G121: Red Sox 7, Angels 5

Angels  - 001 130 000 - 5 10  1
Red Sox - 100 120 21x - 7 12  0

The Red Sox tied the game on a bases loaded wild pitch by Kevin "George" Jepsen in the seventh inning, then (after pinch-hitter J.D. Drew was intentionally walked to re-load the bases) took a 6-5 lead when pinch-hitter Daniel Nava was plunked by an 0-2 fastball. Jane, stop this crazy thing!

In the top of the eighth, Nava made a diving catch in left field to save Daniel Bard's bacon. With Angels on first and second and two outs, Macier Izturis lofted a fly to shallow left. Nava sprinted in, dove forward, and gloved the ball.After the Sox added an insurance run, Jonathan Papelbon struck out the side in the ninth.

Lackey (7-10-5-0-5, 119) skated out of a few jams in the early innings, allowed a couple of single runs, then surrendered a three-run dong to Alberto Callaspo. LBL. After that, though, Adrian Beltre's two-run homer cut the Angels' lead to 5-4, and Lackey retired the last seven batters he faced.

Bill Hall crushed a home run over everything in left in the fourth. And: Marco Scutaro doubled and walked twice, Dustin Pedroia singled, walked, stole a base, and scored a run, Victor Martinez had two singles, a double, and two runs scored, David Ortiz singled, doubled, and walked twice, Beltre homered and singled and drove in three runs, and Darnell McDonald singled, doubled, and stole a base.

The Yankees beat the Tigers 9-5, so the East remains the same for another day: Tampa Bay and New York are tied for first, with Boston 5.5 GB. The Red Sox are 5.5 GB in the Wild Card race. And the White Sox, who were breathing down the Sox's neck, have dropped to 9 GB in the WC.

Scott Kazmir / John Lackey

Scutaro, SS
Pedroia, 2B
Martinez, C
Ortiz, DH
Beltre, 3B
Lowell, 1B
Hall, LF
McDonald, RF
Kalish, CF

Jacoby Ellsbury, on his examination in California:

It's a broken rib in the back, broken in the exact same place I broke them before. Let's see ... yeah, basically, when I come back I'll be, you know, stronger than ever when I do come back. Thank you. [Will he be back this season?] We're not sure yet.

Terry Francona spoke at length:

I actually got a chance to talk to Dr Yocum this morning ... and he said, "The only way you're going to know the answers that you're asking are if he had a scan everyday. ... It really doesn't matter. It's broken and he needs to let it heal."

My instincts tell me the kid was probably a little more sore than he was letting on. Probably for obvious reasons. He wanted to play and he was catching some heat from a lot of you and all you tough guys (laughs). He's probably a little more tender. Maybe he was more susceptible. Maybe he wasn't. Nobody really knows.

Tito also spoke in Ellsbury's defense on WEEI, when asked if he thought Jacoby was a soft player:

No. And I think for anyone to ever say that, especially for a radio host, is very disrespectful. Talking tough on the radio is a lot different than running into a wall or getting hit with a pitch. ... To get to this point in their career, they've had to -- I know a lot of people think they're pampered athletes -- but they've had to work pretty hard, and they've had to go through a lot.

Francona's comments regarding Ellsbury have not always been so supportive, so this is nice to hear.

AL East: Tigers/Yankees at 7. The Rays beat the Rangers 8-6.

August 18:

1909 - Giants player-coach Arlie Latham -- aka "The Freshest Man on Earth" -- steals second base in New York's 14-1 rout of the Phillies. At 50, he is the oldest player to swipe a base.

1940 - Daily News columnist Jimmy Powers suggests the Yankees' poor play this season -- after four straight World Series titles, the team is in fifth place -- is due to a "mass polio epidemic" contracted from Lou Gehrig. Gehrig files a $1 million lawsuit and the newspaper eventually retracts the story and settles out of court.

1967 - Boston's Tony Conigliaro is beaned by Angels pitcher Jack Hamilton. Conigliaro is hit on the left cheekbone, just below the eye socket, and will miss the rest of 1967 and all of 1968.