Orioles vs Red Sox (7/31-8/2)

Game 1: Josh Beckett struggled in the early going on Tuesday night against the Baltimore Orioles but was able to settle down and finish with 5 runs over 8 innings pitched. The Red Sox struggled to score against Erik Bedard, scoring their only 2 runs against him on a David Ortiz 2-run homerun. Ortiz would later add a 2nd homerun to bring the Red Sox within 2 runs.

The Red Sox staged a rally in the bottom of the 9th inning as they were able to get men on 1st and 2nd with 1 out. Julio Lugo then hit into a fielder's choice and runners were on 1st and 3rd with 2 outs before Dustin Pedroia grounded out to the pitcher on the first pitch he saw. David Ortiz was on deck for the Red Sox.

The Yankees beat the White Sox tonight and the win moves them within 7 games of the Red Sox for 1st place in the AL East.

Game 2: The Red Sox won a close game on Wednesday night in come from behind fashion. Julian Tavarez took the hill for the Red Sox in place of Kason Gabbard who was traded to Texas in the Eric Gagne deal. Tavarez went 5 innings and gave up 3 runs in what will be his last start for the time being. Curt Schilling will re-enter the rotation on Monday, August 6th in his place.

Tavarez left the game with a 3-1 deficit, but the Red Sox were able to claim the lead when David Ortiz hit an RBI-double and Kevin Youkilis followed with a 2-RBI double. The Red Sox tacked on another run when Jason Varitek hit an RBI single for Boston's 4th run in the inning.

In the 8th inning, Miguel Tejada hit a solo shot off of Hideki Okajima to make the score 5-4 in favor of the Red Sox. Okajima was able to finish the inning with no more harm done and Papelbon pitched the 9th to close it out. Steve Trachsel pitched 6 solid innings for the Orioles but was unable to pick up the win.

Game 3: Tim Wakefield took the mound on Thursday afternoon and was opposed by Jeremy Guthrie, a legitimate rookie of the year canidate in the American League. Wakefield turned in his second consecutive quality start by pitching 7 innings and allowing 3 runs. Guthrie allowed 3 runs in 5.1 innings of work.

The Red Sox were able to score 4 runs in the bottom of the 7th inning against Rob Bell to take the lead for good. Doug Mirabelli, Alex Cora, and Dustin Pedroia picked up RBIs in the inning. The RBI in the 7th gave Mirabelli his 3rd hit of the day including a homerun in the 4th inning. Eric Hinske also homered in the 4th inning. Mirabelli had been booed an inning earlier when he was thrown out at the plate in a tie game with the bases loaded. Mirabelli showed poor timing on his tag-up from 3rd base on a deep flyout to right field by David Ortiz. Mirabelli retreated to 3rd base to re-tag and then attempted to score anyways but was easily thrown out by Nick Markakis at the plate. David Ortiz threw his helmet at the ground in frustration and the Fenway Faithful booed Mirabelli as he took the field in the top of the 7th inning.

Hideki Okajima pitched a scoreless 8th and gave way to Eric Gagne who received a standing ovation as he made his first appearance in a Red Sox uniform. After the game, Gagne called the feeling amazing and it would not surprise me if he were interested in staying in Boston for seasons beyond 2007. It appears unlikely at this time, but maybe the Red Sox will move Jon Papelbon to the rotation in 2008 so that Eric Gagne can close and be set-up by Hideki Okajima and Manny Delcarmen.

The Yankees lost to the Chicago White Sox this afternoon in a high-scoring battle. The two clubs scored 8 runs each in the 2nd inning but the White Sox ended up winning by the score of 13-9. The Red Sox win and the Yankee loss puts the Red Sox 8 games ahead for 1st place in the AL East.

On Deck: The Red Sox begin a 3-game series with the red-hot Seattle Mariners on Friday night at 10:05 PM ET. Jon Lester will oppose Horatio Ramirez in the opener. Lester will be making his 3rd start of the season against the gaudy 6.52 ERA which will hopefully be enough to get the Red Sox offense going.