If you go to Fenway Park and see a “Wanted” poster with my face on it, it definitely wouldn’t surprise me in the least. I’ve now been to Fenway Park three times this season and have now seen three losses by the Boston Red Sox.
Last night, it was Justin Masterson‘s turn to add to my misery at the Fens as he struck out nine batters on his way to helping the Cleveland Indians to a 7-3 win over the Red Sox. It turned out to be a costly loss for the Red Sox as they fell into a tie for first place in the AL East with the New York Yankees after the beat the Chicago White Sox last night.
So when the Yankees and Red Sox do battle tonight in the first game of a three-game set tonight in Beantown, one of the two teams will be in second place. Let’s hope it’s the team from the Bronx.
When you make a trade, you usually have to give up something good to get something good in return. The Red Sox knew what they had in Masterson but also knew that Victor Martinez would help them out. And know Masterson is quickly becoming a thorn in the Red Sox’s side.
Entering last night’s game, he was 2-0 against them with a 1.25 ERA (3 ER/21.2 IP) in three starts. While the Red Sox were able to get to him for three runs (the same total he had given up in his three previous starts), he exacted his revenge with nine strikeouts. Three of those strikeouts were of Jason Varitek. The only Red Sox hitters he didn’t strikeout were Carl Crawford and Dustin Pedroia (who did get struck out by Vinne Pestano in the 7th).
It did look the Red Sox would possibly make Masterson’s night a quick one getting two runs in the 1st on an Adrian Gonzalez RBI double and a David Ortiz RBI single. But he settled down after that striking out four in the 2nd inning. Yes you read that correctly. He struck out four in the 2nd inning because Josh Reddick reached on a wild pitch from Masty.
Reddick would end up providing the tying run at the time and eventual last run for the Red Sox when he hit a solo blast in the 5th into the Indians bullpen.
Erik Bedard made his Red Sox debut last night and honestly he wasn’t bad.
He had a rough patch in the 2nd when he gave up two runs that tied the game up at 2. Another rough spot in the 3rd when the Indians got another run. But before that and after that he did pretty well.
If you didn’t have tempered expectations for Bedard’s debut, you really don’t know what’s going. You couldn’t expect him to go out there and throw a complete game or anything like that. After all, it was just his second start since return from the DL.
All you needed him to do was go out there and keep the Red Sox in the game. And that’s exactly what he did.
Baseball is a funny game in quickly how things can turn around for one player.
Franklin Morales went from the hero of Tuesday night’s game out of the bullpen to the goat of Thursday’s game after allowing two runs. And Andrew Miller wasn’t much better as he also allowed two runs in 2.2 innings. The amazing number from Miller’s line though is that he needed 74 pitches to get through those 2.2 innings.
And in case you’re wondering, that’s a lot of pitches.
Big weekend series coming up with the Yanks and as you might expect, there’ll be a lot of national media attention. Along with their respective local networks, the MLB Network will have the game tonight. FOX and ESPN will have Saturday and Sunday’s games.
The Red Sox have taken 8-of-9 so far this year from the Red Sox. Now it’s time to see what they can do in the stretch run with nine more against them.
We’ll be back later with tonight’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day. But for now, enjoy 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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MLB on FOX Breakdown for 8/6 [SOX & Dawgs]
At arm’s length [Boston Globe]
Masterson a hit when they miss [Boston Globe]
Bedard strikes positive tone [Boston Globe]
Yankees catch Red Sox at a good time [Boston Globe]
Ex-footballer tackling this sport nicely [Boston Globe]
Erik Bedard does A-OK, but Red Sox fall to Indians [Boston Herald]
Red Sox bullpen left at a loss [Boston Herald]
Jonathan Papelbon back to his old self [Boston Herald]
Red Sox-Yanks ticket prices out of the park [Boston Herald]
Yankees throw Red Sox a curve [Boston Herald]
Matt Clement’s return like a dream [Chicago Tribune]
Drew to start hitting again soon [CSNNE.com]
Ortiz bursts into Francona’s press conference [CSNNE.com]
Francona satisfied with Red Sox bullpen [CSNNE.com]
Tribe take down Sox, 7-3 [CSNNE.com]
Masterson now Cleveland’s ‘main guy’ [CSNNE.com]
Bedard’s Red Sox debut a solid one [CSNNE.com]
Notes: Bullpen falls flat, rested for Yankees series [CSNNE.com]
Rapid reaction: Indians 7, Red Sox 3 [ESPN Boston]
Encouraging signs from Bedard [ESPN Boston]
Tale of two outfielders [ESPN Boston]
Red Sox entertain Swihart [Extra Bases]
Closing Time: Red Sox bullpen, Justin Masterson spoil Erik Bedard debut [Full Count]
Peter Gammons on M&M: Ellsbury ‘possible’ MVP candidate [Full Count]
Why Thursday felt like Opening Day, nerves and all, for Erik Bedard [Full Count]
Video: David Ortiz breaks into press conference to complain about scorer [Full Count]
Video: Jarrod Saltalamacchia Keeps Improving As He Gets More Comfortable With Red Sox [NESN.com]
Carl Crawford OK Giving Up King of Walk-Offs Status to Jacoby Ellsbury, Excited About Arrival of Erik Bedard [NESN.com]
Video: Terry Francona Pleased With Erik Bedard’s ‘Professionally Pitched’ Red Sox Debut [NESN.com]
Video: Erik Bedard Overcomes Early Nerves in Red Sox Debut, Able to Command Strike Zone in ‘Solid Start’ [NESN.com]
David Ortiz Knows How Much People Overvalue Round Numbers When It Comes to Stats [NESN.com]
Justin Masterson Going From Old Friend to New Villain, As Right-Hander Looks Sharp Against Red Sox Once Again [NESN.com]
Future cloudy for Miller [Projo Sox Blog]
Bedard solid, but bullpen falls apart in sixth [Providence Journal]
Finding a new DH to replace Ortiz won’t be easy for Red Sox [Providence Journal]
Red Sox Journal: Boston can’t seem to shake the Yankees [Providence Journal]
Aceves has a knack for getting the victory [RedSox.com]
Like Mariano Rivera, Jonathan Papelbon is planning on finishing up as a closer [RedSox.com]
Key questions as Yankees meet Red Sox [The Hackensack NJ Record]
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 Akron Beacon Journal and Cleveland Plain Dealer websites. You can also check out our Bloguin brother Burning River Baseball.
Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.
Photo credit: AP Photo
68-42
68-42
Well here’s the breakdown courtesy of 
Pedroia batted .411 (46-for-112) with nine doubles, one triple, eight home runs, 22 RBI and 27 runs scored in 26 games during July to win his first career monthly award and the second straight for the Red Sox after 
54-53