Wearing the green hats and shirts trimmed with green was a good omen for the Boston Red Sox on St. Patty’s Day in Ft. Myers as they used the long ball to beat the Minnesota Twins 9-5 to take a 2-1 lead in The Mayor’s Cup.
Jason Varitek got the home run party started with a solo home run in the 2nd while David Ortiz added a 2-run shot in the 3rd inning. Jacoby Ellsbury hit a 2-run home run in the 4th and later that inning Jason Bay followed with a monstrous shot over the batter’s eye in center field.
Ellsbury finished the day 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs while Big Papi was also 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs. Bay went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs and Jason Varitek also went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Jed Lowrie also went 2-for-3 in the game.
Josh Beckett got the start for the Green Sox today and while the box score shows he gave up some runs, he looked pretty good out there on the mound. Beckett gave up 3 runs on 6 hits and a walk while striking out 3. Jonathan Papelbon gave up 1 run and 2 hits in his inning of work. Takashi Saito added a perfect inning of relief with a strikeout while Hideki Okajima gave up a run on a hit and a walk to go along with a strikeout. Junichi Tazawa continues to impress as he worked 2 perfect innings with a strikeout.
Julio Lugo underwent his knee surgery on Tuesday and from all reports, it went as expected. He’ll be out at least 3-4 weeks as he recovers. Dustin Pedroia is expected to take batting practice on Thursday afternoon and is hoping to play in Saturday’s game against the Marlins.
The Sox get a break from Grapefruit League action tomorrow and will head to Sarasota to take on the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday afternooon. That game will be shown on the MLB Network and FSN Ohio. It will also be broadcast on WRKO on your AM dial in the Boston area.
Leprechaun impersonates Pedroia, harasses broadcasters [Red Sox Monster]
Pedroia eyeing weekend return [Full Count]
Lugo has surgery, Pedroia’s status . . . [Extra Bases]
Weighing in [Extra Bases]
Green Sox [Extra Bases]
Lugo will be sidelined through Opening Day [Full Count]
Veteran Rotations for the Twins and Red Sox [Full Count]
Beckett explains grimace [Full Count]
Bay hits a home run estimated at 450 feet [Providence Journal]
Pedroia takes grounders and swings, hopes to play again Saturday [Providence Journal]
A callus on his toe causes Beckett temporary pain, but no permanent damage [Providence Journal]
St. Patrick’s Day is spring training’s big holiday [Extra Bases]
