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Game Story: Chiefs rout PawSox

PawSox manager Ron Johnson is never critical of his team publicly. No matter the score, win or lose, he calls every game a developmental process and quickly looks ahead to the next game the next day.

Pawtucket, however, has lost two straight to the Syracuse Chiefs, including a 9-2 drubbing at McCoy Stadium Sunday night.

“We just got whooped pretty good,” said Johnson. “We'll turn the page because we've got a new club (Columbus) coming in and let's get Syracuse out of here because they're starting to heat up. We'll let them beat up on some other staffs around the league and see what we can do tomorrow.”

The Chiefs stuck it to the PawSox on Saturday night, too, and scored four runs in the top of the ninth for a come-from-behind 10-7 victory.

Last night Pawtucket was done in by Syracuse starter Michael MacDonald, who earned his first Triple-A win by throwing seven scoreless innings. He allowed just four hits with one walk and six strikeouts.

“He did a real nice job,” said Johnson. “We didn't do much. We only had six (total) hits. We didn't square up a lot of balls. We didn't do too much tonight offensively.”

In his first appearance since his spot-start for the Red Sox last Saturday, Pawtucket starter Devern Hansack dropped to 1-5 after allowing five runs (four earned) on four hits with four walks and four strikeouts

“He didn't pitch bad,” said Johnson. “He'll build on that next time he's back out there. He's been back for seven days (from Boston) and he was a tick off with his command. He really didn't establish his rhythm with all of his pitches. But that's the development of a young guy.”

Sometimes when players come back from a big-league stint, no matter how long or short, there's always a chance for a hangover. Johnson said he doesn't see that with Hansack.

“It doesn't appear to be,” said the manager. “He's upbeat. I always watch how guys interact with their teammates when they come back [and he's been fine].”

PawSox pitcher Abe Alvarez has been delegated to the bullpen of late due to Jon Lester's rehab presence in Pawtucket. Alvarez worked two innings and allowed two runs on four hits with one walk and two strikeouts.

After Red Sox pitcher Mike Timlin made his second rehab appearance and allowed two runs on two hits in 2/3 of an inning in the seventh, PawSox reliever Mike Burns, who imploded on Saturday night against the Chiefs and allowed the four runs in the top of the ninth to blow his fifth save opportunity in eight chances, got some redemption last night. He worked a perfect ninth inning and recorded two strikeouts.

“I was fired up to see the way Burns came back and threw the ball tonight,” said Johnson.

The PawSox' Michael Tucker belted a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to account for Pawtucket's runs.

Even though the PawSox have lost two straight, Johnson and his boys aren't too concerned.

“We've really played well the last two weeks,” said the manager. “If you try to change stuff then it's just out of panic and you really can't do that here. We've got three months of baseball left and that's a lot of games. We're not going to do anything different.”

--JOE McDONALD

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 10:17 PM to PawSox | Permalink

FINAL: Syracuse 9, Pawtucket 2

PAWTUCKET -- The PawSox lost their second straight game to the Chiefs as Syracuse starter Michael MacDonald worked seven scoreless innings, allowing just four hits with six strikeouts and one walk en route to victory.

PawSox' Michael Tucker hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to account for Pawtucket's runs.

The PawSox split their four-game set with the Chiefs and Pawtucket will begin its four-game series with the Columbus Clippers tonight at 6:15.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 8:49 PM | Permalink

Timlin works for the PawSox

Red Sox pitcher Mike Timlin made his second rehab appearance with the PawSox tonight and worked 2/3 of an inning in the seventh. The veteran right-hander, who is recovering from tendonitis in his throwing shoulder, threw 18 pitches (11 strikes) and allowed two runs on two hits. He walked one and threw a wild pitch. Timlin worked one scoreless inning on Friday at McCoy.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 8:23 PM | Permalink

Game Story: Sox hold on, sweep Rangers

It won't always be like this, because no team no matter how good can have this kind of run for an entire season.

But for now, the Red Sox can seemingly do no wrong and they're wisely making the most of it.

As the Sox finished up their sweep of the hapless Texas Rangers here yesterday with a 6-5 victory, a familiar plot played itself out. Trailing 4-3 after seven, the Sox scored two runs in the eighth and one more in the ninth.

In all three wins here, the Sox had to come from behind after the fifth inning.

Yesterday's win was their fifth this season in which the Sox trailed after seven innings.

Not much deters them. Yesterday, they were without their best hitter (David Ortiz) and their best reliever (Jonathan Papelbon), and it didn't matter.

Yesterday's win was started by their fifth starter and finished by the alternative closer. Still, it didn't matter.

``This was huge for us, said starter Julian Tavarez, ``but it doesn't surprise me.

Nor should it. Not the way the Red Sox are going.

The Sox now lead their closest pursuers the Baltimore Orioles by a gaudy 11 ½ games and have won 15 of their last 20 and 22 of their last 30. Not even a change of venue slows the Sox away from home, they've won eight of their last 10 and 10 of their last 14. Since dropping four of their first seven on the road, the Sox have cleanup, going 15-4.

The winning pitcher was Joel Pineiro, who picked up his first victory of the season with 1 2/3 innings of perfect relief, making his first appearance since Wednesday.

``We pick each other up in the bullpen and push each other," said Pineiro who retired all five hitters he faced, three by strikeout.

The tying run was produced by slumping outfielder J.D. Drew, who, only two at-bats earlier, had snapped an 0-for-17 skid. In the eighth, he slapped a single to right, scoring Kevin Youkilis.

``That's why we got him," said manager Terry Francona of Drew. ``I know he's been struggling, but he came through when we needed him. And we need him to hit."

The winning run came from Dustin Pedroia, who crunched his second homer of the season in an epic battle with Eric Gagne, finally rocketing a ball out to left on the 12th pitch.

``I knew it was going to be a fight," he said of the at-bat. ``I finally got a good pitch to hit and hit it well. I saw a lot of pitches, so that helped me out."

Finally, the save went to Hideki Okajima, who filled in for Jonathan Papelbon, who had pitched in the first two games of the series. Okajima had some anxious moment, yielding a run-scoring single to Mark Teixeira, which put the potential tying run on base.

But Okajima got Sammy Sosa to fly to center for the final out, capping the Sox first three-game sweep here since 1973.

Julian Tavarez cruised through the first five innings, allowing a leadoff single to Kenny Lofton, the first batter he faced, before retiring 15 of the next 17 hitters he faced.

But Tavarez unexpectedly came unglued in the sixth. He walked Lofton, yielded a single to Michael Young, then was tagged for a mammoth 450-foot homer into the upper deck by Mark Teixeira, wiping out the Sox 3-0 lead.

Tavarez had shaken off catcher Jason Varitek, but made the mistake of hanging a slider over the middle of the plate.

``You hang one and it cost me the game," said Tavarez. ``That was the difference. But the bullpen came through after I dropped the game.

Tavarez, who was so efficient through the first five, left a mess -- first-and-second, two outs -- for J.C. Romero. But Romero got Ramon Vazquez on an inning-ending groundout before slipping into his owm trouble in the seventh.

He yielded a leadoff double to Kenny Lofton and a one-out walk to Teixeira. Pineiro came on to face Sammy Sosa, hoping for either a double-play or a strikeout. He got the latter, catching Sosa looking at a called third strike.

Then came the defensive play of the game, with Coco Crisp turning in a brilliant, sprawling catch to save two runs.

``When I saw that ball hit, said Pinerio, ``nobody was close to the ball. That was just a great catch."

Varitek had staked the Sox to a 3-0 lead in the fourth with a three-run belt off starter Kameron Loe, his first homer since May 8.

--SEAN McADAM

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 7:45 PM | Permalink

Final: Red Sox 6, Rangers 5

ARLINGTON, Tex. -- The Red Sox have been winning games all sorts of way so far this season, and today they rolled out a new formula: Contributions from players who previously were struggling.

J.D. Drew, hitting only .161 (10-for-62) in the month of May going into today's game, contributed an RBI single in the two-run, eighth-inning rally that gave the Sox the lead, and Joel Piniero, he of the 9.35 ERA in his last six appearances, retired all five batters he faced and picked up the victory as Boston came from behind for a 6-5 win over the Rangers and a sweep of the three-game weekend series.

Mike Lowell broke a 4-4 tie with a run-scoring single in the eighth for the Sox, who also got a three-run homer from Jason Varitek (third inning) and a solo shot from Dustin Pedroia (in the ninth after a 12-pitch at-bat against Rangers closer Eric Gagne).

Hideki Okajima, called on to close things out because Jonathan Papelbon, who had worked two consecutive days, was unavailable, pitched the ninth and recorded his third save, despite allowing a run on an RBI single by Mark Teixeira (who had hit a three-run homer off starter Julian Tavarez in the sixth).

The Sox now lead the A.L. East by 12 games in the loss column over the Orioles, Blue Jays and Yankees, all of whom have 27 losses. Boston is 34-15.

Posted by Sean McAdam  at 6:16 PM | Permalink

Crossing our fingers....

The tarp has been taken off the field here at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington and the plan is to start this one on time, though rain remains in the forecast throughout the afternoon.

David Ortiz is out of the starting lineup because of some tightness in his hamstrings. Ortiz has also been suffering from dehydration of late.

The lineups:
Lugo, ss
Crisp, cf
Youkilis 1b
Ramirez, lf
Drew, rf
Lowell, 3b
Varitek, c
Hinske, dh
Pedroia, 2b

TEXAS:
Kenny Lofton, cf
Michael Young, ss
Mark Teixeira, 1b
Sammy Sosa rf
Frank Catalanotto, dh
Marlon Byrd, lf
Ian Kinsler, 2b
Gerald Laird, c
Ramon Vazquez, 3b

More info later

Posted by Sean McAdam  at 2:31 PM | Permalink