After enjoying a day off on Monday, the Boston Red Sox return to Beantown for a nine-game homestand, six of which will finish off interleague play. They’ll begin tonight with the first game of a three-set against the Miami Marlins at Historic Fenway Park.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. and will be broadcast on NESN in the Red Sox television market. If you live in the Marlins television market, you can catch the game on Fox Sports Florida. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to it on the Red Sox radio network.

Clay Buchholz will toe the rubber for the Red Sox for the 14th time this season. In his previous 13 starts, Buchholz is 7-2 with a 5.38 ERA. His lone start against the Marlins this season and in his career came his last time out when he took the win after allowing one run over seven innings of work.

Mark Buehrle takes the ball for the Marlins tonight in his 14th start of the season. In his previous 13 starts, Buehrle is 5-7 with a 3.41 ERA. He was matched up with Buchholz his last time out against the Red Sox and took the loss after allowing two runs in seven innings of work. He’s made 18 appearances (17 starts) against the Red Sox in his career and is 6-7 with a 4.37 ERA. Six of those starts have come at the Fens where he is 3-2 with a 4.95 ERA.

Click on the read more button below to see today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the overnight and day if you’re on the home page.

Here are today’s lineups:

33-33		33-33
1. Jose Reyes	SS	1. Mike Aviles	SS
2. Hanley Ramirez	3B	2. Dustin Pedroia	2B
3. Giancarlo Stanton	RF	3. Adrian Gonzalez	RF
4. Logan Morrison	DH	4. David Ortiz	DH
5. Greg Dobbs	1B	5. Kevin Youkilis	1B
6. Omar Infante	2B	6. Will Middlebrooks	3B
7. Scott Cousins	CF	7. Cody Ross	LF
8. Gaby Sanchez	1B	8. Ryan Kalish	CF
9. John Buck	C	9. Kelly Shoppach	C
Mark Buehrle	SP	Clay Buchholz	SP

And here is how the hitters have fared against today’s starting pitchers:

NOTES: As you can see from the lineup, Ross has been reinstated from the disabled list. To make room on the 25-man roster for him, Scott Podsednik was placed on the 15-day DL with a sore groin.

REFRESH OR CHECK BACK OFTEN AS MORE LINKS WILL BE ADDED BEFORE GAMETIME IF/WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE AND WILL BE BOLDED

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Saved situation in Sox’ bullpen [Boston Globe]

Prior getting close on comeback trail [Boston Globe]

Werner: Theo not pressured [Boston Globe]

Jon Lester anything but upbeat [Boston Herald]

Update on Sox’ walking wounded [Boston Herald]

Franklin Morales gets another chance in rotation [Boston Herald]

Last-place Sox a sour squad [Boston Herald]

Debunking more myths when it comes to these ‘toxic’ Red Sox [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]

Red Sox dismiss the report of a toxic clubhouse [Clubhouse Insider]

Things finally looking up on the injury front for the Red Sox [Clubhouse Insider]

Sox strongly deny report of ‘toxic’ clubhouse [CSN New England]

Ross activated; Podsednik headed to the DL [CSN New England]

State of the Sox: Our weekly notebook [CSN New England]

It may not be toxic, but Sox clubhouse ‘isn’t happiest place on Earth’ [CSN New England]

Dempster, headed to DL, will try ‘Beckett theory on sore lats’ [CSN New England]

Crawford, Ellsbury getting close to returns [CSN New England]

More from Olney on Boston’s issues [ESPN Boston]

Olney on radio: Sox unrest is widespread [ESPN Boston]

Video: Sox woes by the numbers [ESPN Boston]

Werner: It wasn’t perfect in ’04 or ’07 either [ESPN Boston]

Werner on Theo: ‘Of course there’s pressure’ [ESPN Boston]

W2W4: Red Sox-Marlins [ESPN Boston]

Sox activate Ross, put Podsednik on DL [ESPN Boston]

Boston Red Sox have plan for ‘toxic’ clubhouse [ESPN Boston]

Becket: Shoulder, clubhouse both A-OK [ESPN Boston]

Ellsbury, Crawford getting close to return [ESPN Boston]

Ortiz: ‘This clubhouse has no problem’ [ESPN Boston]

Ben Cherington: No comment on Kevin Youkilis trade talk [Extra Bases]

Cody Ross back in the lineup; Scott Podsednik to DL [Extra Bases]

Red Sox shoot down report of ‘toxic’ clubhouse [Extra Bases]

Beckett says shoulder ‘looks pretty good’ following MRI exam [Extra Bases]

Podcast: Problems and solutions [Extra Bases]

Pregame Red Sox-Marlins notes from Fenway Park [Extra Bases]

Ozzie Guillen on Clemens verdict: ‘If he’s not guilty, he’s not guilty’ [Extra Bases]

This just in: You’ve been pronouncing the Red Sox shortstop’s name wrong [Full Count]

ESPN’s Chris Singleton on M&M: ‘Just a different feel’ around Red Sox [Full Count]

Nuggetpalooza: Red Sox stat notes [Full Count]

Josh Beckett: ‘People are trying to sabotage us’ [Full Count]

Ben Cherington should explore any and all options to improve the Red Sox [Tony Massarotti – Boston Globe]

Red Sox Appear to Be Approaching Fork in the Road With Kevin Youkilis Situation [NESN.com]

Cody Ross Still Fueled by Bitter Ending With Marlins, But Continues to Admire Team From Afar [NESN.com]

Jacoby Ellsbury Will Be Only Sure Thing Once Red Sox Outfield Gets Healthy [NESN.com]

Andrew Miller Says Stretching Is Key In Keeping Him Healthy, Successful [NESN.com]

Where Should Adrian Gonzalez Bat in the Red Sox Lineup? [NESN.com]

Red Sox Shoot Down Notion of ‘Toxic’ Clubhouse, Calling Report ‘Comical,’ ‘Fabricated’ [NESN.com]

Jacoby Ellsbury Takes Batting Practice At Fenway Park, Inches Closer to Rehab Assignment (Photo) [NESN.com]

Bob Ojeda: Pitching Through The Pain [NPR]

The Glory and the Pain of Pitching [NY Times]

Bobby V: Olney doesn’t know ‘anything’ [Mike Petraglia – WEEI.com]

The silver lining Dave Magadan took from Adrian Gonzalez’s weekend [Projo Sox Blog]

A Series Matter: Red Sox-Marlins and Backup Material [Projo Sox Blog]

Red Sox chairman Werner: “We’re going to be competitive every year” [Projo Sox Blog]

Red Sox find clubhouse report “comical” [Projo Sox Blog]

Ross back in lineup against Marlins [Projo Sox Blog]

Beckett expects to be ready when DL time is up [Projo Sox Blog]

Ellsbury, Crawford both “close” to game activities [Projo Sox Blog]

Buchholz seeks same result in rematch with Buehrle [RedSox.com]

Podsednik’s grit, energy spur comeback [RedSox.com]

Red Sox prospect Brentz hitting in bunches [RedSox.com]

Beckett: ‘Smart’ to go on DL before catastrophe [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]

Video: A few thoughts on the Red Sox [Touching All the Bases]

It’s time for Kevin Youkilis to go [Touching All the Bases]

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

photo credits: AP Photo, Getty Images

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as the other sports the student-athletes engage in. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a daily basis. As always, links can be found by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

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UConn Football links

Athlon makes its Big East predictions [Andrea Adelson – ESPN.com]

Big East rising stars [Andrea Adelson – ESPN.com]

Ranking Big East nonconference schedules [Andrea Adelson – ESPN.com]

Former UConn Tackle Mike Ryan Critically Injured In Car Crash [Allentown Morning Call]

2012 College Football Season Preview: UConn Huskies [Opposing Views]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Report: Former UConn recruiting target commits to Tennessee [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Shabazz Napier Passes On Olympics Chance [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

How Phil Nolan Wound Up at UConn [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Napier withdraws from Puerto Rican national team [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

Road to Storrs for recruit Phil Nolan a winding one [New Haven Register]

Huskies’ Drummond is all about potential [Washington Examiner]

Wizards audition Andre Drummond [Washington Post]

Other UConn related links

Three Husky Team Receive NCAA Public Recognition Awards [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Track. Crevoiserat Will Represent USA At World Junior Championships [UConnHuskies.com]

UConn Students State Case for Huskies to Leave Big East [CollegeSpun.com]

Baseball. The UConn 10: A Year After Being Drafted [Hartford Courant]

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

For the 8th time this season and first since June 8th, the Boston Red Sox are at the .500 mark (33-33) after a 7-4 win over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday night in the Windy City. They’ve gotten back to .500 by winning four of their last five games.

Franklin Morales stepped in for the injured Josh Beckett and was absolutely outstanding on the mound. In his first start since 2009 when he was a member of the Colorado Rockies, Morales allowed two runs on four hits while striking out nine in five innings of work.

The first run he allowed came in the 1st when Reed Johnson led off with a double and came into score on a Starlin Castro triple. The other run came in the 3rd after Dustin Pedroia dropped a popup that allowed Darwin Barney to reach first. Barney would come around to score on a Castro double.

But Morales was successful in his first start with the Red Sox by pounding the strike zone. He threw 80 pitches in his five innings with 65 of them going for strikes. Folks, that’s a spectacular number.

His fastball was electric as his velocity was routinely between 93-95 mph and with his slow change, he was able to keep the Cubs hitters at bay for the most part. He also mixed in a nice curve in there as well.

You definitely have to be encouraged by the start for Morales which was probably good enough to earn himself another start when Beckett’s turn comes up again on Saturday.

A lot has been made about the struggles that Dustin Pedroia has had since returning from the thumb injury.

But with his “dad”, Terry Francona in the house with the ESPN Sunday Night Baseball crew, Pedroia 2-for-5 with an RBI. It was his double in the 1st that scored Scott Podsednik that got the Red Sox their first run of the night. Pedroia came around to score two batters later when David Ortiz singled him home.

Big Papi continued his hot hitting against lefties when he homered against Paul Maholm in the 4th. Ironically enough when he came up again, Maholm got him to pop out on the same pitch he had homered on in the previous at-bat.

The Red Sox defense failed Matt Albers who still got the win in the 6th.

Kevin Youkilis made an error on the leadoff hitter in Barney. Castro picked up his third hit of the night when Albers and Kelly Shoppach couldn’t decide who was going to field the ball hit by Castro in front of the plate. After getting Alfonso Soriano to ground into a fielder’s choice, an another fielding gaffe happened when Jeff Baker grounded back to Albers who threw to second but both Pedroia and Mike Aviles were covering the bag at the same time with Aviles dropping the ball. That run tied the game at three.

The offense got it back in the 7th when Darnell McDonald scored on a Ryan Kalish single. Jarrod Saltalamacchia came into score on a Will Middlebrooks sac fly to push the lead to 5-3. Kalish ended up at third on a throwing error and then came into score on a safety squeeze by Daniel Nava. They would add another run in the 8th when Salty grounded into a fielder’s choice.

Andrew Miller was a little wild in his 2/3 of an inning but was helped out Mark Melancon and then Scott Atchison. Alfredo Aceves wasn’t sharp in his inning of work allowing three hits and a run. But still a solid effort from the pen to pick up one of their own.

We’ve seen the Red Sox get to .500 before only to yo-yo around the mark. The highest they’ve gotten above .500 is three games. Hopefully they can continue this little hot streak and keep their record above .500 the rest of the way. If they don’t, we could be in for a long summer as it looks like the New York Yankees are trying to pull away after winning their 9th straight game yesterday.

The Red Sox will enjoy a day of rest today and get back to action on Tuesday when they welcome the Miami Marlins to town. We’ll be back later with the pitching matchups for the series. So for now, let’s take at look at the overnight links from the media by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

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Spot on in his spot start [Boston Globe]

Different point of view from dugout [Boston Globe]

Diving back into action [Boston Globe]

Sweeney (toe) added to DL [Boston Globe]

Poison among ivy [Boston Herald]

Welcome back, Kalish [Boston Herald]

For Morales, outing a complete success [Boston Herald]

Childhood development [Boston Herald]

Good timing: Gonzalez gets first day off of season [CSN New England]

Red Sox take rubber game of series over Cubs, 7-4 [CSN New England]

Morales proves fit for spot starter’s role [CSN New England]

After whirlwind day, Kalish comes through for Sox [CSN New England]

Podsednik (groin), Youkilis (toe) should be OK [CSN New England]

Rapid reaction: Red Sox 7, Cubs 4 [ESPN Boston]

Olney: Trouble brewing [ESPN Boston]

Franklin Morales emerges as Boston Red Sox problem solver [ESPN Boston]

David Ortiz Has Son on His Mind on Father’s Day (Video) [NESN.com]

Franklin Morales Earns Chance at Another Start With Dazzling Performance in Emergency [NESN.com]

Ryan Kalish Delivers Much Needed Spark to Red Sox Offense With Go-Ahead RBI [NESN.com]

Bobby Valentine Shows His Psychic Abilities Before Franklin Morales’ Spot Start [NESN.com]

Morales earns another start with solid outing [RedSox.com]

Adrian out of lineup for first time this season [RedSox.com]

Ross, Bard have productive days at Pawtucket [RedSox.com]

Crawford ramping up throwing program [RedSox.com]

Sweeney to get break, goes on DL [RedSox.com]

Podsednik exits with mild left groin strain [RedSox.com]

The making of Franklin Morales: His path to the Red Sox and effectiveness [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]

For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSN New England,  ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal, RedSox.com and WEEI websites.

And if you must check out the enemy news, be sure to head over to the Arlington Daily Herald, Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune websites.

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

photo credit: Getty Images

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as the other sports the student-athletes engage in. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a daily basis. As always, links can be found by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

UConn Football links

Eastern Christian Academy (Md.) Beats Windsor In UConn 7 On 7 [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Charles Sets Two More Records In Sun Win [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Recruiting Roundup: Class of 2014 [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

NBA Draft rumors: Cleveland Cavs eyeing UConn’s Andre Drummond at No.4? [Examiner.com]

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

After holding on for a 4-3 win last night, the Boston Red Sox look to escape the Windy City tonight with a series win in the finale of three-game set with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

First pitch is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN. You can also catch the game online at ESPN3.com and on the WatchESPN app for your tablet/mobile device. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to it on the Red Sox radio network.

After making 22 appearances out of the bullpen, Franklin Morales will make his first start (23rd appearance) of the 2012 season in place of the injured Josh Beckett. In his previous 22 appearances, Morales is 0-1 with a 3.04 ERA. He made two appearances against the Cubs last season and had no record with a 0.00 ERA (0 ER/3.2 IP). Overall in his career, he’s made four appearances (one start) against the North Siders and has no record with a 3.09 ERA (4 ER/11.2 IP). Tonight marks the first time he’ll toe the rubber at Wrigley Field.

Paul Maholm makes his 13th start of 2012 for the Cubs. In his previous 12 starts, Maholm is 3-4 with a 4.91 ERA. His lone career start against the Red Sox came in 2011 as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates when he picked up the win after allowing one run in 5.1 innings of work.

Click on the read more button below to see today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the overnight and day if you’re on the home page.

Here are today’s lineups:

32-33		22-43
1. Scott Podsednik	LF	1. Reed Johnson	RF
2. Dustin Pedroia	2B	2. Darwin Barney	2B
3. Kevin Youkilis	3B	3. Starlin Castro	SS
4. David Ortiz	1B	4. Alfonso Soriano	LF
5. Mike Aviles	SS	5. Jeff Baker	1B
6. Darnell McDonald	RF	6. Joe Mather	CF
7. Kelly Shoppach	C	7. Welington Castillo	C
8. Ryan Kalish	CF	8. Luis Valbuena	3B
9. Franklin Morales	P	9. Paul Maholm	P
Franklin Morales	SP	Paul Maholm	SP

And here is how the hitters have fared against today’s starting pitchers:

NOTES:

REFRESH OR CHECK BACK OFTEN AS MORE LINKS WILL BE ADDED BEFORE GAMETIME IF/WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE AND WILL BE BOLDED

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Cody Ross nears return, Carl Crawford optimistic about progress [Clubhouse Insider]

Ryan Kalish: ‘I can bring that energy that is really good for a team’ [Clubhouse Insider]

Punto uses lessons from one-time prospect father [CSN New England]

Sweeney hits DL with sesamoid bone (toe) injury [CSN New England]

Morales gets start for Sox-Cubs fiinale [ESPN Boston]

Red Sox-Cubs finale: Things to know [ESPN Boston]

Gonzalez sees positive signs [ESPN Boston]

Kalish in, Sweeney [DL] out in center field [ESPN Boston]

Bard sharp again for Pawtucket [Extra Bases]

Ross set for activation on Tuesday [Extra Bases]

The startling return of Ryan Kalish [Full Count]

Matt Barnes Moving Up Quickly in Red Sox Minor League System (Video) [NESN.com]

Ryan Kalish Could Offer Red Sox Offense A Jolt After Being Recalled From Pawtucket [NESN.com]

Rich Hill on the Mark Prior era in Chicago: ‘Everybody knew in the clubhouse that it was going to be a good day’ [Projo Sox Blog]

Red Sox sign first-rounder Marrero [Projo Sox Blog]

Shoulder maintenance just getting started for Kalish [Projo Sox Blog]

Painful toe injury finally gets the best of Sweeney [Projo Sox Blog]

Ross close to activation, Crawford progressing [Projo Sox Blog]

Morales makes first start since ’09 in rubber game [RedSox.com]

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

photo credits: AP Photo, AP Photo

After losing Josh Beckett to the disabled list on Saturday, it appears the Boston Red Sox will be without the services of another player.

Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal was the first to report the news that outfielder Ryan Kalish has been recalled from the Pawtucket Red Sox. And Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports that Kalish will take the place of the outfielder Ryan Sweeney who is battling a toe issue.

Kalish missed almost all of last year as he battled neck and shoulder injuries. He was taken off the disabled list by the Red Sox last Sunday and optioned to the PawSox. Normally, he would have had to spend 10 days in the minors before being recalled but with Sweeney heading to the DL, he can come up to replace him.

He made his MLB debut in 2010 when he hit .252 with four home runs, 24 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. But he hasn’t appeared since because of the injuries and subsequent surgeries he underwent. Kalish was raking for the PawSox as he was hitting .378 with four home runs, 10 RBIs and three stolen bases in nine games.

Sweeney joins fellow outfielders Carl Crawford, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jason Repko and Cody Ross on the disabled list. Sweeney had been on the 7-day DL earlier in the season for a concussion sustained after making a great diving catch in Philadelphia.

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

photo credit: Getty Images