After helping the Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles on Monday afternoon, Justin Masterson kept himself busy by attending the Boston Celtics 118-115 win over the Chicago Bulls later that night.
Before the game, Masterson delivered an inspirational speech to the Celtics and it’s obvious it worked since they pulled it out on a Ray Allen three pointer with two seconds left in the game.
Wednesday, April 22nd @ 12:35 PM
Scott Baker (R) (0-1, 13.50) vs Tim Wakefield (R) (1-1, 3.00)
TV: NESN, MLB.tv
Radio: Red Sox Radio Network, MLB Game Day Audio
Wednesday, April 22nd @ 7:10 PM
Francisco Liriano (L) (0-3, 5.90) vs Brad Penny (R) (1-0, 11.00)
TV: NESN Plus, MLB.tv
Radio: Red Sox Radio Network, MLB Game Day Audio
For most of the second half, you could have sworn that Ray Allen was wearing a home UConn Huskies uniform and that Ben Gordon was wearing an away Huskies uniform with the battle that they put on.
Gordon may have scored more points (42 to 30 for Allen) but it was Allen and the Boston Celtics who had the last laugh as his three-pointer with 2 seconds left gave them an 118-115 win over the Chicago Bulls at the TD Banknorth Garden.
The win for the Celtics ties the series at 1 after falling to the Bulls on Saturday afternoon.
Trailing 112-111 with a minute to go in the game, the Bulls called a timeout to set up a play. They came out of the timeout and Gordon was able to hit a 20-footer to put the Bulls back up by 1. Rajon Rondo then missed a 17-footer but got his own rebound and hit Allen who nailed a three to put the Celtics back up by 2.
After another timeout by the Bulls, Gordon hit a 16-foot jumper to tie the game at 115 with 12 seconds left. The Celtics called time to set up a play for Allen. They inbounded the ball and Rondo hit Allen who nailed the three with Joakim Noah in his face to give the Celtics the win. The Bulls were out of timeouts and could only muster a 50-foot shot by Tyrus Thomas that wasn’t even close.
Glen “Big Baby” Davis had a terrific game finishing with 26 points and 9 rebounds. Despite injuring his ankle in the first half, Rondo came back out and had a monster game finishing with a triple-double of 19 points, 12 rebounds and 16 assists while Paul Pierce added 18 points and Kendrick Perkins had 16 points and 12 rebounds.
The Celtics also lost Leon Powe to a left knee injury during the game and the inital reports are that it’s not good.
John Salmons added 15 points and Brad Miller came off the bench to score 16 points. Noah ended up with 13 points and Derrick Rose had just 10.
The series shifts back to Chicago for Games 3 and 4. Game 3 will be on Thursday at 8 PM.
Reigning AL MVP Dustin Pedroia had 4 hits and 3 RBIs to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 12-1 win to complete a 4-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles in front of 37,865 at Fenway Park on Patriot’s Day.
The win for the Red Sox is their 5th straight and raises their record to 7-6. It’s the 5th straight loss for the Orioles who fall to 6-7.
Justin Masterson filled in for Daisuke Matsuzaka today and showed the Red Sox why he’s so versatile. Masterson threw 84 pitches in 5 1/3 innings of work, allowing a run on just 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3.
The Red Sox bullpen was strong once again as 4 relievers (Manny Delcarmen, Hideki Okajima, Javier Lopez, Hunter Jones) combined to throw the final 3 2/3 innings, giving up a hit, 2 walks and recording a strikeout (by Okajima). The appearance by Jones was the first of his MLB career.
The top of the lineup got it done for the Red Sox in this Patriot’s Day tilt.
Jacoby Ellsbury was 3-for-6 with an RBI and stolen base, Pedroia was 4-for-6 with the 3 RBIs and David Ortiz showed signs of life at the plate with 2 hits and 2 RBIs. Both of his hits were for extra bases, a double and a triple. Mike Lowell added 2 hits and 2 RBIs and Jason Varitek also had 2 hits and RBIs which included his third home run of the season.
Mark Hendrickson’s bad luck against the Red Sox continued as he allowed 3 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks in 5 innings of work. He did strikeout 6. Dennis Sarafate had a tough day as he gave up 3 runs on 4 hits and a walk in an inning of work. Radhames Liz took one for the team today as he was charged with 6 runs on 3 hits and a walk in just an inning of work. Matt Albers worked the final 1 2/3 innings, giving up 3 hits and also had a strikeout.
After Masterson shut down the O’s in the first, the Red Sox put up a crooked number in the bottom half of the inning.
Ellsbury led off with a double and stole third with Pedroia at the plate. Pedroia brought him in a with a single and then went to third on a Big Papi double. Hendrickson then walked Kevin Youkilis to load up the bases for Rocco Baldelii. He ended up grounding into a fielder’s choice that scored Pedroia to make it 2-0 Red Sox. Hendrickson escaped any further damage by getting Jason Bay to foul out to first and Lowell to fly out.
Varitek made it 3-0 when he led off the 2nd inning with a blast into the Green Monster seats.
The lone run Masterson gave up came in the 3rd inning.
Ryan Freel led off with a single and went to second on a Felix Pie sacrifice bunt. With Brian Roberts at the plate, Masterson tried to pick-off Freel at second but instead hit Freel in the back of the head. Freel had to be helped off the field and was replaced by Robert Andino. Roberts ended grounding out, moving Andino to third. Cesar Izturis brought him one with an infield single to cut the lead to 3-1. Izturis then stole second but was left stranded there when Nick Markakis flew out.
Sarfate took over in the 6th for Hendrickson and got Lowell to ground out. Varitek then reached on an infield single and Nick Green fouled out for the second out. Ellsbury followed with a single to move Tek up 90 feet and Pedroia brought him in with a single to make it 4-1 Red Sox.The lead quickly swelled to 6-1 when Big Papi hit a bases clearing triple.
Liz started the 7th inning with a walk to Bay, who came around to score when Lowell doubled. Liz got Tek to ground out but then hit Green with a pitch. Ellsbury knocked in Lowell from second with a single and Pedroia followed with another single to score Green and give the Red Sox a 9-1 lead. Liz then hit Big Papi with a pitch and that ended his afternoon.
Albers came in and gave up a single to Youk that scored Ellsbury for a 10-1 Red Sox lead. Chris Carter followed with a sacrifice fly that scored Pedroia. Bay singled to load up the bases and Lowell picked up his 2nd RBI of the inning with a single scoring Big Papi to provide the final margin of 12-1.
Great start to the homestand for the Red Sox and a great outing from Masterson. The Red Sox will now take on the Minnesota Twins in a brief 2-game set that starts tomorrow night at 7:10 PM. Tim Wakefield will look to keep the winning streak alive and will be opposed by Scott Baker.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLIKqt0TAv0[/youtube]
Digger, the animated alter-ego to FOX’s Gopher Cam, now has his own show. Here is the fifth and final episode.
[dailymotion]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x91gb6_the-adventures-of-digger-and-friend_sport[/dailymotion]
If you missed episode 1, click here, episode 2, click here, episode 3, click here and episode 4, click here.
Editor’s note: I missed this one when it originally aired and was now just able to get the video.
The Boston Red Sox kept on with their winning ways yesterday as they dispatched of the Baltimore Orioles 2-1 behind a great outing by Jon Lester. He scattered 4 hits over 7 innings to pick up his first win of 2009 and looked like the Lester of old and not the one we saw in his first two starts.
Today at 11:05 AM, the Red Sox look for the 4-game sweep of the Orioles in the annual Patriots Day game. The game will be televised on NESN and you can also catch the game on the radio on one of the many affiliates of the Red Sox Radio Network.
Justin Masterson will start for the Red Sox today as he replaces Daisuke Matsuzaka who was placed on the 15-day DL with a tired shoulder. Masterson has faced the Orioles twice in his career, both out of the bullpen. His record in those two games against the O’s is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA.
Dave Trembley will look to his ultra tall former NBA player pitcher in Mark Hendrickson to end the bleeding for the Orioles. Hendrickson hasn’t had much success against the Red Sox in his career as he is 2-6 with an 8.56 ERA in 14 games (13 starts).
Since the game is in the morning, I’ve decided to combine the normal news & notes post with the lineups. Lineups and batter/pitcher matchups can be found by clicking the continue reading link.
Red Sox 2, Orioles 1: Lester returns to 2008 form [Providence Journal]
Lester, Sox turn a corner by beating O’s [The Patriot Ledger]
Some stuff from another win [Full Count]
Lester Returns To Form, Strikes Out 9 [Hartford Courant]
Lester leads Sox over Orioles [Boston Globe]
Red Sox back at .500 after 4th straight win [Boston Herald]
Let’s Talk About That Woodland Thing Again [Center Field]
Beckett’s suspension reduced, but he’s still not happy [Providence Journal]
Beckett suspension reduced by one game [The Patriot Ledger]
Things warming up for Jacoby Ellsbury [Boston Herald]
Saito better late than never [Boston Globe]
Ortiz is not scaring anyone, except Red Sox fans [Providence Journal]
Josh Beckett gives up fight [Boston Herald]
Ortiz still walking a ‘fine’ line [Boston Globe]
Lowrie seeks another opinion on injured wrist [Providence Journal]
Beckett drops his appeal [Boston Globe]
FAILHAT Throughout History [Center Field]
Lugo in Pawtucket tomorrow [Extra Bases]
Francona patient with Ortiz [Projo Sox Blog]
Matsuzaka cleared to begin throwing [Projo Sox Blog]
Masterson not changing a thing [Full Count]
The lineups and batter/pitcher matchups are after the jump.
UConn Women’s Basketball links
Video: UConn Huskies Women’s Basketball Parade [SOX & Dawgs]
UConn Parade Draws 25,000 [Hartford Courant]
‘Rough Cut’ Photos Of Victory Parade [Hartford Courant]
I Love A Parade [UConnHuskies.com]
25,000 cheer perfect Huskies [Connecticut Post]
Huskies feted at state Capitol after 6th title [AP Via Norwich Bulletin]
UConn women enjoy victory parade [Waterbury Republican-American]
Geno takes shot at Tennessee [AP via VolunteerTV.com]
Huskies celebrate with big parade [WTNH.com]
Thousands line streets to salute UConn women [New Haven Register]
State’s passion unmatched for women’s basketball [New Haven Register]
Thousands Turn Out For Huskies Parade [New London Day]
Lynx draft pick Renee Montgomery talks, Bob Sansevere listens [Pioneer Press]
UConn Football links
Donald Brown Is N.F.L. Prospect With More on His Mind Than the Draft [New York Times]
Spring game recap: Connecticut [Big East Blog – ESPN.com]
Butler has impressive closing speed [Boston Globe]
Looking down the road [Boston Herald]
Other UConn related links
Baseball: Georgetown Picks Up 5-2 Win Over UConn in BIG EAST Play [UConnHuskies.com]
Softball: Huskies Fall Twice In Extra Innings To The Hoyas [UConnHuskies.com]
This Week’s Sign Of The Apocalypse [Thoughts From a Fat White Guy]
Destination Red Sox Nation is our look at how the minor league teams of the Boston Red Sox fare each night. Game story and box score links as well as links to team rosters, team stats and league standings are after the jump.
The Boston Red Sox signed Brad Wilkerson to a minor league deal late during the offseason to compete for the spot on the roster when Mark Kotsay underwent back surgery. The contract gave him the option to opt out by April 1st.
After hitting .119 in 42 at-bats with 18 strikeouts, Wilkerson decided to leave Red Sox camp and explore his options after he was told he would not make the team. After taking some time to evaluate things, Wilkerson decided to report to Pawtucket and play with the PawSox.
But after 2 games with the PawSox, Wilkerson decided he had enough of baseball and decided to retire from the game. His announcement came from PawSox skipper Ron Johnson.
“Second game of the season, he came in afterwards and that was it,” Johnson said. “He didn’t have the fire anymore.”
In 8 years, Wilkerson played for the Montreal Expos (2001-2004), Washington Nationals (2005), Texas Rangers (2006-2007) and the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays in 2008. He hit .247 with 122 home runs and 399 RBIs during his career.
Brad Wilkerson retires after eight-year career [Providence Journal]