After watching the bullpen fail last night, Josh Beckett took matters into his hands this afternoon throwing a complete game 3-hit shutout in the Boston Red Sox 6-0 win over the Kansas City Royals in front of 37,612 at Fenway Park.

With the win today, the Red Sox (54-34) head into the All-Star Break with at least a 2-game lead over the Yankees, who are currently losing in the 7th inning to the Angels.  A Yankees loss makes it a 3-game lead. The Royals drop to 37-51.

What a masterful performance by Beckett this afternoon. The only time he got into trouble, he was able to roll a double play ball. He gave up just the 3 hits while striking out 7 to tie Tim Wakefield and Jason Marquis as the MLB leaders in wins with 11. Since May 1st, Beckett is 9-1 with an ERA of just over 200. And oh by the way, it was the 100th career win for Beckett.

Bruce Chen was lucky only to give up 3 runs in this one this afternoon as he struggled with his control. He went 3+ innings, allowing those 3 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks while striking out two to take the loss.

In total, the Royals pitchers today walked 9 batters.

After getting his first MLB hit and RBI yesterday, Aaron Bates came back with a solid performance as he was 3-for-4 with 2 doubles and an RBI. Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia continue to stay hot after their slumps as they both added two hits with Youk adding an RBI.

Rocco Baldelli also had 2 hits and an RBI but made two base running errors. David Ortiz and Jason Varitek had the other RBIs.

Jason Bay reached base 5 times in the game, all without a hit (3 BB, 2 HBP). According to Josh Q. Public, it’s the first time a member of the Red Sox has reached base 5 times without a hit since Ted Williams did it in 1951.

While 5 members of the Red Sox are now heading to St. Louis, the rest of the team will enjoy some much needed time off. The Red Sox will return to action on Friday night in Toronto where we will see Clay Buchholz make his first start of 2009 in a Sox uniform.

With two of their starting pitchers participating in the All-Star Game on Tuesday night in St. Louis, Boston Red Sox skipper Terry Francona announced after the game that they will call up Clay Buchholz from Triple-A Pawtucket to start on Friday night in Toronto.

Francona announced that Buchholz will pitch Friday night, Brad Penny on Saturday and Jon Lester on Sunday. He also said that John Smoltz, Josh Beckett and Tim Wakefield will start the games in Texas.

Buchholz just took his second loss of the season for the PawSox this afternoon.

He went 5 1/3 innings, allowing 5 runs (4 earned) on 8 hits and a walk with 3 strikeouts. He’s 7-2 with a 2.36 ERA this season.

And yes in case you’re wondering, it’s a temporary 6-man rotation for the Red Sox. Buchholz will be optioned back to Pawtucket after the start.

Could this also be serving as audition for Buchholz since they are playing in Toronto? Makes you think…….

Having overslept this morning and missed the morning Boston Red Sox roundup, I have decided to combine the post with the afternoon one. Things may look out of sorts for today but it’s a temporary thing.

Last night at the Fens, John Smoltz went out and gave the Red Sox five good innings as he left with a 9-1 lead. And for the second time in three of his starts, the Red Sox bullpen decided that they wanted to have the game be a little too close for comfort.

It does seem as though as the All-Star break can’t come soon enough for the bullpen. Justin Masterson was awful again last night as was Manny Delcarmen. Daniel Bard stepped in though and kept the Red Sox in the game.

Could it be that after the All-Star break that we see Bard in an expanded role? He’s one of the only bullpen guys throwing the ball well as of late. I also wonder now if the Red Sox will look for another arm down there at the trade deadline. Of course, we’ve got a few weeks for that as well.

This afternoon, the Red Sox look to avoid a split with the Royals before the All-Star break.

The game this afternoon will start at 1:35 PM EDT and will be televised in the Red Sox television market on NESN. If you live in the Royals’ television market, you can catch the game on FOX Sports Kansas City. And if the television isn’t your cup of tea, you can catch the game on one of the many affiliates of the Red Sox Radio Network.

Josh Beckett goes for career win No. 100 this afternoon. He’s made 17 starts this season and is 10-3 with a 3.62 ERA. He’s faced the Royals five times in his career and is 3-0 with a 2.41 ERA.

Bruce Chen starts for Trey Hillman’s mustache this afternoon. Chen’s made just 3 starts for the Royals this season and is 0-3 with a 6.88 ERA. He’s made 13 appearances (6 starts) in his career against the Red Sox and is 3-4 with a 4.54 ERA. He’s made five appearances (1 start) at Fenway Park and is 1-1 with a 4.22 ERA.

Continue reading for lineups and batter/pitcher matchups.

Continue reading →

With his wife Kelli in the hospital after the doctors had to stop her premature labor, Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia has decided to skip the 2009 All-Star Game in St. Louis on Tuesday night.

After consulting with Tito, Theo, Phyllis Merhige of Major League Baseball and my wife, Kelli, I have decided to withdraw from this year’s All-Star Game in St. Louis. I will instead stay in Boston with my wife as we tend to a family health matter.”

“This was certainly not an easy decision. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the game of baseball and for the All-Star Game and am incredibly honored that the fans voted me this year’s starting second baseman for the American League. I am disappointed that I will not be able to enjoy the amazing experience with the other All-Stars, especially with my Red Sox teammates, but it is important that I put my family first at this time.

“I want to thank Major League Baseball as well as Tito and Theo for supporting me in this decision. I also want to thank the fans for their understanding and the continued support they have shown throughout my career.”

If anyone thinks that Pedroia made the wrong call here, they are sadly mistaken. I think anyone of us would do the same thing.

I do want to wish Dustin and Kelli nothing but the best as they prepare for the birth of their first child.

Tampa Bay Rays and AL All-Star manager Joe Maddon has replaced Pedroia on the roster with one of his own players in Carlos Peña.

UConn Football links

Could Ohio Be A Trap Game Considering The Factors? [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Looking Back: 2006 Denham Brown with slam [UConn Huskies Basketball]

UConn eyes major recruit [Connecticut Post]

UConn’s Dyson Returns In Pro-Am Opener [Hartford Courant]

John Smoltz may have to find a way to throw a complete game if tonight is any indication of the how the Boston Red Sox bullpen will be when he pitches.

Smoltz left the game with a 9-1 lead only to see the Red Sox bullpen almost lose the lead. But in the end, the Royals bullpen wasn’t much better as the local nine went on to a 15-9 win in front of 37,825 at Fenway Park.

With the win, the Red Sox move to 53-34 and now have a two-game lead over the Yankees in the AL East, who fell to the Angels this afternoon. The Royals drop to 37-50.

Smoltz was much better tonight than he was in his first Fenway start. The bad part his  outing was that he threw so many pitches he had to leave the game at the end of the 5th and then had to sit and pray the Red Sox would hold on. He allowed just one run on 4 hits and walk while striking out 7.

The most consistent bullpen in baseball hasn’t been too consistent as of late and they almost cost Smoltz another win.

Justin Masterson once again had a rough outing as he was charged with allowing 5 runs on 4 hits and a walk with a strikeout in just 1/3 of an inning. Manny Delcarmen allowed 2 inherited runners (Masterson’s responsibility) to score as he gave up a hit and a walk.

Hideki Okajima bailed him out in the 6th and then was touched up for a run in the 7th (home  run). He allowed 3 hits and struck out 1. Despite allowing two unearned runs, Daniel Bard righted the ship by striking out 3 and allowing a hit in 2 innings of work. Takashi Saito worked a perfect 9th in a downpour to finish off the win.

Gil Meche’s struggles continued again at Fenway as he was touched up for 8 runs (6 earned) on 6 hits and 3 walks. He did strikeout 6 in just 3 2/3 innings before leaving the game with back spasms.

The Royals bullpen combination of Ron Mahay, Jamey Wright and Ramon Colon were touched up for 7 runs on 6 hits and 6 walks over the final 4 1/3 innings.

Kevin Youkilis is no longer slumping as he had a 2 homer effort. He finished the night 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs. Dustin Pedroia also sees his average continuing to climb back north as he had 2 hits and an RBI. David Ortiz also is swinging a hot stick as he had yet another home run, this of the 2-run variety. The hit for Big Papi was the 100oth of his career.

Nick Green drove in 2 runs and J.D. Drew, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jason Varitek (solo home run) and Aaron Bates knocked in the others. The hit and RBI for Bates were the first of his big league career.

Drew also shined defensively tonight as he made a great defensive play in the 6th inning.

Ryan Freel hit a sinking liner with the bases loaded that Drew played on one hop and then uncorked a perfect strike to Varitek to force out Miguel Olivo from right field. Yes, a force out at home plate on a throw from right field. The play ended up being huge for the Sox as Delcarmen gave up a 2-run single two batters later.

One more game for the Red Sox before the head into the All-Star break. No matter what happens they will be in first place but a win would be nice to maintain the 2-game lead. Josh Beckett starts for the Red Sox tomorrow afternoon and he’ll be opposed by Bruce Chen.