Boston Red Sox @ Toronto Blue Jays 7:07 p.m Rogers Centre – Toronto, ON SP: Jon Lester vs Brett Cecil TV: NESN, MLB.tv Radio: Red Sox Radio Network

Afternoon Red Sox Delight – 4/28 [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.

Enjoy the chat folks. I’ll be back around 8 p.m or so and will join ya’ll then.

After a solid outing from Clay Buchholz in a 2-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays last night, the Boston Red Sox look for a sweep tonight at Rogers Centre in Toronto, ON.

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.

Jon Lester makes his fifth start of the season for Terry Francona and looks to turn around his dismal start to the season. In his previous four starts, he is 0-2 with a 6.23 ERA. He enjoyed good success against the Blue Jays in 2009 as he was 3-1 with a 1.98 ERA in four starts. He’s made nine career starts against the Blue Jays and is 4-3 with a 3.03 ERA. In five starts at Rogers Centre, Lester is 2-3 with a 4.38 ERA.

Brett Cecil makes his second start since being recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on April 23rd. In his only start of 2010, he got the win after allowing four runs in 6 2/3 innings against the Rays. He’s made two career starts against the Red Sox and is 0-2 with a 12.00 ERA.

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

The secret to Mike Lowell’s pinch-hitting success [Clubhouse Insider]

More Consistent Pitching Will Help Red Sox Compete With Yankees, Rays [Don Orsillo – NESN.com]

Martinez will DH tonight; Ortiz out [ESPN Boston]

Youk, dissected [ESPN Boston]

By the numbers [ESPN Boston]

Frandsen designated by Red Sox [Extra Bases]

What to expect from Alan Embree [Extra Bases]

Ortiz back on the bench [Extra Bases]

Remy on D&C: ‘No flow’ for Sox early in season [Full Count]

Francona on D&H: ‘Trying to do the right thing’ [Full Count]

Popular opinion? Ortiz’ days with Sox are numbered [Full Count]

Poll Shows Red Sox Are More Hated Than Yankees [NESN.com]

To make room for Alan Embree, INF Kevin Frandsen designated [Projo Sox Blog]

For reliever Scott Atchison, a bittersweet ending [Projo Sox Blog]

One a lonely number for Red Sox, Jays [RedSox.com]

After the marathon game on Monday, the Boston Red Sox bullpen was taxed. They would need a Herculean effort from Clay Buchholz on Tuesday night to prevent having to use the bullpen even more.

And with his spot in the rotation secure, Buchholz delivered that big effort and more in the 2-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Buchholz found himself in a jam in the first but was able to work out of it and only give up one run. After that, he took matters into his own hands, pitching almost flawlessly the rest of the way.

For the first time all season and maybe in a long while, he looked very relaxed on the mound as I guess that comes from having that security of his spot in the rotation. He had excellent command of all of his pitches and worked them all around the strike zone.

The opposing starter in Shaun Marcum was equal to the task as he allowed just one run over seven innings. But for him, his bullpen couldn’t keep the game tied.

Once again we saw something we thought we’d never see happen, David Ortiz being hit for in a crucial situation.

The Red Sox had loaded up the bases on Scott Downs on singles by Dustin Pedroia and Victor Martinez and a walk to J.D. Drew. As he was strolling to home plate, Big Papi was recalled to the dugout with the lefty Downs still on the bump. Terry Francona summoned Mike Lowell and Cito Gaston countered with his closer, righty Kevin Gregg.

While I totally understand the situation, I wasn’t sure about the move. After all, Big Papi was hitting .313 (5-for-16) off Downs with a home run and an RBI. Either way, the move worked out for the Red Sox as Gregg walked Lowell on four pitches to force in the winning run.

It was also nice to Ramon Ramirez put his struggles aside to save the Herculean effort of Buchholz. With basically the entire bullpen not available, Ramirez did the job. Hopefully a good outing like this will put his ship sailing back in the right direction.

The Red Sox, who called up Alan Embree last night, have designated Kevin Frandson for assignment according to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports via his Twitter page. The move frees up a spot for Embree on the 40-man roster.

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

Buchholz gets win — and ‘save’ [Boston Globe]

Plugged back in, crackling good [Boston Globe]

Castro gives way to Embree in bullpen [Boston Globe]

Clay Buchholz two good [Boston Herald]

Sox recap: Clay Buchholz delivers [Boston Herald]

In outfielders’ defense, stat made error [Boston Herald]

David Ortiz on the right track [Boston Herald]

Postgame notes: 117 pitches for Clay [ESPN Boston]

Sox playing it close, but winning [Extra Bases]

Ortiz wants to play ‘two or three more years’ [Full Count]

Closing Time: Red Sox 2, Blue Jays 1 [Full Count]

Drew had another bout with vertigo [Full Count]

Beltre says ‘Thank you’ to Buchholz [Full Count]

Buchholz was Huge [Hit and Run with Dan Roche]

Clay Buchholz Shows His Resilience in Toronto [NESN.com]

Maturing Clay Buchholz Shines on Mound Over Eight Innings [NESN.com]

Top 10 Lessons the Red Sox Can Learn From the Bruins [NESN.com]

Have Red Sox Become Too Businesslike for Their Own Good? [NESN.com]

Embree says he’s satisfied as he gets set to join Boston [Projo Sox Blog]

Report: Red Sox sign Dominican outfielder [Projo Sox Blog]

Buchholz’s gem gives bullpen a breather [Providence Journal]

Delcarmen comes to the fore as pen falters [Providence Journal]

Red Sox Journal: Despite plate success, Varitek won’t DH [Providence Journal]

Cameron, Ellsbury hit off tee [RedSox.com]

Wakefield following normal routine [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 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

BIG EAST Completes Bowl Lineup [BigEast.org]

Mailbag April 27: Should Difton And Lang Redshirt? [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

A Couple Of Your Questions On The Bowls [Desmond Conner –  Hartford Courant]

Big East mailbag [ESPN.com – Big East Blog]

Former Huskie Desi Cullen Sheds Some Light on Life as an NFL Kicker [Rob Lunn – NESN.com]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

No Surgery For Samarie Walker; No Interest in Marie Mungedi [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Geno To Speak At Neag School Of Education Ceremony [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

No Surgery Yet For Walker [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Charde Houston On Plane Involved In Bomb Scare [Hartford Courant]

Jones assumes role as leader [Norwich Bulletin]

Good coaching pays off in investing [Cabot Wealth Advisory]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Last Stand for UConn’s Calhoun? [Wall Street Journal]

Other UConn related links

Baseball:  Huskies Overcome Deficit, Defeat Bryant 14-6 [UConnHuskies.com]

Alan Embree had said he would opt out of his contract on Friday if he wasn’t called up to the Boston Red Sox before then.

Well now he doesn’t have to worry about that as Terry Francona announced after Tuesday’s 2-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays that Embree had been called up from Triple-A Pawtucket. He’ll take the place of Fabio Castro on the Red Sox 25-man roster.

The Red Sox will still need to make a corresponding roster move in regards to the 40-man roster before activating Embree.

In eight games for the PawSox this season, Embree has no record with a 3.68 ERA (3 ER/7.1 IP).

The move now gives the Red Sox three lefties in their bullpen. The other two are Scott Schoeneweis and Hideki Okajima.

The Red Sox will need to make another move on Saturday when Daisuke Matsuzaka is activated from the DL. My money is on them releasing Schoeneweis but that’s just pure speculation on my part.

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.

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]