G79: Red Sox 4, Blue Jays 3

Red Sox   - 211 000 000 - 4  7  0
Blue Jays - 000 100 200 - 3  6  1

Eduardo Rodriguez / Marco Estrada

Betts, CF
Holt, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Sandoval, 3B
Napoli, 1B
De Aza, LF
Swihart, C
Bradley, RF

Pablo Sandoval is a hacker - he swings at nearly half of all pitches outside the strike zone - so when he admits he's never swung at a higher pitch before, you know you gotta see the video.

Hanley Ramirez hopes to be in tonight's lineup.

The Red Sox are 7 GB in the East, the closest the team has been to first place since June 13. ... Baseball Prosepctus gives Boston a 3.5% chance at winning the division and a 6.4% chance at being one of the two wild cards. ... Fangraphs gives them a 6.4% chance at the East and 11% at a WC spot.

G78: Red Sox 3, Blue Jays 1

Red Sox   - 002 010 000 - 3  7  0
Blue Jays - 000 001 000 - 1  5  0

Xander Bogaerts doubled home two runs in the third inning and that was all the support Clay Buchholz (8-5-1-0-5, 96) needed.

Mookie Betts singled and tripled and scored twice. ... Alejandro De Aza went 3-for-4.

Because the Rays and Orioles both lost, the Red Sox are now 7 GB in the East.

Clay Buchholz / R.A. Dickey

Betts, CF
Holt, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Sandoval, 3B
Napoli, 1B
De Aza, LF
Leon, C
Bradley, RF

After taking two of three in Tampa Bay, the Red Sox begin a four-game series in Toronto.

In his last nine starts dating back to May 10, Clay Buchholz has a 2.48 ERA and has allowed more than three earned runs only twice.

The Red Sox are 8 GB the Rays and the Orioles in the East.

G77: Red Sox 5, Rays 3

Red Sox - 020 201 000 - 5  8  1
Rays    - 000 010 200 - 3 10  0

One day after the Rays topped the Red Sox with three home runs, Boston turned the tables on Tampa Bay with three dongs of their own. Pablo Sandoval and Alejandro De Aza both went deep in the second inning, and David Ortiz cracked a two-run shot in the fourth.

Justin Masterson (5-5-1-0-6, 84) allowed only an unearned run in outpitching Chris Archer (6-5-5-1-10, 107).

The first two Rays reached base against Alexi Ogando in the sixth, but he got the next three outs. Jonathan Aro gave up two runs in the seventh, allowing Tampa Bay to cut the lead to 5-3. In the eighth, Junichi Tazawa plunked Logan Forsythe with a pitch. After two strikeouts, Tazawa wild pitched the runner to second, then got an inning-ending grounder.

Koji Uehara allowed a two-out double to Grady Sizemore in the ninth, which brought Evan Longoria to the plate as the potential tying run. A wild pitch put Sizemore on third before Longoria flew out to right.

Xander Bogaerts had two hits and scored twice. Both Ortiz and Sandoval knocked in two runs.

Justin Masterson / Chris Archer

In his last nine starts, Archer has a 1.61 ERA.

Masterson is making his first start since May 12.

Betts, CF
Holt, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Sandoval, 3B
Napoli, 1B
De Aza, LF
Swihart, C
Bradley, RF

G76: Rays 4, Red Sox 1

Red Sox - 000 000 010 - 1  3  0
Rays    - 000 020 11x - 4  7  0

For the afternoon's first seven innings, the Red Sox managed only one baserunner: Xander Bogaerts's two-out single in the fourth.

Alejandro De Aza homered in the eighth to end the Rays' strong bid for a shutout. In the ninth, Brock Holt singled with two outs, but Rays reliever Brad Boxberger fanned Bogaerts to end the game.

Mookie Betts's 13-game hitting streak came to an end. ... The Rays' runs came via three home runs.

Wade Miley pitched well (6.1-5-2-2-8, 106), but he was no match for Matt Andriese (6-1-0-0-5, 70). ... Time: 2:21.

Wade Miley / Matt Andriese

Betts, CF
Holt, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Sandoval, 3B
Napoli, 1B
De Aza, LF
Leon, C
Bradley, RF

G75: Red Sox 4, Rays 3 (10)

Red Sox - 020 100 000 1 - 4 10  0
Rays    - 010 002 000 0 - 3 12  0

After Alexi Ogando stranded the potential winning run at third base in the bottom of the ninth, the Red Sox immediately took the lead in the top of the tenth. Mookie Betts led off with a double and scored on Brock Holt's opposite field single. Koji Uehara set down the Rays in order in the bottom half, striking out two and getting the final out on a grounder to shortstop.

Rick Porcello / Alex Colome

Betts, CF
Holt, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Sandoval, 3B
Napoli, 1B
De Aza, LF
Swihart, C
Bradley, RF

Boston is a distant 9.0 GB the Rays in the AL East. With these three games in Tampa Bay, now would be the time to start on a hot streak.

The Rays have won four of the six games between the teams this season. Both Red Sox wins were shutouts.

G74: Orioles 8, Red Sox 6

Orioles - 000 601 100 - 8 14  0
Red Sox - 010 300 200 - 6 12  2

In the bottom of the ninth, Jackie Bradley led off with a single, and Boston brought the potential tying run to the plate three times. Mookie Betts popped to shortstop, Brock Holt struck out looking, and Xander Bogaerts (who doubled twice earlier) grounded into a force.

Alejandro De Aza hit a three-run homer. Five Red Sox had two hits apiece, including Mike Napoli.

Eduardo Rodriguez: 3.2-7-6-0-5, 67. He retired the first 10 Orioles, then gave up seven straight hits: double, single, home run, single, single, double, single, sac fly.

Miguel Gonzalez / Eduardo Rodriguez

Betts, CF
Holt, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Sandoval, 3B
Napoli, 1B
De Aza, LF
Swihart, C
Bradley, RF

Dustin Pedroia was placed on the disabled list with a right hamstring strain. Deven Marrero was added to the 40-man roster and called up. ... Joe Kelly was sent down to Pawtucket (Justin Masterson will take his spot in the rotation) and pitcher Jonathan Aro was called up. ... Catcher Erik Kratz, claimed off waivers on Sunday, was designated for assignment.

G73: Red Sox 5, Orioles 1

Orioles - 000 001 000 - 1  8  2
Red Sox - 000 005 00x - 5  7  0

Gordon Edes, ESPNBoston:

The Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night, 5-1, ending a string of six straight losses to their division rivals, but in the process lost left fielder Hanley Ramirez and second baseman Dustin Pedroia to injuries.

Ryan Hannable, WEEI:

Ramirez left the game following the bottom of the fifth when he was struck on the left wrist by a line drive from Xander Bogaerts on a hit-and-run play ... It was announced as a left hand contusion. ... Pedroia left the game following a single in the sixth, when it appeared he suffered the injury rounding first base. The team announced the injury as right hamstring tightness.

Bud Norris / Clay Buchholz

Betts, CF
Holt, 1B
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, LF
Bogaerts, SS
Sandoval, 3B
De Aza, RF
Leon, C

G72: Orioles 6, Red Sox 4

Orioles - 040 101 000 - 6 11  0
Red Sox - 001 110 001 - 4  8  0

Joe Kelly lasted only 3.2 innings on Tuesday night, with a four-run Orioles second inning - highlighted by #9-hitter David Lough's three-run homer - was Kelly's (3.2-8-5-2-2, 87) undoing. Kelly gave up three singles to begin the inning and a sac fly and Lough's HR accounted for the runs.

Boston tried to cut into Baltimore's lead, but had little success. Twice they scored a run, only to have the Orioles immediately match it.

In the third, Sandy Leon singled and Mookie Betts doubled. Second and third, no outs - how many runs would the Red Sox score? It turned out that even getting the two baserunners home was too much to ask. Brock Holt's groundout scored Leon, but Dustin Pedroia struck out and David Ortiz flied to center.

Hanley Ramirez began the fourth with a single to right and took second on a wild pitch. He scored on Pablo Sandoval's liner to left, but Mike Napoli and Leon were both retire to end the inning.

With two down in the fifth, Orioles starter Ubaldo Jimenez (5-6-3-3-8, 100), leading 5-2, walked both Pedroia and Ortiz. Ramirez followed with an RBI single to left, but Xander Bogaerts struck out.

Boston had a potential sixth-inning rally cut short by some atrocious umpiring behind the plate. Sandoval (3-for-4) singled and watched as Napoli (0-for-4, 4 strikeouts) fanned and Leon popped out. Betts walked. Reliever Brad Brach's first pitch to Holt was outside and home plate umpire Tim Timmons called it a strike. After a foul and a ball, Brach went even further outside - and Timmons called that strike three, ending the inning. Manager John Farrell was quickly ejected by Timmons - who made numerous ball/strike calls against Boston throughout the night, including the first two Boston batters following the ejection (which frankly seemed like retaliation).

The Red Sox made some noise in the ninth. Facing Darren O'Day, Betts walked with one out. After Holt grounded back to the mound, Pedroia doubled to right-center, scoring Betts and cutting the lead to 6-4. However, Ortiz lined out to third to end the game.

Ubaldo Jimenez / Joe Kelly

Betts, CF
Holt, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, LF
Bogaerts, SS
Sandoval, 3B
Napoli, 1B
Leon, C

The Red Sox will play teams from the AL East for the next 13 games, hosting the Orioles and hitting the road against the Rays and Blue Jays. After that, an eight-game homestand against the Astros, Marlins, and Yankees leads into the All-Star break.

Peter Abraham of the Globe notes that, in June, the Red Sox have begun to hit and score runs like we all expected at the beginning of the season:

The Red Sox hit .241 with a .684 OPS in the first two months of the season and averaged 3.8 runs. Through 20 games in June, they are hitting .294 with an .809 OPS and averaging 4.7 runs.

Mookie Betts (named AL Player of the Week) has a nine-game hitting streak (20-for-36, .556), with nine extra-base hits, nine runs scored, and eight RBIs. ... . Brock Holt is batting .387 (24-for-62) over his last 16 games, with 11 extra-base hits and 11 walks.

David Ortiz's home run on Sunday was the 476th of his career, putting him ahead of Willie Stargell and Stan Musial on baseball's all-time list. Ortiz is now 29th in career home runs. Above him are Lou Gehrig and Fred McGriff, tied for 27th place with 493.

The Red Sox claimed catcher Erik Kratz off waivers on Sunday. Kratz is a six-year veteran with a .217/.270/.400 batting line. (With Christian Vazquez out for the season, Ryan Hanigan on the 60-day disabled list, and Blake Swihart nursing a sprained left foot, Boston is currently using its 4th-string catcher, Sandy Leon.)

Pedro Martinez's Number Will Be Retired July 28

The Red Sox will retire Pedro Martinez's #45 on Tuesday, July 28, before a game against the White Sox. The ceremony will be held two days after Martinez is inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

Pedro pitched for the Red Sox for seven seasons (1998-2004), and was fucking awesome, turning in two of the strongest pitching seasons of all time (1999 and 2000) and winning three Cy Young awards. In 2004, he helped the Red Sox win their first World Series title in 86 long years.

Sunday's 13 Extra-Base Hits: Most By Red Sox In 65 Years

According to Elias, yesterday's win over the Royals was only the fifth Red Sox game since 1914 in which Boston had 13 or more extra-base hits.

The five games:

September 24, 1940 (G1): 23 hits, including 14 extra-base hits (5 doubles, 3 triples, 6 home runs) - Beat A's 16-8

June 8, 1950: 29 hits, including 17 extra-base hits (9 doubles, 1 triple, 7 home runs (and 11 walks!)) - Beat Browns 29-4

July 29, 1990: 18 hits, including 13 extra-base hits (12 doubles, 1 home run) - Beat Tigers 13-3

June 4, 2013: 19 hits, including 13 extra-base hits (8 doubles, 1 triple, 4 home runs) - Beat Rangers 17-5

June 21, 2015: 16 hits, including 13 extra-base hits (8 doubles, 2 triples, 3 home runs) - Beat Royals 13-2

G71: Red Sox 13, Royals 2

Red Sox - 010 153 021 - 13 16  0
Royals  - 000 000 002 -  2  9  0

Only three of Boston's 16 hits in its Sunday afternoon rout of the Royals were singles: the Red Sox mashed eight doubles, two triples, and three home runs.

It was only the fifth Red Sox game since 1914 in which the team collected 13 or more extra-base hits, according to Elias. It was also the first Red Sox game since 1961 that Boston had extra-base hits for their first nine hits.

Mookie Betts could have used a single; he doubled, tripled, and homered. (Betts was a home run shy of the cycle five days ago (Tuesday night).)

The top four spots in the order were on fire (11-for-19) all afternoon:

Betts: 3-for-5, double, triple, home run, walk, 3 runs scored, 2 RBI

Brock Holt: 3-for-5, 2 doubles, triple, 2 runs scored, 2 RBI

Dustin Pedroia: 3-for-5, 2 doubles, 2 runs scored, 2 RBI

David Ortiz: 2-for-4, home run, walk, 2 runs scored, 2 RBI

Also:

Xander Bogaerts: 3-for-5, 3 doubles, 3 RBI, run scored

Hanley Ramirez: 1-for-3, home run, walk, 2 runs scored, RBI

Wade Miley: 6-5-0-3-2, 101

Wade Miley / Chris Young

Betts, CF
Holt, 3B
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, LF
Bogaerts, SS
Napoli, 1B
De Aza, RF
Leon, C

Ortiz's Ejection By Incompetent Umpire Bruce Dreckman

David Ortiz was ejected in Saturday night's loss to Kansas City after hitting a single in the seventh inning. Home plate umpire Bruce Dreckman tossed Ortiz when the Boston DH was on first base.

After the game, Ortiz said:

All I have to say is that this situation between players and umpires is getting to a ridiculous point. ... I'm an 18-year veteran in this league and when I was coming up it seems like you deserve respect because of that. But it seems like it doesn't work that way anymore. ...

You call two bad pitches on a guy that throws 100, what do you want me to do? It was pretty obvious that those two pitches were pretty bad. Not only that, I look at you, you look at me, and I tell you the guy doesn't need help and you keep giving me signals. I finally give up on you and you throw me out of the game for that? ... I want to see what the commissioner and everybody is going to tell me about because it seems like every time we are the bad guy. I don't feel like I did anything wrong. ...

I just keep on telling him that the guy on the mound doesn't need any help. The guy throws 100 mph. If you look at the video, that's all I say, he don't need no help.

And what about those two pitches that upset Ortiz?

These were the pitches in that at-bat, according to pitch f/x data at Brooks Baseball:

G70: Royals 7, Red Sox 4

Red Sox - 101 020 000 - 4 10  1
Royals  - 010 051 00x - 7 11  0

Mookie Betts began the game by hitting a home run. He scored twice and was one of four Red Sox batters - along with Hanley Ramirez, Alejandro De Aza, and Blake Swihart - to have two hits.

Rick Porcello coughed up a three-run lead by surrendering five runs in the fifth inning.

Pabloe Sandoval sprained his left ankle making a play in the third inning. Sandoval was wearing a walking boot in the clubhouse. ... Swihart exited the game in the fifth after spraining his left foot. ... David Ortiz was ejected for arguing balls and strikes in the seventh - while he was on first base after singling - by the appropriately named Bruce Dreckman.

The Red Sox (30-40) are a season-worst 10 games out of first place.

Rick Porcello / Edinson Volquez

Betts, CF
Holt, SS
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, LF
Sandoval, 3B
Napoli, 1B
De Aza, RF
Swihart, C

G69: Red Sox 7, Royals 3

Red Sox - 050 010 100 - 7 16  0
Royals  - 000 010 011 - 3 10  1

Rookie lefty Eduardo Rodriguez (6.1-6-1-1-5, 104) was back in the groove Friday night, pitching 6.1 solid innings in Kansas City and allowing only one inconsequential run. Mike Napoli and Blake Swihart each drove in two runs during a five-run second inning. Mookie Betts went 4-for-5 (the first four-hit game of his career).

With one out in the second against Yohan Pino (5.1-1-6-1-0, 76, in his first start since August 23, 2014), Xander Bogaerts grounded a single into right-center. Pablo Sandoval doubled to deep center, over the head of Lorenzo Cain, putting runners at second and third. Napoli singled on a slow-rolling ground ball to center and both runners scored, Sandoval showing hustling around from second. Alejandro De Aza walked and Swihart doubled to deep right to make to 4-0. Swihart went to third on a ground out and scored on Betts's single to right.

The five runs were the Red Sox's second-most runs in any road inning this year (they scored six in the third inning in Philadelphia on April 9).

Hanley Ramirez homered in the fifth. In the seventh, Brock Holt walked and Betts singled. After a double steal, Ramirez singled in Holt.

Everyone in the lineup (except for Holt) had at least one hit, including Rusney Castillo, who came into the game in the seventh inning and singled in the ninth.

Eduardo Rodriguez / Yohan Pino

Holt, 2B
Betts, CF
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, LF
Bogaerts, SS
Sandoval, 3B
Napoli, 1B
De Aza, RF
Swihart, C

Matt Collins, OTM: "Seven Reasons You Should Still Watch The Red Sox":

The Red Sox stink right now. For the last two months, they've been just plain bad at baseball, and there's little room for optimism that they'll turn it around. ...

Even with this rough season, we're still going to watch. ... We're stupid like that. Luckily for us, there are more than a few reasons why watching this team can still be fun, even if it doesn't end with a miraculous playoff trip.

I'm not sure these reasons - one of them is tonight's starting pitcher - are enough to give up three hours of every summer evening, but that is what fans do, I suppose.

G68: Red Sox 5, Atlanta 2

Red Sox - 000 103 100 - 5  9  1
Atlanta - 000 002 000 - 2  6  1

Clay Buchholz / Shelby Miller

Holt, 2B
Betts, CF
Ortiz, 1B
Ramirez, LF
Bogaerts, SS
De Aza, RF
Shaw, 3B
Leon, C
Buchholz, P

Ian Browne tweets that Pablo Sandoval is not playing tonight because he violated the team's social media policy during last night's game:

Sandoval "liked" a picture of female on Instagram during game. He admitted he did it and accountable for punishment of not playing today.

G67: Atlanta 5, Red Sox 2

Red Sox - 000 101 000 - 2  8  1
Atlanta - 000 101 21x - 5 10  1

Joe Kelly / Alex Wood

Pedroia, 2B
Holt, RF
Bogaerts, SS
Ramirez, LF
Sandoval, 3B
Napoli, 1B
Betts, CF
Swihart, C
Kelly, P

G66: Red Sox 9, Atlanta 4

Atlanta - 000 200 002 - 4 10  0
Red Sox - 200 003 13x - 9 18  0

Brock Holt hit for the cycle, doubling in the first, singling in the fifth, homering in the seventh, and tripling in the eighth.

Holt became the first Red Sox player to hit for the cycle since John Valentin did it on June 6, 1996 and the 20th player in franchise history.

Holt: "Obviously I knew I needed a triple. I didn't expect to hit one, but as soon as barrel hit ball I was like, 'Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.' Because once it gets in the triangle, anything is possible."

Mookie Betts had three hits (single, double, triple) and four other Red Sox had two hits as Boston snapped a seven-game losing streak. The Red Sox's 18 hits were a season high (for a nine-inning game); they had 18 hits in a 19-inning win against the Yankees on April 10.

Julio Teheran / Wade Miley

Holt, 2B
Betts, CF
Ortiz, DH
Bogaerts, SS
Sandoval, 3B
Napoli, 1B
De Aza, LF
Swihart, C
Castillo, RF

G65: Atlanta 4, Red Sox 2

Atlanta - 000 300 100 - 4  9  1
Red Sox - 000 000 101 - 2 10  0

Williams Perez / Rick Porcello

Pedroia, 2B
Holt, RF
Ramirez, LF
Ortiz, DH
Bogaerts, SS
Sandoval, 3B
Napoli, 1B
Betts, CF
Leon, C

G64: Blue Jays 13, Red Sox 5

Blue Jays - 000 640 300 - 13 16  0
Red Sox   - 000 050 000 -  5  8  1

We knew it couldn't last, but why did it have to end?

Eduardo Rodriguez's historic dominance to kick off his major league career - one of the few bright spots in this season of woe - came to an end this afternoon.

Rodriguez (4.2-8-9-3-1, 87) was hoping to escape the fourth inning down by only three runs, but Ryan Goins's homer with two on boosted the Blue Jays' lead to 6-0. The third out also eluded Rodriguez in the fifth. After getting the first two Jays, he gave up a walk, a single, and a double - and his day was done. (And Danny Valecia drove reliever Steven Wright's first pitch out of the park for two more runs.) Rodriguez's ERA rose from 0.44 to 3.55.

David Ortiz crushed a three-run bomb in the fifth. Dustin Pedroia and Pablo Sandoval had two hits each. One of Sandoval's hits was a triple - and he hit it to left-center! The two Toronto outfielders both leapt for it at the wall and it caromed away.

This was the Red Sox's sixth straight loss - and it dropped them 8 GB in the East.

Ryan Hannable (WEEI) noted: "Sunday marks the 17th straight day the Red Sox have not gained ground in the AL East."

Marco Estrada / Eduardo Rodriguez

Pedroia, 2B
Holt, 1B
Ramirez, LF
Ortiz, DH
Bogaerts, SS
Sandoval, 3B
De Aza, RF
Castillo, CF
Swihart, C

G63: Blue Jays 5, Red Sox 4 (11)

Blue Jays - 030 100 000 01 - 5 12  1
Red Sox   - 000 301 000 00 - 4  9  1

It is perhaps worth noting that the Red Sox, down 0-4, came back to tie the game fairly quickly, as David Ortiz's home run in the sixth knotted the score. However, Russell Martin homered off Matt Barnes to begin the 11th - and the Red Sox (27-36) lost once again.

R.A. Dickey / Clay Buchholz

Pedroia, 2B
Holt, 1B
Ramirez, LF
Ortiz, DH
Bogaerts, SS
Sandoval, 3B
De Aza, RF
Castillo, CF
Leon, C

John Farrell: "I wouldn't write this team off. This is still a team that's got a long track record of individual performance, and we have to put some things together as a team in all phases."

G62: Blue Jays 13, Red Sox 10

Blue Jays - 010 030 900 - 13 15  0
Red Sox   - 503 000 011 - 10 12  1

Friday's game raised an interesting question: How many "worst loss(es) of the season" can one team have?

In this latest (and very strong) contender, the last-place Red Sox excited their fans by strutting out to an 8-1 lead. Then, over the course of the next four innings, they blew that seven-run advantage - and ended up trailing by five runs. For the Blue Jays, it was their ninth consecutive victory. The 13 runs tied a season-high.

Before tonight, teams in 2015 that led by seven or more runs were 142-1.

The Red Sox, back at Fenway after dropping three games in Baltimore, showed some encouraging signs of life in the first inning. Brock Holt walked with one out and Bogaerts doubled to left. With two on, Ortiz smacked an opposite field single to the Wall in left, scoring both runners. After Mike Napoli struck out, Pablo Sandoval (mired in a deep slump, like Ortiz) hit a first-pitch, two-run home run. Mookie Betts followed with a solo shot. Blake Swihart singled to left. Rusney Castillo singled to right. Pedroia walked, loading the bases. Holt spoiled any additional fun by flying to right. (The first-inning fireworks were a rarity for the Red Sox. They had scored 19 runs in the first inning all season entering tonight's game.)

Pedroia launched a three-run dong in the third, after Swihart singled and Castillo walked. (Betts left the game in the top half with a low back sprain, sustained when he crashed into the padded wall in the triangle.)

According to Elias' win probability model, the Red Sox were 97.1% likely to win the game after Pedroia's home run gave them an 8-1 lead. But ... the Jays scored three in the fifth off Joe Kelly (6-7-4-2-3, 101) and exploded in the seventh, scoring nine times against three relievers (Matt Barnes, Junichi Tazawa, and Tommy Layne) before making an out.

Boston tried to rally in the eighth. With two outs, Napoli batted with the bases loaded, as the potential tying run. But after swinging at a pitch that actually bounced to the catcher, he looked at a curveball in the heart of the zone for strike three. (Napoli is 1-for-his-last-20, with 10 strikeouts.)

Drew Hutchison / Joe Kelly

Pedroia, 2B
Holt, LF
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Sandoval, 3B
Betts, CF
Swihart, C
Castillo, RF

Toronto (31-30) has won eight straight games. In those eight games, the Jays failed to score at least six runs only once.

Kelly has allowed two runs or fewer in four of his past five starts.

Ortiz's Struggles Raise Uncomfortable Questions

David Ortiz Batting Splits, 2015

         PA    AVG   OBP   SLG   OPS   BABIP
vs RHP  150   .278  .387  .492  .879    .290
vs LHP   72   .114  .111  .157  .268    .138

While David Ortiz has been a productive hitter against right-handed pitchers this season, he has been beyond dreadful against lefties.

In 2014, however, Ortiz actually had a higher OPS against lefties (.893) than righties (.863). So what is the reason for this year's cliff-drop in production? Is it a small sample slump, or a sign of the end of Ortiz's ability to be an everyday player? And until a satisfactory answer is received for that question, what do Ben Cherington and John Farrell do about it?

Last week, Steve Burton of Boston's Channel 4 asked Ortiz a blunt question: "Are you washed up?"

Ortiz answered:

What can I tell you, man? A lot of people looked at me like that seven years ago, and here I am still.

(That's true (and I admit that I was one of them). But he was 33 then - and he is nearly 40 now.)

Before last Saturday's game, Ortiz explained, calmly, at length:

I was asked on camera the other day if I was washed up. And I pretty much didn't react to it, but I thought that was very disrespectful. You don't disrespect people like that, you know what I'm saying? I've come a long way, and everyone knows my status, and to come and wipe it in my face just because things are not going well right now, I don't think the question was fair. That tells tells me how things are around here. People forget too fast, and I don't think it's right. ... I'm not washed up. I guarantee you that. I can wake up and hit, bro. That's my nature. I'm not washed up. ...

The reason why I didn't get mad is because every time I get mad, I'm the bad guy. If I blow up, I'm the bad guy. And my [expletive] is not going to finish like this, I'll tell you that right now. I'm not going to end up like this. But you know what? Every time Papi makes some noise, it's, 'Papi's greedy, Papi's this, Papi's that.' That [question] was messed up, and because I know it was messed up, I didn't react to it. But I'm not washed up. I'm not. You know why? Because they pitch me very carefully. If they don't, I make them pay. All of them [expletive] who say I'm washed up, tell them to sit down and watch the game. ...

The minute you go through a situation like this, you're old, you're all done, you're this, you're that. Just let everybody talk. Sit down and watch the game. Sit down and watch where the pitchers are missing, sit down and watch what the strike zone is like. And remember the toughest part of the game, what is it? Hitting. I don't make excuses. I don't like to blame my [expletive] on nobody, but people need to sit down and watch the game, so they know. ...

You see all these missiles I've been hitting every year? What can I do about it? That's a hit for everyone else. What can I do about it? I hit the ball in the face consistently, right at people. There's nothing I can do about it. They play me where I hit the ball. That's why I don't worry about my batting average. My batting average has been taken away for the last 10 years. . . . Now, if you don't see me hitting for power, then you can worry.

When he did not start on Wednesday against Orioles lefty Wei-Yen Chen, Ortiz said:

I'm not playing today. That's all. I don't know what to tell you. ... I'm just not playing, that's it. That's something you've got to ask the manager. I'm not the manager here. I'm just a player, and I do what I get to be told. John told me yesterday I'm not playing today, so I'm here.

John Farrell believes opposing pitchers are pitching Ortiz differently:

Guys are going to attack him a little bit more. We've also seen some at-bats, and this isn't David, but we've seen some at-bats where we're not necessarily getting into hitters' counts too often. But yeah I think guys have looked to attack him, get him in swing mode a little bit more than looking at pitches and trying to be in a little bit more of a defined strike zone. They're attacking him right now.

Ortiz’ walk rate (10.2%) is the lowest of his Red Sox career.

Farrell added recently he is not considering pinch-hitting for Ortiz late in games, although Big Papi is 0-for-13 against lefthanded relievers this year.

Ortiz has a ton of pride and his supreme confidence that he can still get the job done - against any pitcher - is one big reason why he has had so much success over the last decade. And that's not an attribute that an athlete can easily turn off.

What the Red Sox will do as the weeks and months go on is anyone's guess. The only sure thing is that the end will come - as it does for every player - and that depressing day is likely closer than either Ortiz or Red Sox fans want to admit.

G61: Orioles 6, Red Sox 5

Red Sox - 000 301 010 - 5  8  1
Orioles - 112 100 10x - 6 10  0

The Orioles finish off a three-game sweep. Boston is now 7 GB in the AL East.

Wade Miley / Chris Tillman

Pedroia, 2B
Holt, RF
Ramirez, LF
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Sandoval, 3B
Bogaerts, SS
Betts, CF
Swihart, C

G60: Orioles 5, Red Sox 2

Red Sox - 001 001 000 - 2  7  0
Orioles - 021 002 00x - 5 10  0

The Red Sox's seven-run rally in Sunday's eighth inning against Oakland is beginning to look more like an aberration than a catalyst.

Boston lost its second straight game to the Orioles on Wednesday night. Down 2-0 after two innings - considering the Red Sox's weak offense, even that seemed a little insurmountable - Boston scored single runs in the third and sixth innings, but in each case, the Orioles immediately struck back with a run or two of their own.

Rick Porcello (5.1-10-5-0-5, 80) struck out the side in the first inning, but faltered in the next two frames. In the second, he had two outs and a runner on second when he allowed an RBI double to J.J. Hardy and a run-scoring single to Ryan Flaherty.

The Red Sox cut that to 2-1 with two gone in the third. Dustin Pedroia singled and scored on Brock Holt's opposite field double.

Pedroia sparked the scoring in the sixth, too, beginning the inning with a double into the right field corner. Holt singled and Pedroia wisely stopped at third (Boston had two consecutive batters (Xander Boagerts and Pablo Sandoval) thrown out in the second inning trying to stretch singles into doubles.) Pedroia eventually scored on Mike Napoli's fielder's choice, bringing Boston to within one run again.

And again, Baltimore added to its lead. Porcello gave up singles to the first three Orioles. That made it 4-2 and a sac fly both brought in the fifth run for the home team and ended Porcello's night.

The Red Sox did absolutely nothing in the late innings, going down in order in the seventh, eighth, and ninth, and hitting only one ball out of the infield. In fact, Tommy Hunter struck out the 3-4-5 hitters in the ninth to put an exclamation point on Baltimore's victory.

Rick Porcello / Wei-Yin Chen

Pedroia, 2B
Holt, LF
Ramirez, DH
Napoli, 1B
Bogaerts, SS
Sandoval, 3B
Betts, CF
Swihart, C
Castillo, RF

This will be Porcello's third start against Baltimore this season. In the two previous starts, on April 19 and 24, he allowed a total of 12 runs and 18 hits in 11 innings.

X-rays on Hanley Ramirez's left knee last night were negative. Ramirez was asked if he saw himself becoming an infielder again. "Hell, no. ... I consider myself an outfielder." (Ramirez played only shortstop and third base before this season.)

David Ortiz ranks last among AL designated hitters in batting average (.219), RBIs (21) and runs scored (16). ... Since May 20, he is 11-for-65 (.169). ... His OPS splits this season, by month: April (.782), May (.624), June (.522).

From OTM: Ben Buchanan says it's time to fire hitting coach Chili Davis. ... Alex Skillin looks at Rusney Castillo: "Castillo has hit an astounding 68.4% of his balls in play on the ground. That rate ranks third highest in all of baseball ... Conversely, his 7.9% line-drive rate is the fourth lowest of any batter in MLB ..."

Worth Repeating: Eduardo Rodriguez is the only pitcher in baseball history to throw at least six innings and allow three or fewer hits and one or zero runs in his first three big league starts.

G59: Orioles 1, Red Sox 0

Red Sox - 000 000 000 - 0  5  0
Orioles - 000 000 10x - 1  5  0

Eduardo Rodriguez (6-3-0-3-7, 102) turned in his third brilliant start, but his teammates' bats were silent in support of his efforts. The Red Sox went 0-for-8 with runners at second and/or third against Miguel Gonzalez (4.1-4-0-2-1, 89) and three relievers. The Red Sox are a season-worst 6.5 games out in the AL East.

The Orioles scored the night's only run immediately after Rodriguez left the game. Matt Barnes gave up a leadoff double to Steve Pearce. J.J. Hardy grounded a single to center and Pearce was held at third. He scored one pitch later when Barnes threw a wild pitch to Ryan Flaherty.

Boston has its best scoring chance of the night in the eighth. Dustin Pedroia took a pitch up and in and it was determined that the baseball grazed the front of his helmet. Brock Holt worked a seven-pitch walk. Rusney Castillo took a strike and then dropped down a bunt. Baltimore catcher Matt Weiters quickly grabbed the ball and threw to third, forcing Pedroia. Lefty Zach Britton then struck out David Ortiz looking and Mike Napoli swinging.

The Red Sox stranded runners at first and second in both the second and third innings. In the fifth, Blake Swihart doubled but was stranded as both Holt and Castillo made outs. Castillo was in the game because Hanley Ramirez left after fouling a ball off his left knee in the third inning. Ramirez stayed in long enough to finish his plate appearance, which ended in a walk. Castillo came in as a pinch-runner.

Rodriguez pitched out of a few jams. He threw 27 pitches in the first inning, giving up a single and a walk. He allowed a hit and a walk in the fourth, but got out of it when Pearce hit into a double play. With runners at first and second and one out in the fifth, he fanned both Delmon Young and Adam Jones to keep the game scoreless.

Rodriguez became the first pitcher in major league history to pitch at least six innings in each of his first three starts and allow allowing one or fewer runs and three or fewer hits. He is also one of five pitchers since 1914 to strike out seven or more batters in each of his first three starts.

Eduardo Rodriguez / Miguel Gonzalez

Pedroia, 2B
Holt, RF
Ramirez, LF
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Sandoval, 3B
Bogaerts, SS
Betts, CF
Swihart, C

He's made only two major league starts, but Eduardo Rodriguez has done something no other pitcher has done in the modern era (since 1900): pitch at least seven innings and allow no more than one run and three hits in each of his first two big league starts.

              IP  H  R  BB  K  PIT
0508 at Tex  7.2  3  0   2  7  105   Red Sox won 5-1
0603 vs Min  7.0  2  1   2  7  103   Red Sox won 6-3

Rodriguez is also the first Red Sox left-hander with at least seven strikeouts in each of his first two starts since at least 1914. (Currently, searchable data does not go back farther than that.)

More On Boston's Historic Sunday Comeback

Elias:

The Red Sox, who trailed 4-0 heading to the bottom of the eighth inning [on Sunday], have won only three other games at Fenway Park in which they trailed by four or more runs in the eighth inning or later while being held scoreless. Boston's other victories of that kind occurred in 1931 (6-5 over the Philadelphia Athletics), 2007 (6-5 over the Orioles) and 2014 (5-4 over the White Sox).

May 30, 1931 (2nd game)

Athletics - 020 210 000 - 5  8  0
Red Sox   - 000 000 006 - 6 12  2

May 13, 2007

Orioles   - 200 010 110 - 5  8  2
Red Sox   - 000 000 006 - 6  7  3

July 9, 2014

White Sox - 110 100 100 - 4 10  0
Red Sox   - 000 000 032 - 5  9  1

June 7, 2015

Athletics - 030 100 000 - 4 11  0
Red Sox   - 000 000 07x - 7 13  0

Also from Elias:

Chris Archer struck out 11 batters and walked none as he and the Rays beat the Mariners on Sunday. Archer became the first pitcher in baseball's modern era (1900 to date) to strike out at least 10 batters without issuing a walk in each of three consecutive games. Archer fanned 15 Angels in his previous start (June 2) and he whiffed a dozen Mariners in his start before that (May 27).

And: Don't ask David Ortiz if he is washed up.

Red Sox Playoff Games On YouTube

Diligent searching on YouTube turns up a huge amount of MLB playoff games and various World Series highlights. Here are links to most of the Red Sox's postseason games of the last 40 years.

1946 World Series
Highlights

1967 World Series
Highlights

1975 World Series
Game 1: Red Sox 6, Reds 0
Game 2: Reds 3, Red Sox 2
Game 3: Reds 6, Red Sox 5 (10)
Game 4: Red Sox 5, Reds 4
Game 5: Reds 6, Red Sox 2
Game 6: Red Sox 7, Reds 6 (12)
Game 7: Reds 4, Red Sox 3

1978
AL East Playoff: Yankees 5, Red Sox 4

1986 ALCS
Game 1: Angels 8, Red Sox 1
Game 2: Red Sox 9, Angels 2
Game 3: Angels 5, Red Sox 3
Game 4: Angels 4, Red Sox 3 (11)
Game 5: Red Sox 7, Angels 6 (11)
Game 6: Red Sox 10, Angels 4
Game 7: Red Sox 8, Angels 1

1986 World Series
Game 1: Red Sox 1, Mets 0
Game 2: Red Sox 9, Mets 3
Game 3: Mets 7, Red Sox 1
Game 4: Mets 6, Red Sox 2
Game 5: Red Sox 4, Mets 2
Game 6: Mets 6, Red Sox 5 (10) (2nd copy)
Game 7: Mets 8, Red Sox 5

1988 ALCS
Game 1 (Parts 1 and 2): A's 2, Red Sox 1
Game 2 (Parts 1 and 2): A's 4, Red Sox 3
Game 3 (Parts 1 and 2): A's 10, Red Sox 6
Game 4 (Last Out): A's 4, Red Sox 1

1990 ALCS
Game 1: A's 9, Red Sox 1
Game 4 (Clemens Ejected): A's 3, Red Sox 1

1999 ALDS
Game 3: Red Sox 9, Cleveland 3
Game 5: Red Sox 12, Cleveland 8 (2nd copy)

1999 ALCS
Game 1: Yankees 4, Red Sox 3 (10)
Game 2: Yankees 3, Red Sox 2
Game 3: Red Sox 13, Yankees 1 (2nd copy)
Game 4: Yankees 9, Red Sox 2
Game 5: Yankees 6, Red Sox 1

2003 ALDS
Game 3: Red Sox 3, A's 1 (11)
Game 4: Red Sox 5, A's 4
Game 5: Red Sox 4, A's 3

2003 ALCS
Game 1: Red Sox 5, Yankees 2
Game 2: Yankees 6, Red Sox 2
Game 3: Yankees 4, Red Sox 3 (2nd copy)
Game 4: Red Sox 3, Yankees 2
Game 5: Yankees 4, Red Sox 2
Game 6: Red Sox 9, Yankees 6
Game 7: Yankees 6, Red Sox 5 (11) (2nd copy)

2004 ALDS
Game 1: Red Sox 9, Angels 3
Game 2: Red Sox 8, Angels 3
Game 3: Red Sox 8, Angels 6 (10)

2004 ALCS
Game 1: Yankees 10, Red Sox 7
Game 2: Yankees 3, Red Sox 1
Game 3: Yankees 19, Red Sox 8
Game 4: Red Sox 6, Yankees 4 (12)
Game 5: Red Sox 5, Yankees 4 (14)
Game 6: Red Sox 4, Yankees 2
Game 7: Red Sox 10, Yankees 3

2004 World Series
Game 1: Red Sox 11, Cardinals 9
Game 2: Red Sox 6, Cardinals 2
Game 3: Red Sox 4, Cardinals 1
Game 4: Red Sox 3, Cardinals 0

Four Days In October

2007 ALDS
Game 1: Red Sox 4, Angels 0
Game 2: Red Sox 6, Angels 3
Game 3: Red Sox 9, Angels 1

2007 ALCS
Game 1: Red Sox 10, Cleveland 3 (2nd copy)
Game 2: Cleveland 13, Red Sox 6 (11)
Game 7: Red Sox 11, Cleveland 2 (2nd copy)

2007 World Series
Game 1: Red Sox 13, Rockies 1
Game 2: Red Sox 2, Rockies 1
Game 3: Red Sox 10, Rockies 5
Game 4: Red Sox 4, Rockies 3

2008 ALDS
Game 1: Red Sox 4, Angels 1
Game 2: Red Sox 7, Angels 5
Game 3: Angels 5, Red Sox 4 (12)
Game 4: Red Sox 3, Angels 2

2008 ALCS
Game 1: Red Sox 2, Rays 0 (2nd copy)
Game 5: Red Sox 8, Rays 7
Game 6: Red Sox 4, Rays 2
Game 7: Rays 3, Red Sox 1

2013 ALDS
Game 1: Red Sox 12, Rays 2 (2nd copy)
Game 2: Red Sox 7, Rays 4
Game 3: Rays 5, Red Sox 4 (2nd copy) (3rd copy)
Game 4: Red Sox 3, Rays 1 (2nd copy)

2013 ALCS
Game 1: Tigers 1, Red Sox 0
Game 2: Red Sox 6, Tigers 5
Game 3: Red Sox 1, Tigers 0

2013 World Series
Game 1: Red Sox 8, Cardinals 1 (2nd copy)
Game 2: Cardinals 4, Red Sox 2
Game 3: Cardinals 5, Red Sox 4
Game 4: Red Sox 4, Cardinals 2 (2nd copy)
Game 5: Red Sox 3, Cardinals 1
Game 6: Red Sox 6, Cardinals 1 (2nd copy) (3rd copy)

And some random links:

1967
August 19: Red Sox 12, Angels 11
September 30: Red Sox 6, Twins 4

1952 World Series
Game 6: Yankees 3, Dodgers 2
Game 7: Yankees 4, Dodgers 2

20 Strikeouts
April 29, 1986: Roger Clemens vs. Mariners
September 18, 1996: Roger Clemens vs. Tigers
May 6, 1998: Kerry Wood vs. Astros

April 10, 2015: Red Sox 6, Yankees 5 (19 innings)

1999 All-Star Game (Pedro!)

G58: Red Sox 7, A's 4

A's     - 030 100 000 - 4 11  0
Red Sox - 000 000 07x - 7 13  0

Could this be the game that gives this team a much-needed kick in its collective ass?

Down by four runs, with six outs remaining, the Red Sox batted in the eighth inning:

Kendall Graveman pitching, having allowed only five hits in seven innings. He had retired 13 straight Red Sox batters.
Rusney Castillo homered to left center (1-4).
Evan Scribner relieved Graveman.
Dustin Pedroia reached on infield single to third.
Brock Holt singled to center, Pedroia to second.
Hanley Ramírez singled to left, Pedroia scored (2-4), Holt to third.
Drew Pomeranz relieved Scribner.
David Ortiz hit sacrifice fly to left, Holt scored (3-4).
Tyler Clippard relieved Pomeranz.
Mike Napoli struck out swinging.
Pablo Sandoval singled to deep left, Ramírez to third.
Mookie Betts ran for Sandoval.
Betts stole second.
Xander Bogaerts doubled to deep left center [off the Wall], Ramírez and Betts scored (5-4).
Alejandro De Aza hit for Sandy Leon.
De Aza singled to right, Bogaerts scored (6-4), De Aza to second advancing on throw.
Castillo singled to left, De Aza scored (7-4), Castillo to second advancing on throw.
Pat Venditte relieved Clippard.
Pedroia grounded out to pitcher.
Seven runs, eight hits!

Tommy Layne pitched the ninth, striking out Ben Zobrist and Stephen Vogt, and getting Billy Butler to fly out to deep center.

It was the first time this season the Red Sox came from four runs down to win a game. In sweeping the three-game series from the A's - and winning three consecutive games for the first time since the first week of the season (April 9-11) - Boston has won five of its last seven games.

Kendall Graveman / Clay Buchholz

Pedroia, 2B
Holt, RF
Ramirez, LF
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Sandoval, 3B
Bogaerts, SS
Leon, C
Castillo, CF

Buchholz has a 1.47 ERA over his last four starts (30.2 innings) with five walks and 27 strikeouts. Opponents have hit only .171/.216/.267 in those four games.

TSW OBP

#RedSox Ted Williams had a .404 OBP during the WORST 162 game stretch of his career.

— Ace of MLB Stats (@AceballStats) June 3, 2015

G57: Red Sox 4, A's 2

A's     - 001 000 100 - 2  5  0
Red Sox - 202 000 00x - 4 11  0

Pitching with the possibility of losing his spot in the rotation, Joe Kelly threw six strong innings (6-4-1-2-6, 100), working out of jams in the third and fourth innings. Kelly has allowed only two earned runs in his last 11 innings.

Hanley Ramirez was the hitting star, with three hits, including a home run, two runs scored, and two RBI. ... Everyone in the lineup had at least one hit except for Mookie Betts (who reached base on a walk and stole his ninth base of the season).

Note to NESN: We get it. You got a camera up in the blimp and you are quite pleased with your new toy. However, that does not mean you must give us an overhead shot from the blimp roughly every three minutes for the entire fucking game. Since you remain incapable (after how many years of practice?) of showing an entire game without missing pitches (see below), why don't you concentrate on mastering what should be a simple task before moving on to celebrate any bells and whistles.

Red Sox 1st: With Brock Holt on first, Hanley Ramirez crushed a pitch to dead center for a two-run homer (#13), the ball coming down on the black, closed-off area.

A's 3rd: Eric Sogard singled to center with one out. Billy Burns lofted a pitch off the Wall in left center. The carom eluded Betts, who was too close to the Wall. Ramirez chased the ball down, and Burns had an RBI triple. Kelly worked out of trouble, getting Ben Zobrist on a grounder to first (with the infield in) and striking out Stephen Vogt.

Red Sox 3rd: After two were out, Ramirez was safe on an infield single and Ortiz brought him in with a double off the scoreboard. (NESN was caught showing too many replays and missed a pitch to Ortiz; thankfully, it was not the double. Also, enough with the goddamn blimp shots!) Mike Napoli's single to left scored Ortiz, who slid in ahead of the throw (the catcher also dropped the ball).

A's 4th: Kelly worked in - and then out - of a jam. After Josh Reddick doubled with one out, Kelly lost his feel for the strike zone. Marcus Semien walked and Kelly fell behind 3-0 to Max Muncy. Kelly rallied, though, coming back to strike out Muncy and (despite falling behind 2-0) getting Mark Canha to fly to right.

Red Sox 4th: With two outs, Blake Swihart doubled and Dustin Pedroia beat out an infield single to shortstop. Another two-out rally? No. Holt lined to left.

Red Sox 5th: Ramirez singled (his third hit of the day), but was thrown out trying to steal second. Boston collected 10 hits off Jesse Chavez in five innings (5-10-4-1-5, 98).

A's 6th: Kelly issued a two-out walk, but finished the inning with a strikeout - and ended his day at 100 pitches.

Red Sox 6th: Reliever Drew Pomeranz walked Betts and, with two outs, Betts stole second. Pomeranz finished Pedroia's PA by walking him intentionally. Then, Pomeranz threw a wild pitch and walked Brock Holt to load the bases. But Ramirez grounded out to second for the third out.

A's 7th: Alexi Ogando gave up a home run to his second batter, Canha, which cut the lead to 4-2.

A's 8th: Ogando walked Zobrist to begin the inning. Tommy Layne came in and struck out Vogt and Billy Butler. Brett Lawrie pinch-hit for Reddick - and Layne walked him (after being ahead 0-2), bringing the potential go-ahead run to the plate. Sam Fuld pinch-ran for Lawrie. Matt Barnes relieved Layne and needed only four pitches to strike out Semien.

Red Sox 8th: With two outs, Pedroia and Holt both walk. Ramirez faces Fernando Rodriguez and hits the ball hard, but grounds to second.

A's 9th: It's Koji Time. Muncy (bfs) struck out. Canha (bc) flied to right. Sogard (bcb) grounded out to second. Pedroia ranged to his right and threw off-balance, and nipped the runner.

Jesse Chavez / Joe Kelly

Pedroia, 2B
Holt, 3B
Ramirez, LF
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Bogaerts, SS
Betts, CF
De Aza, RF
Swihart, C

G56: Red Sox 4, A's 2

A's     - 000 010 100 - 2  8  3
Red Sox - 101 110 00x - 4 11  0

Wade Miley pitched into the eighth inning (7.1-6-2-1-6, 96), and Junichi Tazawa and Koji Uehara finished up. Uehara allowed a single and a double in the ninth, but closed out the victory.

Dustin Pedroia went 3-for-4, raising his June batting average to .524 (11-for-21); he scored two runs. ... Rusney Castillo and Brock Holt had two hits apiece.

Oakland's Pat Venditte - who throws both left-handed and right-handed - made his major league debut, pitching the seventh and eighth innings. Venditte became the first pitcher to record an out as both a lefty and a righty in the same inning since Greg Harris did it for Montreal in 1995.

Scott Kazmir / Wade Miley

Pedroia, 2B
Holt, 3B
Ramirez, DH
Napoli, 1B
Bogaerts, SS
Betts, CF
Swihart, C
De Aza, LF
Castillo, RF

The Red Sox (24-31) are a season-worst 5.5 games out of first place.

Dustin Pedroia: "I'm just tired of losing. Everybody is."

G55: Twins 8, Red Sox 4

Twins   - 000 031 004 - 8 11  2
Red Sox - 021 100 000 - 4 12  3

This is not a game I want to recap - and it's not a game of which you want to read a recap.

As the Red Sox blew a 4-0 lead and lost by four runs (all charged to Koji Uehara), it went from fun to "interesting" to what an absolute shitshow.

Blake Swihart hit his first major league home run in the third. ... Dustin Pedroia singled and homered and scored twice. ... Xander Bogaerts went 3-for-4. ... Pedroia, Mookie Betts, Hanley Ramirez and Mike Napoli each had two hits.

Tommy Milone / Steven Wright

Pedroia, 2B
Ramirez, LF
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Bogaerts, SS
Sandoval, 3B
Betts, CF
Swihart, C
Castillo, RF

Eduardo Rodriguez Notes:

He is the first Red Sox left-hander with at least 7 strikeouts in each of his first 2 major league outings since at least 1914.

He is the first AL LHP with 7 or more strikeouts in back-to-back outings to begin a major league career since Al Leiter in 1987.

He is the first pitcher since 1900 to go 7.0+ IP and allow no more than 1 run and 3 hits in his first 2 MLB outings.

He's the second Boston pitcher since at least 1914 to have two straight outings with 7+ innings, 7+ strikeouts, and one or no runs to start his Red Sox career. Pedro Martinez, who had three straight starts in 1998, is the other pitcher.

SoSH is having absolutely no luck in coming up with a suitable nickname.

G54: Twins 2, Red Sox 0

Twins   - 020 000 000 - 2  5  0
Red Sox - 000 000 000 - 0  2  0

Both Boston hits - and the Red Sox's only baserunners of the night - came in the third inning.

With two outs, Carlos Peguero singled and went to third on Dustin Pedroia's double to left. Brock Holt grounded out to end the inning, as the Twins retired the final 19 Red Sox hitters of the game.

Rick Porcello: 8-5-2-0-5, 101.

Trevor May / Rick Porcello

Pedroia, 2B
Holt, RF
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Sandoval, 3B
Bogaerts, SS
Betts, CF
Swihart, C
Peguero, LF

G53: Red Sox 6, Twins 3

Twins   - 001 000 002 - 3  5  0
Red Sox - 101 120 10x - 6 13  1

Xander Bogaerts said that last night's win might be the one game that turns this dismal-to-date season around. He backed up those words Wednesday afternoon with a three-hit performance that also included 2 RBI, a stolen base, and a run scored. His infield partner, Dustin Pedroia, went 4-for-5 with two runs scored.

Eduardo Rodriguez (7-2-1-2-7, 103) was just as superb as he was in his major league debut last week - and the entire game flowed as easily as his pitching motion. Although he gave up a solo home run to Brian Dozier in the third (he struck out three in that frame, also), he showed his mettle by working out of his first jam as a big leaguer in the sixth.

The score was 3-1 when Danny Santana singled and took second on a wild pitch. Dozier walked. Then Rodriguez battled Shane Robinson through a 12-pitch at-bat, as Robinson fouled off Rodriguez's first eight pitches. Robinson eventually flied to left and Rodriguez got Trevor Plouffe and Torii Hunter to ground into fielder's choices and Santana was stranded at third. I thought Rodriguez might be done after that inning (and 93 pitches), but he reemerged for the seventh, retiring the side on 10 pitches and three fly balls.

On the offensive end, it seemed like Phil Hughes (4.1-11-5-1-4, 77) pitched out of the stretch for his entire time on the mound. Boston struck early when Pedroia singled to open the first and scored on the first of two doubles by David Ortiz. Pedroia was aboard in the third when Hanley Ramirez drove him in, snapping a 1-1 tie. Pedroia then drove in a run, bringing in Bogaerts who had begun the fourth with a single.

In the fifth, Ramirez and Brock Holt both singled, before pulling off a double steal. Bogaerts was so pleased to be informed of this that he grounded a single into center field, scoring both runners, and increasing the Red Sox's lead to a more formidable 5-1. That ended Hughes's day.

Mike Napoli crushed a home run in the seventh to complete the scoring.

(I think Hunter was allowed to go to first on a three-ball walk in the ninth inning. Both NESN and Gameday (as well as my own scorecard) had Alexi Ogando throwing a ball on a 2-2 count. Hunter dropped his arm guard and bat - and no one stopped him as he trotted to first.)

Phil Hughes / Eduardo Rodriguez

Pedroia, 2B
Betts, CF
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, LF
Napoli, 1B
Holt, 3B
Bogaerts, SS
Leon, C
Castillo, RF

Game 1 of a day-night doubleheader.

Xander Bogaerts called last night's 1-0 win "probably the biggest win of the year. ... I really believe that this win tonight will definitely turn the whole season around for us."

Outfielder Alejandro De Aza, who had been designated for assignment by the Orioles, was picked up by the Red Sox. He hit .214/.277/.359 this year for Baltimore.

G52: Red Sox 1, Twins 0

Twins   - 000 000 000 - 0  3  0
Red Sox - 000 000 10x - 1  7  0

Clay Buchholz (8-3-0-2-8, 92) pitched eight shutout innings and Rusney Castillo knocked in Xander Bogaerts (2-for-3) with the night's only run with two outs in the seventh inning.

Castillo also robbed Aaron Hicks of what would have been a game-tying homer in the eighth inning with a catch at the bullpen wall in right-center.

Even though Buchholz was not feeling well, he stayed in for eight innings and 92 pitches. He has a 1.95 ERA in his last five starts and his season ERA has dropped to 3.82.

Clay Buchholz / Mike Pelfrey

Pedroia, 2B
Betts, CF
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, LF
Sandoval, 3B
Napoli, 1B
Bogaerts, SS
Leon, C
Castillo, RF

Boston has lost six of its last seven games.

The Globe's Alex Speier calls June a "pivotal month":

[T]he Sox have arrived at the "show don't tell" portion of the season. The Sox have invested heavily in this year's club, committing to a team-record payroll. But if there's no evidence that improvement is a realistic possibility, then the team isn't going to keep throwing chips atop a $200 million bet. ...

The Sox have shown they can play roughly .500 ball for a month (a 12-10 April). They've demonstrated an ability to perform at a putrid level (10-19 in May). Now, they have to show that there's something different behind Door No. 3.

G52: Twins at Red Sox, PPD.

Twins   -
Red Sox - 

Tonight's game has been postponed due to rain.

It will be played on Wednesday at 1:35 PM as a split-admission, day-night doubleheader.

Pitchers:

Tuesday: Clay Buchholz
Wednesday Game 1: Eduardo Rodriguez
Wednesday Game 2: Rick Porcello
Thursday: Steven Wright

Clay Buchholz / Mike Pelfrey

Now I know no one bothers to click the B-Ref link with the starting pitchers' names. I forgot to change MIN to TEX for the entire four-game Rangers series - and (apparently) no one noticed!

Only three regulars finished May with an on-base percentage over .300: Mike Napoli (.361), Dustin Pedroia (.344) and Xander Bogaerts (.309). The rest of the lineup: Mookie Betts (.296), Brock Holt (.294), David Ortiz (.287), Hanley Ramirez (.286), Blake Swihart (.257), and Pablo Sandoval (.242).

Besides the inability to get on base, the Red Sox have suffered a season-long power outage. Their team slugging percentage is only .369, next-to-last in the American League (only the White Sox are worse (.354)), and 28th among the 32 MLB teams. The Red Sox are dead last in the AL in doubles and 13th (of 15) in total bases.

Gordon Edes, ESPNBoston:

Folks around here, having endured the harshest of winters, are in no mood to have their summer spoiled, too, by a baseball team currently dedicated to the proposition that there are no limits to how badly it can underperform.

The Red Sox enter June only four games out of first place in the American League East, a standing that says nothing of how poorly they've played (a majors-worst run differential of minus-48) ...

The "off with their heads" crowd is growing increasingly restless. Any grace period Farrell earned with a World Series title in 2013 has long since dissipated. General manager Ben Cherington, whose résumé bears both last-place finishes, is looking at a train wreck of an offseason, one designed to restore the Sox to contention that has fallen far short. ...

This cannot stand.