After sealing the series with their third straight win, the Boston Red Sox look for the sweep tonight in the final game of a four-game set with the Detroit Tigers at Historic Fenway Park.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on NESN in the Red Sox television market. If you live in the Tigers television market, you can catch the game on Fox Sports Detroit. And if you don’t live in either market, you are in luck as MLB Network will have coverage of the game outside of the Red Sox and Tigers television markets.  If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to it on the Red Sox radio network.

Josh Beckett makes his 10th start of the season for the surging Red Sox. In his previous nine starts, Beckett is 4-4 with a 4.15 ERA. He took the loss in his only appearance of 2012 against the Tigers after allowing seven runs in 4.2 innings back on April 7th. He’s made seven career starts against the Tigers and is 3-3 with a 3.65 ERA.

Max Scherzer looks to salvage a win in Boston for the Tigers in his 11th start of 2012. In his previous 10 starts, Scherzer is 4-3 with a 5.67 ERA. In his only start against the Red Sox this season, he took a no decision after allowing seven runs in 2.2 innings back on April 8th. Scherzer has struggled against the Red Sox in four career starts as he is 0-2 with an 11.81 ERA (21 ER/16 IP). This will be just his second start at the Fens where he has no record with a 1.42 ERA (1 ER/6.1 IP)

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:

23-27		26-24
1. Quintin Berry	CF	1. Scott Podsednik	CF
2. Brennan Boesch	RF	2. Daniel Nava	LF
3. Miguel Cabrera	3B	3. Adrian Gonzalez	1B
4. Prince Fielder	1B	4. David Ortiz	DH
5. Delmon Young	DH	5. Kevin Youkilis	3B
6. Alex Avila	C	6. Jarrod Saltalamacchia	C
7. Jhonny Peralta	SS	7. Ryan Sweeney	RF
8. Don Kelly	LF	8. Mike Aviles	SS
9. Danny Worth	2B	9. Nick Punto	2B
Max Scherzer	SP	Josh Beckett	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

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

Bradford Files: Adrian Gonzalez seems to be getting along with right field just fine [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]

For David Ortiz, familiarity breeds success against left-handed pitchers [Clubhouse Insider]

As the roster turns: Middlebrooks takes grounders at short [Clubhouse Insider]

Beckett faces Detroit demons [CSN New England]

It has to be Youk [CSN New England]

Sox notes: Middlebrooks, Pedroia out [CSN New England]

Middlebrooks works out at shortstop [ESPN Boston]

Valentine hints club will add infielder [ESPN Boston]

Ask Nick: Could Carl Crawford need surgery? [Extra Bases]

Will Middlebrooks takes a seat in ‘rotation’ [Extra Bases]

Red Sox pregame notes: Bobby Valentine happy with Kevin Youkilis since return [Full Count]

Would You Rather Dustin Pedroia Went on the Disabled List or Played at Less Than 100 Percent? [NESN.com]

David Ortiz Looking to Continue Hot Hitting As Red Sox Finish Up Homestand Against Tigers [NESN.com]

Red Sox Anxious to Have Healthy Carl Crawford, Others Back in Lineup [NESN.com]

Podsednik in comfortable spot leading off [Projo Sox Blog]

Middlebrooks out of the lineup [Projo Sox Blog]

Red Sox prepping for drastically different draft [Projo Sox Blog]

Beckett, Red Sox look to brush aside Tigers [RedSox.com]

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

photo credit: AP Photo, Reuters Pictures

The Boston Red Sox are finally playing baseball like they wanted to. They had shown flashes of it earlier but were still inconsistent. Now though, it seems that everything is coming together.

Jon Lester battled early last night but was dominant after. And while he didn’t pick up the win, he did get some timely hitting from David Ortiz, Will Middlebrooks and Adrian Gonzalez in the 6-4 win over the Detroit Tigers. It’s the third straight game the Red Sox have defeated the Tigers.

Given that Lester had thrown 74 pitches or so during the first four innings of his outing, you probably would have thought he wouldn’t last too long in the game. A good portion of those came in the 1st and 3rd innings when the Tigers did their damage against him. It wasn’t like he was awful then either.

He missing his locations but still had good stuff. But a few adjustments here and there helped Lester turn things around on his way to seven strikeouts in 6.2 innings of work.

I’ve said this before but a majority of the times the Red Sox face a pitcher they haven’t seen before, they usually struggle. That was the case the first time through the order against Tigers starter Drew Smyly as only Marlon Byrd managed to get a hit.

Things changed though in the 4th as it appeared the Red Sox hitters made the right adjustments against him. Smyly had gotten the first two outs of the inning but then the heart of the local nine’s lineup made their marks.

Gonzalez hit a ground rule double and then came in to score on a Big Papi two-run homer. Kevin Youkilis followed that up with a single and promptly came around to score on a Middlebrooks laser beam home run into the Green Monster seats. Middlebrooks’ home run got out of the park in about 2.4 seconds. With those two two-run homers, the Red Sox went from trailing 3-0 to winning 4-3.

The Tigers would tie it up in the 7th but another Gonzo ground rule double brought in Daniel Nava for the winning run of the game. Youk would add a solo home run to give the Red Sox an insurance run in the 8th.

Alfredo Aceves, who was pitching for the fourth straight day, made sure the Red Sox would move to two games over .500 as he notched his lucky number 13th save of 2012.

The one thing we have to recognize here is the fact the Red Sox haven’t been a whole team for the entire 2012 season. By whole, I mean the players who were expected to be in the lineup.

The “parts” who have come into replace the injured stars have done an excellent job. Guys like Andrew Miller, Rich Hill, Scott Atchison (was on roster but has been outstanding), Middlebrooks and Nava, have all done yeoman’s work and helped the team in various ways. And when you put that in with the established parts, things are going quite well.

You can see it in their faces. The Red Sox are definitely a much happier club these days. They are 14-5 since Big Papi held the player’s only meeting.

And there’s nothing like winning that’ll bring a team together. Hopefully that continues tonight with Josh Beckett on the bump.

We’ll be back later on today with today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day. 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.

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

Red Sox keep things moving in the right direction [Boston Globe]

Pedroia braced – but no roster move yet [Boston Globe]

A sacrifice executed [Boston Globe]

Red Sox showing heart [Boston Herald]

Jon Lester’s stuff all there [Boston Herald]

Dustin Pedroia braces for best [Boston Herald]

Ortiz won’t participate in Home Run Derby [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]

Red Sox Recent Success Comes From Deep Roster, Not Just Star Players [Tom Caron – NESN.com]

Sox take third straight from Tigers, 6-4 [CSN New England]

Valentine: Lester had ‘best stuff of the year’ [CSN New England]

Valentine faces balancing act with Sox roster [CSN New England]

Rapid Reaction: Red Sox 6, Tigers 4 [ESPN Boston]

Closing Time: Adrian Gonzalez, home runs propel Red Sox to another win [Full Count]

It was a walk to the mound to remember (unless you’re Jon Lester) [Full Count]

Adrian Gonzalez’ Positional Sacrifice Pays Dividends as Kevin Youkilis, Will Middlebrooks Spark Offense [NESN.com]

Jon Lester Shows Perseverance Against Detroit, Settles in After Rough Start [NESN.com]

Jon Lester, Red Sox Have ‘Best Stuff of the Year’ Despite What Numbers Show [NESN.com]

Daniel Nava Deflects Attention to Rest of Red Sox, Learns to Let Game Come to Him (Video) [NESN.com]

Contributions From Entire Roster Highlight Red Sox’ Recent League-Best Record (Video) [NESN.com]

Ryan Sweeney Credits Adrian Gonzalez’s Guidance, Friendship to Impressive Start At the Plate [NESN.com]

‘Tweet the Vote’ for Salty, Red Sox All-Stars [RedSox.com]

Sox may play shorthanded until Pedroia returns [RedSox.com]

Sox bring awareness to ALS at Fenway Park [RedSox.com]

Unselfish Adrian delivers in clutch situation [RedSox.com]

Aceves pitches for fourth straight day, gets save [RedSox.com]

Entering the new world order: A 2012 Red Sox draft primer [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, head over to the Detroit Free Press, Detroit News and MLive.com websites. You can also check out our Bloguin brothers, Detroit4lyfe and The Tigers Den Blog.

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

Graham Stewart Transfers To UConn [UConnHuskies.com]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

The Divorce Is Final [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Ekmark Commits To UConn (Per All-Star Girls Report) [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

For A Winner Like Ekmark, UConn Is Where She Wants To Be [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Curtis Ekmark talks about his daughter’s commitment to UConn [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Courtney Ekmark talks about committing to UConn [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Former UConn recruiting target talks about decision to commit to UNC [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Stewart delivers in the clutch [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Catching up on some recruiting thoughts [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

2012 Paradise Jam Bracket Announced [UConnHuskies.com]

Courtney Ekmark Commits To UConn Women’s Basketball [Hartford Courant]

Other UConn related links

W. Rowing. Six Rowers Named CCRA Scholar-Athletes [UConnHuskies.com]

Baseball. Baseball Record Book: BIG EAST Era 1985-Present [UConnHuskies.com]

Field Hockey. Field Hockey Announces 2012 Schedule [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Soccer. Goalkeeper Jess Montrose To Join 2012 Huskies [UConnHuskies.com]

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

After taking their last two games to get over .500, the Boston Red Sox look to seal a series win tonight in the third game of a four-game set with the Detroit Tigers at Historic Fenway Park.

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

Jon Lester gets the pelota for skipper Bobby Valentine tonight in his 11th start of 2012. In his previous 10 starts, Lester is 3-4 with a 4.29 ERA. He made the Opening Day start against the Tigers and took a no decision after allowing one run in seven innings of work. He’s made four career starts against the Tigers and is 0-2 with a 4.62 ERA. They are the only AL club that Lester has not defeated.

Drew Smyly makes his 10th start of 2012 and of his career tonight for Jim Leyland. In his previous nine starts, Smyly is 2-1 with a 3.14 ERA. He has not faced the Red Sox in his brief career.

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:

23-26		25-24
1. Quintin Berry	CF	1. Daniel Nava	LF
2. Danny Worth	2B	2. Mike Aviles	SS
3. Miguel Cabrera	3B	3. Adrian Gonzalez	RF
4. Prince Fielder	1B	4. David Ortiz	DH
5. Delmon Young	LF	5. Kevin Youkilis	1B
6. Brennan Boesch	RF	6. Will Middlebrooks	3B
7. Jhonny Peralta	SS	7. Marlon Byrd	CF
8. Alex Avila	C	8. Kelly Shoppach	C
9. Gerald Laird	DH	9. Nick Punto	2B
Drew Smyly	SP	Jon Lester	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

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

Will a customized thumb brace keep Dustin Pedroia from the DL? [Clubhouse Insider]

Valentine: Salty has turned ‘into an All-Star’ [CSN New England]

Atchison gives Sox the best relief in baseball [CSN New England]

Nava to lead off against Tigers [CSN New England]

Dear Terry Francona, Please Stop Emailing Photos Of Yourself Half-Naked In A Towel To My Girlfriend [Deadspin.com]

If no Pedroia, then what? [ESPN Boston]

ESPN’s Bowden touts Middlebrooks’ future [ESPN Boston]

Pedroia remains day to day [ESPN Boston]

Pedroia’s status remains day to day [Extra Bases]

Jerry Remy on D&C: Daniel Nava can’t take Carl Crawford’s job [Full Count]

Buster Olney on M&M: Bobby Valentine is ‘big-picture’ guy, will let Dustin Pedroia rest [Full Count]

Time to call up Jose Iglesias [Full Count]

Bobby Valentine on The Big Show: Dustin Pedroia will be back ‘a lot sooner than projected’ [Full Count]

To their credit, Red Sox turn things around [Tony Massarotti – Boston Globe]

Angels, Red Sox Deal With Injuries, Inconsistency in Parallel Seasons [NESN.com]

David Ortiz Remains Hot at Plate, Red Sox Must Cool Off Streaking Prince Fielder [NESN.com]

Kelly Shoppach, Jarrod Saltalamacchia Could Be Options to Back Up Nick Punto at Second Base [NESN.com]

Carl Crawford Makes Mechanical Adjustment to Throwing Technique, Plans to Test Out Troublesome Elbow in Nine Days [NESN.com]

Red Sox May Be Less Likely to Make Deal for Starter With Lackluster Market, New Playoff Format [Don Orsillo – NESN.com]

Back problems keep Iglesias on bench [Projo Sox Blog]

Pedroia “day-to-day” with thumb injury [Projo Sox Blog]

McDonald remains in Boston for treatment [Projo Sox Blog]

Saltalamacchia fine after Tuesday’s “illness” [Projo Sox Blog]

Lester seeking bounce-back outing vs. Tigers [RedSox.com]

Red Sox must do what’s right for Pedroia [Touching All the Bases]

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

photo credit: AP Photo, Getty Images

Whenever Justin Verlander takes the mound for the Detroit Tigers, it’s an event. He’s so good that in any given start, he could possibly throw a no-hitter. Fortunately for the Boston Red Sox, that wasn’t the case on Wednesday night in their 6-3 win.

And it was the bat of Daniel Nava that was the big difference in that win.

Nava came up in the 4th inning with the bases loaded and Verlander throwing gas on the mound. He had worked the count to 3-1 and then swung and missed at a 99 MPH heater. Nava then made an adjustment and was able to connect on Verlander’s 100 MPH fastball for a bases clearing double that would give the Red Sox a 4-0 lead at the time.

And yes, this is the same Nava who wasn’t invited to big league camp in spring training and wasn’t even on Bobby Valentine’s radar. But since being called up, Nava is hitting .276 with two home runs and 15 RBIs. But more importantly, he’s getting on base in almost 50% of his plate appearances (.429 OBP).

Considering all of the injuries the Red Sox outfield has gone through this season, it’s nice to see Nava get another chance and contribute. When everyone gets healthy, it might be hard to find him some playing time. It’s also quite possible that the Red Sox could use him in a trade given that he’s proven he can handle things at the big league level.

David Ortiz had a nice night at the plate going 3-for-4 with two RBIs. He had two doubles against Verlander and then had a solo home run against Duane Below. Scott Podsednik got the start in center last night and added two hits.

The Red Sox offense was without Dustin Pedroia, who is battling a torn muscle in his thumb. It’s not known yet whether he’ll go on the disabled list but if he does, he’d likely miss 3-4 weeks.

Daniel Bard got the start in this one and was a little better than he had been in previous outings. While he only lasted 5.1 innings this time around, which was good enough to pick up his fifth win of the season, his walks total was much better. He only ended up walking two batters and struck out four.

He was able to get the strikeouts by finally finding an out pitch, his slider.

It’s hard to say whether or not the Bard as a starter experiment is a success. He’s had his struggles but he’s also had some bright moments. If he can put it all together, good things can happen. Hopefully he takes the positives from this start and works on them before he gets the ball next time.

For the Red Sox, it’s the first time with a winning record in 2012 as they now stand at 25-24 and are just 3.5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East. They are also a half game behind the Toronto Blue Jays and a game behind the New York Yankees.

We’ll be back later on today with today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day. 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.

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

Notch above [Boston Globe]

Pedroia’s thumb injury poses a real dilemma [Boston Globe]

Crawford still at arm’s length [Boston Globe]

Daniel Nava’s double sends Sox over .500 [Boston Herald]

Dustin Pedroia wants back in [Boston Herald]

Umps make good call [Boston Herald]

Time to sit Dustin Pedroia down [Boston Herald]

Daniel Bard wins again, wants to shed kid gloves [Boston Herald]

What to make of the Dustin Pedroia predicament [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]

Red Sox get over .500 mark for first time, beat Tigers, 6-3 [CSN New England]

Nava wins game-changing duel with Verlander [CSN New England]

Bard solid in Sox win, wants to pitch deeper into games [CSN New England]

Rapid Reaction: Red Sox 6, Tigers 3 [ESPN Boston]

Pedroia has muscle tear in thumb [ESPN Boston]

Red Sox to have tryouts for new Fenway Park PA announcer to replace Carl Beane [Extra Bases]

Podcast: Encouraging signs for Red Sox [Extra Bases]

Closing Time: Red Sox take down Justin Verlander, Tigers to break through .500 barrier [Full Count]

After ‘getting owned’ by Justin Verlander, Daniel Nava makes key adjustment to 100 mph [Full Count]

Lars Anderson Blasts Home Run That Breaks Light in McCoy Stadium Scoreboard (Video) [NESN.com]

Dustin Pedroia Optimistic About Return to Field, Avoiding Disabled List (Video) [NESN.com]

Justin Verlander Foiled by Daniel Nava, Aggressive Red Sox in Second Meeting [NESN.com]

Daniel Nava’s Impressive At-Bat Against Justin Verlander Confirms Journeyman Is More Than One-Hit Wonder [NESN.com]

Dustin Pedroia Hopes to Play With Thumb Brace, Avoid DL After Suffering Torn Adductor Muscle [NESN.com]

Red Sox Relish ‘Big’ Win That Propels Team Over .500 for First Time This Season [NESN.com]

Just in time: Sox finally boast winning record [RedSox.com]

Pedroia has torn adductor muscle in thumb [RedSox.com]

East beasts: All teams above .500 [RedSox.com]

Battling illness, Saltalamacchia exits [RedSox.com]

At Fenway, a case for expansion of replay [RedSox.com]

Return delivery: Why Red Sox want to see more of this Daniel Bard [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, head over to the Detroit Free Press, Detroit News and MLive.com websites. You can also check out our Bloguin brothers, Detroit4lyfe and The Tigers Den Blog.

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

Former Algonquin star scores spot on the Chicago Bears [Community Advocate]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

UConn-Tennessee Could Meet Again Under Right Circumstances [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Auriemma’s “Fore the Kids’’ Charity Golf Tournament Turns 10 [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Auriemma: Exposure A Big Factor In UConn’s Move To SNY [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Competitive nature serves Morgan Tuck well [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Some observations from U-18 and U-17 practices [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Geno Auriemma Opens Up About UConn’s Move To SNY [Hartford Courant]

A UConn-Tennessee Women’s Hoop Renewal? Tennessee Says No [Hartford Courant]

Morgan Tuck knows what she’s getting into, and she’s ready [New Haven Register]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

NBA Draft Lottery: How it affects Andre Drummond [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

Roscoe Smith, UNLV to test NCAA rule [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

Other UConn related links

Field Hockey. Paul Caddy To Coach North Region Team At Women’s National Championship [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Lacrosse. Rising Sophomore and Rising Junior Open House Set For July 12 [UConnHuskies.com]

Baseball. Five Huskies Honored as NEIBA All-Stars [UConnHuskies.com]

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