Padres vs Red Sox (6/22-6/24)

Game 1: Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched another pretty good ballgame on Friday night as he went 6 innings and allowed only 1 earned run. Matsuzaka struggled with the command a bit, especially in the 1st inning when he walked three. He ended up walking 5 on the evening and striking out 9 while using 126 pitches.

Greg Maddux pitched a pretty decent game himself, however, the two runs that the Red Sox did score against him were enough to give them. The Red Sox were able to get runs off of RBI singles by Jason Varitek and Kevin Youkilis.

In a tight ballgame, the Red Sox bullpen came up big as Javier Lopez, Manny Delcarmen, Hideki Okajima, and Jonathan Papelbon combined to pitch 3 scoreless innings. Papelbon recorded the save and came off the mound pumping his fist.

Game 2: Tim Wakefield's struggles continued on Saturday night as he allowed 6 runs in 4.1 innings. Wakefield's performance really didn't give the Red Sox a chance to win the game against Chris Young who was brilliant. Young allowed 1 hit over 7 innings and struck out 11.

The Red Sox lost by the score of 6-1. The Padres received runs from 2 solo shots by Khalil Greene and a 3-run homer by Josh Bard.

Game 3: In the pitching matchup of the season, Josh Beckett outdueled Jake Peavy. Beckett earned his 11th win and dealt Peavy only his 2nd loss of the season. Beckett pitched 8 innings, allowed 2 runs, and struck out 8. Peavy struggled in his 5 innings as the Red Sox really made him work. Peavy allowed 3 runs and struck out 3.

Jon Papelbon closed it out with a perfect 9th inning as he struck out 2 in the process. Papelbon has looked very, very good in his past bunch of outings.

Offensively for the Red Sox, JD Drew, Jason Varitek, and Alex Cora had strong offensive days. Varitek had a homer to give the Red Sox some insurance in the 8th inning.

With the win, the Red Sox take the series against the Padres and move to 11.5 games ahead of the New York Yankees. The Blue Jays are now in 2nd in the AL East and trail the Red Sox by 11 games. The Red Sox now sit at 48-26 on the season.

On Deck: The Red Sox will begin a 3-game series with the Mariners on Monday evening before returning home to Fenway Park. Julian Tavarez, who has pitched very well of late, will take on Jeff Weaver in the opener.

Braves vs Red Sox (6/18-6/20)

Game 1: Curt Schilling struggled for the 2nd consecutive time leaving a few members of the Atlanta Braves wondering if he might be injured. It turns out that he may well have been. Schilling went for an MRI and despite the fact that results were negative, he will head to the DL as a precaution to rest his tired right shoulder.

Schilling failed to record a strikeout and gave up 6 runs in 4.1 IP. The Braves took a commanding lead in the 5th inning when Brian McCann launched a three-run homer just out of the reach of CF Coco Crisp.

Despite the loss, all was not lost in Red Sox Nation after Monday night's game. The big story is the resurgence of Coco Crisp who is beginning to look like the 2005 version of himself. Such a resurgence would be a huge boost for the Red Sox offense. Crisp went 4/4 in the tilt with 2 homeruns. JD Drew also hit a homerun out of the leadoff spot but it wasn't enough as the Red Sox lost 9-4. They now lead the Yankees by 8 games.

Game 2: Josh Beckett overcame the poor performance in his last start and looked like his normal, dominant self. Beckett tossed 6 shutout innings and it probably would have been more if not for a rain delay after he finished his portion of the 6th inning. Beckett threw 88 pitches, allowed 4 hits, and struck out three.

The Red Sox received offense from David Ortiz who belted an opposite field homerun off of Tim Hudson. Josh Beckett chipped in with an RBI double. Alex Cora and Dustin Pedroia also recorded RBIs. Coco Crisp went 1/4.

Kyle Snyder relieved Josh Beckett and pitched a scoreless inning. Okajima and Papelbon pitched a scoreless 8th and 9th.

The Red Sox won by the score of 4-0 as the Yankees lost to Colorado. As a result, Boston has a 9 game stranglehold on 1st place in the AL East.

Game 3: The Red Sox offense wasted no time on Wednesday night as they scored 5 runs in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves. JD Drew led off the game with a solo shot while Coco Crisp added a 3-run shot later in the inning as he continued his resurgence. Crisp would finish 2/5 on the evening. The Red Sox would end up clobbering 5 homeruns (Drew, Crisp, Ortiz, Ramirez, and Hinske).

Julian Tavarez was grateful for the support but didn't need much of it as he tossed 7 shutout innings in his best performance of the season. Tavarez is now 4-0 with a 3.65 ERA in his last 7 starts. He surrended only 3 hits and 1 walk while striking out four. Pineiro and Timlin pitched scoreless innings as well to complete the 2nd consecutive shutout for the Red Sox.

The Red Sox won 11-0 and the Yankees lost 6-1 to the Rockies, so the Red Sox move to 10 games up on 1st place in the division.

Thoughts: Coco Crisp has been hammering the ball since working with hitting coach Dave Magadan to change his stance and it would not come as a surprise to me if he hits around .300 from today forward. He has really looked like the 2005 Coco Crisp of the Cleveland Indians (.300, 16 HR, 69 RBI, 15 SB). Crisp hit 3 homers in the series and went 7/13.

On Deck: The Red Sox receive a day off on Thursday as they head to San Diego to begin a 3-game series. The series starts on Friday night at 10:05 PM from Petco Park. Daisuke Matsuzaka and Greg Maddux will square off in the opener. The pitching matchup for Sunday appears like it will be Josh Beckett against Jake Peavy. It can be argued that the two of them have been the best pitchers in their respective leagues up to this point. It should prove to be a good matchup.

Giants vs Red Sox (6/15-6/17)

Game 1: JD Drew continued to show signs of life on Friday evening and Dustin Pedroia had the best game of his young career as the Red Sox offense awakened to score 10 runs against Barry Zito and the Sanfrancisco Giants. Pedroia had 5 RBIs on the night, Drew had 3.

At the same time, Julian Tavarez continued his string of solid starts as he picked up his 4th win to move to 4-4. Tavarez tossed 7 innings of 2 run ball and struck out 3.

Oliver Perez shut down Roger Clemens and the Yankees as the Mets won 2-0. The win and Yankee loss gives the Red Sox an 8.5 game lead in the AL East.

Game 2: Daisuke Matsuzaka made quite possibly his best start in the major leagues against the Giants on Saturday afternoon. He tossed 7 scoreless innings, allowing 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 8.

Matsuzaka's gem came at the perfect time as the Red Sox were only able to muster 1 run, but it was all they needed thanks to the Japanese import. The Red Sox only run came in the 4th inning when Manny Ramirez crushed a solo homerun over the green monster.

JD Drew had another hit, and Coco Crisp came through with 2 of his own. The Yankees beat the Mets on Saturday afternoon and remain 8.5 games behind the Red Sox as a result.

Earlier in the week, it had been reported that one of Matsuzaka's coaches in Japan noticed a difference in the way that Matsuzaka was pitching and notified him of that. Reportedly, Matsuzaka made the change and it could very well have contributed to his success. After the game, Matsuzaka said that he thought it was his best performance as a Major Leaguer.

Game 3: The Red Sox offense showed more improvement against Matt Morris and the Giants on Sunday afternoon in the series finale. Matt Morris was putting together a very strong season until he ran into the Red Sox. Morris allowed 8 runs in 4 innings of work.

JD Drew continued to perform at the plate out of the leadoff spot. He was 1/3, but was on base 3 times in the game. David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, and Kevin Youkilis each collected 2 hits and Ramirez homered for the 2nd straight day.

Tim Wakefield wasn't great, but kept the Red Sox ahead. He left after surrendering 5 runs, one of which came from Barry Bonds' 747th homerun.

The Red Sox were able to avoid using Jonathan Papelbon as they won by the score of 9-5. Manny Delcarmen, Joel Pineiro, and Hideki Okajima pitched well in relief. Pineiro came on with 1 out and the tying run at the plate in the 8th inning and induced a double play on his first pitch.

With the win the Red Sox sweep the series and have won 3 straight games. It appears that the Yankees are going to beat the Mets tonight barring a major implosion by the Yankee bullpen. If the Yankees hold on, they will remain 8.5 games behind the Red Sox. The Yankees have Monday off while the Red Sox face the Atlanta Braves.

On Deck: The Red Sox will begin a 3-game series against the Atlanta Braves from Turner Field on Monday night. The first game is set to begin at 7:05 PM. Curt Schilling will oppose Chuck James in the opener. Josh Beckett and Julian Tavarez will also pitch in the series.

Rockies vs Red Sox (6/12-6/14)

Game 1: Tim Wakefield was very strong in his eight innings of work on Tuesday night as he only allowed one run. The Red Sox carried a 2-1 lead into the 9th inning thanks to an RBI double from Kevin Youkilis and a sacrifice fly from JD Drew. Jonathan Papelbon came in to pitch the 9th and it was one of his strongest performances of the season. His fastball was regularly in the high 90s as he threw a perfect inning and struck out Todd Helton to end the game.

Game 2: Curt Schilling's near no-hitter did not carry over to Wednesday night. Schilling struggled early and wasn't helped out by his defense either. Both Julio Lugo and Mike Lowell made errors in the early going. Schilling left the game after 5 innings of work and surrendering 5 runs. The Red Sox offense remained stagnant as they were only able to plate two runs on the evening (a solo homer by Mike Lowell and an RBI single by Manny Ramirez). The rockies ended up scoring 12 runs and winning by the score of 12-2. The Red Sox are now only 8.5 games ahead of the Yankees.

Game 3: Josh Beckett turned in his shakiest start of the season on Thursday night. Beckett gave up 6 runs in 5 innings while only striking out 1. Jeff Francis was on the hill for the Rockies and he threw 5 shutout innings. The Rockies took control of the game with a grand slam from Garrett Atkins.

The Red Sox offense remained in its horrible slump as they only managed to score 1 run. JD Drew led off for the 1st time this season and was 0-5. Manny Ramirez, Mike Lowell, and Jason Varitek each recorded two hits on the evening.

The Red Sox lost their 2nd straight game and are now only 7.5 games ahead of the Yankees who finished a sweep of Arizona earlier in the afternoon.

On Deck: The Red Sox will open up a series against the Sanfrancisco Giants on Friday night. Julian Tavarez will take on Barry Zito in the opener. The Red Sox will also have to face Matt Cain and Matt Morris in the series as Barry Bonds continues his quest for the homerun record.

Diamondbacks vs Red Sox (6/8-6/10)

Game 1: The Red Sox continued the positive momentum on Friday night as Josh Beckett moved to 9-0. Beckett went 8 innings and only gave up 2 earned runs. He struck out 8 and walked none.

JD Drew also showed Red Sox Nation what he can do with the bat. JD Drew had his best game in a Boston uniform as he delivered a pair of 3-run homers. Drew finished with 3 hits and 7 RBIs.

The Red Sox have now won two straight games and remain 10.5 games ahead of the Yankees.

Game 2: Julian Tavarez is making it easy for the Red Sox to take their time with Jon Lester. Over his last bunch of starts, Tavarez has managed to keep the Red Sox in the game. On Saturday night, he went 6 innings and allowed 3 runs to Arizona. Tavarez left the game with a deficit, but the Red Sox still had a chance to win and they capitalized.

With a 3-0 disadvantage, Jason Varitek hit a 2-run homer in the 6th inning and tied it in the 8th with an RBI double which plated JD Drew. Drew had his 2nd consecutive good performance as he collected 3 more hits and scored 2 more runs.

The Red Sox bullpen held strong as Donnelly and Okajima combined for 3 scoreless innings. When the Red Sox took the lead in the top of the 10th it created a save situation for Jonathan Papelbon who has been used very sparingly. Papelbon appeared to be a little rusty but was able to nail down the win for the Red Sox.

The win is the Red Sox third in a row and they remain 10.5 games ahead of the Yankees who have won 5 straight games (against the White Sox and the Pirates).

Game 3: The winning streak was halted at 3 games on Sunday afternoon by Randy Johnson and the Diamondbacks. Daisuke Matsuzaka was unable to match Johnson and the Red Sox bullpen let the game get out of hand in the 8th inning.

Matsuzaka was plagued by control problems again as he needed 120 pitches to get through 6 innings. Both starters struck out 9 on the day as the Red Sox offense continued to struggle against lefthanded pitchers.

Coco Crisp and Julio Lugo continue to struggle and its hurting the Red Sox. Crisp's struggles are bearable just because of the kind of defense he is playing in centerfield, but Lugo isn't getting it done on either side. Wily Mo Pena should not be starting over Coco Crisp in CF for the Red Sox, but if the Red Sox believe that Jacoby Ellsbury is ready, they may want to give him a try. Ellsbury could provide comparable defense to Crisp and maybe better numbers at the plate. As far as Lugo goes, there isn't much the Red Sox can do besides hope that he improves and I believe he will. They signed him to a 4 year, $36 million contract and there really isn't any logical replacement for him at this point.

On Deck: The Red Sox will begin a 3-game series with the Rockies on Tuesday night at 7:05 PM from Fenway Park. Tim Wakefield will take on Aaron Cook in the opener.

Athletics vs Red Sox (6/4-6/7)

Game 1: Julian Tavarez did a pretty good job of keeping the Red Sox in a game that they had no business winning. His efforts allowed the Red Sox to enter the 9th inning with just a 2-run deficit and luckily their bats came alive.

It all started with a double from David Ortiz. The next two batters (Ramirez and Youkilis) were retired. Jason Varitek then singled home Ortiz to make it a 1-run game. Coco Crisp came in to run for Varitek. Wily Mo Pena was up next and on the third pitch he saw, Crisp attempted to steal. Pena smacked that pitch into the gap and Crisp raced around the bases to score the tying run.

The A's couldn't answer in the bottom of the 9th. In the 10th inning, the Athletics loaded the bases with no outs against JC Romero, but Romero was able to miraculously work his way out of trouble. The Red Sox failed to score in their half of the 11th inning. Kyle Snyder came in to pitch the bottom half and retired the first two batters he faced when Eric Chavez came to the plate. Chavez smacked a walk-off homerun off of Snyder to end the game and give the Athletics the victory.

Game 2: Daisuke Matsuzaka turned in a decent performance on Tuesday night going 7 innings, allowing 7 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs. He struck out 7 and threw 129 pitches.

Despite his performance, the Red Sox gave him no chance of winning as they were stymied by former Red Sox pitcher Lenny Dinardo. Dinardo walked 6, but was very solid despite the control issues.

Eric Chavez homered once again for the Athletics as the Red Sox dropped their 3rd straight game.

Game 3: Tim Wakefield turned in his best start in awhile on Wednesday night. Wakefield went 6.2 innings, and allowed 3 runs while striking out 8.

The Red Sox offense was again nonexistent for the first 6 innings, but finally showed signs of life in the 7th when they scored 2 runs to make it a 3-2 ballgame.

Hideki Okajima relieved Wakefield and pitched 1.1 scoreless innings. His efforts were not enough as the Red Sox failed to score. It was their 4th straight loss and 6th in the last 7 games.

Game 4: Curt Schilling was extremely close to making history on Thursday afternoon. Schilling entered the 9th inning only having allowed 1 baserunner which came on a fielding error by Julio Lugo. Schilling retired the first two batters in the 9th inning, still having allowed no hits.

At this point, Shannon Stewart was the only thing standing in the way of Curt Schilling and his first career no-hitter. On the first pitch, Varitek called a slider away, and Schilling shook him off. Instead, the two agreed on a fastball away. Unfortunately, Shannon Stewart smacked the offering past Alex Cora for the first hit of the game. Schilling retired Mark Ellis on a tough blooper which was reeled in by Alex Cora to end the game.

After the game, Schilling seemed to be in pretty good spirits and whether he meant it or not, his postgame comments were the truth. The Red Sox needed the win and they got it and thats all that matters.

Schilling's performance came at the perfect time. The Red Sox had been struggling and only scored 1 run courtesy of a David Ortiz homerun in the 1st inning. They are extremely fortunate to get that win right now while only scoring 1 run and they have Curt Schilling to thank for that.

The 4-game losing streak is snapped and the Red Sox are now 12 games ahead of the Yankees depending on what happens in their game tonight against the Chicago White Sox. The Red Sox now sit at 38-21.

On Deck: The Red Sox will start a 3-game series with the Diamondbacks on Friday from Arizona. Josh Beckett will get the nod in the opener for the Red Sox.

Yankees vs Red Sox (6/1-6/3)

Game 1: Tim Wakefield came out of the gate looking very strong and threw nothing but strikes in his first inning of work. Wakefield then began to struggle in the 2nd inning and allowed 3 runs. The Red Sox were eventually able to battle back in the bottom of the 3rd, but in the top of the 4th, the Yankees tacked on 6 runs to take a 9-3 lead.

Wakefield finished with 3.2 IP, 8 ER, and 6 BB. He also hit a batter. Dustin Pedroia continued his hot streak as he went 3/4. Manny Ramirez was 4/5 and David Ortiz recorded 3 hits.

The Red Sox entered the bottom of the 9th inning with a 6-run lead and began to battle back. They were able to score 2 runs before the final out was recorded. The final score was 9-5. With the win, the Yankees move to within 12.5 games of 1st place in the AL East. Boston has lost 2 straight games for the first time since April.

Game 2: Saturday's game was a back and forth affair and the New York Yankees ended up blowing 3 different leads before the game was over.

The Yankees went ahead 4-3 in the top of the 6th inning on a homerun from Jorge Posada. Posada would be the last batter that Schilling faced, but the Javier Lopez surrendered another run to give the Yankees a 2-run advantage. In the bottom of the 6th, Mike Lowell led off with a solo shot and Jason Varitek followed it up with a solo shot of his own to tie the game.

The Yankees then took a 6-5 lead on a solo homer by Derek Jeter, but the lead was again short lived. The Red Sox came roaring back in the bottom half of that inning and scored 5 runs thanks to shoddy defense by the Yankees.

Okajima and Papelbon closed out the game with scoreless innings and the Red Sox took a 13.5 game lead on the Yankees.

Game 3: Josh Beckett pitched very well on Sunday evening despite what the box score may look like. Beckett left with a 5-4 lead thanks to a 5-run 5th inning. The Red Sox held the 1-run lead, but failed to extend it despite having chances to do so. Finally, in the 8th inning, the Red Sox bullpen cracked and the Yankees were able to tie the game. In the 9th inning, Jonathan Papelbon gave up a homerun to Alex Rodriguez, which turned out to be the game winner.

Dustin Pedroia collected 2 more hits, as did Manny Ramirez but their efforts were not enough to lead the Red Sox to victory. The loss brings the Yankees to within 12.5 games of the AL East division lead.

On Deck: The Red Sox begin a 3-game set with the Oakland Athletics on Monday night. The first game begins at 10:05 PM EST. The Red Sox will be faced with a tough pitching matchup on Monday night when Julian Tavarez takes the hill against one of the AL's best, Dan Haren.