Sox Trump O’s; Keep Pace In Races

Jon Lester took his dominance of the Baltimore Orioles to a new level last night on a beautiful evening at Fenway Park when the Boston Red Sox defeated the Orioles 9-3. Over seven innings, Lester spread five hits and only one run in a performance that allowed him to run his record against the Orioles to 12-0 lifetime against the Orioles. But, more importantly, the win let the Sox keep pace with the New York Yankees who beat the Toronto Blue Jays 11-3 early in the day. They were also able to keep their lead in the AL Wild Card as the Tampa Bay Rays also won yesterday with an 8-6 win over the Minnesota Twins.

Kevin Youkilis helped out with a 3-run 5th inning homerun that pretty much sealed the deal for the Orioles. JD Drew (2), Daniel Nava (1), Mike Cameron (1), and David Ortiz (1) also got in the RBI game for the Sox.

The Sox go for the sweep today as John Lackey (9-3, 4.46 ERA) takes the mound against Brian Matusz (2-9, 4.90 ERA) at 1:35pm.

Another feather in Lester’s cap – Boston Globe
Red Sox 9, Orioles 3: At least they crushed our hopes fast – CamdenChat.com
Lester remains perfect vs. Orioles – ESPN.com
O’s miss chance against Red Sox – Baltimore Sun
Youkilis ulitmate gamer – Boston Globe

Manny Returns; Sox Sweep Dodgers

Manny Ramirez’s much anticipated return to Fenway Park this past weekend was relatively uneventful as the Boston Red Sox swept the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-6, 5-4, and 2-0 this past weekend. Manny was his typical self, going 4-for-12 with one home run and three runs scored. Despite his performance, the Red Sox starting pitching staff of Felix Doubront (1-0, 5.40), Tim Wakefield (2-5, 5.33), and Clay Bucholz (10-4, 2.47) spread 14 hits, 9 runs, 7 walks, and 12 strikeouts over 18 innings total innings. Bucholz became the first Sox pitcher this season to enter double digits in the win column.

The Sox now sit a mere 1 game out of first place in the AL East race and are tied for the Wild Card lead with the Tampa Bay Rays. After sweeping back to back series, they have a well-deserved day off today and get back at it tomorrow in Colorado when Jon Lester (8-2) takes the mound against Jhoulys Chacin (3-6).

Buchholz, Sox flying at finish – Boston Globe
Dodgers swept out of Boston in 2-0 loss – Los Angeles Times
Red-hot Pedroia puts on a show – Boston Globe
With 10 wins, Buchholz has arrived – ESPN.com
Red Sox / Dodgers Box Score – ESPN.com

Sox Roll DBacks 6-2

Jon Lester regained his form last night pitching seven innings while letting up two runs in leading the Boston Red Sox to a 6-2 win over the sinking Arizona Diamondbacks. Three walks and four hits rounded out his stats. Lester brought his win total to 9 this season – second in the American League and third overall in MLB. His confidence really came back when he pitched out of a one-out, bases-loaded situation in the fourth innings. In addition to Lester’s heroics, Dustin Pedroia continued his charge back into the spotlight by hitting a two-run homerun in the first. Kevin Youkilis also added a two-run homerun in the seventh. In between, Adrian Beltre and J.D. Drew helped with an RBI each.

The Sox go for the sweep tonight when John Lackey takes the hill at Fenway Park (6:10pm).

Red Sox catcher Victor Martinez speaks with pitcher Jon Lester in the second inning last night at Fenway Park.
Photo: Stuart Cahill / Boston Herald

Sox recap: Red Sox 6, Diamondbacks 2 – Boston Herald
Red Sox derail Diamonbacks again, 6-2 – Boston Globe
Sweep on Minds of Red Sox Heading Into Series Finale With Diamondbacks – NESN.com
Arizona Diamondbacks Woes Continue With 11th-Straight Road Loss – Phonenix NewTimes
Red Sox / Diamondback Box Score – ESPN.com

Tribe Splits with Sox

John Lester blew a five-run lead for the first time in his career and the Boston Red Sox fell to the Cleveland Indians 8-7 on Thursday night. Not much else to say here – the Sox took a 5-0 lead into the 2nd inning when some weird things started to happen. Lester started to get dinked and dunked while the Indians chipped the Sox lead down to 5-3 in the third ended up taking the lead heading into the 9th inning. A 2-run shot gave the Sox a 7-6 lead and setup Daniel Bard for a save. Long story short, Bard gave up a hit and a few walks to put the winning run on second. A bloop single from Russell Branyan brought in two runs and ended the Sox night.

Russell Branyan rescues Cleveland Indians from evening of bloopers against Boston Red Sox – The Plain Dealer
Red Sox can’t hold on – Boston Globe
The hurts mount for the Sox – ESPN.com
Red Sox-Indians: Let’s just forget this train wreck – Boston Herald

Lester Still Perfect Against O’s

Jon Lester’s 6-1/3 scoreless innings last night at Camden Yards allowed him to continue his dominance of the Baltimore Orioles and extend his lifetime record against the AL East rivals to 11-0. He allowed only three walks and four hits while contributing four strikeouts. In the seventh, he walked the bases loaded, but was helped out when Daniel Bard entered the game and shut down the O’s.

Despite needing help from Bard to get out of the inning, this effort helped continue Lester’s string of quality starts. In his last three outings, he has spread one run over nine hits in his last three starts (19-1/3 innings) and has accounted for six wins in his last seven starts. When asked about Bard’s performance, Lester had the following to say: “He’s great. He bailed me out. He’s done that all year for us. Hopefully he can continue to do it. Obviously you see what he brings to the table every night he pitches. He’s done great and you can’t speak highly enough about what he’s done out of the bullpen for us.”

The Sox will go for the series sweep this evening when they send John Lackey to the mound on Sunday afternoon.

Jon Lester pitches 6-1/3 scoreless against O

Lester, Red Sox still not in a giving mood – Boston Globe
O’s offense, bullpen sputter in loss – Baltimore Sun
Lester improves record vs. O’s to 11-0 – MLB.com
Fireballer Bard a fast learner – ESPN
Daniel Bard’s all set in bullpen – Boston Herald