Back to .500 for the Boston Red Sox after their third straight loss last night.
Gone are the days when you can look at the schedule and say well 18 games against the Baltimore Orioles means about 12-15 wins. So far in 2012, the Orioles have owned the Red Sox and the worst part about it is the fact that the local nine hasn’t beaten them at home yet.
On any other night, an outing like the one Josh Beckett had last night would have been good enough to win. He went eight innings, allowing two runs on two runs on five hits with five strikeouts on 92 pitches. Had it not been for a cramp in his hamstring, Beckett probably would have gone the entire game.
Beckett’s stuff was outstanding. He had good life on his fastball, commanded all of his pitches and more importantly had a good pace on the mound. Honestly, he didn’t deserve the loss last night.
The offense failed him as they weren’t able to take advantage when they got Orioles starter Wei-Yin Chen in trouble in the 7th.
After Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Adrian Gonzalez, who was pinch-run for by Scott Podsednik, reached to start the inning, Darnell McDonald sacrificed the runners over to second and third. But Chen got Marlon Byrd to strikeout and then got Mike Aviles to pop out to end the threat.
They had runners on first and second in the 8th against Pedro Strop but he got Will Middlebrooks to fly out and then got Podsednik, batting for Gonzo, to ground out.
The situations where skipper Bobby Valentine is taking out Gonzalez from the game are hurting the club in my opinion. I know they want to keep Gonzo, Middlebrooks and Kevin Youkilis in the lineup as much as possible. But when you’re taking out one of the best hitters in the game, even though he might be struggling a little, you might want to sacrifice defense for what Gonzalez brings to the table.
It’s hard to say whether Gonzalez could have singled in the 8th since hindsight is 20/20 but wouldn’t you rather have him up in that situation instead of Podsednik. I know I would.
Ben Cherington and Valentine really need to make a decision on what they’re going to do with Youk. I hate to say it but it is part of the problem right now. They could easily settle it by sending Middlebrooks back to Triple-A but with the way he’s playing, he’s shown he belongs. Obviously trading him takes a big bat out of the lineup but when you’re taking a bat out of the lineup almost every night late in the game, what’s the difference.
Look folks, things aren’t that bad still. The Red Sox are just four games out of first right now. No one is running away with the AL East as evidenced by the fact the other four teams are just separated by two games. If they were say 10 games out, it might be time to panic.
All we can hope for right now is that the pull things together tonight before embarking on interleague play for the next 15 games with six of them in NL parks.
We’ll be back later 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
Fenway again a bird sanctuary [Boston Globe]
Matsuzaka is set to return [Boston Globe]
Alarm sounded on fans running late [Boston Globe]
Orioles’ Wei-Yin Chen all right vs. Sox bats [Boston Herald]
Bats, words fail Red Sox [Boston Herald]
Pitchers catch on to Jarrod Saltalamacchia [Boston Herald]
A quick fix-up for Daniel Bard [Boston Herald]
The importance of finding the old Adrian Gonzalez [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]
Red Sox lose third straight, fall to Orioles 2-1 [CSN New England]
Valentine: Beckett ‘deserved better’ [CSN New England]
Sox offense fails in loss [CSN New England]
Melancon ready for chance to move up [ESPN Boston]
Kalish thinks he could be better than ever [ESPN Boston]
Prior still pushing on comeback trail [ESPN Boston]
Rapid Reaction: Orioles 2, Red Sox 1 [ESPN Boston]
Delano ‘speechless’ on Sox selection [ESPN Boston]
Draft recap: Explaining Boston’s strategy [ESPN Boston]
Closing Time: Josh Beckett good, but not good enough in loss to Orioles [Full Count]
Josh Beckett claims title of hardest-luck loser in the American League [Full Count]
David Ortiz on the improved Orioles: ‘Their pitching is great’ [Full Count]
Daisuke Matsuzaka Will Dictate Future of Red Sox Season After Year Away From Pressure [NESN.com]
Josh Beckett’s Continued Dominance Solidifying Role as Ace of Red Sox Staff [NESN.com]
Red Sox Offense Waste Chances to Strike Against Orioles’ Much-Improved Pitching Staff [NESN.com]
David Ortiz’ Decision to Forego Home Run Derby Indication Competition May Impact Players Swings [NESN.com]
Man Sues Hospital, Claims Doctors Watched Red Sox Game Instead of Treating Erection Condition [NESN.com]
Aviles: AL East ‘easily toughest’ in baseball [Mike Petraglia – WEEI.com]
Slumping Adrian slides to sixth against lefty [RedSox.com]
Dice-K set for Saturday return vs. Nationals [RedSox.com]
Middlebrooks shows depth of Sox’s farm system [RedSox.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 Baltimore Sun and MASN websites. Also be sure to check out our Bloguin brother the Oriole Post for all of your Orioles needs.
Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.
photo credit: Getty Images
Thursday, August 30, vs. Massachusetts, SNY, 7:30 p.m. kickoff (game time was previously announced)
31-24
28-27
After a slow start to the 2012 campaign, the Sox are catching fire as the summer months roll in. Red Sox All Star first Baseman 
