Red Sox News & Notes – 7/7

: Jacoby Ellsbury(notes) #2 of the Boston Red Sox hits a 2 RBI double in the fourth inning as J.P. Arencibia(notes) #9 of the Toronto Blue Jays catches on July 6, 2011 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts

Like a fine wine, it appears that Tim Wakefield is getting better with age. Wake put up another fine performance on the mound last night as his effort and a little backing from the offense helped the Boston Red Sox to a 6-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

For Wakefield, it’s career win No. 198 and his 184th in a Red Sox uniform. He now trails Cy Young and Roger Clemens by just eight wins for the most overall in Red Sox history (both had 192).

Tim Wakefield(notes) #49 of the Boston Red Sox sends the ball to first for the out in the fourth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays on July 6, 2011 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. After Terry Francona had to use the bullpen a little more than he wanted the past two nights, Wakefield needed to give the Red Sox some innings. Well he gave them seven of them, allowing three runs on nine hits and a walk. He also picked up seven strikeouts while throwing 106 pitches. He even mixed in a few curveballs to get two of those strikeouts.

Early on was when the Jays did most of their damage. They would get three runs on seven hits in the first three innings. But after that Wake settled in and allowed two hits and a walk over his final four innings. It looked to me in his first three innings that the knuckleball was a little flat and up in the zone. But after that, he definitely made some kind of adjustments as the knuckler over the final four innings was like the difference between night and day.

Daniel Bard got the first two outs of the 8th before the rains came. Dan Wheeler came in after the 28 minute rain delay to retire the only batter he faced.

Jonathan Papelbon hit another another small bump in the road allowing a run on a hit by pitch and a single. He did strikeout the side though, one before the HBP, one before the single by Yunel Escobar and one after the single to end the game. Paps did have some good life on his fastball though and mixed in some nasty splitters.

Offensively, the Red Sox were without Adrian Gonzalez, who sat out the game with a stiff neck, but that really didn’t matter at all. They were going up against a pitcher in Ricky Romero that they’ve had great success against in the past. And that didn’t really change on Wednesday night either.

Jacoby Ellsbury showed once again why his peers voted him to the 2011 MLB All-Star game as his three hits were of the extra base variety. He started the game off with a solo home and then added two doubles and a stolen base plus three RBIs. Kevin Youkilis also added three extra base hits and the funny thing is they were in the same order. He had a home run to lead off the second inning then added two doubles.

Darnell McDonald‘s only hit of the night was good for an RBI that tied the game at three. Yamaico Navarro‘s only hit of the night was as an RBI double that put the Red Sox out in front for good.

On the team front, the Red Sox are now ½ behind the New York Yankees for first in the AL East after they fell to the Cleveland Indians. The Tampa Bay Rays remain 3.5 games back after beating the Minnesota Twins. And oh by the way, the best three records in the American League belong to the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays.

Before the Red Sox all-stars leave for Phoenix and the rest of the team scatters for parts unknown on Sunday, the Red Sox will welcome the Baltimore Orioles to Fenway Park for a four-game set. With the Rays and Yankees set to do battle for the next four days as well, now would be a good time for the Red Sox to beat up on the bottom feeders of the AL East. Right now the Red Sox are 2-2 against the Orioles this season.

We’ll be back later today with tonight’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and any links from the day. But for now, enjoy the overnight links by clicking on the read more button below.

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Jacoby Ellsbury continues his powerful statement in 2011 [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]

Timely save [Boston Globe]

Buddin fielded criticism [Boston Globe]

Starting to look ugly [Boston Globe]

Lat lands Lester on the DL [Boston Globe]

Jacoby Ellsbury, Kevin Youkilis fill void [Boston Herald]

Tim Wakefield rides to rescue [Boston Herald]

A mound of woes [Boston Herald]

Jon Lester to DL; Clay Buchholz gets 2nd opinion [Boston Herald]

More injuries mean more worries for Red Sox [Boston Herald]

Updates on Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz [Clubhouse Insider]