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 some of the other sports. 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

DB Gary Wilburn: Tennessee Titans-Bound [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Other UConn related links

Husky Day At The State Capitol [UConnHuskies.com]

Softball. Huskies Drop Extra Inning Heartbreaker To Syracuse, 4-3 [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Lacrosse. Lacrosse Season Ends With 12-9 Loss To No. 14 Loyola [UConnHuskies.com]

Baseball. UConn Bats Come to Life in Late Innings to Overtake Louisville [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Golf. UConn Stands 6th At BIG EAST Championship [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Track. Wilson & McLaren Lead Huskies At Penn Relays [UConnHuskies.com]

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

When the Boston Red Sox started this seven game road trip, their record sat at 4-10 and things were looking bleak. Not a lot was going well.

But things are different just seven days later.

After Jon Lester and the bullpen outdueled Jake Peavy last night, the Red Sox have won six straight games and now find themselves at .500 a lot earlier than some of the pundits said they would.

Peavy did shut down the white hot Red Sox offense last night though. They had been scoring runs like they were on sale at your local grocery store. But against Peavy they managed just four hits. Two of the hits turned out to be the difference in the game.

Ryan Sweeney blooped in a double to start off the 4th inning and after a Dustin Pedroia lineout, an Adrian Gonzalez single brought in Sweeney in what turned out to be the only run of the game. Sweeney also happened to be the only runner that the Red Sox got into scoring position against Peavy.

Lester did find himself in trouble in the 1st inning after he walked Adam Dunn and a Paul Konerko double. He got out of the jam when Alex Rios flew out. After that, Lester cruised right along, putting in his best outing of the season. The only other trouble he got in came in his last inning of work but he worked out of that as well.

From there, the bullpen did its job.

Franklin Morales got two of the three batters out he faced and after Vicente Padilla walked Konerko, he got Rios to ground out. Alfredo Aceves, who’s had a bit of a flair for the dramatic when he pitches, left out the drama and retired the White Sox in order to pick up his fifth save of the season.

The Red Sox are playing really good baseball right now, hopefully that continues this afternoon before they head home.

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.

After picking up their sixth straight win last night, the Boston Red Sox will go for a sweep of the road trip and the four-game series with the Chicago White Sox this afternoon at U.S. Cellular Field.

First pitch is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on NESN in the Red Sox television market. If you live in the White Sox television market, you can catch the game on Comcast SportsNet Chicago. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to it on the Red Sox radio network.

Josh Beckett looks to pitch the Red Sox to the sweep of the series and road trip in his fifth start of 2012. In his previous four starts, Beckett is 2-2 with a 4.56 ERA. He did not face the White Sox in 2011. He last faced the White Sox in September 2010 when he took the loss after allowing four runs in six innings of work. Beckett has made eight career starts against the South Siders and is 4-2 with a 3.70 ERA. Six of those starts have come at U.S. Cellular Field where he is 3-2 with a 4.08 ERA.

Gavin Floyd looks to end the losing streak for the White Sox in his fifth start of 2012. In his previous four starts, Floyd is 1-3 with a 3.60 ERA. He faced the Red Sox twice in 2011 going 2-0 with a 3.29 ERA. In eight career appearances (seven starts) against the visiting nine, Floyd is 6-0 with a 3.47 ERA.

Here are today’s lineups:

10-10		10-11
1. Mike Aviles	SS	1. Alejandro De Aza	CF
2. Ryan Sweeney	RF	2. Brent Lillibridge	3B
3. Dustin Pedroia	2B	3. Alex Rios	RF
4. Adrian Gonzalez	1B	4. Adam Dunn	1B
5. David Ortiz	DH	5. A.J. Pierzynski	C
6. Cody Ross	LF	6. Alexei Ramirez	SS
7. Nick Punto	LF	7. Kosuke Fukudome	LF
8. Marlon Byrd	CF	8. Dayan Viciedo	DH
9. Kelly Shoppach	C	9. Eduardo Escobar	2B
Josh Beckett	SP	Gavin Floyd	SP

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

Note: Paul Konerko was scratched from the White Sox lineup with a stiff neck and replaced by Fukudome in the lineup. Kevin Youkilis was scratched from the Red Sox lineup with lower back tightness and replaced by Punto.

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

Lester helps Red Sox keep up the beat [Boston Globe]

Everything is cool in Matsuzaka’s second rehab start [Boston Globe]

Byrd is happy with new landing spot [Boston Globe]

Pen’s new script has a happy ending [Boston Globe]

Red Sox reach .500 behind Jon Lester’s gem [Boston Herald]

All is not lost [Boston Herald]

Sox ‘pen makes it right [Boston Herald]

Decision looming on Cook [Boston Herald]

Starting to make sense [Boston Herald]

Valentine: Shoppach, Beckett clicking [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]

Bobby V: With Dustin Pedroia, “seeing it is believing” [Clubhouse Insider]

Lester’s gem gets Sox back to even [CSN New England]

Sox bullpen rounding into form [CSN New England]

Satisfied Lester records first win [CSN New England]

Rapid Reaction: Red Sox 1, White Sox 0 [ESPN Boston]

Valentine: Jon Lester ‘pitched like an ace’ [ESPN Boston]

Cook excelling in Triple-A; Sox decision looms [ESPN Boston]

Birthday boy Shoppach catching Beckett again [ESPN Boston]

Pre-game notes from Chicago [Extra Bases]

Why Paul Konerko’s home run was a foreign feeling for Daniel Bard [Full Count]

Closing Time: Jon Lester outduels Jake Peavy in another Red Sox win [Full Count]

Nuggetpalooza: Nuggets from the Red Sox’ 1-0 win [Full Count]

Bobby Valentine has been reminded Dustin Pedroia is really good [Full Count]

Jon Lester Shakes Off Early Struggles, Returns to Winning Ways With Gem [NESN.com]

Red Sox Bullpen Earns Some Redemption After Protecting One-Run Lead Against White Sox [NESN.com]

Red Sox’ Bullpen, Pitching, Bats All Working Together Now, But That Doesn’t Mean Problems Solved [NESN.com]

Red Sox Legends, Fenway Park’s 100th Anniversary Bring to Mind Grantland Rice’s Famous Poem ‘Game Called’ [NESN.com]

Valentine blown away by what he’s seen from Pedroia [Projo Sox Blog]

Shoppach catching Beckett — but not Beckett’s personal catcher, Valentine says [Projo Sox Blog]

Beckett, Red Sox try to complete perfect road trip [RedSox.com]

Valentine loving the Pedroia experience [RedSox.com]

Shoppach, Beckett forming a working tandem [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 Arlington Heights Daily Herald, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune and ESPN Chicago websites.

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

Photo credits: Getty Images, AP Photo, AP Photo

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 some of the other sports. 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

Huskies getting drafted, but not succeeding in the NFL [New Haven Register]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

The ConnCast: UConn Players in the NBA [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

Other UConn related links

Softball. UConn Swept At Home By Syracuse [UConnHuskies.com]

Baseball. Baseball Defeated at Louisville, 14-6 [UConnHuskies.com]

Baseball. UConn’s Testani handles move to 3rd base with humor [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Track. UConn Finds Great Success At UNH Invite [UConnHuskies.com]

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

After picking up their fifth straight win last night, the Boston Red Sox will go for their third straight win over the Chicago White Sox in game three of a four-game set at U.S. Cellular Field on the south side of the Windy City.

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 White Sox television market, you can catch the game on Comcast SportsNet Chicago. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to it on the Red Sox radio network.

Jon Lester looks to pick up his first win of the season in his fifth start of the season. In his previous four starts, Lester is 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA (16 ER/24 IP). He made two starts against the White Sox in 2011 and had a 1-1 record with a 5.93 ERA (9 ER/13.2 IP). Lester’s made seven career starts against the White Sox and is 3-3 with a 5.28 ERA. Five of those starts have come at U.S. Cellular where he is 3-2 with a 4.50 ERA (16 ER/32 IP).

Jake Peavy makes his fifth start of the 2012 season. In his four starts, Peavy is 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA.  He picked up the win in his only start against the Red Sox in 2011 back on May 30th when he threw seven innings allowing three runs. Overall in his career, he’s made two starts against the Red Sox and is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA (6 ER/12 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:

9-10		10-10
1. Mike Aviles	SS	1. Alejandro De Aza	CF
2. Ryan Sweeney	RF	2. Alexei Ramirez	SS
3. Dustin Pedroia	2B	3. Adam Dunn	DH
4. Adrian Gonzalez	1B	4. Paul Konerko	1B
5. David Ortiz	DH	5. Alex Rios	RF
6. Kevin Youkilis	3B	6. Dayan Viciedo	LF
7. Jarrod Saltalamacchia	C	7. Tyler Flowers	C
8. Cody Ross	LF	8. Brent Morel	3B
9. Marlon Byrd	CF	9. Gordon Beckham	2B
Jon Lester	SP	Jake Peavy	SP

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

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

Daisuke looks sharp in latest rehab outing [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]

Sox alter course, consider Cook as reliever [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]

Full house: With Red Sox’ rotation at capacity, Aaron Cook decision looms [Clubhouse Insider]

Dice-K pitches well in Portland [Clubhouse Insider]

Why Bob McClure believes Aaron Cook can help Red Sox as a reliever [Clubhouse Insider]

Matsuzaka ‘progressing well’ after Double-A Seadogs start [CSN New England]

Sox may consider Cook in relief [CSN New England]

Dice-K sharp for Sea Dogs (7 K’s, 1 ER, 4.2 IP) [ESPN Boston]

Cook starts for PawSox; decision looms [ESPN Boston]

Valentine lauds CF Marlon Byrd [ESPN Boston]

For Lester, a long time between victories [Extra Bases]

Red Sox ponder using Cook in relief [Extra Bases]

Daniel Bard’s Versatility, Clutch Performance Worthy of Amica Pitcher of the Week Honors [NESN.com]

Red Sox Exploring Possibility of Recalling Aaron Cook as Reliever [NESN.com]

Jerry Remy to Miss a Couple of Games in the Booth During Red Sox’ Trip to Chicago [NESN.com]

Locked in late in his last start, Lester looks to carry it over [Projo Sox Blog]

Without Crawford and Ellsbury, Red Sox still lead majors in runs [Projo Sox Blog]

Matsuzaka throws 4 2/3 strong innings at Double-A Portland [Projo Sox Blog]

Marlon Byrd exceeding expectations defensively for Red Sox [Projo Sox Blog]

Valentine: Cook to bullpen a possibility [Projo Sox Blog]

Lester looks to keep the momentum rolling [RedSox.com]

Dice-K dazzles in second rehab outing [RedSox.com]

Byrd finding his groove with Red Sox [RedSox.com]

Cook now an option to pitch out of bullpen [RedSox.com]

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

Photo credits: AP Photo, AP Photo

With Aaron Cook making his final start tonight for the Pawtucket Red Sox before his opt-out date on Monday, there have been whispers that Daniel Bard could be heading back to the Boston Red Sox bullpen for the rest of the season.

But after his seven inning performance last night in the 10-3 win over the Chicago White Sox, Bard is not making things easy on the Red Sox at all.

How do you justify taking him out of the rotation when he’s thrown two straight quality starts, is tied for the team lead in wins at two (one came in relief) and leads the Red Sox starters with an ERA of 3.72? The next closest starter to him in ERA is Felix Doubront at 4.09.

Honestly, you can’t justify at all.

The Red Sox have never come and said they wanted to limit his innings as a starting pitcher. He’s thrown 19.1 so far this season. So you can throw that argument into the trash.

Sure he can help the bullpen out but the Red Sox bullpen has been a 1000 times better over the past five games. And with Rich Hill back from Tommy John surgery, the bullpen is much stronger now.

I highly doubt Cook would accept a bullpen role with the Red Sox but you never know. He’s pitched well enough in Triple-A to earn a starting spot and if they don’t offer him one on Monday, he could bolt to another team who needs a starter.

The Red Sox also have Daisuke Matsuzaka coming back in a month so a decision will have to be made about him as well. But at least that’s another three weeks from coming to fruition.

So if you’re the Red Sox, what do you do? Do you say Clay Buchholz, who’s been the worst of the starters, has some weakness in his shoulder or some other phantom injury and send him out on a rehab assignment and bring up Cook? Do you put Doubront in the pen despite the fact he’s pitched pretty well too? Or do they just tell Bard, look we need you in the bullpen?

One other option is a six-man rotation but I just don’t see that fitting into the philosophy of what the Red Sox are doing.

Once again, the offense was outstanding.

David Ortiz continues to tear the cover off the baseball as he added another two hits including a two-run homer. Cody Ross returned from his sore knee after missing a game and had two hits and two RBIs while Dustin Pedroia added two hits.

Even Darnell McDonald got into the action last night with a career-high tying four RBIs that included a solo home run. It also looks like the change of scenery has done Marlon Byrd wonders as he had another two hits making him 7-for-22 since coming over from the Chicago Cubs.

Of the regulars on offense, Kevin Youkilis has the lowest batting average at .230. Everyone else is above .300. Given the fact the Red Sox started slowly this season, you wouldn’t think that to be the case.

It may be cold in Chicago and New England for that matter but right now the offense is hot and things appear to be clicking on all cylinders.

Hopefully Jon Lester can continue that tonight in the Windy City.

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

Red Sox win fifth straight [Boston Globe]

Reliever Hill back on the hill [Boston Globe]

They’re on the road to redemption [Boston Globe]

Red Sox hot in cold [Boston Herald]

Crawford tries ‘rich’ idea [Boston Herald]

Big Papi equals Rice on HR list [Boston Herald]

Bard has rotation locked up [Boston Herald]

A look at why this starting thing is working out for Daniel Bard [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]

Bard hangs White Sox out to dry [CSN New England]

McDonald gets hot in chilly Chi-Town [CSN New England]

Bard delivers best performance as starter [CSN New England]

Baldelli feels Crawford’s pain [ESPN Boston]

Rapid Reaction: Red Sox 10, White Sox 3 [ESPN Boston]

Bard picks up 1st career win as starter [ESPN Boston]

Bard proving his worth as a starter [Extra Bases]

Closing Time: Darnell McDonald, Daniel Bard lift Red Sox to fifth straight win [Full Count]

Ski masks, big bats the order of the day for Cody Ross, Darnell McDonald [Full Count]

Darnell McDonald Shines As He Attempts To Continue Contributing Key Hits For Red Sox [NESN.com]

Daniel Bard Continues to Prove He Belongs in Red Sox Starting Rotation [NESN.com]

Daniel Bard Shows Mental Toughness in Friday’s Start Amid Chatter About Relief Role [NESN.com]

Bard states convincing case for rotation [RedSox.com]

Ortiz taking what opposition gives him [RedSox.com]

Southpaw Hill returns to Red Sox bullpen [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 Arlington Heights Daily Herald, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune and ESPN Chicago websites.

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

photo credit: AP Photo

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 some of the other sports. 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

DC answered a few questions in his mailbag [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Reyes Selected 49th by San Diego [UConnHuskies.com]

Chargers draft UConn DT Reyes [CT Post]

Chargers Draft UConn’s Reyes 17th In 2nd Round, 49th Overall [Hartford Courant]

For UConn’s Kendall Reyes, It All Started In Nashua, N.H. [Hartford Courant]

San Diego Chargers take UConn DT Kendall Reyes [New Haven Register]

Chargers select UConn’s Reyes [The Day]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

The Many Faces Of Geno Auriemma [Hartford Courant]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Walker on opposite end of spectrum with Bobcats [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

Other UConn related links

Softball. Huskies To Host Rival Syracuse [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Lacrosse. Huskies Stretch Winning Streak To Three Against Nova, 13-6 [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Track. Noel James Captures First Place In High Jump [UConnHuskies.com]

Baseball. Huskies Shutout in Weekend Opener at Louisville [UConnHuskies.com]

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

UConn Huskies defensive tackle Kendall Reyes had high hopes of being taken in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft on Thursday night.

Unfortunately for him, it didn’t work out. But on Friday night after 16 picks were announced, Reyes finally heard his name be called.

With 17th pick in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft (49th overall), the San Diego Chargers took Reyes to help bolster their front seven.

It’s the sixth straight year that a member of the UConn football team has been selected. He’s also the fourth second rounder joining Darius Butler, Will Beatty and Cody Brown who were all selected in 2009 during the second round.

In 12 games this past season, Reyes had 46 tackles, including 13.5 tackles for a loss. He also had 4.5 sacks and one fumble recovery which he returned a for a touchdown.

He finished up his UConn career with 142 tackles (31.5 for a loss), 11.5 sacks and two interceptions.

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

photo credit: Getty Images

Here’s the release from Boston Red Sox announcing Tim Wakefield Day at Fenway Park.

BOSTON, MA— The Boston Red Sox will honor Tim Wakefield May 15 with ‘Thanks, Wake Day,’ a day when we say, ‘Thanks, Wake’ at Fenway Park. The club plays the Seattle Mariners at special 4:05 p.m. starting time. A pre-game ceremony tribute is expected to begin at approximately 3:30 p.m.

The right-handed knuckleball specialist, who won more games at Fenway Park than any pitcher in history, just completed a 19-year career in Major League Baseball, including 17 years with the Red Sox. He announced his retirement February 17, 2012, at the Red Sox’ new Spring Training site, JetBlue Park at Fenway South in Lee County, Florida.

Wakefield’s Red Sox reached postseason play nine times, and he was part of two momentous World Series Championships, in 2004 and 2007. His selflessness was pivotal in winning the 2004 ALCS against the New York Yankees.

A champion of charitable efforts in New England and his hometown of Melbourne, Florida, Wakefield was honored as the 2010 recipient of Major League Baseball’s Roberto Clemente Award. In 2011, the Boston chapter of the BBWAA announced the start of an annual Tim Wakefield Community Service Award in his honor.

Wakefield has been actively involved with “Pitching in for Kids,” a non-profit organization dedicated to providing grants to improve the lives of children across New England. He supports Melbourne’s Space Coast Early Intervention Center, a unique non-profit therapeutic pre-school program for children with special needs. He adopted the Center in 1992 when it was struggling financially and faced closure and has helped to raise over $10 million for the organization through his annual Tim Wakefield Celebrity Golf Classic and Memorabilia Auction. Over the last 13 years, his “Wakefield Warriors” program has enabled patients from the Franciscan Hospital for Children and the Jimmy Fund in Boston to visit with him and watch batting practice before all Tuesday home games at Fenway Park. He has also been an active participant of the Red Sox’ annual Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon and served as the organization’s Co-Captain in 2010 and 2011.

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

photo credit: AP Photo

After picking up their fourth straight win last night, the Boston Red Sox look to make it five straight tonight in the second game of a four-game set with the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field on south side of the Windy City.

First pitch is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on NESN in the Red Sox television market. If you live in the White Sox television market, you can catch the game on WCIU. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to it on the Red Sox radio network.

Daniel Bard makes his fourth appearance (third start) of 2012 tonight. In his previous three appearances (two starts), Bard is 1-2 with a 4.38 ERA. His lone win of the season came out of the bullpen last Monday against the Twins. Bard made two appearances against the South Siders last year and had no record with a 0.00 ERA (0 ER/3 IP). He’s made eight career appearances against them and is 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA (2 ER/8.2 IP). Bard’s made three of those appearances at U.S. Cellular Field where he has no record with a 3.38 ERA (1 ER/2.2 IP).

John Danks will make his fifth start of 2012 for new manager Robin Ventura. In his previous four starts, Danks is 2-2 with a 5.11 ERA. He did not face the Red Sox in 2011 and last faced them in 2010 when he went 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA in two starts. Overall in his career, Danks has made seven career starts against the Red Sox and is 3-4 with a 4.14 ERA. Four of those starts have come at home where he is 1-3 with a 4.84 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:

8-10		10-9
1. Mike Aviles	SS	1. Alejandro De Aza	CF
2. Dustin Pedroia	2B	2. Alexei Ramirez	SS
3. Adrian Gonzalez	1B	3. Adam Dunn	DH
4. Kevin Youkilis	3B	4. Paul Konerko	1B
5. David Ortiz	DH	5. A.J. Pierzynski	C
6. Cody Ross	RF	6. Alex Rios	RF
7. Kelly Shoppach	C	7. Dayan Viciedo	CF
8. Darnell McDonald	LF	8. Brent Morel	3B
9. Marlon Byrd	CF	9. Gordon Beckham	2B
Daniel Bard	SP	John Danks	SP

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

Notes: After missing most of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, Rich Hill has been recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket. To make room on the 25-man roster for Hill, Justin Thomas has been optioned to the PawSox.

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

Red Sox Offense Hitting Stride at Perfect Time As Pitching Staff Still Tries to Find Its Way [Tom Caron – NESN.com]

The loss of Carl Crawford has been a gain for Ryan Sweeney, Red Sox [Clubhouse Insider]

Rich Hill set to be activated from disabled list [Clubhouse Insider]

Box Score Bank: The Big Hurt [CSN New England]

Rehab complete, Hill returns to majors [CSN New England]

Random Red Sox thoughts from Chicago [Extra Bases]

After Joel Ward incident, Darnell McDonald talks about his own run-in with racism [Full Count]

Carl Crawford isn’t aging well [Tony Massarotti – Boston Globe]

Red Sox pitchers making noticeable progress holding runners [Projo Sox Blog]

Rich Hill reinforces beleaguered bullpen [Projo Sox Blog]

Bard looks to push Boston’s winning streak to five [RedSox.com]

Middlebrooks earns Player of Week nod [RedSox.com]

The case of phenoms vs. incumbents [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

Look out folks the Boston Red Sox offense is alive and well right now.

Last night the Red Sox were facing Chicago White Sox starter Philip Humber who by the way threw a perfect game in his last start. After one batter, Humber was no longer perfect as he walked Mike Aviles. Two batters later, the chance of a second straight no-hitter went by the wayside when Dustin Pedroia reached on an infield single.

Then a double by Adrian Gonzalez and a single by the white-hot David Ortiz gave the Red Sox a 2-0 lead, a lead they would never look back on.

Kevin Youkilis started the season off slow at the plate and even with Will Middlebrooks tearing up Triple-A, there were no whispers about a change. And if there was going to be any talk, Youk’s made sure to keep it quiet. Over the past few games, Youk has been finding his swing and last night it culminated with a grand slam.

For Jarrod Saltalmacchia, it was a little different. He got off to basically the same start as Youk. But with Bobby Valentine being a Ryan Lavarnway guy and Lavarnway hitting pretty well in Triple-A, there were whispers a change could be made. But ever since Saturday’s game against the New York Yankees, Salty has been hitting the cover off the ball. He followed Youk’s grand tater with a solo home run.

Youk would finish the night with three hits to see his average go up to .241. Salty’s two hits raised his average to .261. With the exception of Lars Anderson, who was making his first MLB start in left field, everyone in the Red Sox starting nine had a hit.

Ryan Sweeney continues to thrive in the second spot in the lineup as he added two more hits and is now hitting a robust .383. Even by going 1-for-3, Big Papi sees his average at .420.

You have to wonder if Felix Doubront was wondering about having a big lead and coming out of the game. He was the pitcher of record on Saturday when the Red Sox held a 9-1 lead over the Yankees. He did his part by limiting the White Sox to just three runs over six innings of work to pick up his second straight quality start. But more importantly, despite it being a meaningless statistic, his first win of 2012.

A high pitch count in the 3rd inning probably cost him another inning. Most of that came from him losing a little bit of his mechanics. He was however able to adjust and settle back down.

Doubront throws a nasty sinking two-seam fastball. It happened to be his best pitch of the night. It also was his worst pitch at times. When he located it, he was on. When he couldn’t, like in the 3rd, he was off. But overall, another solid inning from Doubront. If he can just keep his pitch count down and get into the 7th inning, he’ll make things easier for Valentine in regards to going to the bullpen.

Speaking of the bullpen, obviously it’s been much maligned for the early part of this season. There’s been some bright spots at times and obviously some spots where we’d just like to forget what happened.

But what Junichi Tazawa did last night was nothing short of spectacular.

He came in for Doubront and pitched the final three innings of the game, allowing just two hits while striking out four to pick up his first career MLB save. He had great command of his fastball and his secondary pitches were outstanding. Because of that, he was able to keep the White Sox hitters at bay.

Hopefully Tazawa’s great outing rubs off on the other members of the bullpen who are struggling.

Things are definitely clicking for the Red Sox. The offense is on fire, the starting pitching has been decent and the bullpen is up and down. But last night, all three things came together and that’s what the Red Sox need more of.

The offense isn’t going to be able to do the job every night so it’ll be up to the starting pitching and bullpen to get the job done.

That’s just how baseball is.

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

Saltalamacchia, Red Sox catching fire [Boston Globe]

Worst case for Crawford is three more months [Boston Globe]

Not what Valentine envisioned [Boston Globe]

Pitching decision due [Boston Globe]

Red Sox batter Phil Humber [Boston Herald]

Bad news for Carl Crawford [Boston Herald]

Valentine and Ventura managing healthy respect [Boston Herald]

Carl Crawford a costly loss [Boston Herald]

Will Middlebrooks on way [Boston Herald]

PawSox trio on path to majors [Boston Herald]

How the Red Sox bullpen can survive without Daniel Bard [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]

Red Sox crush White Sox, cruise to 10-3 win [CSN New England]

Doubront continues to keep Sox in games [CSN New England]

Bats carry Sox to fourth straight win [CSN New England]

Terry Francona ESPN New York podcast [ESPN Boston]

Rapid reaction: Red Sox 10, White Sox 3 [ESPN Boston]

Video: Bobby V says ‘Salty’s on fire’ [ESPN Boston]

Closing Time: Kevin Youkilis, Jarrod Saltalamacchia key Red Sox latest win [Full Count]

Mother Nature, White Sox were no match for Felix Doubront [Full Count]

Nuggetpalooza: Red hot stat nuggets for the Red (hot) Sox [Full Count]

Red Sox Outfielders Will Need To Carry the Torch As Carl Crawford Recovers From Latest Setback [NESN.com]

Jarrod Saltalamacchia Displays Power Surge, Puts Early Slump Behind Him [NESN.com]

Felix Doubront Is Key to Success of Red Sox Pitching Staff [NESN.com]

Saltalamacchia getting into rhythm at plate [RedSox.com]

Crawford has sprained ulnar collateral ligament [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 Arlington Heights Daily Herald, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune and ESPN Chicago websites.

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

photo credit: Getty Images