Friday, May 22^nd @ 7:10 PM

Johan Santana, (L) (5-2, 1.36) vs Daisuke Matsuzaka, (R) (0-1, 12.79)

TV: NESN, SNY, MLB.tv

Radio: Red Sox Radio Network, MLB Game Day Audio

Saturday, May 23^rd @ 7:10 PM

Mike Pelfrey, (R) (4-1, 4.61) vs Josh Beckett, (R) (4-2, 5.85)

TV:NESN, SNY, Network, MLB.tv

Radio: Red Sox Radio Network, MLB Game Day Audio

Sunday, May 24^th @ 1:35 PM

Tim Redding, (R) (0-0, 3.00) vs Tim Wakefield, (R) (5-2, 3.59)

TV: NESN, WPIX, TBS, MLB.tv

Radio: Red Sox Radio Network, MLB Game Day Audio

Jason Bay hit yet another 2-run home run and Jon Lester gave the Boston Red Sox a quality start as they went on to a 5-1 win to sweep the Toronto Blue Jays in front of 38,347 on a beautiful New England night for baseball at Fenway Park.

The win moves the Red Sox (25-16) to within a ½ game of the Blue Jays (27-17) for first place in the American League.

After two bad outings, Lester started to show the form he had in 2007. While he only had one clean inning, he was able to work himself out of trouble. He went 6 1/3 innings, allowing 1 run on 8 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4.

Ramon Ramirez went 1 2/3 innings, giving up 2 hits and a walk while striking out 2. Jonathan Papelbon worked the 9th in a non-save situation and allowed a hit and had a strikeout while mostly using his offspeed stuff.

Robert Ray made just his 4th big league start tonight and it wasn’t a good one.  He lasted just 4 1/3 innings, allowing 5 runs (4 earned) on 6 hits and walk while striking out 4. Brandon League, Jesse Carlson and Jason Frasor combined to give up just a hit in the final 3 2/3 innings.

All of the hits from the Red Sox tonight came from the top 6 in the batting order. Bay’s one hit of the night was the 2-run homer that bounced off the top of the bullpen wall. Dustin Pedroia led the Red Sox with 2 hits and added an RBI. David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis each had a hit and an RBI while Jacoby Ellsbury and J.D. Drew had the other hits with Ellsbury adding a stolen base.

Ellsbury wasted no time extending his hitting streak to 16 games as he led off the bottom of the 1st with a double.  He moved to third on a Pedroia ground out and came into score when Big Papi grounded out to second. Youk ended up working a 2-out walk and Bay followed with the 2-run homer to give the Red Sox a 3-0 lead.

The home run for Bay was his 11th straight with at least one runner on base. That is a Red Sox team record and is one shy of the MLB record held by by Ken Griffey and Hank Aaron.

After Ellsbury grounded out to second to start the 3rd inning, Pedroia doubled to deep center. Big Papi moved him up to third with a ground out and he came around to score on a Youkilis single, making it 4-0 Red Sox.

Julio Lugo reached on a throwing error by Marcos Scutaro and bad call by the first base umpire John Hirshbeck who ruled that Kevin Millar wasn’t on the bag to start the 5th. The replay showed he was but nonetheless Lugo was at first. He was quickly retired at second base though on an Ellsbury fielder’s choice. With Pedroia at the plate, Ellsbury stole second base, his 17th stolen base of the season. Pedroia ended up bringing him in with a single to increase the local nine’s lead to 5-0.

Lester started the 7th inning by getting Rod Barajas to pop out. He then walked Jose Bautista and Scutaro chased him from the game with a single. Ramriez came in and allowed a single to Aaron Hill that scored Bautista to cut the Red Sox lead to 5-1.

It was good to see Lester improve on his last two starts. He had said last time out that he would do everything he could to be better. He was definitely better tonight but not great. But the job he did was enough to keep lead for the Red Sox and allow them to get closer to the top of the AL East.

Interleague play starts tomorrow night and the Red Sox will host the New York Mets. Daisuke Matsuzaka returns from the disabled list to make the start. He’ll be opposed by one of the best pitchers in the game in Johan Santana. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PM.

Continue reading →

After taking the first two games of the series, the Boston Red Sox will look to sweep the Toronto Blue Jays tonight to move to within .5 games for first place 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 Blue Jays television market, you can catch the game on TSN2. 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.

Jon Lester will look to put a 2-game losing streak behind him as he takes the mound tonight. On the season, Lester is 2-4 with a 6.51 ERA in 8 starts. He is 1-2 with a 3.94 ERA in 5 career starts against the Blue Jays.

Cito Gaston calls upon another rookie tonight in Robert Ray. He will be making just his 4th big league start and is 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA.

Lester on a mission to return to form [RedSox.com]

Big Papi [Ask 14]

Globe 10.0: Worried about Sox starting pitching? [Extra Bases]

Globe 10.0: Is Big Papi back? [Extra Bases]

For Papelbon, less strain and more gain [Extra Bases]

A Look at Jon Lester’s Early Struggles [Full Count]

Dice K’s shoulder is strong [Full Count]

Smoltz Hits Augusta [Full Count]

Great Fenway photo [Projo Sox Blog]

Smoltz getting closer [Projo Sox Blog]

Transcript to today’s chat with Pawsox skipper Ron Johnson [Projo Sox Blog]

Kotsay to begin rehab with PawSox on Friday [Projo Sox Blog]

Big Inning Quickie [Nuggetpalooza]

Yaz: I’ve been where Papi has been [Tony Massarotti Blog]

Boston goes for the major sweepage tonight [Batter-up with Bruno]

Here are the starting lineups for tonight’s game.

And here is how the hitters have fared against tonight’s starting pitchers. No one on the Red Sox has faced Ray.

If you turned on last night’s Boston Red Sox 8-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in the 5th inning last night, you would have thought you were watching the Home Run Derby. The Red Sox hit four home runs in the inning, 5 total on the night, to break the game wide open.

Jason Varitek had two home runs (one in the 5th), while Jason Bay and Mike Lowell added home runs as well. If you do the math there, that only adds up to 3 home runs in the 4th. So who hit the other home run in the 5th?

Could it have been David Ortiz perhaps? Well if you said Big Papi, you’d be correct.

After 149 at-bats without a home run, Big Papi finally connected for a long ball and boy did he hit it a ton as it landed in the camera well in center field. When he returned to the dugout, he got the old cold shoulder, something usually reserved for when rookies hit their first home run.

Here’s a little of what he had to say after the game:

How did it feel to go deep?
I got that big old monkey off my back, you know? You have to understand, sometimes, that’s all it takes, to have a good at-bat and get a big hit and start clicking.

What did you think of the fan support?
Great, great. That’s the same thing I’ve seen since I’ve been here. The fans, they’ve always been so supportive since I’ve been here. That’s unbelievable. There’s not too much I can say about it. I try to come every day and get it done for them.

Did you enjoy your teammates’ reaction?
Oh great. They gave me a minute of silence. I don’t know who thought that up, but I know Pedroia had a lot to do with it. Little (expletive).

How do you feel now?
I’m feeling good, dog. I’m feeling good. Like I said before, that’s the kind of game that gets you going. The biggest thing about the whole situation was the fans, man. They’ve been cheering for me every at-bat even when you don’t get it done and next time you come in, it’s the same thing. That means a lot.

Did you feel different in your next trips to the plate?
Oh yeah. I feel like I got all my confidence back. Let me tell you. I look out there like a real hitter, not like the punch and judy I have been for the first 40 games.

Another good sign for Big Papi was the fact that he hit a double off the wall later in the game. The big thing now is to see what he can do in the next few days. That will be the true sign of whether or not he is really back. But it sure was nice to see him smiling once again.

Ortiz: ‘I got that big old monkey off my back’ [Full Count]

Blast from the past [Boston Globe]

Ortiz Homers As Sox Pound Jays [Hartford Courant]

David Ortiz comes up Big [Boston Herald]

Youkilis returns, and so does the Sox’ offense [Providence Journal]

For Papi, big sigh of relief [Boston Globe]

Ortiz’s Homerless Streak [Hartford Courant]

Things comes together for David Ortiz [Boston Herald]

Ellsbury catches a major-league record [Providence Journal]

Often powerless to stop a slide [Boston Globe]

Big Papi Big Again [Hartford Courant]

Jacoby Ellsbury snags 12 putouts [Boston Herald]

A rough home debut for Daniel Bard [Providence Journal]

The ultimate tracking device [Boston Globe]

Fran O’Brien catches grandson Daniel Bard [Boston Herald]

Ortiz hits his first home run of the season as the Sox romp [Providence Journal]

Youkilis right back in the swing [Boston Globe]

Bullpen’s a great relief for Francona [Providence Journal]

Bay watch: 40 and counting [Boston Globe]

Wakefield and the Pop-Up As Weapon [Full Count]

Unforgettable…. [Hit and Run with Dan Roche]

Five Things We Learned at the End of a Drought [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]

Baby Blue Bird Tastes Good [Center Field]

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

And if the enemy papers are more your flavor, you can head over to the Toronto Star and Toronto Sun websites.

UConn Football links

From nowhere to somewhere this spring in the Big East [Big East Blog – ESPN.com]

Former UConn Linebacker Charged In 1994 Murder [AP via Hartford Courant]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

UConn-Duke on MLK Night – looks like it [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Let’s Get It Started [Renee Montgomery Blog – WNBA.com]

Norwalk’s Williams to be inducted [The Hour]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Calhoun paying visit to Bridgeport [Connecticut Post]

Rip Hamilton: Legendary [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Thabeet drops in ESPN Mock Draft [UConn Huskies Basketball]

OKC Thunder: Hasheem Thabeet comes with risk [NewsOK]

Are the Celtics in Ray Allen’s future? [NESN.com]

Other UConn related links

Baseball: Rain Continues to Push Games Back for the Huskies [UConnHuskies.com]

Ferentz Honored By Neag School Of Education [UConnHuskies.com]

The Boston Red Sox hit 5 home runs tonight, including two by Jason Varitek and one by David Ortiz, on their way to an 8-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in front of 38,099 very happy fans at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox (24-16) now move to 1.5 games behind the first place Blue Jays (27-16).

It took Big Papi 150 at-bats since his last home run back on September 22, 2008 to hit his first home run of the 2009 season. He finished the night 2-for-5 with the home run, a double and 2 RBIs. Both of Varitek’s home runs were of the solo variety. Jason Bay had 2 hits as well including a monster shot over the Green Monster and finished with 2 RBIs while Mike Lowell also had 2 hits, including a home run and an RBI.

Kevin Youkilis made his return to the Red Sox lineup after a stint on the disabled list and had 3 hits on the night. Jacoby Ellsbury had a single to extend his hitting streak to an AL-best 15 games. Ellsbury also tied a MLB record with 12 putouts on the night.  All nine starters for the Sox had at least one hit.

Brad Penny made the start for the Red Sox and pitched well. He wasn’t spectacular but once again was good enough to get the job done. He went 6 2/3 innings, allowing 2 runs on 9 hits and a walk while striking out 2. It was his fourth straight start of at least 6 innings.

It took Manny Delcarmen all of 2 pitches to retire the only batter he faced. Daniel Bard lit up the radar gun but had a tough outing in his first Fenway Park appearance as he gave up a run on 3 hits. Hideki Okajima bailed out Bard by getting the only batter he faced out on 3 pitches. Takashi Saito allowed 2 hits in the 9th inning.

Brett Cecil was making just his 4th big league start and it was one he probably wants to forget.

He lasted 4 2/3 innings, allowing 8 runs on 11 hits (5 home runs) and 2 walks while striking out 3. Shawn Camp, Brian Wolfe and B.J. Ryan combined to keep the Red Sox scoreless over the final 3 1/3 innings.

Varitek got things started in the 3rd inning when he took a hanging breaking ball from Cecil and planted it in the Green Monster seats. Julio Lugo then doubled and went to third on Ellsbury’s bunt single that Cecil almost caught but ended up doing a face plant into the ground on. After a brief injury delay, Cecil got Dustin Pedroia to ground into a double play as Lugo scored to make it 2-0 Red Sox.

The Red Sox erupted in the 5th inning for 6 runs on 4 home runs.

Continue reading →

The Boston Red Sox will look to move to 1.5 games out of first place in the AL East when they host the Toronto Blue Jays in game 2 of a 3-game set. The Red Sox took last night’s game 2-1 behind a stellar effort from Tim Wakefield.

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 Blue Jays television market, you can catch the game on TSN2. 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.

Brad Penny has pitched well as of late for the Red Sox and has gone at least 6 innings in his last 3 starts. On the season, Penny is 3-1 with a 6.69 ERA in 7 starts.  He has made 4 career starts against the Blue Jays and is 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA.

Rookie Brett Cecil will be called upon by skipper Cito Gaston to get the Blue Jays the win tonight. Cecil will be making just his fourth big league start and is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA.

Terry Francona’s interview with Dale & Holley [WEEI.com]

Francona on Ortiz [Extra Bases]

Youk has Papi’s back [Extra Bases]

Sox aren’t out of options [Tony Massarotti Blog]

Seeking a glimmer of hope for Big Papi? Look no further than Lowell [Wicked Good Sports]

As Ortiz struggles, Red Sox, fans remain patient [FOXSports.com]

Pregame tidbits: Kotsay may be headed to Pawtucket for rehab this weekend [Projo Sox Blog]

Steady Wake keeps Red Sox ship sailing smooth [NESN.com]

Globe 10.0: Should the Red Sox trade young pitching for a hitter? [Boston Globe]

Minor-League Notes: Ortiz Isn’t the Only Slumping Sox Slugger [Full Count]

Smoltz ties the knot [Atlanta Journal Constitution]

Bill Janovitz Represents: The Ballad of Tim Wakefield [Surviving Grady]

Top 10 reasons why David “Big Papi” Ortiz is struggling this year [on 205th]

Fan Interference [Center Field]

How diehard are you? Topic: Legendariness [Batter-up with Bruno]

Here are the starting lineups for tonight’s game.

And here is how the hitters have fared against tonight’s starting pitchers. No one on the Red Sox has faced Cecil.