Lester (3.29, 143 ERA+) / David Hernandez (5.40, 86 ERA+)

Amalie Benjamin, Globe:

On Sept. 6, Jon Lester allowed the Chicago White Sox no runs in seven innings. Since then, Red Sox starters have allowed three runs or fewer in 11 straight games, their longest such streak since they reeled off 12 in June 2006. The Sox are 9-2 over the span, a stretch during which they seized control of the American League wild-card race.

Angels/Rangers at 7 and Yankees/Mariners at 10.