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.