White Sox vs Red Sox (7/19-7/22)

Game 1: Daisuke Matsuzaka struggled with the control once again on Thursday night as he walked 6 batters. Dice-K allowed 3 runs over his 5 innings of work.

Javier Vazquez, who took the hill for the White Sox, fared a little bit better. Vazquez went 6.1 IP and allowed 2 ER.

Manny Ramirez (2 hits), Mike Lowell (2 hits), and Dustin Pedroia (3/5, RBI) all had solid offensive nights for the Red Sox. AJ Pierzynski drove in 3 runs for the White Sox.

The Red Sox lost by the final score of 4-2 despite solid work out of the bullpen from Javier Lopez, Manny Delcarmen, and Kyle Snyder.

Game 2: The Red Sox offense seemingly woke up on Friday night as they pounded out 10 hits and scored 10 runs. Rightfully, the Red Sox had more than 10 runs as JD Drew was robbed of a 3-run homer by the 3rd base umpire who clearly blew the call. On the replay, the ball clearly hit above the red line atop the green monster. The Red Sox did not let the early call affect the outcome of the game as Coco Crisp had a bases clearing triple in the 5th inning. Julio Lugo would later add a grand slam and went 3/4 with 4 RBIs on the evening.

Beckett started the game for the Red Sox and struck out 10 batters in 6 innings of work. Beckett allowed 3 runs on 4 hits and walked 2. Jose Contreras was the started for the White Sox and he allowed all 10 runs as he went 7.1 innings. Mike Timlin, Hideki Okajima, and Joel Pineiro pitched scoreless innings out of the pen for the Red Sox as they won by the final score of 10-3.

Game 3: The Red Sox offensive attack continued on Saturday afternoon with Coco Crisp and Eric Hinske leading the way. Crisp had 3 hits and 5 RBIs while Hinske was 2/2 with 2 RBIs.

Kason Gabbard had another impressive performance for the Red Sox. Gabbard went 7 innings, allowed 1 run on only 3 hits and 1 walk. This encouraging start coming after impressive performances against Kansas City and Detroit.

Jon Danks started for the White Sox and allowed 4 runs in 6 innings of work. The White Sox bullpen was no better as they allowed 7 more runs in the last 3 innings.

The final score was 11-2 and the Red Sox are 7.5 games ahead of the Yankees for 1st place in the AL East.

Game 4: Sunday night brought another impressive performance from the Red Sox offense as they ripped Jon Garland and the White Sox for 8 more runs. Manny Ramirez had a 3-run shot in the 1st inning and Mike Lowell added one of his own in the 3rd. Ramirez would finish 2/2 with 4 RBIs. Coco Crisp stayed hot as well, collecting 3 more hits.

Tim Wakefield started for the Red Sox and pitched 6 innings of effective ball before allowing 3 runs to the White Sox in the 7th inning. Manny Delcarmen came in to relieve Wakefield and allowed a run of his own to cut the Red Sox lead to 3. Hideki Okajima ended the threat started by Delcarmen and pitched a scoreless inning of his own.

The Red Sox would enter the 9th inning with a 3-run lead before turning the game over to Jon Papelbon. Papelbon promptly loaded the bases before recording an out. Jim Thome came to the plate and was struck out by Papelbon. Konerko was next for the White Sox but grounded into a game-ending double play.

As a result of the Yankee win, the Red Sox remain 7.5 games ahead.

On Deck: The Red Sox will begin a 4-game series against the Cleveland Indians at Jacobs Field. Jon Lester will face Jake Westbrook in the opener.