Red Sox Clinch Mayor's Cup

Nice afternoon at the yard for the Sox, 11-5 over the Twins.

Victor Martinez and Kevin Youkilis each had four hits; Martinez also scored four times and drove in three. Dustin Pedroia had three hits and scored three times. David Ortiz hit a three-run home run, then was pinch-hit for by Tug Hulett, who clubbed a three-run dong himself. Tug leads the team with 13 RBI.

Clay Buchholz (4.2-5-4-0-7) started for the Sox. He allowed all four runs -- and threw 51 of his 87 pitches - in the first and second innings, before settling down. HH said he was "thinking about results before they even happened. If you're thinking negatively and throwing a pitch, it's hard to think about all that stuff and executing a pitch right." But he was able to get back on track.

Pitching assignments, taking us to the Yankees at Fenway next Sunday night:

Monday — Josh Beckett vs Rays; Daisuke Matsuzaka, Boof Bonser, and Manny Delcarmen (minors).

Tuesday — Casey Kelly vs Rays; Tim Wakefield (minors).

Wednesday — Jon Lester vs Baltimore; Jonathan Papelbon and Hideki Okajima (minors).

Thursday — John Lackey vs Minnesota.

Friday — Buchholz vs Washington; Red Sox leave Florida.

Saturday — Wakefield and Matsuzaka at Washington, 4 PM.

Then home to Boston!