When I first saw all of the teams playing on MLB on Fox this Saturday night, I noticed that the New York Yankees weren’t one of them. I knew the Boston Red Sox were playing the Detroit Tigers so I figured here in Connecticut I was safe. But then I noticed that the New York Mets were playing the Philadelphia Phillies and began preparing an epic rant.

But upon receiving the press release for the breakdown of the games from Fangs Bites, I took a gander and noticed that we Red Sox fans here in Connecticut were spared this week. After last week’s debacle of choosing the Yankees/Mets game instead of the Red Sox/Cubs, FOX61 here in CT decided they would show the Red Sox/Tigers game instead of the Mets/Phillies game.

Had they chosen the least popular of the three area teams here in CT, there would be have been a total uproar and I’m sure it wouldn’t have only come from me.

So with that being said, here’s the breakdown of the Saturday’s MLB on FOX games:

Boston Red Sox at Detroit Tigers – 17%
ANNOUNCERS: Dick Stockton & Mark Grace
MARKETS INCLUDE: Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Fort Myers, Hartford, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Providence, Richmond, Tampa

St. Louis Cardinals at Colorado Rockies – 24%
ANNOUNCERS: Dan McLaughlin & George Frazier
MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Memphis, Milwaukee, New Orleans, Phoenix, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, St. Louis

Cincinnati Reds at Atlanta Braves – 19%
ANNOUNCERS: Thom Brennaman & Eric Karros
MARKETS INCLUDE: Atlanta, Birmingham, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Greensboro, Greenville, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Knoxville, Louisville, Nashville, Raleigh

Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets – 16%
ANNOUNCERS: Joe Buck, Tim McCarver & Ken Rosenthal
MARKETS INCLUDE: Miami, New York, Norfolk, Philadelphia, Washington, West Palm Beach

Kansas City Royals at Texas Rangers – 14%
ANNOUNCERS: Ryan LeFebvre & Tom Grieve
MARKETS INCLUDE: Austin, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Portland, San Antonio, Seattle, Tulsa

Los Angeles Angels at Minnesota Twins – 9%
ANNOUNCERS: Kenny Albert & Bert Blyleven
MARKETS INCLUDE: Los Angeles, Minneapolis

After taking two-of-three in Cleveland, the Boston Red Sox continue their road trip in the AL Central as they are in the Motor City for a four-game set with the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park that begins this afternoon.

Today’s game is scheduled to begin at 1:05 p.m. and will be televised in the Red Sox television market on NESN. If you live in the Tigers television market, you can catch the game on FOX Sports Detroit. If you don’t live in either market you’re in luck as well as the MLB Network will also carry the game in the out-of-town markets. And if you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to the game on the 2011 Red Sox Radio Network.

Alfredo Aceves will make his second straight start for skipper Terry Francona. In 12 games (one start) in 2011, Aceves is 1-0 with a 2.42 ERA. He’s only made one career appearance against the Tigers and that came in 2009 as a member of the Yankees. In that outing at Yankee Stadium, he allowed one run in one inning with two strikeouts.

Max Scherzer‘s quest for a seventh win, which would tie him with Jon Lester, comes this afternoon against the Red Sox. Scherzer has made 10 starts this season and is 6-1 with a 2.98 ERA. He didn’t face the Red Sox earlier in the season and both of his career starts against the Red Sox came in 2010. In those two starts, Scherzer was 0-1 with a 5.56 ERA (7 ER/11.1 IP). In his lone start against the Red Sox at home, he allowed six runs in five innings of work. In six starts this season at Comerica Park, he is 3-0 with a 0.77 ERA.

Click on the read more button below to see today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day if you’re on the home page.

Here are this afternoon’s lineups:

27-22		25-23
1. Jacoby Ellsbury	CF	1. Austin Jackson	CF
2. Dustin Pedroia	2B	2. Don Kelly	LF
3. Adrian Gonzalez	1B	3. Brennan Boesch	RF
4. Kevin Youkilis	3B	4. Miguel Cabrera	1B
5. David Ortiz	DH	5. Victor Martinez	DH
6. Carl Crawford	LF	6. Jhonny Peralta	SS
7. Drew Sutton	SS	7. Alex Avila	C
8. Josh Reddick	RF	8. Scott Sizemore	2B
9. Jason Varitek	C	9. Brandon Inge	3B
Alfredo Aceves	SP	Max Scherzer	SP

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

As you may have noticed, Josh Reddick is in the lineup. He was called up to replace Darnell McDonald on the 25-man roster. McDonald has a sore quad and with J.D. Drew having a hamstring issue, the Red Sox needed another healthy outfielder.

Daniel Nava has also cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Pawtucket according to NESN’s Heidi Watney.

Check back and/or refresh often as more links will be added if/when they become available before game time.

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

Going up? Pedroia looking to elevate his game [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]

Kevin Youkilis returns to Red Sox lineup; Josh Reddick recalled [Clubhouse Insider]

Darnell McDonald to DL; Jenks, Lackey to pitch for Pawtucket [Clubhouse Insider]

Pregame notes: McDonald on DL, Reddick up [CSNNE.com]

McDonald to DL; Reddick recalled, in Sox lineup [ESPN Boston]

Sox add Reddick, place McDonald on DL [ESPN Boston]

Reddick recalled; McDonald on DL [Extra Bases]

Terry Francona touches on some topics [Extra Bases]

Who Is Your Favorite Non-Red Sox Baseball Broadcaster of All Time? [NESN.com]

Carl Crawford Could Be a Fit as No. 6 Hitter in Terry Francona’s Lineup and Eight Other Red Sox Thoughts [NESN.com]

Darnell McDonald Placed on 15-Day Disabled List With Quad Strain, Josh Reddick Recalled From Triple-A [NESN.com]

Jim Rice: MLB Doesn’t Need New Rules for Plays at the Plate, Despite Buster Posey’s Injury [NESN.com]

A Series Matter: Red Sox-Tigers and Motown [Projo Sox Blog]

McDonald to DL, Reddick recalled [Projo Sox Blog]

Jenks, Lackey to rehab in Pawtucket this week [Projo Sox Blog]

Scutaro takes first swings [Projo Sox Blog]

Aceves looks to keep Red Sox soaring [RedSox.com]

Photo credits: Getty Images, AP Photo

Jon Lester had a relatively easy day on Wednesday afternoon against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. Before the Boston Red Sox starter even stepped foot on the mound, he already had a 7-0 lead. And when you give Lester that much of a cushion, it just makes his job all the more easier.

Lester was brilliant over six shutout innings of work. He worked around two hits in the 1st inning and a double and a walk in his final inning. Lester struck out seven on his way to getting his MLB-leading seventh win of 2011. Once again his cutter was nasty and with such a big lead he was able to attack the strikezone with relative ease.

Obviously the story of the day was the offense.

The Indians starter Mitch Talbot was activated from the disabled list before the game and it might not have been the best move. He was very ineffective and lacked his normal velocity and command. And when your facing a stacked Red Sox lineup, that’s not a good thing at all.

It was essentially an extended batting practice session for the Red Sox in the top half of the 1st inning.

Jacoby Ellsbury led off with a single and scored on a Dustin Pedroia two-run blast. Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz followed that with singles. Big Papi would be retired on a Jed Lowrie fielder’s choice. Carl Crawford would get his big afternoon going with a single to bring in Gonzo. Jarrod Saltalamacchia followed that with a single and Lowrie would end up scoring on Shin-Soo Choo‘s error in right field.

Mike Cameron would make the second out of the inning but it was a productive out as he hit a sacrifice fly that easily scored Crawford. Drew Sutton, filling in for Kevin Youkilis who was a late scratch, burned his former club with an RBI single. Ellsbury then picked up his second hit of the inning followed by Pedroia’s second hit of the inning, a RBI single that scored Sutton. Gonzo flew out to left to end the first but the damage had been done.

Looking at the box score, only one starting player of the Red Sox didn’t have at least two hits and a RBI on the afternoon and that was Lowrie. Every starting member of the Red Sox scored at least one run.

Crawford led the way with a perfect 4-for-4 afternoon with two RBIs. He fell a triple short of the cycle on the afternoon with a single, two doubles and a home run. After the dismal start, Crawford’s average is now .229. I know that doesn’t sound good but after hitting .155 in April .229 is actually a good thing.

Both of Pedroia’s hits and three RBI came in the 1st inning while Ellsbury would end up with three hits and a RBI. Sutton made the temporary loss of Youkilis look good with three hits and RBI. Salty continued his recent hot streak at the plate with another home run, this one of the three-run variety and finished the day with two hits. Gonzo, Big Papi and Cameron also finished the day with two hits with Papi adding a monstrous solo home run in the 6th.

When you look back at this series, the Red Sox easily could have taken all three games from MLB’s best team record wise. If not for the Daniel Bard meltdown, they would have.

They got great starting pitching over the three-game set from Lester, Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz. Sans Bard, the bullpen was great.

The Red Sox (27-22) now find themselves a ½ behind the Yankees (27-21) for first place in the AL East and one game ahead of the Rays (26-23) who are in third place. And as Steve pointed out last night, this is no small feat.

With the day game today at 1:05 p.m. in Detroit, we’ll be back in a short while with this afternoon’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the morning. But for now, enjoy the overnight links 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

A smashing good time [Boston Globe]

Situation was advantageous [Boston Globe]

On this afternoon, they connected [Boston Globe]

Carl Crawford leads Red Sox explosion in sweet swingin’ win [Boston Herald]

Jon Lester back to vintage form [Boston Herald]

Dustin Pedroia dives in [Boston Herald]

Bats make statement [Boston Herald]

Red Sox roll over Indians, 14-2 [CSNNE.com]

Crawford hopes to snap slump with big day [CSNNE.com]

Notes: Utility man Sutton gives Sox flexibility [CSNNE.com]

Nation STATion: State of Sox (almost) 50 games in [CSNNE.com]

Rapid Reaction: Red Sox 14, Indians 2 [ESPN Boston]

Crawford leads way in Sox’ 20-hit day [ESPN Boston]

Pedroia about to get in the swing? [Extra Bases]

Updates on Youkilis and Drew [Extra Bases]

Closing Time: Red Sox demolish the Indians [Full Count]

Large Crowds at Fenway Park Prompt Architect James McLaughlin to Build Fenway Garage in 1913 [NESN.com]

Legends of the Ball Has Unforgettable Red Sox, Patriots Auction Items [NESN.com]

Jim Rice Would Have Liked to Play at Wrigley Field [NESN.com]

Daniel Bard Recalls Difficulties in Developing Breaking Ball Early in His Career [NESN.com]

J.D. Drew Unlikely to Play Against Detroit on Thursday [NESN.com]

Red Sox Bats Continue Impressive Month, Paste Cleveland With 20-Hit Onslaught [NESN.com]

Early Run Support, Establishing Fastball Key to Jon Lester’s Six Shutout Innings [NESN.com]

Josh Beckett’s Dominant Start Drawing Comparisons to 2007, While Actually Outpacing Those Numbers [NESN.com]

Boston bats batter Cleveland pitching [Providence Journal]

Crawford looking more like himself lately [Providence Journal]

Red Sox Journal: Injured hand sidelines Youkilis, Sutton fills in handily [Providence Journal]

Surging Red Sox just as advertised [RedSox.com]

For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSNNE,  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.

Photo credits: 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.

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 Men’s Basketball links

Pat Sellers heading to Hofstra [NY Post]

OMAR CALHOUN AND FAMILY WORKING THROUGH RECRUITING PROCESS [NBEBasketballReport.com]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Dolson, Hartley named U-19 finalists [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

U-19 Finalists Speak To USA Basketball [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Jefferson Hopes Third Time’s The Charm At U19 Trials [USABasketball.com]

UConn recruit DeShields, 16, plays beyond her age [CT Post]

UConn Football links

They’re Getting Closer: Veterans Return Monday [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Other UConn related links

Baseball. Top-Seeded Connecticut Rallies Past Notre Dame In BIG EAST Championship [BigEast.org]

Baseball. Fuller Lifts UConn Over Notre Dame 4-2 [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Soccer. Women’s Soccer Continues Academic Excellence [UConnHuskies.com]

UConn Fairfield County Day is June 2 [CT Post]

Over a month ago I wrote about the horrific start the Boston Red Sox had to the season and how they couldn’t continue that way for long because they’d find themselves well out of the playoff race.

If you recall 0-6 led to 2-10.  The team showed some life in a California road trip and then after getting to within a game of .500 they once again faltered.

In fact they would get to within a game of .500 five times before finally climbing that hill against Detroit at 20-20.  Don’t look now but they are 27-22 on the year after taking 2 of three in Cleveland and 13 days into a 20 games in 20 days stretch they are 10-2 with one rainout.

So what has led this team from that awful start to going 25-12 in the last 37 games?  Well let’s take a look.

Josh Beckett.  Or as Ian likes to call him “Commander Kickass” has been well, just that.  Since his season opening start in which he gave up 3 earned runs in just five innings in Cleveland and took a loss he has 7 quality starts (6 IP or more giving up 3 ER or less) in his 9 starts since. The only two he failed to have a quality start in were in Baltimore on April 27^th 6 IP and 4 ER and at home against the Los Angeles Angels on May 4^th he was removed after 4.1 IP with 0 ER due to a rain delay.  So far this season in his 7 quality starts he has allowed a total of 5 ER.  Beckett is 4-1 with a 1.69 ERA and a WHIP of 0.82.

Jon Lester.  Despite his little 3 game slump which ended today against Cleveland and opening day against Texas, Lester has been awesome.  He has 7 quality starts all in a row from his second start until he had a rough outing at Toronto on May 10^th.  His best outings this season have been against Cleveland where in 14 IP he has allowed 0 ER wile striking out 16 and against Angels he has pitched 13 innings and allowed 1 ER and has 19 K’s.  Lester leads the majors in wins with 7.  The only issues with him have been his walk totals and his HR’s allowed (9).

To continue reading, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Jonathan Papelbon.  The closer has once again been “Lights Out Paps”; he looks like the Papelbon of old and is making 2010 seem like an aberration.  He has 9 saves in 10 chances, an ERA of 2.51 and has struck out 27 hitters.  The biggest thing with Pap has been the re-emergence of this velocity and the fact he has gotten a lot of swings and misses.  The free agent to be closer has had 8 scoreless appearances out of 11 this month.  And in those 11 appearances, he has had five games with multiple strikeouts.  He is 2-0 this month with 4 saves in 5 chances.  His blown save was the only appearance in which he pitched longer than 1 inning (vs. Minnesota on May 9^th).  He only has two appearances this season that are longer than 1 IP and both were 1.1 IP with the other resulting in a save at Oakland on April 20^th.  Papelbon’s continued success at the backend is essential to the team’s success this season.

Clay Buchholz. The 26-year-old right handed starter has had a good May after a so-so April and has been one of the pitching cogs in the turnaround.  Buchholz started 1-3 with a no decision in April but has turned that all around.  In May he is 3-0 with 4 quality starts and has allowed just 6 ER in 33 IP with 26 K’s this month.  He once again looks like the starter the team hoped they had drafted.

Adrian Gonzalez.  Gonzo has been as advertised that’s for sure.  Sweet swing, good power and so smooth in the field.  The only thing he doesn’t do is run.  In fact it looks as if he might be standing still and just flailing his arms. He is hitting .340 with 9 HR and a MLB leading 43 RBI. In May he has had a four game hit streak, then an eight game hit streak and he now has a five game hit streak.  He has been hitless in only four games the entire month. He has 8 multi-hit games, and of those eight multi-hit games he has three games with 3 hits and 2 games with four hits.  He has 8 HR’s in May and had a 2 HR game at Toronto on May 10^th.  He also has driven in 25 runs this month and has 8 games with multiple RBI.  Four games he has driven in 3 runs and he drove in four runs last weekend in a game against the Chicago Cubs.  He will be an AL MVP candidate.

David Ortiz.  Big Papi had no slow start this season he is hitting .303 with 10 HR and 23 RBI.  This is the latest in a season he has been above .300 since 2007.  While the 35-year-old DH isn’t on the RBI pace of Gonzalez but he has been hitting and knocking in runs when they’ve been needed.

Jacoby Ellsbury.  He has been pretty consistent since spring training with the exception of a small slow period at the start but then again the whole team had a slow starting period.  He has as many RBI as Ortiz (23), he has hit 4 HR’s and he is hitting .295 with a MLB leading 17 steals.

Other players have played bit parts in the turnaround as well.  The club has gotten some timely contributions from Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Carl Crawford, Jed Lowrie, Daniel Bard, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Jason Varitek.  But occasional contributions among those players need to be consistent and on a regular basis.

This team is finally starting to look like the club we thought they’d be in the off season and the best part is they did it without falling too far behind in the standings and being double digit games out come Memorial Day.

Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem

Photo credit: Elsa – Getty Images

After a solid team win on Tuesday night, the Boston Red Sox look to take the series in the rubber game of three-game set against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field this afternoon.

Today’s game is scheduled to begin at 12:05 p.m. and will be televised in the Red Sox television market on NESN. If you live in the Indians television market, you can catch the game on STO. And if you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to the game on the 2011 Red Sox Radio Network.

Jon Lester looks to pick up his seventh win of the season today for skipper Terry Francona. In 10 starts this season, Lester is 6-1 with a 3.68 ERA. He’s made one start against the Indians this season and picked up a no decision after seven shutout innings back on 4/7. He’s made nine career starts against the Tribe and is 3-1 with a 3.93 ERA. Including his previous start at Progressive Field this year, Lester is 1-0 with a 5.22 ERA in five starts there.

Mitch Talbot returns from the disabled list after straining his right elbow to make the start for the Indians. He’s made just two starts this season and is 1-0 with a 1.46 ERA. One of those two starts came against the Red Sox back on 4/6 where he didn’t factor into the decision. In that game, he allowed  two runs in 4 1/3 innings of work. Talbot has made three career appearances (two starts) against the Red Sox and is 0-0 with a 6.35 ERA.

Click on the read more button below to see today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day if you’re on the home page.

Here are this afternoon’s lineups:

26-22		30-16
1. Jacoby Ellsbury	CF	1. Michael Brantley	CF
2. Dustin Pedroia	2B	2. Asdrubal Cabrera	SS
3. Adrian Gonzalez	1B	3. Shin-Soo Choo	RF
4. David Ortiz	DH	4. Shelley Duncan	DH
5. Jed Lowrie	SS	5. Matt LaPorta	1B
6. Carl Crawford	LF	6. Austin Kearns	LF
7. Jarrod Saltalamacchia	C	7. Jack Hannahan	3B
8. Mike Cameron	RF	8. Lou Marson	C
9. Drew Sutton	3B	9. Adam Everett	2B
Jon Lester	SP	Mitch Talbot	SP

Note: Kevin Youkilis was in the original starting lineup and has been replaced by Drew Sutton. Youk was scratched due to his left hand being sore from diving for a ball yesterday.

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

Check back and/or refresh often as more links will be added if/when they become available before game time.

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

Kevin Youkilis out with sore hand; Bobby Jenks set for sim game [Clubhouse Insider]

Pregame notes: Youkilis, Drew out of lineup [CSNNE.com]

Video: State of the Nation with Gordon Edes [ESPN Boston]

Beckett on pace for historic May [ESPN Boston]

Francona to host Fenway gala on June 15 [Extra Bases]

Drew nursing hamstring [Extra Bases]

Minor Details Ep. 11: Development in the Red Sox front office [Full Count]

Some serious anti-Daisuke Matsuzaka vitriol. But why do the Red Sox get a free pass? [HardBallTalk]

2012 Contract Issues: Boston Red Sox [MLBTradeRumors.com]

Vote: Which Red Sox Player’s Improved Play Has Been Biggest Reason for the Team’s Successful Month of May? [NESN.com]

Youkilis scratched with sore left hand [Projo Sox Blog]

Drew out with hamstring injury [Projo Sox Blog]

Lester aiming for Major League-leading seventh win [RedSox.com]

Vote the Ticket [SFGiants.com]

Red Sox in no-win situation with Dice-K [Yahoo! Sports]

Photo credits: Getty Images, Getty Images

Is there any hotter pitcher in the American League right now than one Josh Beckett? Probably not.

After another dominating performance last night against the Cleveland Indians in a 4-2 win, Beckett raised his record to 4-1 and has a paltry 1.69 ERA. If it weren’t for the bullpen letting him down a few times this year, Beckett could easily be leading the league in wins. It also goes to show you how unimportant a pitcher’s win total is.

What matters the most is the number of wins a team has. If you ask Beckett, he’ll tell you the team win is more important to him.

While Beckett was out there doing his thing, he got some help from his batterymate Jason Varitek on both sides of the plate. When Beckett got into some jams, the Captain bailed him out by throwing two baserunners trying to steal second. When the Red Sox needed some insurance runs in a tight one-run ballgame in the 7th inning, the Captain came through with his first home run in nearly a full calendar year (last one was May 30, 2010).

And when Beckett got into a little jam in the 7th inning with two outs, the bullpen didn’t let him down this time. Instead Rich Hill came in and struck out Jack Hannahan looking on a nasty curveball to end the threat. And after a giving up a leadoff walk in the 8th, Hill retired the next three batters to hand off the game to Jonathan Papelbon.

Papelbon did allow a home run to Travis Buck and while the last two outs he recorded were loud outs, he helped save Beckett’s first regular season win in Cleveland. And more importantly, it was the first win in Cleveland for the Red Sox after four losses this season.

Speed can kill and it did just that on Tuesday night.

Carl Crawford was hit by a pitch from Fausto Carmona in the third inning. He then stole second, went to third on a Drew Sutton groundout. And after a walk to Jacoby Ellsbury, Crawford came in a on Jed Lowrie sac fly. With Adrian Gonzalez at the plate, Ellsbury stole second and promptly scored on a double from Gonzo.

With the way Beckett was dominating the hitters, you knew as long as Beckett was in the game that’s all the run support he would need. Beckett finished the night with six strikeouts walking three in 6 2/3 innings. He did allow one run.

It was nice to see all facets of the game clicking last night. What was even better was to see Varitek, who’s been struggling all season long at the plate and throwing runners out, to come up with the clutch home run late and gunning down baserunners trying to steal. Just a short while ago, we all wanted a change behind the plate between the Captain and Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

But if they keep this up, things will be just fine for the Red Sox. Now if Daniel Bard can get his head screwed on straight, they’ll be even better.

With the day game today at 12:05 p.m., we’ll be back in a short while with this afternoon’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the morning. But for now, enjoy the overnight links 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

A Hill of a streak: Rich Hill’s unlikely path to Red Sox history [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]

Sox rely on Tek’s support [Boston Globe]

Work in pen a start for Lackey [Boston Globe]

Backstops become backbones [Boston Globe]

Josh Beckett dealing like an ace again [Boston Herald]

Varitek’s catching up [Boston Herald]

Returns good on Lackey [Boston Herald]

Red Sox find way up-Hill [Boston Herald]

Red Sox edge Indians, 4-2 [CSNNE.com]

Lackey: ‘Pretty good’ during side session [CSNNE.com]

Notes: Varitek does it all to beat Tribe [CSNNE.com]

Rapid reaction: Sox 4, Indians 2 [ESPN Boston]

Hill fills breach, builds bridge to Papelbon [ESPN Boston]

Jason Varitek gets comfy at, behind plate for Boston Red Sox [ESPN Boston]

Actions speak louder than words for Josh Beckett [Extra Bases]

Closing Time: Red Sox 4, Indians 2 [Full Count]

Video: Jason Varitek Says Josh Beckett’s Cutter, Changeup Key to Win Over Indians [NESN.com]

Video:  Josh Beckett Praises Jason Varitek’s Performance Behind the Plate Against Indians [NESN.com]

Jason Varitek Provides Latest Example of Resurgence by Red Sox Catchers [NESN.com]

Boston gets charge from battery [Providence Journal]

Lackey closing in on return [Providence Journal]

Red Sox Journal: Lefty Hill shows he’s got the right stuff [Providence Journal]

Okajima clears waivers, outrighted to PawSox [RedSox.com]

Jenks will make rehab outing before returning [RedSox.com]

For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSNNE,  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.

Photo credit: AP Photo