Tim Wakefield joined Jason Marquis of the Colorado Rockies as the only 11-game winners as the Boston Red Sox held on to beat the Oakland A’s 5-4 in front of 37,981 at Fenway Park.

The win for the Red  Sox give them a record of 51-33 and helps maintain their 1-game lead over the Yankees, who won tonight in Minnesota. The A’s fall to 35-48.

Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon made it interesting with a 5-3 lead in the 9th after throwing a 3 strikeout save last night.

He started the inning with a walk to Adam Kennedy and then allowed a single to Orlando Cabrera as Kennedy stopped at third. Scott Hairston then crushed a fastball from Papelbon that probably would have been gone out of the ballpark had it not been for a stiff wind blowing in. It ended up being a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 5-4.

Papelbon struck out Matt Holliday for the second out and Kurt Suzuki followed with a single. Papelbon struck out Jack Cust to end the game and pick up his 22nd save of the season.

Wakefield gave up a lot of hits tonight but was able to get out trouble when he needed to. He went 6+ innings, allowing 3 runs on 10 hits  and a walk while striking out 8. His knuckleball was nasty for most of the night and even pulled out a 60 MPH curveball to strikeout Holliday at one point in the game.

Manny Delcarmen gave up a hit and a walk in 2/3 of an inning out of the Red Sox bullpen. Hideki Okajima bailed him out with a perfect 1 1/3 innings.

Trevor Cahill was outstanding for the A’s through the first four innings, allowing just a hit. Then he came unglued in the 5th and eventually gave up 4 runs in the 6th. He went 5 1/3 innings, allowing the 4 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 2.

Dustin Pedroia continues to rake at the plate as he had three hits. David Ortiz had a big RBI night as he drove in 4. Three of those four runs came on a 3-run homer.  J.D. Drew had a solo blast before Big Papi’s for his only hit of the night.

The Red Sox will now host the Kansas City Royals for four games before the All-Star break. They’ll luck out as they won’t have to face Royals ace Zack Greinke.  Luke Hochevar starts for the Royals and he’ll be opposed by Brad Penny.

It was a great afternoon for UConn Huskies women’s basketball players Tina Charles and Tiffany Hayes as they combined for 36 points in a 115-78 win for Team USA over the Czech Republic at the World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia.

Charles led all scorers with 20 points and added 6 rebounds in just 18 minutes of action. Hayes chipped in with 16 points and 2 rebounds in 16 minutes.

Team USA advances to the medal round semifinals and will take on Australia on Thursday, July 9th.

Here are some quotes from Charles and Hayes courtesy of USA Basketball:

Tina Charles (Connecticut / Jamaica, N.Y.)

On today’s game:
I think we always want to come out aggressive and be the one that sets the tone, be the one that pushes first before they push us. I think we did a great job with that.

On her play today:
I’m just trying to get better and do whatever I can do to help my team win. Especially I have to get better on my free throws. I think I shot like 50 percent, it was really bad. I’m going to have to work on that in practice.

On advancing to the semifinals:
It feels great, especially with this team because we’ve worked so hard since trials and training camp. Everybody’s been wanting it. Everybody came out here hard and I’m really proud to see it.

Tiffany Hayes (Connecticut / Lakeland, Fla.)

On her 3-point shooting against the Czech Republic:
It’s a matter of working on it in practice. The other day we got a lot of shots up. I was just focused on finishing, I haven’t been doing that lately. Basically it was concentration.

You got into some foul trouble tonight:
Yeah, they were some stupid fouls on my part. I had to play disciplined and not get that fifth foul.

On advancing to the semifinals against Australia:
It feels really good right now to be in the position we’re in. Especially knowing all the hard work that all of us have been through, starting in Colorado with the training camp and whatnot. It’s good for us to be in this position because we know as a team how hard we worked.

As for Australia, we have to go into that game with the mentality that we haven’t played them, that we didn’t blow them out (in a pre-tournament scrimmage). We have to go in there and play our hardest, don’t have a big head going to the game. We need to make sure we go there and do what we need to do to get the win.

Before tonight’s game, the Boston Red Sox activated shortstop Jed Lowrie from the 60-day DL and optioned him to the Short Season-A Lowell Spinners.

To make room on the 40-man roster, the Red Sox designated Jonathan Van Every for assignment. Van Every is out for the season after undergoing knee surgery.

With Lowrie’s rehab time running out and the fact that he needs more at-bats, the Red Sox sent him to Lowell. Lowrie had missed a few games after getting hit in the knee with a pitch. Since he missed those games, they still counted on his 30-day rehab assignment and he missed a chance at more at-bats.

So for those worried about not putting him on the Red Sox roster, it’s okay. He’ll be back sooner rather than later. This also allows GM Theo Epstein to see if he can find any takers for Julio Lugo.

UConn Huskies freshman women’s basketball player Kelly Faris will be busy this summer playing basketball. She just won’t be doing it on campus.

Faris was named to the Team USA U-19 Team that will compete in the FIBA U-19 Championships to be held in Bangkok, Thailand from July 23rd to August 2nd.

Faris was part of the team last year that helped them qualify and joins four other players from that team in Thailand. They will train in Colorado Springs before heading to Thailand.

Here’s a complete look atthe U-19 roster:

Josh Beckett joined Tim Wakefield with 10 wins on the season as the Boston Red Sox went on to beat the Oakland A’s 5-2. Tonight, the Red Sox will try to take the rubber game at Fenway Park.

The game tonight will start at 7:10 PM EDT and will be televised in the Red Sox television market on NESN. If you live in the A’s television market, you can catch the game on Comcast SportsNet California. 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.

Wakefield, who was named to his first All-Star Team, has made 16 starts and is 10-3 with a 4.30 ERA. He’s faced the A’s once this season, picking up the win in a complete game 2-run effort. In his career, he has faced the A’s 38 times (27 starts) and is 10-6 with a 4.07 ERA.

21-year old Trevor Cahill makes his 18th start of the season for Bob Geren. He is 5-7 with a 4.55 ERA. He’s never faced the Red Sox in his career.

With some inclement weather in the Boston area, the Red Sox have issued the following weather update:

The current weather forecast (provided by the Red Sox private weather service, Meteorlogix) in the vicinity of Fenway Park calls for the possibility of scattered light rain showers to move through the area during the late afternoon and early evening hours.

The Fenway Park gates will open at the regularly scheduled time of 5:10 p.m., and the Red Sox are hopeful that tonight’s game with the Oakland Athletics, which is scheduled to start at 7:10 p.m., will be played. However, the Red Sox want to alert our fans to the current forecast and to the possibility of delay.

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

News and notes [Extra Bases]

Transcript of Terry Francona on D&H, 7/8/09 [Full Count]

Red Sox make two international signings [Full Count]

Maddon talks about Wakefield and the possibility of pitching alternates [Full Count]

Ellsbury adds another weapon: consistency [Tony Massarotti – Boston Globe]

Do the Red Sox have enough to get Halladay? [NESN.com]

Francona, Pedroia put family over Fenway [NESN.com]

Here are the lineups for tonight’s game:

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

Brett Anderson stole the show last night for the Oakland A’s as he threw a 2-hit complete game shutout at the Boston Red Sox. Tonight, the Red Sox will look to get back into the win column and maintain their 1-game lead over the New York Yankees in the AL East.

The game tonight will start at 7:10 PM EDT and will be televised in the Red Sox television market on NESN. If you live in the A’s television market, you can catch the game on Comcast SportsNet California. 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.

The Commander, Josh Beckett, hopes to kick A$$ and take names later for Terry Francona tonight. Named to the AL All-Star team on Sunday, Beckett is 9-3 with a 3.76 ERA in 16 starts. He didn’t face the A’s earlier this season and he is 2-3 with a 4.88 ERA in 5 career starts.

Bob Geren calls on lefty Dana Eveland to throw up another W in the win column. He’s appeared in 6 games this season (5 starts) and is 1-2 with a 7.40 ERA. He started against the Red Sox back on April 14th, receiving a no decision after giving up 5 runs in 4 2/3 innings. He’s made just 2 career starts against the local nine and is 0-2 with an 18.90 ERA (14 ER/6.2 innings). He’s made just 1 career start at Fenway Park and allowed 9 runs in just 2 innings.

With storms going through the area, the Red Sox have issued the following weather update:

The current weather forecast (provided by the Red Sox private weather service, Meteorlogix) in the vicinity of Fenway Park calls for the possibility of scattered rain showers to move through the area during the late afternoon and evening hours.

The Fenway Park gates will open at the regularly scheduled time of 5:10 p.m., and the Red Sox are hopeful that tonight’s game with the Oakland Athletics, which is scheduled to start at 7:10 p.m., will be played. However, the Red Sox want to alert our fans to the current forecast and to the possibility of delay.

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

Pedroia back in lineup, says wife went into labor [Extra Bases]

Pregame: Red Sox Vs. A’s [Extra Bases]

Lowrie returns to Portland [Extra Bases]

Red Sox fan settles ‘God Bless America’ lawsuit with Yankees, New York [Projo Sox Blog]

It could be a stormy night at Fenway [Projo Sox Blog]

Nomar says he didn’t turn down the Sox’ money [Projo Sox Blog]

As Bates debuts, he wishes his father could see it [Projo Sox Blog]

Here are the lineups for tonight’s game:

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

It turned out to be a very emotional night at Fenway Park on Monday as Nomar Garciaparra made his first trip back since being traded back in 2004 at the trade deadline.

The Boston Red Sox happened to be on the road in Minnesota when Garciaparra found out he was traded to the Chicago Cubs. He never got a chance to thank the fans and the fans didn’t get the chance to thank him.

That opportunity came last night as the fans gave Nomar a 1 minute and 14 second standing ovation to thank him for his time in Boston. Nomar had passed on his thoughts about the fans of Boston before the game. Nomar finished the game last night 2-for-4 with an RBI before he was lifted for a pinch-runner.

It really was strange seeing Nomar back at the Fens in another uniform but that close to the norm in baseball these days with free agency. You can’t fault Theo for trading him as it ultimately helped the Red Sox capture their World Series ring in 86 years.

John Smoltz struggled in his Fenway debut and they really needed him to be at the top of his game as they ran into the buzzsaw that was Oakland A’s starter Brett Anderson. While Smoltz was giving up runs, Anderson was baffling Red Sox hitters. It definitely wasn’t the Fenway debut that Smoltz had hoped for.

Smoltz struggled with his command and you have to wonder if nerves played a part like they did his season debut against the Nationals. The telling tale will be determined when Smoltz makes his next start this weekend against the Royals. I do wonder if he continues to struggle if the Sox will callup Clay Buchholz from Pawtucket.

The Red Sox did play shorthanded last night as reigning AL MVP Dustin Pedroia was a late scratch with some family issues. His wife Kelli is pregnant with a little Pedroia and had to go the hospital. Nick Green moved over to second base and Julio Lugo stepped in at shortstop and surprise surprise, made a throwing error.

The local nine also lost Jeff Bailey to the disabled list before the game as he is out with a sprained ankle. Taking his place on the 25-man roster was Aaron Bates, who was called up from Pawtucket.

Continue reading →