Braves vs Red Sox (5/19-5/21)

Game 1: Daisuke Matsuzaka was very good for his 3rd consecutive start. He went 8 innings and allowed 3 runs while striking out 6.

The Red Sox offense was also firing on all cylinders in the first game of the doubleheader. Julio Lugo lead off the game with a homerun. Kevin Youkilis, Mike Lowell (Grand Slam), and Wily Mo Pena also had homeruns in the first game.

The Red Sox won by the score of 13-3. and moved to 29-12 on the season.

Game 2: The 2nd game of the doubleheader didn't go as smoothly for the Red Sox who gave the ball to AAA callup, Devern Hansack. Hansack struggled with the location all day but the results weren't horrible. The bullpen didn't do anything to help the cause. Joel Pineiro and Javier Lopez both got roughed up in their appearances.

The Braves offense was able to put 14 runs on the board and John Smoltz was his normal dominant self. The Braves won by 14-0. The loss drops the Red Sox to 29-13. The Yankees lost earlier in the day to the Mets. The Red Sox are currently 10.5 games ahead of the Yankees.

Game 3: Kason Gabbard filled in brilliantly for Josh Beckett. Gabbard left his outing without allowing a run, but was responsible for two baserunners when he was lifted. Both runners ended up scoring and he finished with a respectable 5 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, and 7 K line.

Tim Hudson, who has been dominant thus far for the Braves struggled mightly against the Red Sox, especially in the early going. The Red Sox went up 3-0 in the bottom of the 1st inning on a bases clearing triple by Jason Varitek. Hinske followed that up with a single, giving the Sox a 4-0 lead. Hudson would allow 2 more runs in the later innings before leaving the game.

Brendan Donnelly struggled in relief, however, Lopez, Snyder and Okajima pitched well. Jonathan Papelbon pitched the 9th and allowed a couple cheap hits before striking out Andruw Jones to end the game. The strikeout was Jones' 5th on the day giving him the platinum sombrero.

The win moves the Red Sox to 30-13, the Yankees beat the Mets later in the night so the lead on them remains the same.

On Deck: The Red Sox begin a 3-game series with the Yankees on Monday night from the Bronx. Tim Wakefield and Chien-Ming Wang will square off in the opener.