Orioles vs Red Sox (4/25-4/26)

Game 1: Curt Schilling allowed 1 run over 7 innings on Wednesday night as he picked up his 3rd victory in 5 starts. He is now 3-1 on the season.

The game was tight in the first 6 innings, but in the 7th the Red Sox began to pull away. David Ortiz knocked in what turned out to be the winning run on a bloop single and the Red Sox were able to tack on 2 more runs after that. Okajima came in to pitch the bottom of the 7th and looked great once again. The Red Sox offense added two more runs in the top of the 9th and Donnelly closed it out in the bottom of the 9th. My thoughts on Francona's use of Donnelly to come later.

Alex Cora hit his first homerun of the season in the win. The Red Sox are now 13-7 (4.5 games ahead of NYY).

Notes: It has been reported that Terry Francona plans on using Joel Pineiro in some high-leverage situations (in the 8th inning), which doesn't seem to make any sense. The Red Sox have Hideki Okajima and Brendan Donnelly who are suited to fill that role. To date, Francona has hesitated to use Donnelly in high-leverage situations for some unknown reason. If you recall back to last season, he did the same thing with David Riske (a quality reliever), before Riske was shipped to Chicago for LHP Javier Lopez (now in AAA). Donnelly needs to be given the chance to pitch in big situations, he is simply a better pitcher than Joel Pineiro and at this time he's the 3rd best reliever the Red Sox have. Pineiro and Timlin should be 4th in line for opportunities, followed by Kyle Snyder. JC Romero should be the last option.

Game 2: Josh Beckett's magical season continued on Thursday evening. Beckett gave up 2 early runs, but settled down nicely. Beckett finished with 8 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, and 3 strikeouts.

The Red Sox trailed for most of the game, but finally broke through in the 8th inning with a 2-1 deficit and Orioles' closer Chris Ray on the hill. Ray allowed a double to Mike Lowell after John Parrish walked Manny Ramirez. Ray then elected to intentionally walk Jason Varitek to face Wily Mo Pena. Pena took advantage of the opportunity and crushed one of Ray's offerings for a grand slam. The slam put the Red Sox ahead 5-2. Jonathan Papelbon came in to pitch the 9th inning and closed the door on the Orioles.

Josh Beckett's record is now a major league leading 5-0. The Red Sox sweep the 2-game series vs. Baltimore and are now 14-7 on the season (currently the best record in the majors). The Yankees also lost on Thursday night and remain in last place in the AL East. They are currently 5.5 games behind the Red Sox.

On Deck: The Red Sox will travel to New York to begin a three-game series with the Yankees on Friday night. Daisuke Matsuzaka will take on Andy Pettitte in the opener.