After sitting through a 90 minute rain delay, the New York Yankees got started early scoring runs and continued to do so all night long as they beat the Boston Red Sox 19-8 in front of an announced crowd of 37,301 at Fenway Park.

The loss ended a 3-game winning streak for the local nine and it also ended their hopes for a second straight AL East title. That title will go to the Tampa Bay Rays who despite losing on Friday night win their first AL East title.

Daisuke Matsuzaka was originally scheduled to start for the Red Sox but with the rain delay at the beginning of the game and the ominous forecast, Terry Francona decided to scratch him from the start. David Pauley started in place of Dice-K and was pretty brutal. Actually just about everybody who threw for the Red Sox was pretty awful.

Pauley went 2 2/3 innings giving up 7 runs (6 earned) on 6 hits and a walk while fanning 2. David Aardsma worked 2/3 of an inning, allowing 5 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks. Mike Timlin went 1 2/3 innings with 1 run allowed on 3 hits while striking out 3. Chris Smith went 1 2/3 innings allowing 3 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks while Devern Hansack finished up the final 2 1/3 innings giving up 3 runs on 5 hits.

Jacoby Ellsbury extended his hitting streak to 17 games with a 4-for-5 showing with an RBI. He also stole his 50th base of the season. Jonathan Van Every went 1-for-3 with 3 RBI while Kevin Youkilis knocked in 2 runs on his 29th home run of the season. The game also saw the first MLB hits for George Kottaras and Gil Velazquez.

Pauley got the first two outs of the 1st inning and then Sean Casey booted a ball by Bobby Abreu who ended up at second base. Alex Rodriguez brought him in with a single to make it 1-0 Yanks.

Believe it or not, the Red Sox actually held a 3-1 lead in this game as they touched up Yankees starter Alfredo Aceves for 3 runs in the 1st.

Kevin Youkilis rounds the bases after his 2-run home run.

Ellsbury got things started for the local nine as he led off with a solo home run around Pesky’s Pole. Aceves walked Jed Lowrie and then got Mike Lowell to fly out. Lowell ended up reinjuring himself on the swing before he flew out and could be lost for the playoffs. Youk made it 3-1 with a 2-run home run into the Green Monster seats.

The Yankees got 3 runs back in the 2nd and just continued to pour it on the rest of the game as the only inning they were held scoreless was the 6th inning.

Just an ugly game on an ugly night for baseball.

Dice-K will try to make the start again tomorrow weather permitting. Sidney Ponson gets the ball for the Yankees.

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By virtue of the Boston Red Sox 19-8 loss to the New York Yankees, the Tampa Bay Rays are the American League East Champions. This is their first division title and first-ever playoff berth.

Congratulations to the Rays on a great season and best of luck in the playoffs unless you’re facing the Red Sox in the ALCS.

Lawrence Wilson’s 45 yard interception return for a touchdown with 2:45 remaining in the game helped the UConn Huskies to a 26-21 Big East win over the Louisville Cardinals at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium in Louisville. The win for the Huskies was their first Big East win of the season and pushes their record to 5-0 for the second straight season.

Obviously the big news of the night was the loss of UConn quarterback Tyler Lorenzen to a broken right foot in the 2nd quarter. I’m not sure how Lorenzen got hurt but all of the sudden I looked up and Zach Frazer was in at quarterback.

Frazer looked lost right out of the gate but UConn head coach Randy Edsall had all the confidence in the world in Frazer. As he started to get comfortable with the offense, he started to make some plays leading UConn on two scoring drives, one in the 3rd qtr and one in the 4th qtr. Of course it didn’t hurt that he had Donald Brown to hand the ball off to. Frazer finished up 8-of-15 for 90 yards and a touchdown.

Brown had an easy time of things in the first half as he rushed for 124 of his 190 yards. He did have a fumble in the game that was on a poor pitch from Frazer. Just like the Huskies had trouble tackling the Cardinals two running backs, the Cardinals had a tough time bringing down Brown.

The UConn defense looked porous at times tonight but they held strong at the end when it matters. They gave up 508 total yards (261 rushing, 247 passing) and I’m sure Randy Edsall will be none too pleased about that. They made the big plays when they needed to, Wilson’s INT return, Robert Vaughn’s game saving tackle and Lutrus’ tipped pass on 4th down in the 4th quarter.

He will be pleased though with the outcome of the game as the Huskies overcame adversity in getting back into the game. After the Huskies got out to a 10-0 lead behind a Brown touchdown and a Tony Ciaravino field goal, the Cardinals rallied for 21 straight points. The Huskies finally did answer and scored the final 16 points of the game.

This was a big win for the Huskies as it was just their 3rd Big East road win since they joined the Big East. It showed they can rally from a deficit on the road even with their backup QB. As Edsall said at the end of the game, they won this one on pure guts. The stats show you they really had no business winning this game but in the end the W goes to the Huskies.

Scoring:

1st quarter

CON – Tony Ciaravino 47-yard field goal – UConn 3 Louisville 0

2nd quarter

Donald Brown had 190 yards and a touchdown for the Huskies.

CON – Donald Brown 1-yard run (Ciaravino PAT) – UConn 10 Louisville 0

LOU – Victor Anderson 2-yard run (Tim Dougherty PAT) – UConn 10 Louisville 7

LOU – Hunter Cantwell 20-yard pass to Anderson (Dougherty PAT) – Louisville 14 UConn 10

3rd quarter

LOU – Bilal Powell 5-yard run (Daugherty PAT) – Louisville 21 UConn 10

CON – Zach Frazer 13-yard pass to Darius Butler (Ciaravino PAT) – Louisville 21 UConn 17

4th quarter

CON – Ciaravino 29-yard field goal – Louisville 21 UConn 20

CON – Wilson 45-yard interception return (2-pt try failed) UConn 26 Louisville 21

Offensive Player of the Game:

Donald Brown rushed for 192 yards and 1 touchdown. He also caught 1 pass for 6 yards.

Defensive Player of the Game:

I’m going with co-players of the game. Jasper Howard had 9 tackles, forced a fumble and had 2 pass breakups. Cody Brown had 6 tackles, including a sack and also forced a fumble.

Turning Point(s) of the Game:

1. When Tyler Lorenzen came out of the game, UConn seemed out of sync offensively and it seemed to affect the defense as well as Louisville scored 21 unanswered points.

2. After Robert Vaughn made a touchdown saving tackle on Bilal Powell’s 50 yard run. The Huskies held the Cardinals without any points and came down to score a field goal.

3. Lawrence Wilson’s 45 yard interception return for a touchdown gave the Huskies the lead for good.

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UConn Huskies coach Randy Edsall told ESPN’s Rob Stone that Tyler Lorenzen has suffered a broken right foot and will not return to the game. No other information is known at this time.

Zach Frazer took over Lorenzen late in the 2nd qtr.

Update: Lorenzen is on the sidelines in the 3rd qtr in street clothes and is on crutches.

Daisuke Matsuzaka looks for his 8th consecutive victory tonight.

Update 7:39 PM: Daisuke Matsuzaka has been scratched from tonight’s start and David Pauley will now start for the Red Sox if the game is played.

If the weather cooperates tonight, the Boston Red Sox will take on the New York Yankees in a series that means absolutely nothing. Now how many times can we say that.

The Yankees will be playing for pride while the Red Sox will getting their ducks in order for the postseason. The AL East title is still within reach, a long reach if the Sox can win all 3 games against the Yanks and the Rays get swept by the Tigers.

We can probably expect these games this weekend to bear a resemblance to spring training games as Terry Francona looks to keep everyone fresh for the playoffs. That means we can probably expect tonight’s starter Daisuke Matsuzaka and Josh Beckett to be limited in their pitch counts.

Dice-K goes in search of his 8th consecutive win tonight and quite possibly his 19th of the season. He has faced the Yankees once this season and is 1-0 with a 7.20 ERA. He has faced the Yankees 5 times in his career and is 3-1 with a 6.30 ERA. In 3 starts at Fenway Park against the Yankees, he is 2-0 with a 6.11 ERA.

Alfredo Aceves makes his 6th appearance and 4th start for the Yankees in his rookie campaign. He is 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA. He is the 13th different starter used by the Yankees this season.

As you might expect with the rain being in the forecast and the area, the Red Sox have canceled tonight’s number retiring ceremony for Johnny Pesky and moved it to Sunday at 1:15.

Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald says the next update on the weather forecast will be at 6:00 PM.

Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal has some notes about J.D. Drew’s latest visit to the hospital for tests on his back.

Dan over at Red Sox Monster told us recently about Big Papi putting his bed up for auction. Now he tells us that it wasn’t as popular as everyone thought.

Gary Marbry of WEEI.com has his Friday nuggetpalooza.

Lineups and batter/pitcher matchups after the jump.

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Update 7:51 PM: New projected start time is 8:35 PM

Update 7:25 PM: It’s raining at Fenway again and the tarp is back on the field. No word on a new start time.

Update: 7:06 PM: The projected start time for the game is now 8:05 PM. The tarp is off the field and the grounds crew is prepping the field for the game.

Update 6:45 PM: The game is now officially in a rain delay. No word on when the start time will be or if it will be played.

Here is the press release concerning the weather for tonight’s Boston Red Sox game:

The current weather forecast (provided by the Red Sox private weather service, Meteorlogix) in the vicinity of Fenway Park calls for the possibility of a break in today’s rain showers, which are currently moving through the area, beginning in the very late afternoon hours. We are hopeful this will allow tonight’s Red Sox-Yankees game to be played as scheduled.

The Fenway Park gates will open at the regularly scheduled time of 5:05 p.m., and the Red Sox will do everything possible to play tonight’s game, which is scheduled to start at 7:05 p.m. However, the Red Sox want to alert our fans to the current forecast.

With the uncertainty of tonight’s forecast and the potential of delay in the start of the game, the ceremony for the retirement of Johnny Pesky’s uniform number, scheduled for this evening, has been moved to Sunday, September 28. It will take place at approximately 1:15 p.m. prior to the Red Sox-Yankees game at 1:35 p.m.

This forecast is of course subject to change as the day progresses. Additional updates will be provided periodically.

It’s game day for the UConn Huskies football team as they will take the field tonight at 8:00 PM to begin defense of their 2007 Big East title against the Louisville Cardinals in Louisville. If you missed my UConn-Louisville game preview, be sure to check it out.

Before we get rolling with the links this morning, let’s take a look at the highlights of last year’s game courtesy of the great Santini.

[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuLLoL1Cyig]

And of course something you’ll probably hear about a 1000 times tonight is the “Unfair catch” of Larry Taylor last year.

How the game turns out tonight could be determined by the special teams play of both teams.

The race in the Big East Conference is wide open this season.

The Huskies are beginning a key stretch away from Rentschler Field as the next 3 games are on the road.

UConn is in search of respect tonight against Louisville.

UConn Huskies lineman Moe Petrus has a nasty attitude in a good way.

The Cardinals will be a good road test for the Huskies.

The Huskies are in search of the elusive Big East road victory.

Brian Bennett of ESPN.com has 10 things to watch for in the Big East this weekend. The top 3 are from tonight’s UConn game.

The Huskies are confident going into tonight’s game.

Obviously the big news out of the UConn men’s basketball program is the arrest of Nate Miles for violating his restraining order. What baffles me the most is that he was served at 8 PM and then places a call just 16 minutes later to the person who gave him the restraining order.

The UConn men’s basketball team hopes practice makes perfect.

David Gillett has video of Jim Calhoun’s appearance in Washington, DC the other day.

Rich Elliot of the Connecticut Post has some news and notes about the UConn women’s basketball team.

The UConn women’s soccer team and South Florida played to a 0-0 tie at Morrone Stadium.

With last night’s 5-4 win over the Cleveland Indians, the Boston Red Sox still have an outside chance of winning the AL East. All they have to do is win their final 3 games against the Yankees and the Rays need to lose their final 3 games. All I will say is never say never.

Jon Lester was outstanding in his final start before the ALDS as he no-hit the Indians for 5 innings, losing it in the top of the 6th. He finished it up with a 2-hitter and picked up his 16th win of the season. Lester continually pounded the strike zone last night and had great command of his pitches as well.

Despite having the no-hitter through 5 innings, Lester wasn’t thinking about it since he knew he wasn’t going to finish the game.

“I didn’t isolate myself from anybody,” he said. “I still went to talk to Tek, talk to Johnny, and figure some things out. I’m not going to sit on the edge of the bench and not talk to my teammates just because of that. I don’t really understand that. They’re out there catching the ball for you and hitting it, so you’ve got to keep them occupied and keep their minds off it, too.”

But a no-hitter through five? “[It’s] good, but you still have a long way to go where it starts to set in,” Lester said. “I don’t think until about the seventh inning you start to really worry about it. Five innings is nice but when you get deeper in the ballgame is where it starts to mean a little more.”

It’s definitely been a pleasure watching Lester this season, especially given all the adversity he’s faced in the past 2 years. And it will be a pleasure for years to come to watch him take the mound every 5 days or so.

Jhonny Peralta will give third base a try for the Indians this weekend.

Mike Timlin hopes to be included on the Red Sox postseason roster.

Brendan Donnelly hopes to return to the Indians next season.

The inclement weather that will be in the area this weekend may limit to how much Mike Lowell plays.

Fausto Carmona and Victor Martinez both had 1 game knocked off their suspensions.

Tommy Harper still hopes that Jacoby Ellsbury breaks his stolen base record this weekend.

The Red Sox are preparing for the longer 8-day ALDS.

Sean McAdam says the Red Sox MVP for 2008 has to be Dustin Pedroia or Kevin Youkilis?  Let us know what you think by voting in the poll in the left sidebar here at SOX & Dawgs.

Lastly, if rain does cancel the game tonight, the ceremony honoring Johnny Pesky tonight will most likely be Sunday afternoon.

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

And if you must see what the enemy papers are saying, you can check out The Plain Dealer and Akron Beacon Journal websites.

Friday, September 26^th @ 7:05 PM

Alfredo Aceves, RHP (1-0, 1.38) vs Daisuke Matsuzaka, RHP (18-2, 2.80) David Pauley

TV: NESN, MLB.tv

Radio: Red Sox Radio Network, MLB Game Day Audio

Saturday, September 27^th @ 3:55 PM

Sidney Ponson, RHP (8-5, 5.21) vs Josh Beckett, RHP (12-10, 4.03) Daisuke Matsuzaka, RHP (18-2, 2.80)

TV: FOX

Radio: Red Sox Radio Network, MLB Game Day Audio

Sunday, September 28^th @ 1:35 PM

Mike Mussina, RHP (19-9, 3.47) vs Daisuke Matsuzaka, RHP (18-2, 2.80)

TV: NESN, MLB.tv

Radio: Red Sox Radio Network, MLB Game Day Audio

Sunday, September 28^th @ 7:35 PM

Sidney Ponson, RHP (8-5, 5.21) vs Tim Wakefield, RHP (10-11, 4.24)

TV: NESN, MLB.tv

Radio: Red Sox Radio Network, MLB Game Day Audio

Please take a moment and vote for who you think is the MVP of the 2008 Red Sox in the left sidebar.

Jon Lester was extremely sharp in his final regular season as he threw a 2-hitter as the Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 6-1 in front of 37,726 at Fenway Park.

The win for the Red Sox keeps their AL East title hopes alive as the Tampa Bay Rays lost today in Detroit. The Red Sox must win their remaining 3 games and the Rays must lose their final 3 for the Red Sox to take the AL East title for the second year in a row.

Lester was incredible on the mound tonight. He had good command and location with all of his pitches and looked ready for his first start in the playoffs whenever that comes next week. He went 6 innings, allowing 1 run on 2 hits and a walk while striking out 4. The big 3 in the bullpen were strong as well as Justin Masterson, Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon had a strikeout in their inning of work each.

Jed Lowrie broke out of his slump with 2 hits and a RBI.

Jed Lowrie showed signs of life at the plate finally as he was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Kevin Youkilis had 2 hits and 2 RBI while Dustin Pedroia had a hit and a RBI. Jacoby Ellsbury continues to swing a hot stick as he extended his hitting streak to 16 games. Jason Varitek and Mark Kotsay had the other RBI for the local nine.

Ellsbury started things off in the 1st off of Indians starter Jeremy Sowers with a single and went to third on a Lowrie single. Pedroia knocked in Ellsbury with a sac fly and just like that it was 1-0 Red Sox. Sowers then had some control issues as he issued walks to Youk and Jason Bay to load up the bases. Varitek knocked in the second run of the inning with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0. Kotsay made it 3-0 with a double knocking in Youk.

After a Cora fly out to start the 2nd, Ellsbury doubled to left. Lowrie brought him in with a double to make it 4-0. A Pedroia fly out moved Lowrie to third and Youk brought him in with a single to push the lead to 5-0.

Lester was almost perfect through the first 5 innings. He allowed only a walk to Kelly Shoppach in the 2nd inning and hit Grady Sizmore with a pitch in the 3rd.

Josh Barfield broke up the no-hitter in the 6th inning when he led off with a double and ended up on third due to a balk by Lester. Sizemore lined out to second for the first out but the Indians got on the scoreboard when Jamey Carroll singled to right scoring Barfield to make it 5-1.

Youk added a home run in the 7th inning to give the Red Sox the final margin of 6-1.

Daisuke Matsuzaka takes the ball weather permitting tomorrow night in search of his 19th win against the New York Yankees.

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