Tigers vs Red Sox (5/14-5/17)

Game 1: Red Sox Nation was presented with evidence that Daisuke Matsuzaka will be well worth $103.1 million dollars on Monday night when the Japanese import baffled Tigers hitters and hurled a complete game. Matsuzaka allowed 1 ER over his 9 innings, the run came on a solo shot by Curtis Granderson in the 3rd inning. Matsuzaka allowed 6 hits and walked none while striking out 5.

The Red Sox offense touched up Tigers Starter Nate Robertson for 11 hits in his 5 innings but were only able to put three runs on the board against him. Getting Robertson out of the game early was important because the Tigers bullpen was overworked on Sunday night. A decimated Tiger bullpen will only work to the Red Sox advantage for the remainder of the series. The Red Sox were able to add four more runs in the 8th inning, three of them coming on a 3-RBI double by Julio Lugo.

Papelbon had been warming in the pen but sat down when the league was expanded. Much to the delight of the Fenway Faithful, Matsuzaka came out of the dugout to pitch the 9th inning. The crowd rose and gave Matsuzaka a much-deserved standing ovation. The crowd erupted when the final out was recorded and then gave Matsuzaka another ovation. The Red Sox won by the score of 7-1. They moved to 8.5 games ahead of the idle Yankees with the win and are now 26-11.

Game 2: Tim Wakefield failed to turn in a great start on Tuesday night as he allowed 5 runs over 7 innings. Brendan Donnelly relieved Wakefield and gave up two more runs in the 8th.

The Red Sox were only able to score two runs in the game. One coming from an RBI single by JD Drew in the first inning, the other coming from a solo shot from Kevin Youkilis in the 8th inning.

Justin Verlander pitched very well for the Tigers and was a big reason they were able to win the game. He pitched 7 innings, gave up 2 earned runs, and struck out 7. Fernando Rodney pitched the final 1 1/3 innings for the Tigers and didn't give up any runs. The Tigers won by the score of 7-2 and the Red Sox dropped to 26-12 on the season.

Game 3: The 2006 version of Julian Tavarez the starter was back on Thursday afternoon in the makeup game from Wednesday night's rainout. Tavarez allowed 4 hits and 4 walks but only 1 earned run. He struck out two Tigers in 7 IP.

Tavarez was on at the right time because the Red Sox offense struggled to get much going against Zach Miner and the Tigers bullpen. The offense scored 2 runs on the day (only 1 of them was earned). After the 7th inning, Tavarez gave way to Okajima who pitched a perfect 8th. Papelbon pitched a perfect 9th for the save and the 2-1 win. The win moves the Red Sox to 27-12.

Game 4: Curt Schilling struggled on Thursday night but grinded his way through 6 innings to keep his team in the game. Schilling left after 6 innings and 2 earned runs. Schilling allowed 8 hits and walked 4 on the evening.

At the end of the 6th inning, the Tigers and Red Sox were tied at two. Brendan Donnelly pitched a scoreless 7th. In the bottom half of that inning, the Red Sox had a man on first with 2 outs as Eric Hinske came to the plate. Hinske who had already saved at least 1 run earlier in the game when he made a spectacular diving catch. His catch might turn out to be one of the best catches in 2007. As Hinske raced after the ball, it appeared that he wouldn't come within 5 feet of it but as the ball began to fall Hinske launched himself parallel to the ground and made an unbelievable catch to end the inning. He was a little shaken up on the play but eventually got up and received high fives from Curt Schilling and the rest of his teammates. Anyways, back to the top of the 7th inning, Hinske came to the plate with 2 outs and smacked a two run shot into the Red Sox bullpen in right centerfield. The homer gave the Red Sox a 4-2 lead.

Brendan Donnelly and Javier Lopez combined for a scoreless 8th inning. The score remained 4-2 heading into the 9th and Francona elected to stay away from using Papelbon again. Papelbon had thrown 13 pitches in the day game. Instead, Hideki Okajima, who also threw 13 pitches in the day game came in to finish the game. Okajima got the job done and pitched a scoreless 9th to give the Red Sox the win. With the win, the Red Sox took 3 of 4 from the defending AL Champion Detroit Tigers and moved to 28-12. The Red Sox retained the best record in the MLB and moved to 9.5 games ahead of the Yankees.

Notes: Josh Beckett will head to the DL and miss 2 starts. Devern Hansack will get the nod on Friday and Kason Gabbard will likely start on Sunday (because of the doubleheader on Thursday night). Beckett's next turn would come on Thursday, a day that the Red Sox have off. The Red Sox may elect to skip Hansack/Gabbard as a result of the off-day. They may also elect to have Hansack or Gabbard start on Friday to give the rest of the rotation a little bit of extra rest. The Red Sox are hoping that Josh Beckett will return on May 29th to face the Cleveland Indians. Hopefully his injury is not enough to slow the Red Sox down.

On Deck: The Red Sox will begin a 3-game series with the Atlanta Braves on Friday night. Devern Hansack will square off against Anthony Lerew in the opener. Daisuke Matsuzaka is scheduled to face John Smoltz on Saturday. On Sunday, Kason Gabbard is set to oppose Tim Hudson. Hopefully the Red Sox can sneak out a win or two in this series, the pitching matchups certainly do not appear to be favorable (at least on Friday and Sunday).