Games 156-158 – Swept Again This Time by the Toronto Blue Jays

Monday September 28

No excuses for this stinker even though Josh Beckett was scratched due to back spasms. Michael Bowden got the start and was knocked around for 7R in just 3IP. Hunter Jones was not any better as in 1.2IP he gave up 4R on 5H. Kevin Youkilis had two home runs good for 3 RBIs and David Ortiz had a solo shot in a losing cause.

Final Score: Blue Jays 11 Red Sox 5
Jacoby Watch: 0 for 2 with 2BB

Tuesday September 29

Clay Buchholz unfortunately put up a real stinker. He had been pitching so well - not today. His line reads 5IP, 7R on 8H. But here is the worst part he gave up five home runs. Toronto DH Adam Lind had three home runs two off Buchholz and one off Saito good for four RBIs. The Red Sox were down 8-2 after 7 innings and came up with 5 runs in the 8th inning. The big blow was a three-run homer by J.D. Drew. I really thought they would pull this one out but with two on and two out in the bottom of the 9th Youkilis uncharacteristically took a call third strike and the comeback came up short.

Final Score: Blue Jays 8 Red Sox 7
Jacoby Watch: 2 for 5 with 1R and 1SB his 67th

Wednesday September 30

Can you say blow out!?! The injured but ever the gamer, Tim Wakefield, had nothing as he gave up 5R and 7H including two home runs in just 3IP. An assortment of Sox pitchers, Cabrera, Richardson, Delcarmen, Jones, Okajima and even catcher Dusty Brown pitched an inning apiece as the Jays added another 7 runs. Doc Halladay was his brilliant self as he allowed only 3 singles in his complete game shut out of the Red Sox. His ERA is now 2.79 - amazing in the AL. The only Sox regulars who played were Gonzo and Big Papi. Ortiz was hit by a pitch. Perhaps Halladay retaliated since Lind, he of the three home runs, was hit by Papelbon in the 9th inning yesterday.

Final Score: Blue Jays 12 Red Sox 0
Jacoby Watch: Ellsbury was given the day off and was a manager’s DNP

Games 149-152 Red Sox Can Only Split in Series With Royals

Monday September 21

This one hurt as the Red Sox blew six run leads twice. Tim Wakefield was spotted a 6-0 lead and left after 5IP and 5 runs allowed. Manny Delcarmen’s woes continue as he allowed 4R in only 0.2IP. Daniel Bard and Billy Wagner gave up another 3R combined in 1.1IP. This loss effectively kills any chance the Sox may have had to catch the Yankees for the division lead as they open a three game series in New York this coming weekend. Now the focus is on securing the wild card, lining up the rotation and resting players before the playoffs begin.

Final Score: KC 12 Bos 9
Jacoby Watch: 1 for 5 with 1R and 2RBIs

Tuesday September 22

The Red Sox bats were anemic facing Cy Young candidate Zack Greinke as he went 6 innings allowing no runs and only 2H. One of those hits was a single by Victor Martinez which extended his hitting streak to 21 games and drove in the only run the Sox would score in the 8th inning. Paul Byrd took the Sox out of the game in the 1st inning as he was wild, for him, and the Royals scored 5 times.

Final Score: KC 5 Bos 1
Jacoby Watch: 0 for 3 with a BB, a run scored and his 64th SB

Wednesday September 23

Josh Beckett’s line was interesting with 2R, 12H and 7SO. He managed to keep the Royals from getting that big hit as they had 12 LOB. Okajima, Wagner and Paps each contributed a scoreless inning. Meanwhile after being down 2-0 to start the 6th the Red Sox scored 6 times. Alex Gonzalez had 3 RBIs and Dustin Pedroia had 2. With two outs David Ortiz blasted a three run homer in the 9th inning.

Final Score: Bos 9 KC 2
Jacoby Watch: 1 for 5, 1R, 2RBIs and 2SO

Thursday September 24

The Red Sox managed to split the series with a win today. Clay Buchholz was dominant as he gave the Sox 6.2 innings of 5H shutout baseball while striking out 8 batters. Ramon Ramirez had a tough time out of the pen yielding 3R in only 0.2IP. David Ortiz had 3RBIs including a solo home run. The Royals committed 5 errors leading to 6 unearned runs.

Final Score: Bos 10 KC 3
Jacoby Watch: 3 for 6, 2R, 1RBI and 2SBs

Games 124-127 - Red Sox Take 3 of 4 from White Sox

Monday – August 24

The Boston Red Sox overcame a horrific start by Clay Buchholtz. The Sox pitcher did not get out of the 5th inning and gave up 7 runs including two home runs good for 5 of the 7 runs. The Red Sox scored 6 runs in the third inning as White Sox hurler Jose Contreras with a 4-1 lead imploded. He committed an error in that inning as did second baseman, Nix, so that all six runs were unearned. The highlight of the inning was a three run homer by Mike Lowell. The Red Sox scored five more runs including a solo homer by J.D. Drew and won the game handily. It was my pleasure to be at Fenway Park for this exciting game.

Final Score: Boston 12 Chicago 8
Jacoby Watch: 2 for 5 with 2R, and an RBI

Tuesday – August 25

This was a nice come from behind win for the Red Sox. Jon Lester pitched into the 7th inning giving up 3R on just 4H. Trailing by a run in the 7th the Sox tied the game when Tek doubled with one out, Nick Green ran for him and scored on a pinch hit single by Victor Martinez. A Jason Bay solo home run in the 8th inning put the Sox ahead. They added two more runs on an RBI double by Martinez and a single by Ellsbury scoring Martinez. Jonathan Papelbon recorded his 30th save with a scoreless 9th.

Final Score: Boston 6 Chicago 3
Jacoby Watch: 3 for 5 with 1R and an RBI

Wednesday – August 26

Tim Wakefield fresh off the DL was outstanding. In seven innings the White Sox could score only one run on 6 hits as Wake had the knuckler dancing. When he left the game the Red Sox were up 2-1 but Ramon Ramirez gave up the tying homer to pinch hitter Scott Podsednik. David Ortiz had his first walk-off home run since 2007. It was his second solo shot of the day. Daniel Bard was the winning pitcher with 1.1 innings of scoreless ball. Tomorrow the Red Sox go for the sweep of this four game series. Amazingly enough this is the first time these teams have played each other this season.

Final Score: Boston 3 Chicago 2
Jacoby Watch: 0 for 4


Thursday – August 27

The Red Sox failed to sweep as Junichi Tazawa simply did not have it today. He went only 4 innings of 9R, 10H ball. As a result the Red Sox were down 9-0 in the 5th when they broke through for two runs on solo homers by Drew and Gonzalez. They added 2 in the 8th and 1 in the 9th but it wasn’t enough. On the plus side the bullpen gave the Sox 5 innings of scoreless baseball. Toronto comes in for the weekend and to close out the homestand. So far the Red Sox are 4 and 3.

Final Score: Chicago 9 Boston 5

Jacoby Watch: 2 for 3 Ellsbury left the game in 6th with a high ankle sprain after sliding into home plate in the 5th. He was out at home and is day to day.

*The photo shows the August 26th pregame taps and moment of silence in honor of Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy who died August 25th.

Games 82-84 – Red Sox Take Another Series as Nomar Returns

Monday – July 6

This was John Smoltz’s third start for the Red Sox and it did not go well. Smoltz’s line 6IP, 5R and 10H. Rookie leftie Brett Anderson pitched a complete game two-hit shutout as the Sox bats were quiet. Not to make excuses but the Sox line-up was far from potent with Lugo, Green slumping, Youk slumping, rookie Aaron Bates in his first ML game playing first base and no Pedey whose 7 months pregnant wife was taken to the hospital . Meanwhile this game was Nomar Garciaparra first return to Fenway since being traded before the deadline in 2004. Nomar received a 70 second standing ovation his first trip to the plate and was 2 for 4 with an RBI single. Nomar did soak it all in and was very emotional, near tears. This is the second time the Red Sox have been shutout this year.

Final Score: Oakland 6 Boston 0
Jacoby Watch: 0 for 4 batting lead-off


Tuesday – July 7

Jason Bay is starting to come out of his slump with a solo homer and a double. Jason Varitek had a huge two out two-run single. Josh Beckett went 6.2 innings with 2R and 6H. Oki, Masterson and Paps finished up with 1H and 4 K’s. Nomar DNP.

Final Score: Boston 5 Oakland 2
Jacoby Watch: 2 for 3 with 1R a BB and batting 7th


Wednesday – July 8

The Red Sox managed to take the rubber game of the series. Down 1-0 in the 6th inning the Sox put up four runs. J. D. Drew had a solo homer and Big Papi a big three run bomb. Tim Wakefield went 6 innings giving up 3R, 10H and striking out 8 A’s. He now has 11 wins the most in the AL. Dustin Pedroia had a huge RBI double in the 7th as Papelbon gave up a run in the 9th. Nomar was a PH and he popped out in the 8th. Sox are now 3 and 3 on this homestand.

Final Score: Boston 5 Oakland 4
Jacoby Watch: 1 for 3 with 5 LOB and batting 6th

Games 79-81 Red Sox Avoid being Swept by Mariners

Friday - July 3

The Red Sox absorbed a tough extra innings loss as they began a ten game home stand. Sox scored twice in the 1st but with three runs in the 4th the Mariners were ahead 4-2. A solo homer by J.D. Drew in the 7th brought them within a run. Seattle tacked on a run in the 8th but the Red Sox scored two times in their half of the 8th to tie the game. Tim Wakefield went 8 full innings giving up the 5R on 10H. Delcarmen and Papelbon had scoreless innings and the Ramirez gave up two runs in the 11th. Kottaras’s solo shot in the bottom of the inning wasn’t enough as the Sox lost the opener.

Final Score: Mariners 7 Sox 6
Jacoby Watch: 1 for 5 with a SB

Saturday – July 4

Sox with another one run loss are now 1-4 against the Mariners this year. Brad Penny deserved better even though Youk’s two run homer in the 2nd gave him the early lead. Single runs in the 3rd and 5th by the Mariners tied the game. In the meantime the Boston was held to just 4H by Garrett Olson. With the game tied in the 9th Saito walked the first three batters and a flair fell in behind the drawn in infield putting the Mariners up one. Former Sox, David Aardsma recorded his 17th save and that was all she wrote for this one.

Final Score: Mariners 3 Sox 2
Jacoby Watch: 1 for 4 with 3 LOB

Sunday – July 5

Red Sox managed to avoid the sweep with a big 5R seventh. In the 1st inning Pedroia and Ortiz both had solo homers and the Sox next scored on Ellsbury’s solo shot. While the Mariners had 4R (1 earned ) and 8H off Jon Lester in 6.2IP with 9K’s. In the 4th after a dropped throw at second by Pedey and with two outs Cedeno had a three run triple. When the Sox came to bat in the 7th a run down Miguel Batista replaced starter Brandon Morrow. A walk to Drew and a single by Pedey gave David Ortiz a chance to tie the game with a two out single which he did. Mark Lowe replaces Batista and walks Bay and Ellsbury as the go ahead run scores. Mark Kotsay brings in two more runs with a clutch single while another scored on a passed ball. The first half of the season ends with a nice come from behind win. The Red Sox are in first place with a record of 49-32 and are one game ahead of the second place New York Yankees.

Final Score: Sox 8 Mariners 4
Jacoby Watch: Batting 6th 1 for 2 with 2R, 2RBI, a S and a BB

Games 73-75 Red Sox Fail to Sweep Atlanta

Friday – June 26

The Interleague play is now complete. Sox record of 11-7 could have been better. I’m thinking of the rain shortened 2-1 home game and the Papelbon blown save (his only one of the year) against the Mets. But I digress. This game was another gem by Josh Beckett. He threw 7 shut-out innings to gain his 9th win of the year. Big Papi contributed a solo homer with J.D. Drew and Dustin Pedroia each having an RBI. Oki and Paps closed out the game.

Final Score: Red Sox 4 Braves 1
Jacoby Watch: He entered the game when Ortiz left for defensive purposes and was 0 for 1

Saturday – June 27

This game was a classic pitcher’s duel. Tim Wakefield had 6IP with 0R and 3H. Delcarmen 1.1IP, Masterson 0.2IP and Papelbon with the 9th inning continued to keep the Braves scoreless. The Braves pitcher Javier Vazquez had 7.2 IP with 1R, 6H and 8K’s. The Red Sox managed to scratch out a run in the 6th as Mark Kotsay got the two out RBI.

Final Score Red Sox 1 Braves 0
Jacoby Watch: 0 for 4 with 4 LOB

Sunday – June 28

Brad Penny pitched a good game with 6IP, 2R 6H on 106 pitches. He gave up two solo homers. In the meantime Braves rookie, Tommy Hansen, who was battling the flu pitched brilliantly with 2H through 6 innings. The Sox pushed across a run in the 9th inning in Varitek’s two out RBI. But it wasn’t enough and now it’s back to the DH and AL baseball.

Final Score: Braves 2 Red Sox 1
Jacoby Watch: 0 for 4 with 4 LOB

Games 64-66 - Sox take 2 of 3 from the Fish

Tuesday June 16

Tim Wakefield continues on a positive roll. Tonight he went 6 innings giving up only 2 R on 6 H. The Sox offense contributed with a big 4th inning. David Ortiz led off with a home run and he would later have a two run single as he drove in 3 of the 6 runs scored that inning. Jason Bay had 2 RBI as did Nick Green. The Sox won easily with the bullpen contributing 3 scoreless innings and Wake’s personal catcher, George Katteras, getting two hits.

Final Score: Red Sox 8 Marlins 2
Jacoby Watch: 2 for 4 with 2 R, 2 SB and batting 7th


Wednesday June 17

Brad Penny although a bit wild with 4 BB pitched 5 innings of 1 R 3 H ball. Some MLB scouts were on hand as there is much interest in trading for Penny with John Smoltz almost ready to start and Clay Buchholtz burning through AAA for the Red Sox. But so far the Sox have not had an offer they could entertain. Dustin Pedroia had a big night with 3 hits and 3 RBI’s. Rocco Baldelli was 2 for 3 with an RBI. Jacoby Ellsbury had a solo home run in the 7th inning and once again the bullpen was perfect. Masterson, Okajima, Ramirez and Papelbon each pitched a scoreless inning. The Red Sox are now 3 games up on the Yankees who lost to the Nationals.

Final Score : Red Sox 6 Marins 1
Jacoby Watch: 1 for 3 with a R, an RBI,2 BB, 2 SB and hitting 2nd


Thursday June 18

This was a rain shortened game with Jon Lester facing one batter in the 6th inning before the umpires called for the tarp. After a two hour delay the game was called. Kevin Youkilis had a solo home run in the 1st to give the Sox a fast 1-0 lead. That ended up being their only hit. Uggla and Paulino had solo home runs for the Marlins in the 2nd inning to give them a 2-1 lead which held up for the Florida win. Jon Lester was not as sharp as he has been giving up 8 H to go with the 2 R.

Final Score after 5 innings: Marlins 2 Red Sox 1
Jacoby Watch: 0 for 2 with his 29th SB and batting 7th

Games 58, 59 and 60 – Red Sox With Sweet Sweep of the Yankees

Tuesday June 9

Josh Beckett came up huge in the opening game of another series with the rival New York Yankees. There was a mist throughout the game as Beckett pitched six shutout innings with only one infield hit, two BB and 8 K’s. The Sox put up 4 big runs as Yankee starter A.J. Burnett struggled in the 2nd inning. Big Papi homered after Mike Lowell walked; J.D. Drew contributed a two-run double and the Sox were on the board. Nick Green had a good game with a solo homer and an RBI double. The bullpen gave up only a single in three shutout innings. I was at Fenway for this game and the atmosphere was electric – good times.

Final Score: Red Sox 7 Yankees o
Ellsbury Watch: DNP due to shoulder injury after spectacular catch Sunday.

Wednesday June 10

Tim Wakefield had lots of base runners but managed 6 IP with 3R 8H and 3BB as the Yankees had 9 LOB and were 3 for 11 with RISP. Jorge Posada had a solo home run to tie the game in the 2nd. Chien-Ming Wang lasted only 2.2 innings as he was wild and gave up 3 BB with 4 R on 6 H, including a Lowell HR. Kevin Youkilis blasted a two-run homer off Phil Hughes in the 4th as the Sox scored 6 runs in the first 4 innings. Wake’s catcher, George Kottaras, contributed two doubles and an RBI as all the Sox were getting it done. The Yankees had back to back homers in the 7th innings off Ramon Ramirez as they closed the gap to 6-5. But Hideki Okajima shut the door striking out his former teammate Hideki Matsui to end the 7th. Then in the 8th with the tieing run at 2nd base he struck out both Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon. Oki was the star of the game. Papilbon got the save when he struck out Robinson Cano with the tieing run again on 2nd in the 9th.

Final Score: Red Sox 6 Yankees 5
Ellsbury Watch: DNP with that injury

Thursday June 11

This game was the most fun as Brad Penny exceeded all expectations by giving the Sox 6 shutout innings with 6 H and 5 K’s. Big Papi homered off CC Sabathia in the 2nd and that run held up until Manny Delcarmen gave the Yankees 3R on 3H in the 7th inning. The big blow was a two-run double by Alex Rodriguez his only hit of the series. The Sox now down 3-1 came roaring back in the 8th as Sabathia seemed to tire allowing a single to Nick Green, a 10 pitch walk to Pedroia and an RBI single to Drew before he was replaced by Aceves who allowed the two inherited runners to score with an RBI single for Jason Bay and a SF for Lowell. Jonathan Papelbon got the save as he retired the top of the Yankees order one, two, three in the 9th. Come from behind wins in the late innings are always exciting and this one was no exception.
The Red Sox are now in first place in the AL East with a two game lead over the Yankeees.

Final Score: Red Sox 4 Yankees 3
Ellsbury Watch: DNP again with the injured shoulder

Games 42, 43 and 44 - Sox Avoid Getting Swept by NY Mets

Friday – May 22, 2009

Dice-K returns after a stint on the DL. He pitched OK and deserved a better fate. The game was lost in the 4th inning when Lugo failed to turn what would have been an inning ending DP and the Mets scored two more runs. Pedey even said after the game, “We have to make that play.” Johan Santana and the Mets pen keep the Sox at bay as the team was 0 for 10 with RISP.

Final Score: Mets 5 Sox 3
Jacoby Watch: 1 for 5

Saturday - May 23, 2009

This was the most heart-breaking loss of the year. Papelbon was one out away from saving a brilliant performance by Josh Beckett. Instead Paps has his first blown save of the year as he surrenders a two run homer to Mets catcher Santos – this after literally blowing away Wright and Reed on blistering fast balls. Instant replay was used at Fenway for the first time as Santos’s hit was originally ruled a double before the reversal – clearly it was a home run. The run off Beckett in the 1st inning was unearned as he gave the Sox 8 innings of 5H ball. Youk drove in both Sox runs in the 1st inning as Pelfrey and the Mets bullpen kept the Sox offense quiet the rest of the way.

Final Score Mets 3 Sox 2
Jacoby Watch: 1 for 4 with a run scored

Sunday – May 24, 2009

Red Sox look to Tim Wakefield to avoid a sweep by the NY Mets in the first interleague play of 2009. Even though he didn’t have his best knuckler he kept them in the game until the offense could get untracked. Mike Lowell gave the Sox a temporary two run lead with a three run homer in the 2nd inning. Mets were ahead 5-3 when the Sox scored 3 runs as a clutch two out single by Nick Green pushed across 2R. Sox continued to add on, something they failed to do the last two games, with a 3 run homer by Youkilis being the big blow. It should be noted that for the second time in two days instant replay was used as an earlier bid by Youk for a homer was ruled foul. Sox got two impressive scoreless innings from Manny Delcarmen. Saito pitched a scoreless ninth. Ellsbury’s hitting streak is now at 19 games. Every Sox batter had at least one hit except David Ortiz who was 0 for 5. Papi was 0 for 12 in the series as his year long slump continues.

Final Score: Sox 12 Mets 5
Jacoby Watch: 1 for 4 with a run scored

Games 39-41 - Red Sox Sweet Sweep of Blue Jays

Tuesday May 19, 2009

The Boston Red Sox certainly enjoy ‘home cooking’ after limping home from another losing road trip. Their record at Fenway Park so far this year is 16 wins 4 losses. After completing a sweep of the first-place Jays, the Sox are now within a half-game of the top spot. Tonight’s game belonged to Tim Wakefield as he really had it going on baffling the Jay’s hitters with the knuckler. The only run off him in eight innings came in the 5th on a home run by old friend, Kevin Millar. Sox scored twice in the 2nd inning on a big single by Jeff Bailey and a sac-fly by George Kotteras. Jonathan Papelbon recorded his 11th save.

Final Score: Sox 2 Jays 1
Jacoby Watch: 2 for 4 including a double

Wednesday May 20, 2009

Brad Penny pitched just well enough to win as the Blue Jays seemed to be hitting him hard all night. To his credit he got the outs when he needed them and had a very respectable 6.2 IP with 2R and 9H. Oki and Delcarmen each recorded an out while fire-baller Daniel Bard gave up 3H and 1R in 0.2 IP. Saito finished up pitching the 9th. But the big story of the game was David Ortiz. Big Papi finally hit one out of the park (dead center in the photographers’ well) ending a drought of 149 plate appearances in 2009. The crowd went crazy and his teammates gave him the ‘silent treatment’ in the dugout before mobbing him with congratulations!!! Papi even said the monkey is off his back. Here’s hoping his season long slump is over. Tek had two solo homers. One came in the 5th inning, followed by two-run bombs from Ortiz and Jason Bay and a solo shot from Mike Lowell as the Sox scored 6 runs on four home runs. Notably Jacoby Ellsbury tied the ML record for 9 innings with 12 put outs in CF. It has been done twice before both in Boston - the Braves in 1929 and the Twins vs Boston in 1977.

Final Score: Sox 8 Jays 3
Jacoby Watch: 1 for 4 with a BB


Thursday May 21, 2009

The Sox got off to a fast start in this game with 3 runs in the 1st including a two-run homer by who else, Jason Bay. He leads the team in homers with 13. But the story of this game was the bounce-back performance from Jon Lester. He has really struggled this year with an ERA of 6+. After 6.1 IP only 1R along with 8H Lester’s ERA is now 5.91. Still a long way from last year but heading in the right direction. The Jays had 12 LOB going 1 for 7 with RISP. Jacoby Ellsbury continues to be hot and has now extended his hitting streak to 16 games. His average is .302 and he has 17 SB. Before the season started I was convinced that Elllsbury was the key to the Sox offense. If he gets on base good things happen and may it continue!

Final Score: Sox 5 Jays 1
Jacoby Watch: 1 for 4 with 2R and 1SB

Games 19 to 21 - Sox Take 2 of 3 from the Tribe

Monday April 27th

Boston opens a three game series in Cleveland and wins its 11th game in a row. This was a real pitchers’ duel between Tim Wakefield (7 innings of 1 hit shutout ball) and Cliff Lee, the 2008 Cy Young winner. After Lee turned in eight scoreless innings Jason Bay came to the plate with one out and two on in the 9th. He hammered a Kerry Wood fast ball for the three run game winning homer. Manny Delcarmen pitched a clean 8th and has yet to surrender a run this year. Jonathan Papelbon got the save while giving up 3 hits and 1 run. He did have 2 K’s.

Final Score: Red Sox 3 Indians 1
Jacoby Watch: 0 for 4 including a GIDP

Tuesday April 28th

Red Sox streak comes to an end in heart-breaking fashion. An uncharacteristic three errors led to four unearned runs for the Indians. The hardest to take was by Javier Lopez who dropped a perfect toss at first while the winning run scored in the bottom of the 9th inning. Brad Penny coughed up four run leads twice (5-1 and 7-4). In just 2.2 innings pitched his byline read 7H and 7R. Sox left 11 runners on base in what was a frustrating game.

Final Score: Cleveland 9 Boston 8
Jacoby Watch: 1 for 5 including a solo homer and a SF

Wednesday April 29th

Red Sox pull off a fairly improbable win coming from 5 runs down after 4 innings. Jon Lester was ineffective with control issues while giving up 5R on 7H with 7K’s in 6 innings. He did pick two runners off first and after Kelly Shoppach's two run bomb in the 4th managed to settle down a bit retiring the final 9 batters he faced. The star of the game was Jonathan Van Every in RF for the hobbled J.D. Drew. Van Every had 2 RBIs including the game winning homer in the 10th inning. Plus he made two excellent plays in the field. Interesting to note that Van Every spent seven years in the Indian farm system and even roomed with Jensen Lewis who surrendered that homer. Now it’s on to Tampa Bay.

Final Score: Boston 6 Cleveland 5
Jacoby Watch: 3 for 5 with an RBI.

Photo shows Jonathan Van Every watching the game winning homer.

Games 14 and 15 – Make That Seven in a Row

Wednesday April 22 at Fenway Park
Game 14

In the middle of the 7th inning the afternoon game was called due to the rain. Wake with another strong outing gave up only 1 R with 5 H and 4 K’s while completing seven innings. Sox had two run homers in each of the first three innings thanks to Youk, Nick Green and Mike Lowell. J.D. was 3 for 3 with 2 runs scored. Sox had 4 runs in with runners on 2nd and 3rd when the game was called in the home 7th. You have to love baseball records. How about this one! The last time a game 1 was rain shortened and a game 2 was completed was July 4, 1913 – yikes.

Final Score: Sox 10 Twins 1
Jacoby Watch: 2 for 4 with both a SB his 6th and a CS his 2nd

Game 15

Happy 50th birthday to the Red Sox esteemed manager, Terry Francona. The two Sox wins made Tito’s birthday even more enjoyable. Brad Penny started the nightcap and improved on his first start. He had 6 IP with 2 of the 3 runs being earned and 6 hits allowed. The pen in the person of Ramon Martinez, Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon each turned in a scoreless, hitless inning. They have been lights out and may it last. On the offensive side Jeff Bailey (called up from Pawtucket when Rocco Baldelli went on the 15 day DL) drove a three run homer into the monster seats in the 2nd inning. David Ortiz knocked in 2 runs in the third. Then after Minnesota came back with two runs in the 4th the Sox answered with 2 of their own. Sox are 6-0 so far on the homestand and have a weekend series scheduled with that team from the Bronx. The Red Sox wore green in the second game in honor of Earth Day.

Final Score: Sox 7 Twins 3
Jacoby Watch: 0 for 3 with a walk, a run scored and an RBI

Game 9 – Dismal Road Trip Ends on Positive Note

What can you say but that the knuckleball worked its dancing magic. Tim Wakefield gave his team a much needed boost with a complete game allowing the weary bullpen to rest. Sox got on the board first when Mike Lowell smashed a two run homer in the 2nd inning. After six perfect innings an error by Lowell gave the A’s their first base runner. Sox put up six runs in the top of the 8th highlighted by a J.D.Drew three run homer. Then in the 8th inning with one out Wake lost his bid for a no-hitter when the Oakland catcher, Suzuki, lined a clean single to left. A’s got a single run in both the 8th and 9th innings.

Final Score: Boston 8 Oakland 2

Jacoby Watch: a single in 5 AB with 2 RBI