Red Sox News & Notes – 6/6

Carl Crawford(notes) #13 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates his three-run home run with teammates Jed Lowrie(notes) #12 and David Ortiz(notes) #34 against the Oakland Athletics at Fenway Park on June 5, 2011 in Boston, Massachusetts.

When John Lackey took the mound for the Boston Red Sox yesterday, no one was quite sure what they were going to get. Coming off the disabled list after an elbow issue, his pitch count was to be capped out somewhere in the low 90’s.

In his previous starts, he hasn’t been exactly the $82.5 million pitcher the Red Sox envisioned when he was signed. We know his off field issues have bothered him and it’s affected his performance. So if he could give the Red Sox a chance to win on Sunday, it could be considered a positive sign.

Although he struggled with his command, he did just that in 5 2/3 innings as the bats backed him up in a 6-3 win over the A’s that gave the Red Sox the weekend sweep and gave them some momentum before heading out a nine-game road trip through the AL East.

Lackey only allowed three hits but his lack of command contributed to three hit batters and two walks. While he did look rusty at times, the good news was the velocity on his fastball was there which shows the elbow issues are a thing of the past. Hopefully, he’ll be able to take the positives from this start and carry them over during his bullpen work before he takes the mound again later this week.

It helps when the offense gets him some run support as it does make things easier for the pitcher. Of course trying to get runs against a pitcher in Brett Anderson who has completely dominated you in his short career is no small task either.

But Anderson had his troubles on Sunday afternoon as the Red Sox roughed him up for five runs on nine hits and two walks in five innings of work.

Carl Crawford helped out Lackey with a three-run blast in the second inning. The home run for Crawford was his fifth of the season but more importantly, his first at Fenway Park. Adrian Gonzalez also got into the home run act on Sunday with his 12th home run of the season and fourth over the Green Monster. Ironically enough, Gonzo has hit six home runs at the Fens and six home runs on the road plus his 50 RBIs on the season leads all of MLB.

David Ortiz also continues to defy his critics who said he was done by adding another three hits. Those three hits have his average up to a robust .325. You could definitely say the signing of Gonzalez has had a positive effect on Big Papi as he is using the opposite field more than ever in his career something Gonzo does with ease.

Also, Jarrod Saltalamacchia continues to improve at the plate as he had three hits yesterday which raised his average to .240 on the season. .240 might not sound all that good but given where he was just a short while ago, it’s actually quite good. And with his batterymate Jason Varitek also swinging a better bat, the issues of the pair at the plate seem to be a thing of the past.

All in all, a good weekend for the local nine. They picked up a game on the New York Yankees and trail by one game heading to New York for a three-game set.

The Red Sox are off again today so we’ll be back in just a short while with the pitching matchups for the series that begins with the Yankees tomorrow night. But until then, enjoy the overnight links by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

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Lackey return good stuff [Boston Globe]

Happy to get extra crucial at-bats [Boston Globe]

Crawford comes out swinging [Boston Globe]

Buchholz start is pushed back [Boston Globe]

Effort by John Lackey earns ‘A’ [Boston Herald]

Loving Adrian Gonzalez’ swing of beauty [Boston Herald]

Forecast for Dice-K looks cloudy [Boston Herald]

Adrian Gonzalez vs. Manny Ramirez [Boston Herald]

Off-day musings: The Ortiz conundrum, Lowrie’s splits, Salty settles in [Clubhouse Insider]

Red Sox sweep A’s with 6-3 win [CSNNE.com]

Crawford irked when hit by Anderson pitch [CSNNE.com]