Billed as a matchup of pitching heavyweights, Thursday night’s game between the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers turned into the Carl Crawford show at the end of the game. For the third game this month, Crawford provided the walkoff hit to help the Red Sox to another win, this time 4-3 over the visiting nine from Detroit.
Crawford spent the entire month of April laboring with his average in the .100’s. But he started off the month of May with a walkoff hit against the Seattle Mariners and eight days later provided one against the Minnesota Twins on May 9th. The first walkoff hit got him rolling after hitting just .155 in the month of April.
So far in May, Crawford is hitting .294. And he’s doing this from the 8th spot in the lineup. Skipper Terry Francona plans to move Crawford back up in the order in the near future but for now he stays eighth.
There’s the old saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” so my feeling is why change what’s working right now. The Red Sox were 11-15 in the month of April but are now 12-5 in the month of May and riding a six-game winning streak. And with Crawford providing hits from the 8th spot why move him. It could only disrupt the lineup chemistry that’s going on right now.
Yes I know it doesn’t make sense to keep him there so maybe if things go temporarily south, we’ll see the move up the lineup for Crawford. But right now during this streak, it just doesn’t make any sense.
The Red Sox got a little scare from Josh Beckett last night as he had to leave the game after six innings of work. At that point, he had thrown only 83 pitches and allowed one run on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts. It also led to speculation on what it might be. His back, another blister or my playful joke of a case of the runs.
But it turned out to be a stiff neck, a by-product of the weather and Josh not being able to get loose. Given the situation with the Red Sox starting rotation, the Red Sox and Beckett went about this cautiously. There’s no sense in having him get hurt and ending up on the DL when you already have 2/5 of the rotation there already.
Sure they signed Kevin Millwood for pitching depth but Millwood isn’t the Millwood of old. And he’s certainly not as good as Beckett has been pitching in 2011.
The Red Sox hitters had a tough time with Justin Verlander though. But J.D. Drew and David Ortiz were able to capitalize on mistakes from him for solo home runs. Verlander did finish with nine strikeouts.
Even though he left after six innings with the lead, Beckett ended up with a no decision thanks to the bullpen, well thanks to Daniel Bard.
Matt Albers was solid in the 7th but Bard gave up back-to-back home runs to Brennan Boesch and Miguel Cabrera that tied the game up at three in the 8th. Jonathan Papelbon made it interesting in the top of the 9th and picked up a vulture win after Crawford’s heroics.
Now the Red Sox get to be a part of history this weekend as the Chicago Cubs come into town for the first time since the 1918 World Series won by the Red Sox. And in what I think will be the best part of the weekend will happen Saturday night and when both teams wear replicas of the uniforms worn in 1918.
We’ll be back later with tonight’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day. But for now, enjoy the overnight links by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.
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As the roster turns: Making sense of the reconfigured Red Sox [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]
Crawford steals show from pitchers with another walkoff winner [Boston Globe]
Searching for more relief [Boston Globe]
Park benches, different views [Boston Globe]
At low level, Ranaudo deserving high marks [Boston Globe]
Carl Crawford better of late [Boston Herald]
Sox acquire pitchers Franklin Morales, Kevin Millwood [Boston Herald]
Cubs to Hub hot ticket [Boston Herald]
Alfredo Aceves gets his chance [Boston Herald]
Josh Beckett adds to Sox’ worries [Boston Herald]
Brothers in arms [Boston Herald]
Alfonso Soriano vs. Green Monster might be a scratch [Boston Herald]
Rich Hill, a former Cub, emerges as Red Sox primary lefty reliever [Clubhouse Insider]
Crawford wins it for Sox, 4-3 [CSNNE.com]
Red Sox continue to thrive in the 9th inning [CSNNE.com]
Notes: Beckett leaves game with neck stiffness [CSNNE.com]
Francona won’t look ahead to Cubs — much [ESPN Boston]
Rapid reaction: Red Sox 4, Tigers 3 [ESPN Boston]
Beckett marvels at Papelbon’s ‘explosion’ [ESPN Boston]
Beckett ‘had trouble getting loose’ [ESPN Boston]
Carl Crawford’s third walk-off hit keeps the Boston Red Sox on a roll [ESPN Boston]
Video: Nick Cafardo on Red Sox-Tigers [Extra Bases]
Closing Time: Red Sox take right turn at Alburquerque [Full Count]
Francona on Beckett: ‘He’ll be OK’ [Full Count]
Red Sox make ‘upside’ trade for Franklin Morales, designate Hideki Okajima [Full Count]
Beckett: Neck ‘would never loosen up’ [Full Count]
Hideki Okajima: Signing with Red Sox ‘not a mistake’ [Full Count]
Francona: ‘Glad we’re playing at home’ [Full Count]
Baseball Looks Very Different Than It Did the Last Time Cubs Visited Fenway Park in 1918 [NESN.com]
Cubs May Lack Compelling Names, But Plenty to Be Excited About With Chicago Coming to Fenway Park [NESN.com]
Red Sox, Cubs to Celebrate Chicago’s First Trip to Fenway Park Since 1918 World Series [NESN.com]
Red Sox-Cubs Tickets Look to Be Biggest Draw for First Weekend of Interleague Play [NESN.com]
Heidi Watney Heads to Basho to Help Prepare Sushi for Fenway Park [NESN.com]
Josh Beckett’s Stiff Neck One of Several Obstacles Overcome by Resilient Red Sox in Walk-Off Win [NESN.com]
Peter Gammons Says Red Sox-Cubs Series Carries More Than Just Historical Significance [NESN.com]
Heidi Watney, Red Sox Twitter Followers Come Together for Inaugural ‘Red Sox TweetUp’ [NESN.com]
First-Ever Red Sox TweetUp Event Shows Expanding Role of Social Media in Sports [NESN.com]
Who Is the Best Home Run Hitter in Red Sox History? [NESN.com]
Papelbon succeeds where Bard stumbles [Projo Sox Blog]
Six in a row for red-hot Sox [Providence Journal]
With a few adjustments, Papelbon gets it together [Providence Journal]
Cubs coming to Fenway for first time in 93 years [Providence Journal]
Bill Buckner accepts his reality [Providence Journal]
Red Sox Journal: Hill eager for Cubs’ first visit since 1918 [Providence Journal]
For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSNNE, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal, RedSox.com and WEEI websites.
And if you must check out the enemy news, head over to Ann Arbor News, Detroit Free Press and Detroit News websites. You can also check out our Bloguin brothers, Detroit4lyfe and The Tigers Den.
Photo credit: AP Photo
