After a walk on the wild side last night, the Boston Red Sox will look to salvage a split in their 4-game series with the Minnesota Twins.

The game this afternoon will start at 1:10 PM EDT and will be televised in the Red Sox television market on NESN. If you live in the Twins television market, you can catch the game on FOX Sports North. 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 former commander of the KickA$$ Brigade Josh Beckett looks to stage a coup and regain his commander status this afternoon in his 100th start for the Red Sox. On the season, Beckett is 4-2 with a 5.01 ERA and is coming off a strong outing against the New York Mets that saw him give up 1 unearned run in 8 innings. Beckett has never faced the Twins at the Metrodome and is 2-1 with a 4.74 ERA in three career starts.

The Twins will look to rookie Anthony Swarzak to help take 3-of-4 from the Red Sox. Swarzak has made just one career big league start. In that start, he went seven scoreless innings against the Milwaukee Brewers to pick up the win.

Francona sheds no tears for Metrodome [Extra Bases]

Globe 10.0: How are the Red Sox in first place? [Extra Bases]

Bay gets a day [Projo Sox Blog]

Baldelli still dealing with hamstring issues, likely related to his condition [Projo Sox Blog]

What to do when Smoltz is Ready!!!! [Lou Merloni – CSN New England]

Braves GM mum on Francoeur-to-Sox rumors [NESN.com]

Struggling Lester raising some flags [NESN.com]

Ever-frustrating Dice-K taking it to new level [Tom Caron – NESN.com]

Here are the lineups for this afternoon’s game:

And here how the hitters have fared against this afternoon’s starting pitchers. No one on the Red Sox has faced Swarzak.

Boston Red Sox pitchers tied a MLB record with 6 wild pitches in their 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night. Last night’s starter Daisuke Matsuzaka had 4 of them which tied a Red Sox record.

For whatever reason, the Red Sox starting pitchers seem to have one bad inning. We all know Dice-K likes to live on the seat of pants but the act is starting to grow old. He likes to nibble on the corners too much and doesn’t really throw a lot of strikes. He’s been here long enough to know that if you throw 102 pitches in 5 innings, you’re going to be done for the night. In Japan, he’d more than likely have been halfway through his outing.

Somebody really needs to light a fire under them to get them going now that they find themselves in a tie for first place with the hated rivals to the south in the New York Yankees.

It may be time for the David Ortiz era in Boston to end (blasphemous I know but I’m a realist). Even with being dropped down in the lineup, he’s once again struggling. I will admit he did hit one ball good last night but Twins starter Kevin Slowey was able to throw a 89 MPH fastball right by him to strike him out.

Don’t get me wrong, Ortiz has meant the world to this franchise. But when he’s paid to produce and he’s not doing it and not doing it almost 2 months into the season, a change needs to be made. While I’d rather not see the Red Sox trade away some of their young pitching talent, it may be time to use one or two pieces should a slugger to take over for Ortiz become available. Look what happened when they traded Nomar Garciaparra in 2004.

I know a lot of people out there disagree with me on this and that’s okay with me. We all have different opinions of what needs to be done and I’m just throwing my two cents out there.

And one more thing, Jason Bay will be making a lot of money next season no matter where he ends up.

Lastly before the links, former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling will be holding a chat over at 38 Pitches at noon today.

Sox walk on wild side [Boston Globe]

A wild and crazy night for the Sox [Providence Journal]

Dice-K rough again as Sox fall to Twins [Boston Herald]

Kottaras caught off guard by own pitchers [Boston Globe]

Kottaras-Matsuzaka battery sets records it would rather avoid [Providence Journal]

Jason Bay solo shot ends run [Boston Herald]

Bay is ready to rest case [Boston Globe]

Ellsbury making quick work of his hitting streak [Providence Journal]

Jon Lester’s struggles a going concern [Boston Herald]

Catching Dice-K is a challenge for Kottaras [Providence Journal]

Ellsbury riding impressive hit streak [RedSox.com]

Ortiz’ efforts to get it going are growing old [Providence Journal]

Schedule sets up nicely for Kottaras [RedSox.com]

For more slices of Boston Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, and Providence Journal websites.

And if you must check out the enemy papers, head over to the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Pioneer Press websites.

UConn Football links

Right, No Iowa Game(s) [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Will Jarell Miller Ever Be A Husky [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

What Happened To Northwestern And Kansas [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Seems Like A New Focus In Recruiting [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Early Bird Season Tickets Sold? An Update [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Is UConn Making Any Inroads With Top In-State Recruits [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Where does UConn fit in Big East standings? [USF Sports Bulletin]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

This and that: From Geno Auriemma and about Geno Auriemma [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

UConn’s Moseley Made Impression On Geno’s ‘Family’ [Hartford Courant]

UConn women on USA basketball [Waterbury Republican-American]

UConn’s lone recruit expects to be more than ready [Waterbury Republican-American]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Ray Allen’s Story [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Walker Picked for U-19 Trials [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Kemba Walker Invited To U-19 Team USA Trials [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

Kemba back with Team USA [In Storrs Now]

Kemba Walker Named to USA Basketball Trials Roster [UConnHuskies.com]

UConn’s Walker invited to attend U19 trials [Connecticut Post]

Jim Calhoun’s Contract Up For Discussion [Hartford Courant]

UConn’s Walker invited to U19 team try-outs [Norwich Bulletin]

UConn on back burner, at least for one day [New Haven Register]

Thabeet “Key” For Thunder At 2009 NBA Draft…In More Ways Than One. [Welcome to Loud City]

Final candidates for Colorado Springs revealed [Andy Katz – ESPN.com]

Other UConn related links

Ignorant or accommodating: you be the judge [Thoughts From a Fat White Guy]

An Austrian upset of epic proportions [Rob Lunn – NESN.com]

Baby steps in recovery of TFC’s top prospect [Toronto Star]

The Minnesota Twins were able to take advantage of the wildness of Daisuke Matsuzaka, Manny Delcarmen and Justin Masterson on their way to a 4-2 win over the Boston Red Sox in front of 28,221 at the Metrodome on Wednesday night.

The loss for the Red Sox (27-20) drops them into a first place tie with the New York Yankees, who beat the Rangers, in the AL East.  The Twins get to .500 (24-24) with the win.

Matsuzaka was just a wee bit wild as he uncorked 4 wild pitches. Matsuzaka threw 102 pitches in 5 innings, giving up 3 runs on 9 hits and 3 walks while recording 6 strikeouts.

Delcarmen also had a wild pitch and allowed a run on 2 hits and walk while adding a strikeout in 2/3 of an inning. Masterson wanted to be part of the crowd so he added a wild pitch in his 2 1/3 innings that  saw him give up 2 hits and a walk.

Kevin Slowey went 6 innings for the Twins, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits and a walk while striking out 5. Three Twins relievers combined to keep the Red Sox hitless over the final 3 innings.

Jacoby Ellsbury extended his hitting streak to 22 games with a 2-hit effort and Mike Lowell added 2 hits as well. Dustin Pedroia also ran his hitting streak to 10 games.  Jason Bay had the other hit for the Red Sox, a solo home run. The solo home run for Bay ended a streak of 11 home runs with a runner on base. Kevin Youkilis added the other RBI on a sacrifice fly.

After Slowey got Nick Green to fly out to start the 3rd inning, Ellsbury and Pedroia had back-t0-back singles. A walk to J.D. Drew loaded the bases up for Youk, who brought home Ellsbury with a sacrifice flyto put the Red Sox out front 1-0.

The Twins took the lead for good in the bottom half of the inning.

Denard Span singled and stole second with Joe Mauer at the plate. He ended up at third when George Kottaras’ throw ended up in the oufield and he came around to score on Mauer’s sac fly to tie it up at 1.  Back-to-back doubles by Justin Morneau and Jason Kubel made it 2-1 Twins. Matsuzaka got the second out when he struck out Michael Cuddyer but Brendan Harris followed with a single to score Kubel, making it 3-1.

Bay got the Red Sox to within a run when he led off the 6th with a solo blast but that was it as far as scoring for the Red Sox.

Delcarmen retired Nick Punto to start the bottom of the 6th and then gave up back-to-back singles to Span and Mauer. He was able to strikeout Morneau but with Kubel at the plate, he uncorked a wild pitch to move the runners up 90 feet. The Red Sox decided to intentionally walk Kubel and Masterson came in to replace Manny D. Masterson had 2 strikes out Cuddyer but ended up hitting him with a pitch to force in the final of the run of the night that gave the Twins a 4-2 lead.

Another tough night on the Red Sox. The starting pitching needs a kick in the  butt to get going as it was one bad inning that failed them again.

Josh Beckett will look to help the Red Sox to a split of the 4-game set on Thursday afternoon. He’ll be opposed by rookie Anthony Swarzak in the game that starts at 1:10 PM.

Boston Red Sox @ Minnesota Twins 5.27.09 box score

After a rough outing last night, the Boston Red Sox look to regroup tonight in the third game of a 4-game set with the Minnesota Twins. The series stands at 1-1.

The game tonight will start at 8:10 PM EDT and will be televised in the Red Sox television market on NESN. If you live in the Twins television market, you can catch the game on FOX Sports North. 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.

Daisuke Matsuzaka will make his second start since returning from the disabled list. He was roughed a little in that outing against the New York Mets who scored 4 runs in 5 innings off of him. This is just the 4th start of the season and his record stands at 0-2 with a 10.32 ERA. He has had good success against the Twins, going 2-0 with a 1.61 ERA in 3 starts. In his lone start at the Metrodome, Dice-K allowed 2 runs in 7 innings to pick up a win.

Despite a 4.23 ERA, Kevin Slowey is off to a 6-1 start in 9 games for Ron Gardenhire. He has only faced the Red Sox one time in his career and that was last year at Fenway Park when he was also matched up with Dice-K. He took the loss in that game giving up 4 runs in 5 2/3 innings.

With Matsuzaka on the mound, Kottaras gets a new challenge [Projo Sox Blog]

At 21 games, Ellsbury’s streak becoming impossible to ignore [Projo Sox Blog]

Smoltz sounds as good as he looks, to Francona [Projo Sox Blog]

Terry Francona on Dale and Holley [Full Count]

Francona: ‘A lot went into it’ [Extra Bases]

A few things…. [Extra Bases]

Ortiz impressive again in batting practice [Extra Bases]

Slumping as a DH [Ask 14]

Jacoby is on Fire [Ask 14]

Wednesday Quickie Nuggets [Nuggetpalozza]

Red Sox should be shopping for a shortstop [NESN.com]

5th Inning Strikes Again [Center Field]

Bad karmah for Lestah? [Batter-up with Bruno]

Here are the lineups for this tonight’s game:

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

After cruising through the first four innings last night, the Minnesota Twins got to Boston Red Sox starter Jon Lester for five runs on their way to a 5-2 victory.

It’s been an up-and-down season for Lester this year and he hasn’t been able to string consistent outings together. The one big blow last night came off a good inside fastball to Justin Morneau that he crushed for a home run. There doesn’t appear to be anything physically wrong with Lester.

The big news of the night though was where would David Ortiz bat in the Red Sox lineup. He ended up in the 6th spot and ended up going 1-for-3 with a double, walk and a strikeout. While he said before the game he wouldn’t talk to the media unless he hit a home run, he did offer this up.

“Look, let me make something clear so you guys don’t ask me the whole time about me hitting sixth,” said Ortiz. “I started hitting third here a little bit after I got here. If you’re hitting third, you must be swinging the bat good. The manager moved me to sixth because we got guys swinging the bat good, right? Now, I’ve got to work my way up, right? That’s about it.

“I’m an employee. I follow orders.”

Some good news for the Red Sox on the injury front as John Smoltz looked really sharp in his second rehab outing. He ended up going 3 1/3 innings, throwing 60 pitches. He allowed 1 run on 3 hits and had 2 strikeouts. He didn’t walk anyone and said he was pain free after the game.

The plan for Smoltz is for him to make three more starts before a probable June 16th start against the Marlins. His next start will come in Single-A Greenville on Sunday afternoon and then will make two starts for the Pawtucket Red Sox. The reason he’s pitching in Greenville is the fact that it’s close to Georgia home (thanks to Joe Haggerty for that tidbit).

Patient progress for Smoltz [Boston Globe]

Another step closer [Portland Press Herald]

John Smoltz Sea Dogs Rehab Post Game Press Conference [Central Maine Sports Blog]

Smoltz takes another step towards Boston, throwing 3 1/3 innings for Portland [Providence Journal]

Smoltz rehabs in front of record crowd [RedSox.com]

John Smoltz makes minor stop in N.H. [Boston Herald]

Out of order [Boston Globe]

A quiet start to a new lineup [Providence Journal]

Troubles continue in Sox loss [Boston Herald]

Ortiz giving his all in these trying times [Boston Globe]

Are lost innings and lost games beginning to add up to a lost season for Lester? [Providence Journal]

David Ortiz good to last drop? [Boston Herald]

Ellsbury skids – but not at bat [Boston Globe]

Sox finally make the change, dropping David Ortiz to sixth in the order [Providence Journal]

David Ortiz moves down to No. 6 [Boston Herald]

Mauer would be great catch [Boston Globe]

Ortiz’ efforts to get it going are growing old [Providence Journal]

There’s a catch to loss [Boston Herald]

Minority owner selling stake in Red Sox [Boston Globe]

Red Sox journal: Francona’s aim — put Papelbon’s struggles ‘in perspective’ [Providence Journal]

Five Things We Learned: A Confusing Day For These Red Sox [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]

For more slices of Boston Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, and Providence Journal websites.

And if you must check out the enemy papers, head over to the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Pioneer Press websites.

UConn Football links

When Do Huskies Reach Next Level? [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

How About 9.25 Wins? [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Here’s TK [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Which Big East positions got the most help this spring? [Big East Blog – ESPN.com]

Which Big East positions need the most help this summer? [Big East Blog – ESPN.com]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Jeff Adrien Prospect Interview [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Calhoun talks business and basketball with local fans [Connecticut Post]

CLASS OF 2010 INTRO: FABRICIO DE MELO [NBE Basketball Report]