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Thursday's press notes

Thursday's press notes, courtesy of the Red Sox' P.R. department:

DATE OPP. BOS TIME RED SOX STARTER OPPOSING STARTER TELEVISION
Thurs., July 6 at TB 7:15 p.m. RHP Tim Wakefield (6-8, 3.90) RHP James Shields (4-1, 4.39) NESN
Fri., July 7 at CWS 8:35 p.m. LHP Jon Lester (3-0, 3.08) LHP Mark Buehrle (9-5, 3.86) NESN
Sat., July 8 at CWS 1:25 p.m. RHP Josh Beckett (10-4, 4.59) RHP Freddy Garcia (10-5, 4.72) FOX
Sun., July 9 at CWS 2:05 p.m. RHP Curt Schilling (10-3, 3.63) RHP Jose Contreras (9-0, 3.31) NESN
*** ALL-STAR BREAK ***
---All games broadcast on 103.7 WEEI-FM and the Red Sox radio network and the Red Sox Spanish-language radio network---

A DEVIL OF A TIME
Manny Ramirez is the all-time home run and RBI leader vs. the Devil Rays.

ALL-TIME HR LEADERS VS. TAMPA BAY
1. Manny Ramirez 37
2. Carlos Delgado 32
3. Jason Giambi 27
4. Alex Rodriguez 24

ALL-TIME RBI LEADERS VS. TAMPA BAY
1. Manny Ramirez 119
2. Jason Giambi 93
3. Carlos Delgado 86
4. Jorge Posada 74

WAKE ME, SHAKE ME
Tim Wakefield last Saturday became the 13th active pitcher to reach 150 career wins, accomplishing the feat in his 300th start as a Red Sox.

Active Win Leaders
1. Roger Clemens, HOU 342
2. Greg Maddux, CHC 325
3. Tom Glavine, NYM 286
4. Randy Johnson, NYY 272
5. Mike Mussina, NYY 234
6. David Wells, BOS 227
7. Jamie Moyer, SEA 210
8. Pedro Martinez, NYM 204
9. Curt Schilling, BOS 202
10. Kenny Rogers, DET 201
11. John Smoltz, ATL 182
12. Andy Pettitte, HOU 179
13. Tim Wakefield, BOS 150
Additionally, Wakefield tonight can become the first pitcher ever to win 15 games against the Devil Rays.

All-Time Win Leaders vs. Tampa Bay
Tim Wakefield, BOS 14
Mike Mussina, NYY 14
O. Hernandez, NYM 11
Pedro Martinez, NYM 11
Andy Pettitte, HOU 11

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY?: Boston’s 7-day stay in Florida comes to an end tonight as the Red Sox and Devil Rays wrap up their 4-game set at Tropicana Field…the Red Sox took 2 of 3 games from the Marlins in Miami last weekend and have dropped the first 3 games to the Devil Rays this week…tomorrow, the Red Sox begin a 3-game set with the World Champion White Sox that caps their 10-game trip and leads to the All-Star Break . . . The Red Sox have lost 3 games in a row for just the 3rd time this season and tonight aim to avoid equaling their longest losing streak of the season, a 4-game skid June 11-15…when the Red Sox ended that streak, they immediately followed with a season-best 12-game winning streak . . . Despite losses in their last 3 games, the Red Sox are 14-4 in their last 18 contests beginning June 16…the Sox began this stretch 1.0-game out in the A.L. East and are now 3.0-games up on the Yankees in the division.

TOUGH TIMES AT THE TROP: Boston had won its last 5 overall series starting June 16 before this 4-game set at Tampa Bay…the Sox have lost 4-straight games at Tropicana Field for the first time since a 4-game skid July 6, 1999-August 28, 2000…the Sox have never dropped 5 games in a row at the Trop . . . Including this week, the Red Sox have lost 4 of their last 5 series at Tropicana Field since the start of the 2005 season, going 5-10 (.333) here in that span…the Red Sox have never been swept in a series at Tropicana Field (22 series here into this week)…the Red Sox have not been swept in any 4-game series since September 3-6, 1998 at Toronto.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: The Red Sox have held sole possession of first place in the A.L. East for the last 18 days…the Sox have been in sole possession of or in a statistical tie for first place in the division for 82 of 93 days in 2006.

300 WITH THE SOX: Tim Wakefield, who made his 300th start with the Red Sox last Saturday in Miami, has 333 starts in his career, 17th-most among active pitchers…however, Wakefield is one of only 4 active pitchers to boast at least 300 starts with his current club…the other 3: John Smoltz, who has made 412 starts with Atlanta, Brad Radke, who has made 367 starts with Minnesota, and Jamie Moyer, who has made 316 starts with Seattle . . . Tonight marks the 121st start for the battery of Tim Wakefield and Doug Mirabelli…the pair recently celebrated the 5-year anniversary of their first start together, a no-decision June 29, 2001 at Toronto…Wakefield and Mirabelli have combined for 55 victories: 52 in Wakefield starts and 3 in relief appearances.

ON THE DOUBLE: Mike Lowell last night recorded his 30th double of the season to become just the 4th Red Sox in the last 47 seasons beginning in 1960 to reach 30 doubles by the All-Star Break…he joins David Ortiz (33 in 2004), Bill Mueller (30 in 2003) and Nomar Garciaparra (30 in 2002) in this exclusive company.

HOME, STEAL HOME: Carl Crawford last night became the first Red Sox opponent to record a straight steal of home (not as the back end of a double steal) since Cleveland’s Omar Vizquel turned the trick September 20, 2000 off Rheal Cormier in the 5th inning of the 2nd game of a day-night doubleheader at Fenway Park . . . Thanks to 3 steals last night, Crawford now has 201 steals in his big league career that began July 20, 2002…in that same span, the Red Sox have 240 stolen bases as a team beginning July 20, 2002 . . . This season, Crawford leads the A.L. with 32 steals, more than the totals of 7 teams in the majors, including the Red Sox and their 23 steals in 2006.

THE RED SOX AND DEVIL RAYS

2006 SEASON: The Red Sox and Devil Rays meet 19 times in 2006, 9 times at Fenway Park and 10 times at Tropicana Field…the clubs have played 13 times thus far, with the Sox holding a 7-6 edge (6-1 at Fenway and 1-5 at the Trop).

ALL-TIME: Boston leads the all-time series 95-50…the Red Sox are 53-20 at Fenway and 42-30 at Tropicana Field . . . The Sox are 6-1-1 in 8 season series since the Rays joined the American League in 1998, losing only in 1999…the clubs split 12 in 2000 . . . Boston has won the last 5 season series (2001-2005), winning at least 12 games vs. Tampa Bay each year from 2001-2005…the Rays are the only team against whom the Sox have won each of the last 5 season series (2001-2005)…since 2001, the Sox are 76-32 against the Rays.

RECORDS AND MILESTONES

DEFENSE RECORD: The Red Sox recently set a new major league record by playing 17 games in a row without an error from June 11-30 . . . Boston surpassed the previous major league record set by the St. Louis Cardinals July 30-August 16, 1992…on Thursday, the Red Sox broke the American League mark of 15 previously held by the Rangers from August 4-19, 1996…Boston’s last error had occurred June 11 vs. Texas (Kevin Youkilis in the first game of a doubleheader)…the Red Sox cleanly handled 668 chances between errors.

PREVIOUSLY ON 24: Jonathan Papelbon Sunday set the Red Sox single-season rookie saves record with his 25th save, breaking Dick Radatz’ mark of 24 saves as a rookie in 1962 . . . Not yet the All-Star Break, Papelbon’s 25 saves already tie for the 10th most by a rookie in major league history, only 12 shy of the record set by Seattle’s Kaz Sasaki in 2000.

Posted by Art  at 11:48 AM | Permalink

Remember when?

The last time the Red Sox had . . .

A 5-HIT GAME: Johnny Damon, 7/6/04 vs. OAK

A 6-HIT GAME (Ties club record): Nomar Garciaparra, 6/21/03 at PHI (13 innings)

6 RBI IN A GAME: John Olerud, 9/1/05 vs. TB

7 OR MORE RBI IN A GAME: Bill Mueller (9), 7/29/03 at TEX

10 RBI IN A GAME (Ties club record): Nomar Garciaparra, 5/10/99 vs. SEA

A 3-HOME RUN GAME (24 times in club history, 13 at Fenway Park): Kevin Millar, 7/23/04 vs. NYY

A GAME-ENDING HOME RUN: David Ortiz, 6/24/06 vs. PHI (10th inning)

A PINCH-HIT GRAND SLAM: Kevin Millar, 6/7/03 at MIL

2 GRAND SLAMS IN A GAME: Bill Mueller, 7/29/03, the first Major Leaguer to
hit grand slam from both sides in same game

A HOMER IN FIRST MAJOR LEAGUE GAME (7 times in club history): Kevin Youkilis, 5/15/04

HOMER IN FIRST RED SOX PLATE APP.: Orlando Cabrera, 8/1/04 at MIN

AN INSIDE-THE-PARK HOME RUN: Trot Nixon, 7/15/05 vs. NYY

HOME RUNS FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE PLATE: Jason Varitek, 8/16/05 at DET

A PITCHER COLLECT A BASE HIT: Curt Schilling, 6/18/06 at ATL off John Smoltz

A PITCHER HIT A HOME RUN: Josh Beckett, 5/20/06 at PHI off Brett Myers

A PLAYER HIT FOR THE CYCLE (19 times in club history): John Valentin, 6/6/96 vs. CWS

A HITTING STREAK OF AT LEAST 30 GAMES (3 in club history): Nomar Garciaparra (30), 7/26-8/29/97

A SINGLE-SEASON HITTING STREAK OF AT LEAST 20 GAMES (35 in club history): Johnny Damon (29), 6/10-7/17/05

A STEAL OF HOME: Jose Offerman, 8/30/99 vs. KC

A 4-STOLEN BASE GAME: Jerry Remy, 6/14/80 at CAL (Club Record)

A NO-HITTER (17 times in club history): Derek Lowe, 4/27/02 vs. TB (W, 10-0)

A ONE-HITTER: Hideo Nomo, 5/25/01 vs. TOR (W, 4-0)

15 OR MORE STRIKEOUTS IN A GAME: Pedro Martinez (16), 4/8/01 vs. TB

20 RUNS IN A GAME (15 times in club history in regular season): 6/27/03 vs. FLA (25 runs)

20 HITS IN A GAME: 9/20/05 at TB (21 hits)

10 RUNS IN AN INNING: 6/27/03 vs. FLA (14 runs in 1st inning)

7 HOME RUNS IN A GAME: 7/4/03 at NYY

8 HOME RUNS IN A GAME: 7/4/77 vs. TOR (Club Record)

3 CONSECUTIVE HOMERS (Ties club record for 7th time): 5/31/80 vs. MIL (4th inning)…Tony Perez, Carlton Fisk and Butch Hobson

GAME-ENDING HOMER IN BACK-TO-BACK GAMES: 5/10/05 vs. OAK (9th inning, Kevin Millar off Octavio Dotel) and 5/11/05 vs. OAK (9th inning, Jason Varitek off Dotel)

A TRIPLE PLAY: 7/8/94 vs. SEA (6th inning)…unassisted by SS John Valentin

A TRIPLE PLAY TURNED AGAINST THEM: 8/6/01 vs. TEX (hit into by Scott Hatteberg)

Posted by Art  at 11:39 AM | Permalink

Weekly minor-league report

The weekly Red Sox' minor-league report, courtesy of the Sox' P.R. department . . .

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
-- Pawtucket’s 1B/OF Jeff Bailey was named International League Player of the Week for the week of June 26-July 2…his line for the week: 8 G, .375 avg., 9-for-24, 3 2B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 6 BB, .875 SLG…the highlight of his week came vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Phillies) in Game 2 of Sunday’s doubleheader, when he went 3-for-3 with a double, 2 homers, 5 RBI, 3 runs and a walk . . . The 27-year-old ranks among league leaders in home runs (tied for 5th with 16), slugging percentage (5th at .530) and RBI (tied for 7th with 51)…he is batting .267 in 75 games for the PawSox…Bailey signed with the Red Sox as a minor league free agent in November of 2003.
-- The Portland Sea Dogs on Monday welcomed their 5 millionth fan in Hadlock Field history…at 5:28 p.m., Mark Gallagher of Yorkshire, England walked through the Hadlock Field turnstile alongside his wife and was greeted by Sea Dogs President & General Manager Charlie Eshbach…Mr. Gallagher delivered the ceremonial first-pitch prior to Monday’s game and received a Sea Dogs prize package . . . The Sea Dogs are currently in their 13th season, with all of their home games coming at Hadlock Field…last season, Portland averaged a franchise record 6,290 fans per game…the Sea Dogs have expanded Hadlock Field 4 times since 1994, the most recent being the new U.S. Cellular Pavilion in 2006, which added 393 seats to the ballpark and increased capacity to 7,368.
-- RHP Kyle Jackson was promoted to Double-A Portland from Single-A Wilmington on Saturday…the 23-year-old went 6-0 with one save and a 1.59 ERA (8 ER/45.1 IP) in 24 relief appearances for the Blue Rocks, striking out 67 in 45.1 innings of work…he earned his first Double-A win in Game One of a doubleheader yesterday at Connecticut (Giants), allowing one run over 3.0 innings of relief . . . Jackson, a native of Nashua, NH, was Boston’s 32nd pick in the 2001 draft.
-- CF Jacoby Ellsbury tied a Blue Rocks franchise record with 4 stolen bases on Monday vs. Salem (Astros)…the 22-year-old went 4-for-4 on the day and ranks 3rd in the Carolina League with 23 swipes overall…Boston’s first pick (23rd overall) last year is batting .305, 2nd-best in the league.

Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox
International League North Division
41-43, 4th Place, 7.0 Games Back

SNYDER REMARKS: RHP Kyle Snyder has gone 1-0 with a 2.03 ERA (3 ER/13.1 IP) in his 2 starts for the PawSox…claimed off waivers from the Kansas City Royals on June 16, Snyder made one start with Boston (June 19 vs. Washington) before being optioned to Pawtucket on July 20.

DUSTIN CLEANING UP: 2B/SS Dustin Pedroia has gone 6-for-17 (.353) with 6 runs scored in 5 games in July after batting .324 (35-for-108) in 26 June contests…Boston’s first pick in 2004 (2nd round, 65th overall) is batting .289 with 20 doubles, 23 RBI and 36 runs in 69 games overall.

CALLOWAY DRIVER: OF Ron Calloway has gone 12-for-28 (.429) in his last 7 games to lift his average from .306 to .322, 5th-best in the league.

Double-A Portland Sea Dogs
Eastern League Northern Division
49-33, First Place, 4.5 Games Ahead

DUSTY…: C Dusty Brown has gone 8-for-21 (.381) with 3 doubles, a homer, 6 RBI and 4 runs in his last 5 games.

AND RUSTY: LHP Rusty Tucker boasts a 1.69 ERA (1 ER/5.1 IP) through his first 4 relief appearances for the Sea Dogs…the Gloucester native and University of Maine product signed with the Sox as a minor league free agent on June 23…the 25-year-old was originally selected by the Padres in the 21st round of the 2001 draft.

AND…CHAD: 3B Chad Spann has hit safely in 8 of his last 9 games (.359, 14-for-39) and 12 of his last 14 contests (.362, 21-for-58)…the 22-year-old, who was Boston’s 4th pick in the 2002 draft, ranks 4th in the league with a .300 batting average.

Single-A Wilmington Blue Rocks
Carolina League Northern Division
7-5, First place, 0.5 Games Ahead, Second Half
35-35, First Place, First Half

HOT, HOT, HOTTOVY: LHP Tommy Hottovy has allowed 2 earned runs or less in each of his last 5 starts, going 4-1 with a 1.42 ERA (5 ER/31.2 IP)…the Sox’ 3rd pick (4th round) in 2004 is tied for 8th in the league with a 2.77 ERA overall, going 8-6 in 17 starts.

KING JAMES: RHP Michael James has collected a save in 2 of his last 4 appearances and ranks 2nd in the league with 13 saves overall…the 25-year-old UConn product owns a 2.70 ERA (9 ER/30.0 IP) in 29 games out of the pen.

DURABLE DOBIES: LHP Andrew Dobies has worked at least 5.0 innings in all 16 of his starts this season, ranking 5th in the league with 91.2 innings pitched…the Sox’ 2nd pick (3rd round) in 2004 is 6-4 with a 3.93 ERA.

WHAT’S NEWSOM: RHP Randy Newsom boasts a 2.75 ERA (11 ER/36.0 IP) in 16 relief appearances, going 1-1 with one save…the Tufts University product has allowed just one earned run in his last 6 games (17.0 IP) for a 0.53 ERA…the 24-year-old is limiting the opposition to a .197 batting average, including a .179 mark by lefties and a .211 mark by righties.

Single-A Greenville Drive
South Atlantic League Southern Division
10-4, 2nd Place, 1.0 Game Behind, Second Half
35-35, Tied for 5th Place, 7.0 Games Back, First Half

THE TAKE ON BLAKE: RHP Blake Maxwell has allowed just one hit and no runs in 9.2 innings over his last 8 appearances…the 21-year-old has collected a win and 3 saves in those 8 games…he is tied for 6th in the league with 10 saves and tied for 4th with 32 appearances…Boston’s 43rd pick (40th round) in 2005 is 4-1 with a 3.60 ERA overall.

BOW DOWN TO BOWDEN: RHP Michael Bowden has allowed 2 earned runs or less in each of his last 7 starts, going 3-1 with a 1.25 ERA (5 ER/36.0 IP) in that span…the Sox’ 5th pick last year is 5-4 with a 3.08 ERA in 16 starts overall.

TIM TIME: LHP Tim Cox has allowed just 3 earned runs in his last 7 games for a 1.09 ERA (24.2 IP)…the native of Australia, who turns 20 on Saturday, boasts a 2.29 ERA in 20 games (all but one as a reliever).

Short-Season Single-A Lowell Spinners
New York-Penn League Stedler Division
7-8, 3rd Place, 4.0 Games Back

PLACE YOUR BATES: 1B Aaron Bates has gotten off to a fast start, batting .379 (22-for-58) with 2 homers, 5 RBI and 9 runs in 15 games…22-year-old was Boston’s 6th pick (3rd round) in this year’s draft out of North Carolina State.

NO PENA, NO GAINA: LHP Mario Pena has gone 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA (3 ER/17.0 IP) through his first 3 starts…the 21-year-old has 9 strikeouts and only 2 walks in 17.0 innings.

WHOAH, BROTHER: RHP Joshua Papelbon has not allowed a run through his first 4 appearances (5.0 IP)…the University of North Florida product notched his first pro save with a scoreless inning on Monday at Tri-City (Astros)…the 23-year-old was selected by the Sox in the 48th round of this year’s draft.

Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Red Sox
Gulf Coast League Southern Division
7-7, 3rd Place, 2.0 Games Back

CAPTAIN CAPELLAN: LHP Jose Capellan has allowed just 2 runs in 14.1 innings (1.26 ERA) through his first 3 outings (2 starts)…the 19-year-old has 14 strikeouts and only 3 walks 14.1 innings.

A JONES FOR MICHAEL: 1B Michael Jones has 2 homers, 5 RBI, 6 runs and 5 walks in his first 9 games…the 21-year-old signed with Boston as a non-drafted free agent in May of 2005.

Posted by Art  at 11:35 AM | Permalink