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Game Story: Royals 6, Red Sox 5

BOSTON -- It’s no secret Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez and pitcher Julian Tavarez are buenos amigos. The pair’s on-field and off-field antics are regularly televised, laughed about and talked about.

Since Tavarez was turned into a starting pitcher this season and placed into the club’s fifth spot in the rotation, it just seems like Ramirez gives a little more of an effort every fifth day when his friend toes the rubber. That was quite evident in the first inning last night against the Kansas City Royals when the Sox’ left fielder made a tremendous catch on the first play of the game, robbing the Royals’ David DeJesus of a hit and possibly extra bases.

What makes Ramirez’s play interesting is he has been recently criticized for playing too shallow, but last night he was playing a little deeper and gave more of an effort. On Tuesday with Tim Wakefield on the mound, Ramirez was too shallow on a ball hit in the fourth inning and allowed two runs to score.

Call it a conspiracy theory, but the naked eye sees Ramirez in a different light when Tavarez pitches.

Despite the Sox’ 6-5 loss to the Royals at Fenway Park last night, Ramirez went 2-for-3, including a solo home run. In fact, he’s hitting .323 (20-for-62) with 17 RBI and six homers in Tavarez’s 18 starts this season. After the pitcher dropped his record to 5-8 he placed the blame on himself and not what Ramirez or the rest of the order did offensively.

“Manny makes a lot of nice catches out there and he’s been helping the team with the bat, too,” said Tavarez. “Manny is one of the best players in the second half of the season and proves what type of player he is. He makes good plays, hits home runs and RBI; he’s been doing everything. If I can go out and pitch six or seven innings with two or three runs, I should be able to win some games because my team is scoring runs for me.”

Tavarez cruised through the first three innings of the game, retiring nine of the first 10 batters he faced.

“The first time through the order he was very good,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. “He was Julian we’ve seen for the majority of the year. The second time through the order his location, it seemed like it abandoned him. He was living on one side of the plate and all of a sudden they were getting hits in a hurry.”

Tavarez allowed two runs in the top of the fourth inning, but the Red Sox responded with four in the bottom half for a 4-2 advantage. Then the wheels came off in the top of the fifth for Tavarez as the Royals scored four runs.

“I changed my game plan,” he said. “I wasn’t attacking hitters . . . it’s hard to figure out what happened because it happened so quickly.”

Tavarez isn’t the only one to blame here.

The Red Sox have been too inconsistent at the plate of late, especially with runners in scoring position. Even Francona said as much during his pregame scrum with the local media yesterday. Boston has failed to come up with the big hit in crucial spots and last night was no different.

With the Sox trailing by a run in the bottom of the eighth inning, Coco Crisp provided a two-out triple and was left stranded 90 feet away when Julio Lugo popped out to center field.

“No one cares about one loss,” said Crisp. “We’re in first place by a lot and overall we still have the best winning percentage. If you start pressing when you’re in first place with the best record in baseball it makes no sense.”

The Yankees beat Toronto again last night and now the Sox’ lead is down to seven games.
“If we keep winning one and losing one anything’s possible,” added Crisp. “But if we were 10 games behind them, we could catch them, too. We’re that good.”

Ramirez didn’t only have a chance to help out his friend last night he also had a chance to make things interesting for the Red Sox in the bottom of the ninth inning. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, he popped out to shallow right field

Tavarez has struggled in his last few outings and has not lasted more than six innings in his last five starts. Because of his recent sub-par performances, it’ll make things interesting when Curt Schilling (shoulder tendinitis) returns to the rotation. Because rookie Kason Gabbard has been successful in his two brief stints with Boston this season, including his current one, it’s possible Tavarez could be shifted to the bullpen and replaced with the young southpaw in that fifth spot when Schilling returns.

Pawtucket pitcher Jon Lester could also be an option as he worked seven innings for the PawSox last night against Ottawa, allowing just three runs on seven hits to improve to 4-5 in his comeback from cancer.

--JOE McDONALD

Posted by Chris Venditto  at 11:13 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Lester gets the win in 9-4 defeat of Lynx

PAWTUCKET – A strong performance from lefty Jon Lester and some late-inning heroics led to a 9-4 victory for the Pawtucket Red Sox over the Ottawa Lynx last night at McCoy Stadium.

Lester pitched seven strong innings, scattering seven hits and allowing three runs with three strikeouts to earn the win.

“I liked his outing,” Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson said. “I thought he was throwing real good stuff…I liked the way he stayed composed in this outing…I liked everything about Jon’s outing.”

Lester said that he relied on his fastball and cutter to confuse the Lynx batters.

“I really didn’t have a feel for my curveball early on,” Lester said. “Later in the game it came around better but mainly I was throwing fastball and cutter and I mixed in a couple of changeups, hit some spots and got some outs.”

Pawtucket, which did not get a hit until the fifth inning, produced nine runs on eight hits over the final four innings to secure the win.

With the score tied, 3-3, entering the bottom of the seventh, Pawtucket batted through the order and scored six runs on five hits to take control of the game.

George Kottaras extended his hitting streak to six games with an RBI double he crushed to the wall in right-center field, scoring Brandon Moss (2-for-3, walk, 2 runs scored) to break the tie.

Ed Rogers (2-for-4, 2 RBI) drove in Bobby Scales with an RBI single to put runners on first and third. After Alex Prieto fouled out to third base, Jacoby Ellsbury hit an RBI infield single, scoring Kottaras.

Then David Murphy (1-for-4, HR, 3 RBI), who hit a home run in Tuesday’s game, blasted a three-run home run over the right-field fence to break open the game.

“That was a big three-run bomb,” Johnson said. “That was a beautiful thing to see.”

Lester dominated the Lynx their first time through the order, only allowing one hit with two strikeouts, but their second time through the order, the Lynx got the best of Lester.

Five of the Lynx nine batters reached base against Lester their second time up. Dusty Wathan hit an RBI single to right field that scored Gary Burnham to give Ottawa a 1-0 lead.

Lester, however, got help from his defense to get out of the inning before the Lynx could do any more damage. After Jim Rushford fouled out to third base, Lester got Randy Ruiz to ground into a 6-4-3 double play.

Ottawa starter Landon Jacobsen owned the PawSox through the first four innings, but when Moss produced Pawtucket’s first hit in the bottom of the fifth, it ignited the PawSox bats.

Rogers tied the game for Pawtucket when he hit an RBI bloop single to left field, scoring Moss. Ottawa’s left fielder lost the ball in the sky and Rogers ended up on second base while Scales, who was hit by a pitch, sprinted to third base.

Alex Prieto hit a broken-bat single to the shortstop, scoring Scales. Ottawa shortstop Carlos Leon scooped up the ball with his bare hand and fired it to first base. His throw was off target and Rogers scored on the error, giving Pawtucket a 3-1 advantage.

Ottawa slashed Pawtucket’s lead to 3-2 in the top of the sixth when Rushford blasted a two-out RBI double to right field, scoring Wathan.

Ruiz led off the seventh inning with a solo home run to tie the game, 3-3.

Because Curt Shilling (right shoulder tendonitis) is scheduled for his first rehab start on Saturday when the PawSox host Louisville at 6:05 p.m., Clay Buchholz’ second appearance for the PawSox will be pushed back to Sunday. Schilling, who is 6-4 with a 4.20 ERA in 15 games for Boston this season, has been on Boston’s disabled list since June 19. Schilling is scheduled to throw three innings or 45 pitches and Buchholz is slated for five innings or 75 pitches.

Brad Hertzler (1-1, 1.32 ERA), a former East Providence All-State pitcher; the 2004 R.I. Gatorade Player of the Year; and the brother to Pawtucket pitcher Barry Hertzler, pitched a rain-shortened perfect-game for Class A Vancouver (Oakland A’s affiliate). The Canadians defeated Spokane, 1-0. Brad Hertzler had been a 32nd round choice of the Boston Red Sox in 2004 but he elected to play for CCRI before transferring to Maine. “I got a call down in the bullpen so it’s pretty exciting,” Barry Hertzler said of his brother’s performance. “In the minor leagues, if you throw five and it’s perfect then it goes down as a perfect game so it’s pretty exciting, especially because it’s his first year playing pro ball so I’m happy for him…On the ride home he’ll be getting a phone call and a congratulations, that’s for sure.”

When Jeff Bailey got caught stealing second base in the bottom of the second inning, it snapped a 16-for-16 PawSox successful stolen base streak that they compiled over a span of six games.

-----ROB LEE

Posted by Thom Cahir  at 10:30 PM to PawSox | Permalink

FINAL: Kansas City 6, Boston 5

BOSTON -- Red Sox starter Julian Tavarez struggled again and allowed six runs (four earned) on nine hits as the Kansas City Royals defeated Boston tonight at Fenway Park, 6-5.

Tavarez has struggled in his last few outings and has not lasted more than six innings in his last five starts. Because of his recent sub-par performances, it’ll make things interesting when Curt Schilling (shoulder tendinitis) returns to the rotation. Because rookie Kason Gabbard has been successful in his two brief stints with Boston this season, including his current one, it’s possible Tavarez could be shifted to the bullpen and replaced with the young southpaw in that fifth spot when Schilling returns.

Pawtucket pitcher Jon Lester could also be an option as he worked seven innings for the PawSox tonight against Ottawa, allowing just three runs on seven hits to improve to 4-5 in his comeback from cancer.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 10:04 PM | Permalink

Clubhouse Confidential

Red Sox reliever Brendan Donnelly (right forearm) was in the clubhouse this afternoon after his trip to California where he was examined by orthopedist Lewis Yocum. There's no further damage to the arm and Donnelly will continue his rehab.

“Basically Yocum confirmed what we already knew,” said Donnelly. “Basically he just made sure nothing more severe was going on, so that’s absolutely relieving to know that I will be able to come back and help this team at some point.”

Donnelly has been on the DL for the last month and suffered a set back during his rehab, hence the trip to the west coast.

“Maybe I was just to do a little too much too soon,” he admitted. “That’s my fault because I want to get back out there as soon as possible. I should have taken it a little bit slower and been more sure about things. That’s what I’m going to do now, we’re going to make absolute sure everything is fine before I move forward with any kind of intense activity.”

The veteran right-hander also said it may take two weeks or a month before he returns, but he does knows he’ll be back this season. He made a joke of it, saying he’ll wait for fellow reliever Mike Timlin to make his 1,000th appearance before he’s activated. Timlin currently stands at 14th all-time with 985 appearances.

Donnelly is 2-1 with a 3.05 ERA in 27 appearances this season.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 5:21 PM | Permalink

The tarp is coming off

The rain has stopped and the grounds crew here at Fenway is beginning to take the tarp off the field.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 5:07 PM | Permalink

Tonight's lineups

KANSAS CITY
David DeJesus, 8
Mark Grudzielanek, 4
Mark Teahen, 9
Billy Butler, 3
Ross Gload, DH
Alex Gordon, 5
Emil Brown, 7
Jason Smith, 6
Jason LaRue, 2
Odalis Perez, SP

BOSTON
J.D. Drew, 9
Dustin Pedroia, 4
David Ortiz, DH
Manny Ramirez, 7
Kevin Youkilis, 3
Mike Lowell, 5
Jason Varitek, 2
Coco Crisp, 8
Julio Lugo, 6
Julian Tavarez, SP

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 4:42 PM | Permalink

Projo SoxTalk: Talking trade possibilities

Art Martone and Sean McAdam take a look trade possibilities for the Red Sox on today's edition of projo SoxTalk. Click here to listen to the audio file. They discuss the Sox' apparent lack of interest in right-handed hitter Reggie Sanders of Kansas City, and the chatter surrounding a possible return of Kevin Millar to Boston.

Posted by Pam Cotter  at 11:25 AM to Martone | Permalink | Comments 2

Baseball Today: Wednesday, July 18

TREADING WATER: About three weeks ago, things never looked better for the Red Sox. They had just completed their longest, and most grueling, road trip of the season and were beginning a stretch in which they'd play 18 of 21 at home (projo.com SoxBlog), with all but three of the games against teams with losing records. Sixteen of those 21 games are now in the books and the Sox are a pedestrian 8-8 after last night's ugly 9-3 loss to the Royals. (Joe McDonald's game story on projo.com) The damage in the standings has been minimal -- they still have an eight-game lead, only a game worse than when this 8-8 stretch started -- but it begs the question: What's going to happen when the schedule gets more demanding . . . as it will next week, when they play four in Cleveland?

LOOKING FOR HELP: So thoughts turn, naturally, to the trade deadline, which is only two weeks away. But Sean McAdam has talked to people inside the organization and out and it doesn't seem anything major is in the offing. (projo.com) Sean says the Sox' main focus is the bullpen (Chad Qualls, Dan Wheeler, Scott Linebrink, Salomon Torres?) and an outfield bat (Jermaine Dye?). Kansas City's Reggie Sanders would seem to be a natural option -- he's right-handed (providing an alternative to J.D. Drew against tough lefties), experienced and very available -- but Boston doesn't seem to be interested. For his part, Sanders would love to come here (Boston Herald); in fact, he says, ''I have never played there, but I have felt like I have just because of the way they embrace everybody.''

COWBOY UP! Among the most unexpected tidbits in Sean's story: The Sox have had internal discussions about reacquiring Kevin Millar. That sound you hear is Seth Mnookin's head exploding.

WE LIKE MIKE: When talk arises of a truly big transaction, something that would net the Sox another powerful bat, it invariably involves a first baseman (Mark Teixeira? Todd Helton?), which also involves moving Kevin Youkilis back to third base and somehow disposing of free-agent-to-be Mike Lowell. But the Red Sox players, virtually to a man, want the team not only to keep Lowell but to sign him to a contract extension. (Boston Herald) ''We like Mikey all the way around and he’s doing a great job. I don’t think they should wait any longer,'' said David Ortiz. ''He’s a great guy on and off the field.'' To drive home his point, Ortiz added: ''You can say Manny (Ramirez) feels the same way.''

NOT AS POPULAR: In his Inside The Game feature, Steven Krasner notes that not many Sox pitchers may have the same affection for Ramirez; his insistence on playing an extremely shallow left field is costing them unnecessary extra-base hits, and runs. In the photo above (by the Journal's Bob Breidenbach), Ramirez is waiting for the carom of a catchable fly ball by Billy Butler that fell behind him on the warning track and allowed a runner (Mark Teahan) to score all the way from first base. It was only the most egregious of several such misplays by Ramirez in the game and in the homestand, and Steve notes: ''If he’s playing a more normal left field, balls may fall in front of him, but they’d be singles. If he’s in close and they go over his head, they’re extra-base hits. Also, by playing in shallow, it limits his side-to-side range, so a hard-hit ball that should be a single can end up scooting past him for extra bases'' -- which happened on a leadoff double by Sanders during the five-run Royal uprising in the seventh that decided the game. Terry Francona's explanation: Playing shallow is Manny's ''comfort zone'' and ''if a guy is out of his comfort zone, he’s not going to make a lot of plays.''

THE GOOD NEWS: Julio Lugo is hitting again. (projo.com) His 3-for-4 night has his average, which had dipped to .189 on July 2, up to .217.

ON THE RISE: The Yankees cut the Sox' lead to eight with a comeback win over the Blue Jays (New York Daily News), a comeback aided in no small part by Jeremy Accardo balking home the tying run in the ninth, which he described as the ''dumbest thing I've ever done.'' (Toronto Sun) Even so, the Daily News' John Harper says the victory shouldn't overshadow the fact that the Yankee bullpen is still a major source of concern.

THAT'S AWESOME!: Peter Abraham couldn't let the Yankees' signing of minor-leaguer Chris Farley go unnoticed. (LoHud Yankees Blog)

'WORSE NEWS THAN I THOUGHT': Brewer ace Ben Sheets will be sidelined four to six weeks after doctors found a partial tear of the band of tissue that connects the tendon to the bone in the middle finger of his pitching hand. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

JOY TO THE WORLD: Miguel Tejada says he's ''never felt so happy in my life'' after resuming workouts as he comes back from a broken wrist. (Baltimore Sun) Speaking of the Orioles, SI.com's Tom Verducci thinks the team has the right man in the dugout in Dave Trembley, whom he thinks could be the next Tom Kelly.

WE'RE WAITING: The Marlins' Dontrelle Willis says suspended teammate Scott Olsen needs to apologize after his latest altercation with a teammate. (Palm Beach Post)

IN COURT . . . Elijah Dukes' estranged wife says the Devil Rays' rookie smokes marijuana daily and drinks to the point of passing out and she thinks his aggressive behavior is caused by steroid use, though she admits she's never seen him take steroids. (Tampa Tribune)

NOW WHAT? Earl Weaver always said he never held team meetings because what do you do if you lose after the meeting? That's the problem facing Jim Tracy and the Pirates today. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

WHISPERS: The Diamondbacks played Conor Jackson in left field, apparently showcasing him for the White Sox (Chicago Tribune) . . . The San Francisco Chronicle reports the A's and Yankees have discussed a Dan Johnson-for-Scott Proctor deal . . . The New York Post, meanwhile, reports that the Yanks are also dangling Proctor to the Dodgers for Wilson Betemit . . . The Dodgers are the latest team to show interest in Octavio Dotel (Kansas City Star) . . . Kenny Lofton, back in Cleveland? Could happen, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

SHOUTS: There are lots of rumors but little action, and FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal says that's because teams ''are going overboard in hoarding prospects,'' even though a lot of them never pan out.

LOCAL BOYS: It looks like ex-Providence College star John McDonald has lost his job as the Blue Jays' starting shortstop to Royce Clayton (Toronto Star) . . . Warwick's Dan Wheeler is no longer the closer in Houston, as Brad Lidge has the job again. In his first game back in the role, Lidge got the save in the Astros' victory at Washington. (Both stories Houston Chronicle)

OLD FRIENDS: Nomar Garciaparra is in a three-month slump and there's no indication he'll be pulling out it anytime soon (Los Angeles Times) . . . Tony Graffanino will be getting more playing time in Milwaukee (Wisconsin State Journal) . . . Bronson Arroyo continued his recent resurgence in Cincinnati with seven shutout innings against the Braves (Cincinnati Enquirer) . . . Tom Gordon says he has a partially torn labrum in his right shoulder but he's going to try to pitch through it (Philadelphia Daily News) . . . Hanley Ramirez has almost matched his home-run total of last season (South Florida Sun-Sentinel).

-- ART MARTONE

Posted by Art Martone  at 6:58 AM | Permalink