Terry Francona needed a long outing from his young starter Clay Buchholz on Tuesday night after last night’s marathon game. And with his rotation spot secure for the foreseeable future, Buchholz delivered for his skipper.

Buchholz went eight innings, allowing just a first inning run in the 2-1 win for the Red Sox over the Toronto Blue Jays in front of 14,776 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, ON.

The Red Sox move to within a game of .500 at 10-11 while the Blue Jays fall to 10-11.

The winning run for the Red Sox came in the top of the 8th inning.

Scott Downs took over for starter Shaun Marcum and struck out former Jay Marco Scutaro to start the inning. He then allowed back-to-back singles by Dustin Pedroia and Victor Martinez. A Kevin Youkilis fly out to right moved Pedroia to third and then J.D. Drew worked a walk.

With David Ortiz strolling to the plate, Francona called him back for Mike Lowell. Cito Gaston countered by bringing in his closer Kevin Gregg and the move didn’t work out too well for Gaston as Lowell worked a walk on four pitches. Gregg got out of the inning by getting Adrian Beltre to line back to him.

Due to the fact that Jonathan Papelbon, Daniel Bard and Hideki Okajima weren’t available, Ramon Ramirez was brought in to close out the game in the 9th. He did the job as he set the side down in order to pick up his first save of 2010.

After a rough 1st inning that saw Buchholz give up a run on two hits and a walk, he settled down and was outstanding. He mixed his pitches well and was throwing strikes. He gave up the one run on seven hits and two walks with four strikeouts.

Pedroia led the Red Sox with two hits while Jeremy Hermida had a hit and the other RBI.

The Red Sox will look for the sweep tomorrow night behind Jon Lester. He’ll be opposed the Jays young lefty Brett Cecil at 7:07 p.m.

Boston Red Sox @ Toronto Blue Jays 4.27.10 box score

Boston Red Sox @ Toronto Blue Jays 7:07 p.m Rogers Centre – Toronto, ON SP: Clay Buchholz vs Shaun Marcum TV: NESN, MLB.tv Radio: Red Sox Radio Network

Afternoon Red Sox Delight – 4/27 [SOX & Dawgs]

From this point forward unless the demand picks up or it’s requested, I won’t be doing the Gameday Open Threads for Red Sox home games. During the previous threads when the Red Sox are at home, you can hear the crickets coming from your computer screen.

I know most of the ones who are coming are regulars from Center Field. If you could please spread the word to the others who chatted during the games there, I would deeply appreciate it. I miss the old days like you do in those threads so let’s try to make it as good. Mi casa es su casa.

After a game that saw 399 pitches, 25 runs and 34 hits, the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays get ready to battle again in game two of a three-game set at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

Tonight’s game will start at 7:07 p.m. and will be shown on NESN in the Red Sox television market. The game can be seen in the Blue Jays television market on Rogers Sports Net.. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to the game on the 2010 Red Sox radio network.

With his rotation spot safe for the time being, Clay Buchholz makes his fourth start of the season. In his previous three starts, he is 1-2 with a 2.70 ERA. He faced the Jays once in 2009, taking the loss after allowing three runs in four innings. He’s made seven appearances (six starts) against the Blue Jays in his career and is 3-3 with a 3.79 ERA. He’s made four of those starts at Rogers Centre and is 2-2 with a 2.53 ERA.

After missing all of 2009 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, Shaun Marcum makes his fifth start of 2010. In his previous four starts, he is 0-1 with a 4.00 ERA. He’s made 11 appearances (six starts) against the Red Sox in his career and is 4-2 with a 3.67 ERA.  In six games (three starts) against the Red Sox at Rogers Centre, Marcum is 2-2 with a 4.37 ERA.

Lineups, batter/pitcher matchups, and links after the jump.

9-11		10-10
1. Marco Scutaro	SS	1. Fred Lewis	LF
2. Dustin Pedroia	2B	2. Aaron Hill	2B
3. Victor Martinez	C	3. Adam Lind	DH
4. Kevin Youkilis	1B	4. Vernon Wells	CF
5. J.D. Drew	RF	5. Lyle Overbay	1B
6. David Ortiz	DH	6. Alex Gonzalez	SS
7. Adrian Beltre	3B	7. Jose Bautista	3B
8. Jeremy Hermida	LF	8. John Buck	C
9. Darnell McDonald	LF	9. Travis Snider	RF
Clay Buchholz	SP	Shaun Marcum	SP

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

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

Red Sox diary: Daniel Bard [Daniel Bard – ESPN Boston]

Pregame notes: On Wakefield, Varitek and Pedroia vs. Castro [Clubhouse Insider]

A closer look at Beckett’s struggles [ESPN Boston]

Beckett has been here before [Extra Bases]

SI cover to doom Yankees? [Extra Bases]

Plenty of good seats available in Toronto [Extra Bases]

Dustin Pedroia Moment of the Day [Extra Bases]

Pre-game notes from the Rogers Centre [Extra Bases]

A box score breakdown from Monday night [Full Count]

Schilling on D&C: Blame Sox’ struggles on pitching [Full Count]

Pedroia officially not the shortest anymore [Full Count]

Beckett [Hit and Run with Dan Roche]

Tim Wakefield Turns Back the Clock by Focusing on All Aspects of Conditioning [NESN.com]

Blue Jays Struggling to Draw Crowds in Toronto [NESN.com]

Red Sox Winning Ugly, But Winning Nonetheless [NESN.com]

Marco Scutaro Impresses Blue Jays’ Cito Gaston [NESN.com]

Pinch-hitting for Darnell McDonald? [Projo Sox Blog]

Does Beckett have “Fat-Cat Syndrome?” [Projo Sox Blog]

Red Sox summon Castro, option out Atchison [Projo Sox Blog]

Francona balancing use of hot-hitting Varitek [Projo Sox Blog]

Wakefield not available until Friday [Projo Sox Blog]

Could Red Sox capitalize on limited market for Fielder or Gonzalez? [Projo Sox Blog]

Red Sox-Jays matchup likely pitchers’ duel [RedSox.com]

Here’s a press release from the Boston Red Sox on the health status of minor league outfielder Ryan Westmoreland:

BOSTON, MA—The Red Sox announced that minor league outfielder Ryan Westmoreland was released from Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital on Saturday, April 24.  General Manager Theo Epstein made the announcement.

Westmoreland will continue to undergo physical and occupational therapy as an outpatient at Spaulding.  He has been making steady progress and is in great spirits.

The Red Sox once again express sincere appreciation to the fans and the media for the support and privacy given to the Westmoreland family during this difficult recovery process.

While I was writing this morning’s news and notes for the Boston Red Sox, I suggested the Red Sox needed to make a move in the bullpen after using all but Ramon Ramirez. I did say why not give a chance to Alan Embree or Joe Nelson and then went on to say maybe they could call up a starter from Pawtucket.

Well it turns out the Red Sox are going the calling up a starter way as the local Boston media reports that Fabio Castro will be brought up from Pawtucket. He’ll take the place of Scott Atchison, who still has an option left on his contract.

Castro, a lefty, has made three starts for the PawSox and is 0-1 with an 8.10 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 10 innings. He’s made 30 big league appearances with one start for the Texas Rangers and Philadelphia Phillies. His last appearance in the big leagues came in 2007 with the Phillies.

In those 30 appearances, Castro is 0-1 with a 3.30 ERA. He was the scheduled starter for the PawSox tonight.

399 pitches, 25 runs and 34 hits. That’s what the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays combined for in a 13-12 win by the Red Sox on Monday night at Rogers Centre.

The Red Sox got a run in the first and it stayed that way until the third inning. They added four in the top of the third that staked starter Josh Beckett to a 5-0 lead. Now normally when Beckett has a 5-0 lead, he’s lights out. But that wasn’t the case this time around.

By the end of the third inning, the Red Sox found themselves trailing 6-5 after Beckett lost the command of his pitches. He was leaving pitches up in the zone or his pitches would trail back into the heart of the plate and the Blue Jays took advantage of it.

The game was turned over to the bullpens in the fourth inning and it really didn’t get much better from there as both bullpens showed their ineptitude (with the exeception of Manny Delcarmen, Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon on the Red Sox side of things and Scott Downs and Kevin Gregg on the Blue Jays side). The combination of Scott Atchison, Scott Schoeneweis and Hideki Okajima gave up four runs on seven hits and a walk

To me though, the MVP of last night’s game wasn’t the Red Sox offense but rather Delcarmen. He needed just 24 pitches to get through two innings to settle the bullpen out (Okajima replaced him and didn’t record an out). There had been concerns about Delcarmen’s velocity but it has improved and it looks as though he’s back.

In his last five outings (6 1/3 innings), he hasn’t allowed a run or a hit although he has issued four walks. But with the way things were going last night, Delcarmen was the bright spot.

Beckett’s 2010 numbers are almost identical to his start last season and it turned out okay for him. But as the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays continue to win, the Red Sox need all of their starting pitchers to get going. On paper going into the season, they looked to have one of the best starting rotations but in reality it’s far from it. That’s why that hype is overrated.

Something does need to be done with bullpen. Alan Embree stated yesterday that if he isn’t called up by Friday, he’ll leave the organization. Atchison and Schoeneweis haven’t pitched well.  Yes Tim Wakefield, probably the most consistent starter, is in the bullpen now but he probably can’t help out down there until Friday (Red Sox are on Thursday when he could first pitch).

So why not call up Embree and Joe Nelson and see if they can breathe new life into the bullpen. They’d have to release Schoeneweis but Atchison has an option left. Yes they’ll have to make a move when Daisuke Matsuzaka makes his 2010 debut but does it matter right now.

The bullpen is already overworked and with the exception of Ramon Ramirez, all of them were used last night. They could even call up one of the starters from Pawtucket to give them some middle relief should Clay Buchholz or Jon Lester falter.

We’ll be back later with the lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and afternoon links but for now, enjoy the overnight links from the local Boston media.

(Josh) Beckett blasted; DL anyone? [Batter-up with Bruno]

Beckett outing bad, but Sox’ batters are better [Boston Globe]

Matsuzaka on target for Saturday [Boston Globe]

Quite an outing for Delcarmen [Boston Globe]

Cuban catcher signed [Boston Globe]

Josh Beckett failing to deliver like true ace [Boston Herald]

Sox recap: Sox win slugfest over Jays [Boston Herald]

Daisuke Matsuzaka wants redemption [Boston Herald]

Marco Scutaro, Alex Gonzalez not short on fondness [Boston Herald]

Trading places: Castro in, Atchison out [Clubhouse Insider]

UZR owes Jason Bay an apology [Clubhouse Insider]

Sox survive poor pitching with offensive outburst [CSN New England]

Postgame notes: Sox 13, Jays 12 [ESPN Boston]

Closing Time: Red Sox 13, Blue Jays 12 [Full Count]

Atchison to be sent down, Castro to be called up [Full Count]

As Jason Bay Struggles in New York, Red Sox Offense Comes Alive [NESN.com]

Josh Beckett, Red Sox Rotation Continue to Struggle [NESN.com]

Is it Too Soon to Count Out J.D. Drew? [NESN.com]

Beckett left with no explanation [Projo Sox Blog]

Boston bats overcome Beckett’s rocky start [Providence Journal]

Dice-K to make season debut against Orioles on Saturday [Providence Journal]

Sox’ top prospects can be found up in Portland [Providence Journal]

Red Sox Journal: Atchison’s days in bigs likely are numbered [Providence Journal]

It’s not yet panic time, but Sox fans have to be worried [Providence Journal]

Dice-K ready for season debut Saturday [RedSox.com]

Five Things We Learned: What should we make of Red Sox, Beckett? [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]

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

And if you must read the enemy papers, head over to The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star and Toronto Sun websites.

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

UConn Football links

Dixon, Witten, Cullen, Hicks, Ryan Head To NFL Camps [Hartford Courant]

UConn’s Ryan will get shot at the NFL [The Day]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Asjha Jones still idle [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Adults Only: Tina Charles’ Growth Continues With Sun [Hartford Courant]

Sun revolve around three former Huskies [CT Post via AP]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Something you didn’t know about Caron Butler [Lee Lewis – The Republican-American]

Most Improved Player Award: Gavin Edwards [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Caron Butler keeps his life’s lessons in mind [The Republican-American]

Other UConn related links

Men’s Soccer: Huskies Continue Successful Careers in MLS [UConnHuskies.com]

Baseball: Olt Named BIG EAST Player of the Week [UConnHuskies.com]

Baseball: Baseball Plays Host to Bryant in Tuesday Afternoon Ballgame [UConnHuskies.com]

Baseball:  Huskies Continue Their Dominance…Remain Nationally Ranked [UConnHuskies.com]

Women’s Lacrosse:  Senior Jenna Moulton Earns Spot on BIG EAST Honor Roll [UConnHuskies.com]

Boston Red Sox @ Toronto Blue Jays 7:10 p.m Rogers Centre – Toronto, ON SP: Josh Beckett vs Dana Eveland TV: NESN Plus, MLB.tv Radio: Red Sox Radio Network

Afternoon Red Sox Delight – 4/26 [SOX & Dawgs]

From this point forward unless the demand picks up or it’s requested, I won’t be doing the Gameday Open Threads for Red Sox home games. During the previous threads when the Red Sox are at home, you can hear the crickets coming from your computer screen.

I know most of the ones who are coming are regulars from Center Field. If you could please spread the word to the others who chatted during the games there, I would deeply appreciate it. I miss the old days like you do in those threads so let’s try to make it as good. Mi casa es su casa.

UConn Huskies head football coach Randy Edsall has released his 2010 post-spring practice depth chart. The Huskies will open the 2010 season at The Big House in Ann Arbor, Michigan on September 4th against the Michigan Wolverines.

Zach Frazer will open up fall practice as QB1 with Cody Endres as his backup. Jordan Todman will be the featured running back while Michael Smith, Isiah Moore and Kashif Moore will be the top three wide receivers.

A full look at the depth chart after the jump.

2010 University of Connecticut Post-Spring Practice Depth Chart Offense

LT

• Adam Masters (RSo., 6-4, 270)
• Jimmy Bennett (RSo., 6-8, 301)
• Greg McKee (Fr., 6-5, 299)

LG

• Mathieu Olivier (RSr., 6-6, 276)
• Erik Kuraczea (RSo., 6-2, 315)
• Steve Greene (RFr., 6-4, 324)

C

• Moe Petrus (RJr., 6-2, 292)
• Gary Bardzak (RJr., 6-3, 297)
• Ben Chapman (RSo., 6-2, 276)

RG

• Zach Hurd (RSr., 6-7, 323)
• Tyler Bullock (RFr., 6-4, 291)

RT

• Mike Ryan (RJr., 6-5, 332)
• Kevin Friend (RFr., 6-5, 287)
• Stephen Brown (RFr., 6-4, 289)

TE

• Ryan Griffin (RSo., 6-6, 240)
• John Delahunt (RSo., 6-3, 243)
• Corey Manning (RSo., 5-4, 255)
• Alex Kaiser (Sr., 6-5, 238)

TB

• Jordan Todman (Jr., 5-9, 190)
• Robbie Frey (RFr., 6-0, 199) OR
• Kelmetrius Wylie (RJr., 5-10, 223)
• Jonathan Jean-Louis (Sr., 6-0, 200)
• Martin Hyppolite (RFr., 6-0, 210)

FB

• Anthony Sherman (Sr., 5-11, 242)
• Bret Manning (Sr., 5-11, 255)

QB

• Zach Frazer (RSr., 6-4, 236)
• Cody Endres (RJr., 6-4, 223)
• Michael Box (RFr., 6-3, 194) OR
• Leon Kinnard (Fr., 5-9, 179) OR
• Johnny McEntee (RSo., 6-3, 216)

WR

• Michael Smith (Jr., 6-0, 200)
• Malik Generett (RFr., 6-4, 210)
• Joshua Massey (Sr., 5-8, 186)

WR

• Kashif Moore (RJr., 5-9, 177)
• Nick Williams (So., 5-9, 182)
• Dwayne Difton (So., 5-11, 171)
• Eric Sawicki (RFr., 6-0, 189)

WR

• Isiah Moore (RJr., 6-1, 183)
• Gerrard Sheppard (RSo., 6-2, 205) OR
• Marcus Aiken (RFr., 5-11, 191)

Defense

DE

• Jesse Joseph (So., 6-3, 231)
• Trevardo Williams (So., 6-1, 224) OR
• A.J. Portee (RSo., 6-4, 236)
• Jonathan Louis (Fr., 6-5, 241)

DT

• Kendall Reyes (RJr., 6-4, 287)
• Alex Polito (RSr., 6-6, 284) OR
• Shamar Stephen (RFr., 6-5, 291)

DT

• Ryan Wirth (RSo., 6-2, 275) OR
• Twyon Martin (RJr., 6-2, 270)
• Tim Willman (RFr., 6-3, 271)

DE

• Marcus Campbell (Jr., 6-2, 227)
• Greg Lloyd (Sr., 6-2, 234) OR
• Ted Jennings (RS., 6-5, 238)

“Husky” LB

• Jory Johnson (RSo., 6-1, 219)
• Andrew Opoku (Fr., 6-4, 217)
• Matt Edwards (RSo., 6-0, 189)
• Emmanuel Omokaro (RJr., 5-10, 207)

MLB

• Scott Lutrus (RSr., 6-3, 240)
• Jerome Williams (RSo., 6-11, 248)
• Michael Osiecki (Fr., 6-2, 225)

WLB

• Lawrence Wilson (RSr., 6-1, 217)
• Sio Moore (RSo., 6-1, 231)
• Mark Hinkley (RSo., 5-11, 228)

CB

• Blidi Wreh-Wilson (RSo., 6-0, 184)
• Tevrin Brandon (RFr., 5-10, 172)

S

• Jerome Junior (RSo., 6-1, 208)
• David Kenney (RFr., 6-0, 186)
• Harris Agbor (RJr., 5-10, 192)
• John Yurek (RJr., 6-0, 200)

S

• Kijuan Dabney (Sr., 6-0, 214)
• Mike Lang (So., 5-11, 186) OR
• Chris Lopes (RFr., 5-10, 183)

CB

• Dwayne Gratz (RSo., 6-0, 190)
• Gary Wilburn (RJr., 5-11, 196) OR
• Gilbert St. Louis (Fr., 5-11, 176)

Special Teams

P

• Chad Christen (RFr., 6-1, 200) OR
• Cole Wagner (RFr., 6-2, 197)

K

• Dave Teggart (RJr., 6-0, 209)
• Chad Christen (RFr., 6-1, 200)

LS

• Derek Chard (Sr., 6-3, 234)
• Stephen Brown (RFr., 6-4, 279) OR
• Mark Hinkley (RSo., 5-11, 228)

H

• Chad Christen (RFr., 6-1, 200)
• Zach Frazer (RSr., 6-4, 236)

PR

• Gary Wilburn (RJr., 5-11, 196) OR
• Nick Williams (So., 5-9, 182) OR
• Leon Kinnard (Fr., 5-9, 179)

KR

• Robbie Frey (RFr., 6-0, 199)
• Jordan Todman (Jr., 5-9, 190)

There had been some unconfirmed rumors out there that UConn Huskies defensive end Lindsey Witten was heading to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Well now those rumors can be put to bed as Desmond Conner of the Hartford Courant confirms that Witten is heading to the Steelers, signing as an undrafted rookie free agent.

Witten played in 49 games at UConn and had 126 tackles, 22 sacks and one interception. 11.5 of those sacks came during the 2009 season.