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.