G51: Red Sox at Athletics, 10 PM

Tim Wakefield (4.33, 99 ERA+) / Rich Harden (2.91, 131 ERA+)

Back on May 15, I noted (expected, hoped, etc.) that the Red Sox were going to "put an obscene beating on both the Brewers and Royals".

The team went 7-0, outscoring Milwaukee and Kansas City 49-28. That may not be obscene, but it'll do. The team batted .300/.377/.520 while holding its opponents to a .219/.312/.388 line.

Tonight starts a ten-game road trip with three in Oakland, three in Seattle and four in Baltimore. Then it's back to Fenway for a three-game AL East showdown with the Devil Rays.

As you can see by the schedule, the Sox have put together separate losing streaks of 3, 4 and 5 games as well as separate winning streaks of 4, 5, 6 and 7 games. All in the first 50 games of the season.

Bobblefoot

The St. Paul Saints are giving away 2,500 "bobblefoots" this Sunday.

According to the team's press release:

"Some of the most famous dance halls in the country include Radio City Music Hall in New York, the Fox Theater in Detroit and now the list includes a restroom at the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport. With so much fanfare around dancing, the St. Paul Saints will honor "tappers" during National Tap Dance Day.

"... The design is a bathroom stall, with a foot that peaks out of the bottom and "taps" up and down. The day coincides with National Tap Dance Day.

"While many people tap their foot because they are impatient, others may do it because they are nervous. It doesn't matter if your tapping style is done with a "wide stance" or is used as some sort of code, the Saints are asking all fans to tap to their heart's content on May 25."

The Saints' principal owner, Mike Veeck (son of Bill), is no stranger to unique promotions. My favourite was "Vasectomy Night" -- which ended up being cancelled -- or snipped from the schedule, if you prefer.

(thanks to uggabugga)

G50: Red Sox 11, Royals 8

Royals  - 100 020 230 -  8  13  1
Red Sox - 041 006 00x - 11  14  0

Dice again walked a small army of batters (5.2-6-2-6-7, 118), but wriggled out of several jams and stranded eight Royals over five innings.

J.D. Drew hit a grand slam to left in the second (after three straight singles to start the inning) and Mike Lowell did the same in the sixth (after Manny Ramirez was walked intentionally).

It was the first time two Red Sox hitters hit salami dongs since May 2, 1995 (John Valentin and Mo Vaughn, in consecutive innings, at New York).

Craig Hansen and David Aardsma pitched poorly in the seventh and eighth and Kansas City -- down 11-3 after six innings -- actually brought the tying run to the plate against Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth.

But Boston held on and finished up a perfect 7-0 homestand. The Red Sox are now a major-league best 31-19 - no other team has more than 28 victories.

On to Oakland ...

***

Brian Bannister (4.29, 99 ERA+) / Daisuke Matsuzaka (2.15, 199 ERA+)

The Red Sox -- with the best record in baseball -- will try to finish up a 7-0 homestand. They are 20-5 at Fenway so far this season.

***

Rob Neyer and Jonah Keri look at five teams -- the Tigers, Rockies, Padres, Mariners and Yankees -- and discuss their chances of contending. ... Michael Salfino, SNY.tv: "[I]t's alarmingly easy to envision a scenario where this 2008 Yankees team is analogous to the 1964 club that ended a 15-year dynasty."

Manny's mouthguard ... Mel Parnell recalls his 1956 no-hitter ...
Three new Red Sox wines: Captain's Cabernet, Vintage Papi and Sauvignyoouuk Blanc. ... The Mindy McCready documentary (due out in July) will include "her side of the Roger Clemens story".

G49: Red Sox 6, Royals 3

Royals  - 001 010 001 - 3  7  0
Red Sox - 100 040 10x - 6 12  0

In his first major league start of the season, Colon did quite well (5-6-2-2-4, 74).

All 15 outs he recorded were in the infield -- eight grounders, four strikeouts and three popups. He allowed six singles, two of them to Joey Gathright, who scored the Royals' first two runs.

The pen also shone: Craig Hansen pitched a perfect sixth; Javier Lopez worked around a leadoff walk in the seventh; Manny Delcarmen had a 1-2-3 eighth; and Mike Timlin got two quick outs before allowing a walk and an RBI single in the ninth.

Jacoby Ellsbury was on base four times, with a home run to start the first, two singles and a walk; he also stole his 19th base. Dustin Pedroia had three singles, Jason Varitek homered, singled and walked (and is 8-for-15 during this homestand), and Julio Lugo singled twice.

***

Brett Tomko (5.32, 80 ERA+) / Bartolo Colon (2008 debut)

We are out tonight, so ThreadSox is the place to be.

My plan: tape the game, avoid all media, and watch when I get home as though it's a west coast game.

I-95 Watch: Chris Smith was returned to Pawtucket yesterday to make room for Justin Masterson, who was sent to Pawtucket (which was actually a promotion from Portland) after his start so Bartolo Colon could be brought up.

Also: Rays/A's at 3:30 and Orioles/LPY* at 7.

Masterson Shines Again

Justin Masterson had thoughts of matching Jon Lester with a no-hitter of his own, or even a perfect game, "but that was taken away in the first inning" when Alex Gordon doubled with two outs.

Masterson allowed only three hits in 6.1 innings -- all of them to Gordon. Only one Royal reached third base against him, a leadoff walk in the seventh inning which became the only Kansas City run of the night.

Sean McAdam sees Masterson as a possible bullpen asset later this season. ... Coco Crisp talks about being a part-time player.

Julian Tavarez accepted an assignment to Pawtucket over free agency. ... Curt Schilling threw from 100 feet Monday. ... Brandon Moss, who had his appendix removed on May 3, is 8-for-13 in three extended spring training games in Fort Myers.

Michael Silverman, Herald:

Francona acknowledged he will use Alex Cora as a late-inning substitute for shortstop Julio Lugo. The move is being made because the manager wants his best defensive team on the field and in close games. ... The move is not permanent, Francona stressed, but there are reasons why it has been made now, including Lugo's high number of errors (11, most in the majors), his recent concussion and Cora's defensive prowess.

More than a few SoSHers take issue with the final three words of that sentence.

Schadenfreude 48 (A Continuing Series)

George A. King III, Post:

The Yankees converted baseball's highest cathedral into the world's largest commode last night.

With everyone expecting the Dead Bat Society to get a jolt from Alex Rodriguez's return, the Yankees released an odor so toxic across The Bronx that Hazmat suits and nose plugs should have been given to those who walked into Yankee Stadium. ...

In their last 11 games the Yankees have scored 30 runs, are batting .232 (84-for-362) and .147 (10-for-68) with runners in scoring position.

Mark Feinsand, Daily News:

Even Hank Steinbrenner was at a loss for words after the Yankees' latest debacle. ... "There's really not much to say." ...

Tuesday night marked a new low for a team that has seen more than its share of them during the first six weeks of the season.

An error by Derek Jeter and a dismal outing by Mike Mussina put the Bombers in a huge hole before A-Rod could even pick up a bat, rendering his return worthless - unless you count his garbage-time two-run homer that allowed the Yankees to avoid the added humiliation of being shut out.

Larry Brooks, Post:

There are, however, no excuses for last night's beer-league chug of a 12-2 defeat to the Orioles in which Mike Mussina couldn't get out of the first inning; LaTroy Hawkins was ejected for throwing at Luke Scott's head in the sixth with the score 10-0; Johnny Damon played left field like an idiot; and in which the home team allowed eight unearned runs in the first two innings, six in the first following a Jeter two-out throwing error.

Filip Bondy, Daily News:

Lousy pitching...questionable hustle...bad karma ...a hopeless, early deficit. ...

"You hope this is as bad as it gets," Jeter said.

G48: Red Sox 2, Royals 1

Royals  - 000 000 100 - 1  5  0
Red Sox - 020 000 00x - 2  5  0

Masterson was superb yet again: 6.1-3-1-3-5, 91. ... Francona on post-game: Masterson promoted to Pawtucket!!

He allowed a two-out double in the first, a two-out HBP in the second, walks in the third and fourth that were quickly erased, a two-out double in the sixth -- but pitched out of trouble each time. (A leadoff walk in the seventh eventually scored.)

The Red Sox made their second inning rally -- Kevin Youkilis one-out single, J.D. Drew single, Jason Varitek BB, Julio Lugo sacrifice fly, Coco Crisp RBI double -- stand up.

Hideki Okajima had some trouble in the 8th: leadoff double, one-out walk, two-out walk. Jonathan Papelbon came on with the bases loaded and two outs -- and struck out Billy Butler. He then pitched a perfect 9th, a 3-1 grounder and two strikeouts.

***

A first inning throwing error by Derek Jeter allowed the Orioles to keep batting -- and they scored seven runs -- en route to a 12-2 victory over the Yankees. ... NYY = 7.5 GB.

***

Gil Meche (5.98, 71 ERA)+ / Justin Masterson (1.50, 286 ERA+)

Masterson's only other major league appearance was against the Angels at Fenway on April 24, 2008. Boston lost the game, but he put up an impressive 6-2-1-4-4, 95 line.

Tampa held off the A's in 13 innings last night to remain 1 GB. They play again at 10, while the last-place Yankees (6.5 GB) host the Orioles at 7.

Wicked Lester

Jon Lester:

When I walked the leadoff guy [in the ninth], I had to step back and tell myself I don't have to be too fine. Let them hit the ball, let them put it in play. Let the guys behind me make the plays. ...

The last at-bat? To be honest, I don't even remember. I do know that early in the at-bat he fouled off a good curveball and a good cutter. We'd be doing that all night, throwing the four-seam cutter in, then try to go with the four-seam fastball away.

Warming up before the game, Lester was a bit worried about the start:

Usually when you're in the bullpen you can figure out what you're going to have. You have a good curveball, a good changeup or whatever. Today I didn't have any. I didn't know what was going to happen.

John Farrell, who came within three outs of no-hitting the Royals on May 4, 1989, agreed: "It was probably the most erratic he was of any bullpen throughout this season."


Jason Varitek is the first catcher to be behind the plate for four no-hitters:

Hideo Nomo (April 4, 2001, at Orioles)
Derek Lowe (April 27, 2002 vs Devil Rays)
Clay Buchholz (September 1, 2007 vs Orioles)
Jon Lester (May 19, 2008 vs Royals)

Ray Schalk's Hall of Fame plaque says he caught four no-hit games, but MLB changed its definition of a no-hitter in 1991 and Schalk's total dropped to three.

Varitek had no idea the Royals were hitless until the eighth inning:

I looked up after the seventh and saw that he was around 100 pitches [97] and I was like, "He did his job". And then I glanced in the bullpen and saw nobody warming up and I said, "That's kind of weird". I looked back [at the scoreboard] and said, "Uh-oh!"

The Globe has pictures and post-game video. Red Sox Monster has video of the final out.

I often think about a possible no-hitter after a pitcher gets through the first two innings. Yet for some reason last night -- too much attention to game thread comments? -- but I didn't even notice that Kansas City had no hits until the end of the fifth inning.

G47: Red Sox 7, Royals 0

Royals  - 000 000 000 - 0  0  1
Red Sox - 005 002 00x - 7  5  1

JON LESTER PITCHES A NO-HITTER!!!



9-0-0-2-9, 130 -- and he was hitting his spots all night long!

It's the first no-hitter by a Red Sox left-hander since Mel Parnell did it against the White Sox on July 14, 1956.







***

Luke Hochevar (3.94, 108 ERA+) / Jon Lester (3.95, 109 ERA+)

MLB.com:

Hochevar wasn't at his sharpest last Wednesday night but he still managed to shut out the Tigers for six innings, giving up just four singles. He showed an ability to work out of jams ... This was his fifth start since being called up from Triple-A Omaha on April 20. In all but his first outing, he's pitched six or seven solid innings. With an effective sinker, he's been good at inducing ground balls...

Hochevar has never faced any hitter on the Red Sox. ... Seven Royals are a combined 4-for-27 (.148/.273/.148) against Lester.

Tampa visits Oakland at 10 PM. The Yankees have the day off.

UPDATE: Nice short Q&A with hitting coach Dave Magadan about how David Ortiz began hitting off a batting tee for the first time on May 1. Since then, he has hit .354 and has been spraying the ball all over the field.

Art Martone: Baseball Today

Providence Journal Sports Editor Art Martone's "Baseball Today" link-o-rama should be near the top of your list of must-visits every day. Here are some of the bits from this morning:

WELL, THAT EXPLAINS IT: We all know the Red Sox have won two World Series in the last four seasons and we all know the roles Ortiz and Manny Ramirez have played in hanging those two flags. Makes sense, then, that SI.com's Jon Heyman would rank the signings of Ortiz and Ramirez as two of the five greatest free-agent acquisitions of all time -- Ortiz at No. 1 and Ramirez No. 5. ...

UP IS DOWN, BLACK IS WHITE ... and a journalist -- in this case, the St. Petersburg Times' Gary Shelton -- is actually writing that the Rays are better than the Yankees ...

MEET THE MUSINGS MAN: I link to an item or two in Baseball Musings almost daily, so you know I'd in interested in Statistically Speaking's interview with David Pinto. His choices for the players he'd build his team around: Hanley Ramirez and Cole Hamels. ...

WHAT'S THE BIGGER ACHIEVEMENT? The fact that the Reds' Edinson Volquez has an Adjusted ERA as good as Bob Gibson's record 1.12 ERA in 1968, or the fact that a mainstream media outlet actually built a feature around Adjusted ERA? (Cincinnati Enquirer)

Schadenfreude 47 (A Continuing Series)

Peter Botte, Daily News:

The Mets and their embattled manager began the weekend as the local team embroiled in turmoil. The Yankees and their new skipper now clearly are the ones in chaos and in need of a soul-searching team meeting.

Filip Bondy, Daily News:

Funny how a wet, one-sided weekend can change everything. Willie Randolph entered the borough on Friday reeling and rationalizing. He was supposedly losing control of his clubhouse. Two games later, the Mets are one game out of first place, while things are Subway Serious for the last-place Yankees and their beleaguered manager. ...

The Mets and Randolph are done running back-page interference for Girardi and the Yanks, who are now a full six games back of Boston, with plenty of possible wild-card ambushes lurking in three divisions.

More to the point, the Yanks are doing almost nothing well. ...

Bondy mentions the Red Sox and a non-Yankee wild card possibility in the East. On May 19!

            W   L   PCT   GB   RS   RA
Boston     27  19  .587  ---  239  209
Tampa Bay  25  19  .568  1.0  201  176
Baltimore  23  20  .535  2.5  179  184
Toronto    23  23  .500  4.0  177  181
New York   20  24  .455  6.0  179  197

Note: The Mets have played three fewer games than the Yankees, but have scored 25 more runs.

Lance Berkman

In his last 14 games (not including today), he is 32-for-53. That's a .604 batting average. .604!

Berkman started the season off a little slow, but since the 10th game of the season (April 9), he's hitting .434/.513/.868 -- for an 1.381 OPS.

For the season, Berkman is batting .399. Chipper Jones leads the NL at .412.

G46: Red Sox 11, Brewers 7

Brewers - 200 202 010 -  7   8  1
Red Sox - 102 321 20x - 11  15  0

A three-game sweep -- in under 25 hours!

Beckett (7-6-6-1-9, 107) allowed four home runs (Ryan Braun tagged his curveball twice), but his teammates battered a quintet of Brewers. The biggest bats:

Ortiz: 2 home runs, double, 2 runs, 4 RBI
Pedroia: 2 singles, home run, walk, 3 runs, 2 RBI
Youkilis: 2 singles, home run, 2 runs, 2 RBI

Bad news: Ellsbury was caught stealing on a fourth inning pitchout, ending his stealing streak at 24.

***

Carlos Villanueva (6.00, 71 ERA+) / Josh Beckett (4.21, 101 ERA+)

News for the week, from Benjamin:

Justin Masterson will be brought up on Tuesday, swapped with Chris Smith (who came up today). Then Masterson will return to the minors after the game, and Bartolo Colon will come up to the big league club and will pitch on Wednesday. ...

Monday:    Jon Lester /Luke Hochevar
Tuesday:   Justin Masterson / Gil Meche
Wednesday: Bartolo Colon / Brett Tomko
Thursday:  Daisuke Matsuzaka / Brian Bannister

RHP Chris Smith Added To Pen

The Red Sox will have an extra arm in the bullpen tomorrow, as they call up right-handed pitcher Chris Smith from Pawtucket and send outfielder Jonathan Van Every back down.

Sox Prospects on Smith:

Average fastball with power breaking curve. ... Throws off-speed pitches for strikes, often at unexpected counts. Pounds the strike zone with great command, doesn't walk many batters. Also has an effective knuckle-curve.

Smith, who turned 27 last month, has pitched in 10 games for the PawSox this season -- four starts and six relief appearances:

         G   IP    H   BB    K    ERA   AVG
Start    4   21   14    6   18   1.71  .187
Relief   6   10    7    1   10   0.90  .189
        10   31   21    7   28   1.45  .188

Van Every played in one game.

G45: Red Sox 7, Brewers 6

Brewers - 000 003 300 - 6  9  4
Red Sox - 202 010 20x - 7  6  3

After Mike Lowell gives the Sox an early lead -- two-run double in the 1st, two-run dong in the 3rd -- the Brewers battle back. The leads changes hands twice in a sloppy 7th inning (two errors on each side), before Mike Timlin pitches a tidy eight-pitch 9th to nail down the Saturday sweep.

***

David Bush (6.06, 70 ERA+) / Tim Wakefield (4.25, 100 ERA+)

Game 2!

Current AL East
  
Tampa Bay  25  18  .581  --
Boston     25  19  .568  .5

G44: Red Sox 5, Brewers 3

Brewers - 000 000 201 - 3   9  1
Red Sox - 130 000 01x - 5  11  1

Dice was strong (6.2-7-2-2-6, 103, both runs unearned) and David Ortiz belted a three-run home run to left-center in the second inning. The pen saw some nice work from Manny Delcarmen (1.1 IP, ending the 7th and taking the 8th, allowing only a one-out single).

Ortiz also scored in the first, on a bases-loaded walk to J.D. Drew. Doubles from Jason Varitek and Jacoby Ellsbury brought in the fifth run in the eighth.

Matsuzaka worked quickly through the first 4.2 innings, throwing only 58 pitches to 16 batters. But with two outs in the fifth, he allowed a single to Bill Hall, hit Jason Kendall and walked Rickie Weeks to load the bases before getting the final out.

A two-out error at third from Kevin Youkilis kept the seventh inning alive for Milwaukee and Mike Cameron followed with a two-run dong to left. Papelbon allowed a solo shot to Ryan Braun in the ninth.

The Red Sox had plenty of chances to add to their run total.

4th - runner on second, no outs
5th - runners on first and second, no outs
6th - runners on first and third, no outs
7th - runners on first and second, no outs

None of those runners scored. In fact, only one of those seven runners advanced even one base; the man on first in the 6th ended up at second.

***

Jeff Suppan (4.63, 92 ERA+) / Daisuke Matsuzaka (2.45, 174 ERA+)

Game 1 of today's afternoon-night doubleheader.

Okajima Has Sore Left Wrist

With three games scheduled in the next two days, the Red Sox have announced that Hideki Okajima has a sore left wrist and will be put on the shelf for a few days. (Jeemer discussed his inherited runner troubles here.)

This news comes in addition to the Red Sox needing a spot starter for Tuesday -- and possibly Wednesday, unless one of today's starters, Daisuke Matsuzaka or Tim Wakefield, returns after three days rest.

But with a short-handed bullpen, the Red Sox need both starters to go deep into the games today. It would also be helpful if Mike Timlin, Craig Hansen and Manny Delcarmen (who has worked only twice in the last 10 games and only three innings this month) would pitch well.

More On The Bronx Thongers

NYDN:

Derek Jeter agreed that Giambi's thong works, although "it's so uncomfortable running around the bases." ...

Asked if the thong got washed between wearings, [Jorge Posada] gave a cringe-worthy answer. "Ask Jason," said Posada. "Jason is a little strange."