Boston Red Sox @ Detroit Tigers 7:05 p.m Comerica Park, Detroit, MI SP: Jon Lester vs Dontrelle Willis TV: NESN, MLB.tv Radio: Red Sox Radio Network

Afternoon Red Sox Delight – 5/15 [SOX & Dawgs]

After a 7-2 win last night, the Boston Red Sox look for another in game two of a three-game set against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.

Tonight’s game will start at 7:05 p.m. and will be shown on NESN in the Red Sox television market. The game can be seen in the Tigers television market on FOX Sports Detroit. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to the game on the 2010 Red Sox radio network.

After a slow start in 2010, Jon Lester has picked up wins in his last three starts, allowing just three runs over 22 innings. In seven starts this season, he is 3-2 with a 3.71 ERA. He hasn’t faced the Tigers since 2008 and has made one career start against them, picking up the loss after allowing four runs in 5 1/3 innings. He’s never faced the Tigers at Comerica Park.

Dontrelle Willis makes his sixth start in 2010 for former dugout chain smoker Jim Leyland. In his first five starts, the D-Train is 1-1 with a 3.99 ERA. He faced the Red Sox once in 2009, taking the loss after allowing five runs in 2 1/3 innings. Overall in his career, he’s made two starts against the Red Sox and is 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA. His lone win against the Red Sox came as a member of the Florida Marlins in 2006.

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

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

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Ellsbury likely to start rehab assignment Monday [Clubhouse Insider]

Promotion for Papi: Up to fifth in lineup [ESPN Boston]

Pedroia is on a good pace [Extra Bases]

Beckett ready to go [Extra Bases]

News and notes from Detroit [Extra Bases]

Bay finds his home in New York [Full Count]

Josh Beckett, Mike Cameron Set to Return Early Next Week [NESN.com]

A Five Run First!! [Nuggetpalooza]

After throwing 55-pitch session, Josh Beckett on track to pitch Tuesday [Projo Sox Blog]

With the Boston Red Sox starting a five-game road trip that is part of eleven road games in thirteen days, it was imperative that they got off to a good start in Detroit against the Tigers at Comerica Park. They would need a better start from Clay Buchholz than he had given them his last two times out.

While Buchholz did have a little bit of command issues in the 1st inning and again in the 7th inning, he did his job as he allowed one run over 6 1/3 innings in the Red Sox 7-2 win. Of course it helps when he was given a 5-0 lead before even taking the mound.

Home runs from Dustin Pedroia (2-run HR) and David Ortiz (3-run HR) in the top of the 1st gave the Red Sox the 5-0 lead. Ortiz would add a second home run (a solo shot) and Bill Hall had a pinch-hit solo home run in the 9th.

Now I’ve been super critical of Big Papi over the course of the season. While I didn’t exactly come out and say that I thought he would released if things didn’t start to pick up for him, I did agree with some of the national writers saying he would be released sooner rather than later.

After watching his performance on Friday night, I think we can put tuck that talk in, read it a bedtime story and put it to bed. If you watch Big Papi’s first home run, don’t look at the distance it went (estimated 450 feet). Rather look it at the swing he took. On the previous pitch from Max Scherzer before the 3-run blast, he just missed it and fouled it off.

He didn’t make that mistake a second time though as he has in past at-bats this season.This time around, he absolutely crushed it. It was vintage Papi and his second home run was more of the same as Scherzer tried to go inside with a fastball only to watch Ortiz hit it 394 feet into the right field seats.

Papi’s bat heating up couldn’t have come at a better time. Now if the starting pitching can continue what it’s been doing lately, things could be looking on the up-and-up for the Red Sox.

Speaking of starting pitching, Josh Beckett, who is celebrating his 30th birthday today, worked out his achy, breaky bat and deemed himself ready to make a start on Tuesday. He’s been penciled in for the start against the Yankees and they’ll wait to see how he feels in the morning and then again after throwing a side session this afternoon.

Hopefully this time off will have allowed Beckett to clear his mind and focus on turning his dismal start to 2010 around.

We’ll be back later with tonight’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day but for now enjoy the overnight links.

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Things We Learned: Softball slugging is working for Red Sox [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]

Rejuvenated Ortiz (two HRs) takes Sox for a ride [Boston Globe]

Damon still valued presence [Boston Globe]

From a sorry state to many apologies [Boston Globe]

Beckett gets back at it [Boston Globe]

David Ortiz turns it on [Boston Herald]

David Ortiz heats up [Boston Herald]

Josh Beckett upbeat [Boston Herald]

Johnny Damon at ease away from hyped AL East [Boston Herald]

Ortiz, Sox label Detroit, 7-2 [CSN New England]

Buchholz on cruise control [ESPN Boston]

Papi’s power surge continues [ESPN Boston]

Closing Time: Red Sox 7, Tigers 2 [Full Count]

Ortiz [Hit and Run with Dan Roche]

Red Sox Lefty Prospect Felix Doubront Improves to 3-0 With Sea Dogs [NESN.com]

David Ortiz Continues Hot Streak With Two Titanic Blasts in Win Over Tigers [NESN.com]

Terry Francona Enjoying Hot Bat of David Ortiz [NESN.com]

Ortiz homers twice, backing solid start by Buchholz [Providence Journal]

Increased confidence gives Buchholz the edge [Providence Journal]

Red Sox Journal: Beckett on track to face Yankees [Providence Journal]

Francona fondly recalls Harwell [RedSox.com]

Cameron could be back Monday [RedSox.com]

Beckett aiming to face Yanks on Tuesday [RedSox.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 see what the enemy papers are saying, head over to the Detroit Free Press, The Detroit News and MLive.com websites. You can also check out what our Bloguin brother, Detroit4lyfe, has to say.

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

UConn Football links

Robbie Vaughn: Better Time With Redskins [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Mailbag May 15: Hogan Replacement, Replace AD? [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Geno Wishes Tina Charles And Kalana Greene The Best [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Montgomery all about smiles, wins for Sun [Norwich Bulletin]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Jim Calhoun’s Back, but UConn’s Future Still Hazy [Fanhouse]

Other UConn related links

Baseball: Huskies Drop 12-1 Decision to South Florida [UConnHuskies.com]

David Ortiz has had his struggles during the 2010 season for the Boston Red Sox but he has been swinging the bat well as of late and on Friday night he proved it to Max Scherzer and the Detroit Tigers.

Big Papi had two home runs, estimated at 844 feet, to back up a one-run effort from Clay Buchholz as the Red Sox went on to a 7-2 win over the Tigers in front of 31,732 on a beautiful Friday night for baseball at Comerica Park.

The win for the Red Sox moves them to 19-17 but they remain 1½ games behind the Blue Jays for third place in the AL East. The Tigers, who were 12-4 at home coming into the game, fall to 20-16.

Buchholz was staked to a 5-0 lead before he even threw a pitch and had his struggles in the first inning with two walks. He ended up giving up a run in the inning but that would be it as he settled down. He had good life on his fastball and mixed in his secondary pitches quite nicely to pick up his fourth win (4-3). He went 6 1/3 innings, allowing the one run on three hits and five walks with three strikeouts.

Daniel Bard got Buchholz of a jam in the seventh and ended up allowing an unearned run in 1 2/3 innings on a hit and a walk with two strikeouts. He also hit a batter. Hideki Okajima cleaned up in the 9th, allowing a hit and had a strikeout.

The two home runs for Ortiz gives him six on the season and moves his average up to .213. Dustin Pedroia’s only hit of the night was a 2-run homer in the first inning while Bill Hall had a pinch-hit solo home run in the 9th. Darnell McDonald added two hits and Victor Martinez and Jeremy Hermida were the only starters without hits.

Marco Scutaro started the game with a single and came around to score on Pedroia’s home run. After Scherzer got VMart to ground out, he walked Kevin Youkilis and allowed a single to J.D. Drew before Papi’s monstrous blast made it 5-0.

Two first inning walks by Buchholz came back to haunt him as Brennan Boesch singled in Austin Jackson to make 5-1. Papi’s solo jack in the 4th made it 6-1.

The Tigers got it to 6-2 in the 8th off of Bard on a sac fly off the bat of Brandon Inge but Hall’s pinch-hit home run in the 9th provided the fnal margin.

Jon Lester will to continue his winning ways on Saturday night for the Red Sox. He’ll be opposed by Dontrelle Willis in a 7:05 p.m. start.

Boston Red Sox @ Detroit Tigers 5.14.10 box score

Boston Red Sox @ Detroit Tigers 7:05 p.m Comerica Park, Detroit, MI SP: Clay Buchholz vs Max Scherzer TV: NESN Plus, MLB.tv Radio: Red Sox Radio Network

Afternoon Red Sox Delight – 5/14 [SOX & Dawgs]

After finishing up a 10-game homestand at 7-3, the Boston Red Sox will play 11 of their next 13 games on ther road beginning tonight with a 3-game set against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.

Tonight’s game will start at 7:05 p.m. and will be shown on NESN Plus in the Red Sox television market. The game can be seen in the Tigers television market on FOX Sports Detroit. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to the game on the 2010 Red Sox radio network.

After a good start to 2010, Clay Buchholz has struggled in his last two outings and looks to right the ship. In six starts this season, he is 3-3 with a 3.82 ERA. Buchholz faced the Tigers once in 2009 taking the loss after allowing one run in seven innings of work. Overall in his career, he is 0-1 with a 4.29 ERA in two starts. He’s made one career start at Comerica Park and has no record with an 11.25 ERA (4 IP/5 ER).

Max Scherzer, who came over from the Arizona Diamondbacks in a December 2009 trade, makes his 8th start of the season for former chain smoker Jim Leyland. In those eight starts, he is 1-3 with a 6.81 ERA. He’s never faced the Red Sox in his career.

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

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

Beckett hoping to pitch Tuesday [Clubhouse Insider]

Francona, Leyland renew acquaintances [ESPN Boston]

Beckett tests his back by playing catch [Extra Bases]

Beckett set for Tuesday [Extra Bases]

Wakefield’s unwanted place in Red Sox history [Full Count]

Gammons on Big Show: Tough stretch is good for Sox [Full Count]

Daisuke Matsuzaka’s Bounceback Start Earns Him Amica Pitcher of the Week Honors [NESN.com]

Dom DiMaggio Was One of ‘Original Teammates’ of the Jimmy Fund [NESN.com]

Former Red Sox Outfielder Johnny Damon Taking Over as Leader in Tigers Clubhouse [NESN.com]

Friday Nuggetpalooza! [Nuggetpalooza]

Despite looming return, Cameron expects offseason surgery inevitable [Projo Sox Blog]

Josh Beckett likely to return to mound Tuesday vs. Yankees [Projo Sox Blog]