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.
Wakefield Dominates In 8-2 Red Sox Win
Forget the fact for a moment that the Boston Red Sox offense broke out it’s shell. Today was all about Tim Wakefield’s domination of the Oakland A’s lineup at a time where the Red Sox really needed a great game out of him.
Wakefield threw a complete-game four-hitter and J.D. Drew added a 3-run homer to help the Red Sox to an 8-2 win over the Oakland A’s to avoid the sweep in front of 35,067 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
With the bullpen being depleted on Tuesday night, the Red Sox needed Wake to give them and innings and that he did. He threw all 9 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4.
Brett Anderson started for the A’s and went 7 innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks with 5 strikeouts. Jerry Blevins and Sean Gallagher combined to give up 6 runs on 5 hits and 4 walks.
Mike Lowell had 2 hits for the Red Sox including a 2-run homer while Jason Bay also had 2 hits. Drew was having a rough afternoon at the plate with 3 strikeouts but delivered the big blow with a 3-run afternoon. Jacoby Ellsbury added 2 RBIs and Nick Green had 1.
After Anderson got the first two outs of 2nd, Bay hit a single to left. He came into score when Lowell took an Anderson offering and put it into the seats for a 2-0 Sox lead.
Wakefield cruised through the 5 innings as he didn’t allow a baserunner. That changed in the 6th when Kurt Suzuki reached on a throwing error by Lowell. Wakefield then got the next 3 outs to keep the no-hitter intact.
The Red Sox loaded the bases up in the 7th but were unable to push any runs across when George Kottaras grounded into an inning-ending double play.
They loaded the bases up again in the 8th and this took advantage.
Blevins got the first two outs and then David Ortiz doubled to right. Rather than pitch to Kevin Youkilis, they decided to intentionally walk him. This proved costly as Drew crushed a 3-run homer to put the Sox up 5-0. Blevins then walked Bay and gave way to Gallagher who came in and gave up a single to Lowell. Green followed with a single to score Bay and the Kottaras worked a walk to load up the bases for Ellsbury. He delivered a 2-run single to give the Red Sox an 8-0 lead. Gallagher struck out Dustin Pedroia to end the inning but the damage was done.
Wakefield had a long wait and it may have played a part of things in the bottom half of the inning. He walked Mark Ellis but then got Travis Buck to fly out. Suzuki broke up the no-hitter with a single and then Wake struck out Bobby Crosby. Landon Powell followed that with a single to score Ellis to make it 8-1.
The A’s would add one more on a Jack Cust single and a Matt Holliday double but that was all they would get.
A much needed win for the Red Sox who now head home to face the Baltimore Orioles in a 4-game set that starts on Friday night. Brad Penny will make his Fenway debut and be opposed by Jeremy Guthrie.
Afternoon Red Sox Delight – 4/15
The Boston Red Sox and the Oakland A’s are set to do battle this afternoon at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum at 3:37 PM in the final game of a 3-game set. The A’s have won the first two games and the Red Sox will be looking to leave the Bay area with just their third win of the year.
The game will be broadcast on NESN and is also available on MLB.tv if you live out of the Boston market and are a subscriber. The game can also be heard on the Red Sox Radio Network and if you’re a member of Red Sox Nation, you can listen to the game on MLB Gameday Audio.
Tim Wakefield will try to get the ship sailing in the right direction as he gets the ball today from manager Terry Francona. Wakefield has faced the A’s 37 times in his career (26 starts) and is 9-6 with a 4.17 ERA. In 16 games (14 starts) in Oakland, he is 5-4 with a 6.00 ERA.
The A’s will counter with yet another young lefty in Brett Anderson. This is just his second MLB start. In his first start against Seattle, Anderson gave up 5 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks in 6 innings of work.
The big news of the day is that Daisuke Matsuzaka has been placed on the 15-day DL due to a tired shoulder. He has been replaced on the 25-man roster by Hunter Jones, who was called up from Pawtucket. According to Francona, there is no injury in his shoulder and the issue with the tired shoulder stems from Dice-K’s participation in the WBC.
Matsuzaka goes to DL, Jones recalled [Extra Bases]
Francona on Dice-K, Beckett [Extra Bases]
Dice-K placed on DL [Projo Sox Blog]
Buchholz tweaks hamstring [Projo Sox Blog]
Baldelli experiencing soreness in leg [Projo Sox Blog]
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| 1. Jacoby Ellsbury | CF | 1. Ryan Sweeney | CF |
| 2. Dustin Pedroia | 2B | 2. Orlando Cabrera | SS |
| 3. David Ortiz | DH | 3. Jack Cust | DH |
| 4. Kevin Youkilis | 1B | 4. Matt Holliday | LF |
| 5. J.D. Drew | RF | 5. Mark Ellis | 2B |
| 6. Jason Bay | LF | 6. Travis Buck | RF |
| 7. Mike Lowell | 3B | 7. Kurt Suzuki | C |
| 8. Nick Green | SS | 8. Bobby Crosby | 3B |
| 9. George Kottaras | C | 9. Landon Powell | 1B |
| Tim Wakefield | SP | Brett Anderson | SP |
2-5
3-4And here is how the hitters have fared against today’s starting pitchers. No one on the Red Sox has faced Anderson. Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference.
Boston Red Sox News & Notes – Tax Day Edition
Just when it looked like the Boston Red Sox offense was coming alive, Daisuke Matsuzaka went out and turned a 3-run lead in the 1st inning into a 2-run deficit at the end of the 1st. He definitely didn’t look right last night and was taken out of game after the inning. The Red Sox said he left with arm fatigue.
The injury to Dice-K is concerning right now given the fact that Clay Buchholz is out for a few days with a strained hamstring he suffered in a workout yesterday. And given the fact that John Smoltz won’t be ready until June 1st or so, the depth the Red Sox had at pitcher isn’t quite there right now.
Now of course the debate will be whether or not Dice-K should have pitched in the WBC. Did he over do it there? Quite possibly he could have especially if his arm is fatigued. His fastball was only at 89 MPH last night and we all know he can throw it around 92-94 on a consistent basis.
Justin Masterson came in last night and did yeoman’s work as he gave the Red Sox a solid 4 innings out of the bullpen, striking out 6 along the way. Other than Javier Lopez, the Red Sox bullpen was excellent, as they combined on 10 innings of no-run baseball.
With the Red Sox now standing at 2-6 and in last place in the AL East, something needs to change. I don’t know what it is but there has to be something, maybe a tweak to the leadoff position. This team is definitely not built to be a 2-6 team and without the bat of Kevin Youkilis right now, the Red Sox may not have even been in half of these games.
WBC [Hit and Run With Dan Roche]
Sox fall again [Boston Globe]
Good to the last chop [Extra Bases]
WBC catches up to Dice-K as Red Sox lose in 12 [Boston Herald]
West Coast trip gets worse, as fatigued Dice-K has nothing [Providence Journal]
Magadan identifies part of the problem [Full Count]
Beckett gets six games [Boston Globe]
Fatigue — or no fatigue? [Extra Bases]
Red Sox bullpen does all it can in losing cause [Boston Herald]
Lowrie’s wrist handled with kid gloves [Providence Journal]
How Josh Beckett’s appeal will work [Full Count]
Specialist will try his hand with Lowrie [Boston Globe]
’Shocked’ Josh Beckett appeals 6-game suspension [Boston Herald]
Ortiz misses opportunity [Projo Sox Blog]
Old haunts haunting to Tiant [Boston Globe]
Jason Bay avoids big trouble [Boston Herald]
Masterson’s the man [Projo Sox Blog]
Jed Lowrie preps for possible surgery [Boston Herald]
Rolling the Dice [Projo Sox Blog]
Matsuzaka, Sox already scrambling [Tony Mazz]
For more slices of Boston Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, and Providence Journal websites.
And if you want to see what the enemy papers are saying, head over to the San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News and Contra Costa Times websites.
Paw Prints – The Daily Roundup – Tax Day Edition
UConn Football links
Practice notes: four days to spring game [Ramblings from The Runway]
Let’s Do It! Spring Practice No.13 [UConn | Football]
Video View: Some Scenes And Interviews From Tuesday’s Practice [UConn | Football]
Huskies’ Edsall Has Decisions To Make [Hartford Courant]
UConn’s Teggart quite familiar with Fidrych [New Haven Register]
UConn Women’s Basketball links
UConn’s Auriemma To Coach 2012 Olympic Team [Hartford Courant]
Auriemma to coach U.S. women [Connecticut Post]
Geno to be Olympic coach [New Haven Register]
Auriemma to coach U.S. women’s basketball through 2012 Olympics [New London Day]
Auriemma will be U.S. Olympic coach in 2012 Games [Waterbury Republican-American]
Auriemma to coach women’s Olympic basketball team [USA Today]
UConn Men’s Basketball links
Thabeet Declares for the NBA Draft [UConn Huskies Basketball]
Ben Gordon Player of the Week [UConn Huskies Basketball]
It’s a wrap [In Storrs Now]
UConn’s Hasheem Thabeet To Leave For NBA Draft [Hartford Courant]
UConn Draft Database [Hartford Courant]
Calhoun calls 2008-09 season ‘wonderful” [Connecticut Post]
Thabeet declares for NBA draft [Connecticut Post]
UConn men’s notebook [Connecticut Post]
’08-09 season lived up to expectations [New Haven Register]
Thabeet declares for 2009 NBA draft [New Haven Register]
Calhoun content with how year ended [Waterbury Republican-American]
Thabeet leaving UConn for NBA draft [Waterbury Republican-American]
UConn’s Thabeet to enter NBA draft [New London Day]
UConn Hoops: Looking Forward to Next Season [Scout.com]
Destination Red Sox Nation – 4/15
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.
A’s Walk-off With 6-5 Win Over Red Sox In 12 Innings
Travis Buck barely beat out a bases loaded infield single that scored Rajai Davis to give the Oakland A’s a 6-5 walk-off win in 12 innings over the Boston Red Sox in front of a chilled crowd of 22,132 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
Javier Lopez started the bottom of the 12th for the Red Sox (2-6) in relief of Jonathan Papelbon and walked the first batter he faced in Jason Giambi. Lopez then got Matt Holliday to ground out to short with Giambi advancing to second. Lopez then walked Jack Cust and Bobby Crosby to load up the bases for Kurt Suzuki.
Before the at-bat, Davis came into pinch-run for the Giambino and Lopez ended up striking out Suzuki. This set the stage for Buck who hit a chopper over the head of Lopez that Pedroia fielded but just missed getting Buck by a step and Davis crossed the plate to give the A’s (4-4) the walk-off win.
Daisuke Matsuzaka started for the Red Sox and was just downright awful. He ended up leaving the game after the 1st inning with what the Red Sox called arm fatigue. Dice-K gave up 5 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks, throwing 43 pitches in the process.
Up until Lopez, the Red Sox bullpen was outstanding as Justin Masterson, Manny Delcarmen, Ramon Ramirez, Hideki Okajima and Papelbon combined to pitch 10 innings of shutout ball with 12 strikeouts. Masterson was the savior though as he was able to give the Red Sox 4 innings of work and had 6 strikeouts.
Dana Eveland started for the A’s and got roughed up. He went 4 2/3 innings, giving up 5 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3. Five A’s relievers combined to pitch 7 1/3 innings of no run, 4-hit ball and had just 2 walks while striking out 7.
J.D. Drew led the way for the Red Sox with a 3-for-6 showing which included an RBI. Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Jason Bay and Mike Lowell all had 2 hits each with Youkilis and Bay adding an RBI while Lowell chipped in with 2 of his own.
The Red Sox will try to head back to the east coast with a win on Wednesday afternoon at 3:35 PM EDT and they pin their hopes on the knuckleball of Tim Wakefield. He will be opposed by rookie Brett Anderson.
Pierce Finishes Off Sixers
Boston Celtics: In what could be a first round playoff preview, the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 100-98 without Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Paul Pierce led all scorers with 31 points while Tony Allen had 18 points. Glen “Big Baby” Davis had 15 points, Rajon Rondo had 11 and Leon Powe returned to the lineup to add 10 points. Andre Iguodala paced the 76ers with 25 points. Thaddeus Young added 18 points and Andre Miller chipped in with 15. The Celtics head back to Beantown to finish off the regular season against the Washington Wizards tomorrow night. [ESPN.com]
Evening Red Sox Delight – 4/14
The Boston Red Sox and the Oakland A’s are set to do battle tonight at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum at 10:05 PM in the second game of a 3-game set. The game will be broadcast on NESN and is also available on MLB.tv if you live out of the Boston market and are a subscriber. The game can also be heard on the Red Sox Radio Network and if you’re a member of Red Sox Nation, you can listen to the game on MLB Gameday Audio.
Daisuke Matsuzaka is looking to get the Red Sox winning engines started up again. Dice-K is 2-1 with a 2.55 ERA in 4 career starts and is 1-1 with a 1.98 ERA in 2 games on the road against the A’s.
Bob Geren hands the ball to another lefty in Dana Eveland. He has made one career start against the Red Sox. He gave up 9 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks in just 2 innings of work. Let’s hope that happens again tonight.
Obviously the biggest news of the day was the fact that Josh Beckett was suspended for 6 games for his role in the incident on Sunday. Beckett has decided to appeal the suspension.
“We were pretty shocked,” said Beckett. “The appeal speaks for everything we feel.”
“I think every pitcher does that,” he said. “I’ve seen guys throw balls to the backstops. It’s what we’re taught to do. We have to protect ourselves in those situations, and stopping is not a good way to do that. You can end your career with one bad slip, or something like that. . . That ball could have ended up anywhere. It’s unfortunate where it ended up.”
Beckett responds to suspension [Projo Sox Blog]
Why not to worry [Extra Bases]
Josh Beckett clarifies decision to appeal suspension [Full Count]
Sox claim Denker [Projo Sox Blog]
‘Shocked’ Beckett will appeal suspension [Extra Bases]
Doug Mirabelli would like to sell you a home [Surviving Grady]
Lowrie to see hand specialist [Projo Sox Blog]
Lugo continues rehab [Projo Sox Blog]
Here’s to all the rehabbers in F.L.A [Projo Sox Blog]
Penny: It doesn’t make sense [Full Count]
Who needs umpires? [Tony Mazz]
Here are the starting lineups for tonight’s game:
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| 1. Jacoby Ellsbury | CF | 1. Ryan Sweeney | CF |
| 2. Dustin Pedroia | 2B | 2. Orlando Cabrera | SS |
| 3. David Ortiz | DH | 3. Jason Giambi | 1B |
| 4. Kevin Youkilis | 1B | 4. Matt Holliday | LF |
| 5. J.D. Drew | RF | 5. Jack Cust | DH |
| 6. Jason Bay | LF | 6. Nomar Garciaparra | DH |
| 7. Mike Lowell | 3B | 7. Kurt Suzuki | C |
| 8. Jason Varitek | C | 8. Travis Buck | RF |
| 9. Nick Green | SS | 9. Mark Ellis | 2B |
| Daisuke Matsuzaka | SP | Dana Eveland | SP |
And here is how the hitters have fared against tonight’s starting pitchers:
Patriots Schedule Released
New England Patriots: The 2009 schedule has been released by the NFL and for the New England Patriots, the game features four prime-time games, including the game against the Buffalo Bills on the opening weekend. It also includes a trip to London to take on the Tampa Bay Buccanneers. [2009 New England Patriots Schedule]