G83: Cubs 2, Red Sox 0

Cubs    - 000 200 000 - 2  5  0
Red Sox - 000 000 000 - 0  2  0

Jake Arrieta (7.2-1-0-1-10, 120) came within four outs of a no-hitter, before giving up a line drive single to right field by Stephen Drew. He departed after the hit to a standing ovation from both Red Sox and Cubs fans at Fenway Park.

With Drew on first, Pedro Strop came in and got Mookie Betts on a first-pitch pop-up to third. Pinch-hitter A.J. Pierzynski singled off Hector Rondon to start the ninth inning. But Brock Holt grounded into a 3-6-3 double play (after being screwed on both strikes one and two by home plate umpire Chris Conroy, which would have likely set Holt up for a walk) and Daniel Nava grounded out to second.

[Conroy properly understood that when a pitcher is close to a no-hitter, an umpire's sole job is to change the rules of the game and expand the strike zone to make said pitcher's task easier. What Conroy failed to grasp is that when the no-hitter has been broken up, the home plate umpire should then change the rules back to something approximating the rule book and call a more "proper" strike zone. Conroy was still in "possible no-hitter" mode during Holt's at-bat.]

Arrieta - who took a perfect game into the seventh inning in his previous start, against Cincinnati - retired the first 13 Red Sox before walking Mike Napoli in the fifth inning (although ball 1 was clearly a strike). He struck out at least one batter in each inning.

Nate Schierholtz hit a two-run homer off Jake Peavy (6-5-2-2-7, 109) for the game's only runs.

Jake Peavy / Jake Arrieta

Holt, RF
Nava, LF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Bogaerts, 3B
Drew, SS
Betts, CF
Ross, C

The Red Sox play 13 games before the All-Star break (opponents and their W-L record as of today):

3 vs Cubs      - 3.0 games worse than BOS
3 vs Orioles   - 4.5 games better than BOS
4 vs White Sox - 0.5 games better than BOS
3 at Astros    - 2.5 games worse than BOS

Three of the four teams have a record that is roughly equal to or worse than the Red Sox's 38-44. With the Blue Jays sliding (7-15 since June 7) and neither Baltimore nor New York taking much advantage, this is a key two-week period in which Boston could gain some ground in the East. The Red Sox are 6 GB, which is the closest they have been to first place since May 22 (5 GB).

Peter Gammons recently quoted a team official saying the club would have a fairly clear idea how it stands at the break. ... If the Red Sox can make up a game or two over the next two weeks, the rest of the month could get interesting. Boston plays seven games against the Blue Jays - July 21-24, 28-30 - before the end of the month.

This is the Cubs' second visit to Fenway Park since the 1918 World Series. The Red Sox won 2 of 3 on May 20-22, 2011.

G82: Red Sox 8, Yankees 5

Red Sox - 013 031 000 - 8 12  1
Yankees - 001 220 000 - 5  9  0

The professional level - AA, AAA, or the major leagues - doesn't matter. When Mookie Betts plays, Mookie Betts gets on base. In his major league debut, Betts singled, walked, and scored a run.

All nine Boston batters had at least one hit and seven of them scored. ... Dustin Pedroia went 3-for-3 and drove in 3 runs. ... David Ortiz cracked a long three-run homer in the third inning.

John Lackey / Chase Whitley

Holt, 3B
Nava, LF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Pierzynski, C
Drew, SS
Betts, RF
Bradley, CF

Mookie Betts (#50) makes his major league debut tonight.

G81: Red Sox 2, Yankees 1

Red Sox - 001 000 001 - 2  7  1
Yankees - 001 000 000 - 1  5  0

Mike Napoli's line-drive, opposite-field home run off Masahiro Tanaka (9-7-2-1-8, 116) with two outs in the ninth inning lifted the Red Sox to victory. Jon Lester (8-5-1-2-6, 118) was superb in outdueling Tanaka; he allowed only an unearned run. Koji Uehara threw a perfect ninth, striking out two.

David Ross got Boston on the board first, homering to left in the third. The Yankees immediately tied it, though they needed help from their opponents. Brian Roberts reached on Stephen Drew's fielding error and Lester plunked Yangervis Solarte. Brett Gardner bunted the runners to second and third, and Roberts scored on Derek Jeter's groundout to short.

Lester's only other sketchy inning was the sixth. Gardner singled - New York's first hit - but was thrown out attempting to steal. Jeter and Jacoby Ellsbury followed with singles, but Mark Teixeira flied to right and Lester struck out Carlos Beltran.

The Red Sox had a golden opportunity to snap the 1-1 tie in the fourth. Dustin Pedroia singled and David Ortiz doubled. Second and third, no one out. But Tanaka struck out Napoli and Drew, and Xander Bogaerts grounded to shortstop.

Napoli's ninth-inning blast came one pitch after he had swung and missed an ugly offering in the dirt. The dong ball landed in the first row of the right-center field seats. The short porch giveth and (sometimes) the short porch taketh away!

At the halfway point in the season, Boston is 37-44, 7 GB the Blue Jays in the East.

Jon Lester / Masahiro Tanaka

Holt, RF
Nava, LF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Drew, SS
Bogaerts, 3B
Bradley, CF
Ross, C

These two pitchers matched up on April 22 at Fenway Park:

Lester: 4.2-11-8-4-7, 118
Tanaka: 7.0- 7-2-0-7, 105

Only three of the Lester's eight runs were earned. ... Tanaka allowed back-to-back home runs to David Ortiz and Mike Napoli. ... New York won the game, 9-3.

Tanaka leads the AL with a 2.11 ERA. ... In his last eight starts: 1.72. ... He has allowed more than two earned runs in only four of his 15 starts.

Tanaka has recorded a "quality start" (at least six innings pitched and three or fewer earned runs allowed) in each of his 15 starts. He is one of only two pitchers in MLB history [since earned runs became an official statistic (NL: 1912, AL: 1913)] to have such a streak at the start of a career. Montreal's Steve Rodgers did it for his first 16 career starts, in 1973.

Tanaka became only the fifth pitcher since 1900 to record 100+ strikeouts through his first 13 career games (103). The others: Hideo Nomo 119, Kerry Wood 118, Herb Score 107, and Jose DeLeon 106).

ESPN's David Schoenfield looked at the best rookie seasons of all time and how Tanaka measures up.

Red Sox Call Up Mookie Betts

The Red Sox have called up Mookie Betts.

Since being promoted to Pawtucket, Marcus Lynn Betts has reached base in all 23 games, hitting .322/.425/.444. Betts was originally signed as an infielder, and played mostly at second base, but lately has been playing center field (15 games) and right field (2 games).

2013: Greenville (A)  76 games, .296/.418/.477, 33 XBH, 18 SB, 58 BB, 40 K
2013: Salem (High-A)  51 games, .341/.414/.551, 22 XBH, 20 SB, 23 BB, 17 K
2014: Portland (AA)   54 games, .345/.437/.520, 27 XBH, 22 SB, 35 BB, 20 K
2014: Pawtucket (AAA) 23 games, .322/.425/.444,  6 XBH,  7 SB, 16 BB, 13 K

Note the impressive BB:K totals at every level.

WEEI's Alex Speier had a nice column on Betts (who turned 21 last October) yesterday.

I have no idea how I've had the success that I've had. But I'm just trying to develop an approach and sticking to it, learning to believe in myself that I belong out here, with these older guys, and not just bowing down and saying, "OK, you guys are older. Go ahead." I feel like I'm out here and I'm able to play the same way everybody else is. ...

I don't know how that transition [to the big leagues] is. I don't know what being ready for that level is. ... Whenever I get the call. I feel like I'll be ready. ... Getting to the big leagues is hard, but I've talked to guys and they've said it's not getting to the big leagues, it's staying in the big leagues. ... That's the part that I'm excited to see - to see how I can play for a period of time and be able to stay.

Sox Prospects:

Athletic infielder who had committed to play at Tennessee prior to signing. Excelled in four sports in high school. Plus-to-better speed. Ability to impact a game with his legs. Compact, level swing. Fluid load. Quick hands, strong wrists. Plus hit tool. Solid overall approach for someone his age, works counts, and isn't overly aggressive. Consistently makes solid contact to all fields. Plus strike zone judgment. Potential to produce high levels of contact as he continues to develop. Fringe-average power potential. Small-framed, but strong for his size. Solid-average arm. Fluid and smooth actions defensively. Soft hands. Former shortstop transitioned to second base as a professional. Tends to stay back on balls rather than charge. Excellent instincts and profiles as a plus defender at second base. Played some center field in high school, began seeing some game action there in May 2014.

G80: Yankees 6, Red Sox 0

Red Sox - 000 000 000 - 0  3  0
Yankees - 100 300 02x - 6  9  0

Another game, another anemic performance from Boston's offense. This time it was Vidal Nuno, who came into the game with a 5.88 ERA, who looked like a worldbeater. Nuno (5.2-2-0-2-5, 91) and three relievers held the Red Sox to three hits. No Boston runner advanced past second base.

The Yankees scored right away off Brandon Workman (7-7-4-2-5, 108). Derek Jeter singled to right, took third on Jacoby Ellsbury's double down the right-field line, and scored on Mark Teixeira's fly ball to left. Workman gave up back-to-back home runs in the fourth: a two-run shot by Kelly Johnson and a solo shot by Brett Gardner. Reliever Craig Breslow surrendered a two-run blast to Brian McCann in the eighth.

Boston's six baserunners:

1st: Brock Holt led off the game with a walk, and was stranded at first.

2nd: Jonny Gomes led off with a single, and was stranded at first.

3rd: Holt doubled with two outs, and was stranded at second.

6th: David Ortiz walked with two outs (Nuno's last batter). Dellin Betances came in and walked Mike Napoli - two men on! - but pinch-hitter Daniel Nava grounded to third for an inning-ending force play.

7th: Stephen Drew hit a ground-rule double to left with two outs, and was stranded at second.

Brandon Workman / Vidal Nuno

Holt, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Gomes, LF
Pierzynski, C
Bogaerts, 3B
Drew, SS
Bradley, CF

In each of his first eight major league starts (which includes both 2013 and 2014), Brandon Workman has pitched at least five innings and allowed no more than three runs. Over the past 100 years, he is only the second Red Sox pitcher to do that. Dave "Boo" Ferriss did it over his first nine starts in 1945.

Before Wednesday's game in Seattle, David Ortiz told a bunch of kids he'd hit a home run for them. ... First at-bat, first swing of the night? Gone! "I told them I was going to the moon and I did. Yay!"

Four minutes with Pedro!

G79: Red Sox 5, Mariners 4

Red Sox  - 202 010 000 - 5 11  0
Mariners - 030 000 010 - 4  8  0

Clay Buchholz (7.1-7-4-0-2, 76) had a strong return to the rotation, David Ortiz (2-for-4) drove in three runs, and Koji Uehara, despite putting two men on in the ninth, preserved the lead.

Buchholz had a rough patch to begin the second inning - allowing a single and two home runs - but otherwise kept the hot Seattle bats in check. He threw only 76 pitches, working into the eighth inning. Uehara allowed a single and a walk with one down in the ninth, but then got a strikeout and a grounder to first.

With two outs in the first, Dustin Pedroia singled and Ortiz homered to right. Boston collected four hits in the third, including RBI-singles from Daniel Nava (3-for-4) and Ortiz. Another run scored when Ortiz grounded into a double play, but he did not receive an RBI on that play.

Clay Buchholz / Hisashi Iwakuma

Holt, 1B
Nava, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Gomes, LF
Pierzynski, C
Bogaerts, 3B
Drew, SS
Bradley, CF

Chris Capuano was designated for assignment to make room for Clay Buchholz.

Buchholz returns to the starting rotation after a stint on the disabled list due to a hyperextended knee. His ERA for the season is 7.02 ERA in 10 starts; over his last four outings, it's 9.50.

Black Hole In The Lineup Du Jour: Catcher. A.J. Pierzynski has a .280 on-base percentage for the season. He's hitting .148/.182/.197 in June. On the Red Sox's current road trip, Pierzynski has seen only 44 pitches in 20 plate appearances (1-for-18). ... David Ross is at .174/.237/.337. ... Could Christian Vazquez - .267/.322/.367 at Pawtucket - do any worse?

G78: Mariners 8, Red Sox 2

Red Sox  - 000 200 000 - 2  8  1
Mariners - 210 040 01x - 8 10  0

Jake Peavy / Erasmo Ramirez

Holt, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Nava, LF
Pierzynski, C
Bogaerts, 3B
Drew, SS
Bradley, CF

Matt Collins, Over The Monster:

By almost any method you use for evaluation, Peavy is having the one of the worst seasons of his career, if not the absolute worst. His 4.52 ERA is his worst since 2011, as his is 89 ERA+. His 17.5 percent strikeout rate is the worst of his career, and his walk and home run rates are worse than they've ever been since the second year of his career. All totaled up, he's in possession of a 4.73 FIP, also his worst mark since his second MLB season. To put it bluntly, he's been bad, and as bad as he's ever been. ...

However they can do it, the Red Sox need to try to make room for Workman and/or De La Rosa in the rotation. If only one guy is leaving the current rotation, it's shouldn't be Doubront or Buchholz, but instead Jake Peavy.

Clay Buchholz may return to the Red Sox and start against Seattle tomorrow night, but John Farrell has not yet made an announcement. Brandon Workman has finished serving his six-game suspension and Rubby De La Rosa has pitched well enough to earn some more starts. What will happen with the team's starting rotation - Felix Doubront is also in the mix, making it five pitchers for three spots - is a complete mystery.

Chris Capuano allowed five runs last night and could be a victim of the coming pitching staff crunch. Since May 1, Capuano has a 8.64 ERA in 16.2 innings. ... Matthew Kory writes about Dustin Pedroia's diminishing power. ... Rob Bradford muses about the left side of the infield: Stephen Drew, over 12 games, is hitting .143/.182/.190 and Xander Bogaerts is 5-for-his-last-52.

G77: Mariners 12, Red Sox 3

Red Sox  - 100 100 001 -  3  7  0
Mariners - 010 610 40x - 12 14  1

John Lackey (3.2-7-7-2-3, 74) imploded in the fourth, facing nine batters and throwing 38 pitches. The big blow was Endy Chavez's three-run triple.

David Ortiz's drove in Boston's first run with a two-out single through the shift. Mike Napoli homered in the fourth, giving the Red Sox a brief 2-1 lead. A.J. Pierzynski added a sac fly in the ninth.

Ortiz, Napoli, and Dustin Pedroia each had two hits.

John Lackey / Felix Hernandez

Holt, RF
Bogaerts, 3B
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Nava, LF
Pierzynski, C
Drew, SS
Bradley, CF

G76: Red Sox 7, Athletics 6 (10)

Red Sox   - 211 010 010 1 - 7 13  1
Athletics - 010 000 032 0 - 6  9  0

David Ortiz's home run to left-center field leading off the tenth inning rescued the Red Sox from what would have been a horrible defeat, as the bullpen - Burke Badenhop and Koji Uehara, specifically - melted down. Oakland was four outs away from a 6-1 loss, but they rallied.

With two outs in the eighth, Jon Lester (7.2-4-3-2-4, 111) hit Craig Gentry with an 0-2 pitch and walked Jed Lowrie on four pitches. Badenhop came in and allowed three straight run-scoring singles. Badenhop's two streaks - 18 scoreless innings and 32.1 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run - both came to an end, as he was charged with one run.

Uehara allowed two solo home runs in the bottom of the ninth - Stephen Vogt with one out and pinch-hitter John Jaso with two outs - but pitched a perfect tenth to nail down the victory. Having emptied their bench, the A's were forced to send closer Sean Doolittle to the plate with two outs. Doolittle, making his first MLB plate appearance, grounded out to Dustin Pedroia on a 1-2 pitch.

David Ross and Mike Napoli also homered for Boston. Jonny Gomes had three hits and two RBI.

Napoli was credited with a steal of home in the third inning. Elias reports that the last Red Sox player to hit a home run and steal home in the same game was Rico Petrocelli (September 9, 1967).

Jon Lester / Tommy Milone

Holt, RF
Bogaerts, 3B
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Gomes, LF
Herrera, SS
Ross, C
Bradley, CF

G75: Athletics 2, Red Sox 1 (10)

Red Sox   - 000 000 010 0 - 1  7  0
Athletics - 001 000 000 1 - 2  6  0

It's a tie game and manager John Farrell has an important decision to make. Which pitcher to bring in to start the bottom of the 10th inning, an inning in which it is absolutely essential that the A's do not score: (A) Edward Mujica or (B) Koji Uehara?

              ERA   OPP OBP
(A) Mujica   5.81     .339
(B) Uehara   0.83     .191

Farrell chooses (A).

Mujica promptly walks the leadoff batter, Alberto Callapso, on five pitches. Nick Punto wants to bunt, but Mujica cannot find the plate with his first three pitches. Finally, Mujica throws a buntable pitch and Punto lays it down. Mike Napoli comes in from first, looks towards second, but throws to Dustin Pedroia covering the bag for the out. The A's have the potential winning run at second base.

And now Farrell decides to do what he should have done at the start of the inning: he brings in his best relief pitcher.

Uehara throws only one pitch. Coco Crisp lines it into right field. Brock Holt moves to his left and charges the ball, but his throw to the plate is late, and Callaspo slides across with the winning run.

The Red Sox - whose bats continue to be MIA - have now lost 17 one-run games. That's the most/worst in the American League.

Rubby De La Rosa / Jesse Chavez

Holt, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Nava, LF
Pierzynski, C
Drew, SS
Herrera, 3B
Bradley, CF

G74: Athletics 4, Red Sox 3

Red Sox   - 021 000 000 - 3  6  1
Athletics - 300 000 01x - 4  6  1

Coco Crisp's two-out single in the eighth - after Andrew Miller had plunked both Kyle Blanks and Alberto Callaspo (?!?) - was the difference. Sean Doolittle then had little trouble with the Red Sox in the ninth, as Jackie Bradley fouled out, and Brock Holt and Xander Bogaerts both struck out swinging.

Back in the second, Bradley drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single to center. Boston tied the game in the third when Bogaerts walked, took second on a ground out and scored on David Ortiz's single.

Felix Doubront (4.1-2-3-4-4, 90) gave up a three-run homer to Josh Donaldson in the first.

Felix Doubront / Brad Mills

Holt, RF
Bogaerts, 3B
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Pierzynski, C
Gomes, LF
Drew, SS
Bradley, CF

2, 2, 1, 2, 2, 2.

That is the amount of runs scored by the Red Sox in their last six games.

Boston has not had a string of six games with two or fewer runs scored in nearly 36 years (July 25-30, 1978: 2, 0, 1, 0, 1, 1).

The team record is seven games:

April 14-21, 1914:           0 2 0 1 2 0 1 (to start the season)
July 6-12, 1920:             1 0 0 0 2 2 2
April 26-May 3, 1926:        2 1 2 0 2 2 2
August 10-16, 1932:          2 2 2 2 1 2 2
August 31-September 5, 1952: 0 1 0 0 2 2 0

The 2014 Red Sox will try to avoid being added to that list tonight when they face a guy the A's picked up this week for $1.00.

G73: Athletics 4, Red Sox 2

Red Sox   - 000 002 000 - 2  5  1
Athletics - 011 100 10x - 4  8  0

Boston lost the first game of its 10-game road trip, as Scott Kazmir (7-4-2-0-8, 111) had an easy night - though his ERA did rise a few percentage points, to 2.08.

The A's chipped away at Jake Peavy (6.1-5-4-3-4, 117), as Stephen Vogt drove in runs in the second and fourth innings, scoring Jed Lowrie both times. Yoenis Cespedes homered in the third.

The Red Sox scored in the sixth as Brock Holt singled with one out and Dustin Pedroia homered to left with two down. Cespedes jumped at the wall, trying to pull the ball back, and it tipped off the end of his glove.

Pedroia doubled with one out in the ninth, bringing the potential tying run to the plate. But Mike Napoli lined to first and A.J. Pierzynski flied to deep right-center. Coco Crisp make a little leap at the wall as he made the catch, but the ball did not have home-run distance.

Jake Peavy / Scott Kazmir

Holt, RF
Bogaerts, 3B
Pedroia, 2B
Napoli, 1B
Pierzynski, DH
Gomes, LF
Drew, SS
Ross, C
Bradley, CF

Oakland (44-28) has the best record in major league baseball. The A's have scored 5.18 runs per game - best in MLB - and allowed 3.35 runs per game - also best in MLB. (Based on its runs scored and runs allowed, Oakland's expected record is 50-22.)

Oakland has scored 373 runs - best in the AL. Boston has scored 278, 14th (next to last) in the AL. Oakland leads the AL with a .337 OBP. Boston is 7th (.323.) Oakland is 3rd in team OPS (.750), behind Toronto and Detroit.

Oakland leads the AL with a 3.03 ERA. Boston is 3rd, at 3.62. But Boston leads the AL with a 3.59 FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching), with Oakland 2nd, at 3.63.

Rob Bradford writes that this road trip to Oakland, Seattle and New York will tell us a lot about what we should expect from this Red Sox team.

The Fenway Park official scorer may not receive a Christmas card from David Ortiz. ... Felix Doubront says he's ready to pitch in Brandon Workman's spot on Friday, if needed. (Workman's six-game suspension was recently upheld.) ... Mookie!

More history re yesterday's game:

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, blasts from David Ortiz and Napoli marked the first time in the modern era (1900-present) that a team won a game in extra innings with back-to-back home runs that represented its first runs of the game.

Also:

It was the third time the Red Sox have walked off on back-to-back homers: June 14, 1999 (Darren Lewis and Jeff Frye against Minnesota in the 9th) and July 3, 1940 (Ted Williams and Jimmie Foxx against Philadelphia in the 9th). ... It was also the first time the Red Sox had ever hit back-to-back homers in extra innings with one to tie the game and the other to win it.

Loss Of Control: Daniel Bard's Nightmare Continues

Former Red Sox pitcher Daniel Bard has been pitching for the Hickory (North Carolina) Crawdads, the Class A affiliate of the Texas Rangers in the South Atlantic League. And he remains plagued by the control problems that have tormented him since the tail end of the 2012 season.

In four appearances this month with the Crawdads, Bard has faced 18 batters, walking nine and hitting seven. He has recorded only two outs, while allowing 13 runs.

That's a stunning and nearly unbelievable reversal from the tremendous success he enjoyed as a reliever with the Red Sox in 2010 and 2011. Before the 2012 season, he asked the team to start and began the year in the rotation. Bard posted a 5.30 ERA in his first 10 starts; in 54.1 innings, he walked 36 and hit eight, while striking out only 34.

On June 3, Bard issued three walks in the first inning against the Blue Jays in Toronto. He walked three more and hit two others before being pulled with two outs the second inning. The Red Sox sent him down to Pawtucket four days later. Bard has never been the same since.

Bard appeared in 31 games for Pawtucket in 2012, all but one of them out of the bullpen. In 32 innings, he allowed 31 hits, 29 walks, and 29 runs, while striking out 32. His ERA was 7.03. He returned to the Red Sox for six appearances towards the end of the 2012 season. He allowed at least one run in five of those six outings. He allowed 8 hits and 6 walks in only 4.1 innings.

Bard began 2013 in Portland (AA). After eight outings, he was called up to the big club. While Bard did fine in one inning against the Astros on April 25, two days later (April 27), he walked two Houston batters on nine pitches. He was quickly optioned back to Portland.

Bard pitched five more times for the Sea Dogs, including on May 15, when he walked five of the eight batters he faced. The Red Sox eventually shut him down, saying he had an oblique strain. Overall, in 12.2 innings in 13 games for Portland, he issued 17 walks and allowed 13 hits.

Bard next pitched in late August - and his career spiraled down even further. In two Gulf Coast League games and one outing for Lowell (Rookie League), Bard faced 17 batters and walked 10 of them. He also threw three wild pitches.

The Red Sox put Bard on outright waivers and he was claimed by the Chicago Cubs and their GM (and former Boston GM) Theo Epstein. Bard did not appear in any games - majors or minors - for the Cubs.

In November 2013, Bard was pitching for Criollos de Caguas in the Puerto Rican Winter League. He pitched in three games and retired only one of 13 batters. He walked nine, hit three, threw four wild pitches, and allowed eight runs. The Cubs non-tendered Bard on December 2.

In early January 2014, Bard had thoracic outlet surgery (which involves removing a rib). A few weeks later, the rangers took a chance and signed Bard to a minor league deal, and he began working out in Arizona.

Bard was assigned in early June to the Crawdads of the South Atlantic League. Rangers pitching coordinator Danny Clark said: "His velocity has been 94-97 mph, and in his last outing in Arizona he showed improved consistency with his command. We're excited to see him under the lights. We should know more after he gets 2-3 outings under his belt."

Bard has had four outings:

June 5: Bard begins the eighth inning with a 6-2 lead. He hits the first two batters, issues a walk to load the bases, then hits a third batter, forcing in a run.

June 7: Called on to protect a 5-1 lead, Bard hits his first batter and walks the next two. With the bases loaded, he strikes out a batter looking, but then walks in a run. The next batter grounds back to Bard, who fires to second for a force play as another run scores. Bard walks his fourth batter of the inning. He is eventually charged with four runs.

June 10: Hickory leads 8-3 in the sixth inning. Bard issues a five-pitch walk and a first-pitch HBP. After a mound visit, he walks another batter and is sent to the showers. Two of the runners later score.

June 15: Bard begins the sixth inning with a 13-0 lead over the Lakewood Blueclaws. His four batters: BB, HBP, HBP, BB. The three inherited runners later score, so Bard is charged with four runs.

18 batters faced: 2 outs, 9 walks, 7 HBP. 13 runs allowed. (Against Class A hitters.)

I just read that the Rangers released Bard today. At this point, it looks like what could have been a superlative major league career is over. Would another major league club roll the dice with such a confounding reclamation project?

(By the way, the theory that turning Bard into a starter somehow messed with his control is not borne out by the game-by-game evidence. Bard's wildness actually began in September 2011, when he had a 10.64 ERA in 11 bullpen innings, giving up 11 hits and issuing nine walks.)

Perhaps this depressing and rapid devolution of Bard's skills is simply "one of those things" that happens to some players - such as Steve Blass and Rick Ankiel - some mysterious physical or mental change that thoroughly stumps the suffering player. With a serious injury, a player is presented with a clear physical reason why he can no longer run or hit or throw. In rare cases like this, where there appears to be no rational explanation at all, thinking about the path his career has taken must be torture.

Bard will turn 29 on June 25.

G72: Red Sox 2, Twins 1 (10)

Twins   - 000 000 000 1 - 1  4  2
Red Sox - 000 000 000 2 - 2  3  0

David Ortiz and Mike Napoli hit back-to-back home runs with one out in the bottom of the tenth, giving the Red Sox a sweep of the three-game series with Minnesota by the Deadball Era-esque scores of 1-0, 2-1, and 2-1.

This is the first time in Red Sox history the team has swept a three-game series scoring five runs or fewer (according to Elias).

Thanks to Jon Shestakofsky, we also learn:

The Red Sox allowed just 13 runs on this homestand, their fewest in any homestand of at least 7 games since 9/26-10/2/78

Per @EliasSports, this is the 1st time the Red Sox have won in walk-off fashion on back-to-back HR since 6/14/99 (Darren Lewis, Jeff Frye).

Lackey is the first Red Sox pitcher to throw 9.0 scoreless innings and not earn a win since Matt Young on April 15, 1991.

Brock Holt has joined Jack Rothrock in 1928 as the only Red Sox to make starts at 1B, 3B, LF, RF, and CF in a single season.

The Red Sox managed only one hit through the first nine innings: Daniel Nava's ground-rule double in the fifth. They also had a baserunner in both the sixth and seventh innings on Twins errors.

John Lackey (9-3-0-1-9, 105) dueled Kyle Gibson (7.1-1-0-0-8, 102) and two relievers through the first nine innings.

Koji Uehara relieved Lackey and gave up a two-out solo shot to Chris Parmelee, but Ortiz and Napoli mugged Casey Fien in the home half, Flo's dong down the right field line and Napoli's to dead center field.

Time of game: 2:31!

Kyle Gibson / John Lackey

Holt, RF
Bogaerts, 3B
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Nava, LF
Pierzynski, C
Drew, SS
Bradley, CF

More on Brock Holt.

David Ross:

I hope [he] can't catch.

G71: Red Sox 2, Twins 1

Twins   - 000 001 000 - 1  4  0
Red Sox - 101 000 00x - 2  8  0

The unstoppable Brock Holt singled, doubled, stole third, and scored twice. Although Jon Lester (6.1-4-1-1-6, 109) threw 33 pitches in the first inning, he was economical enough after that to pitch into the seventh. And with Koji Uehara getting the night off, Edward Mujica pitched a perfect ninth, with two strikeouts.

Boston is now 3-21 when they score fewer than three runs. All three victories have come in the last week: June 10 (1-0 against Baltimore), last night (1-0 against Minnesota), and tonight.

Red Sox pitchers have allowed no more than three runs in any of their last 11 home games (dating back to May 28), the club's longest such streak at Fenway since September 3-28, 1986 (also 11 games).

Holt singled to begin the first inning, lining a 1-1 pitch to left field. He took second on a ground ball to third and scored on Dustin Pedroia's double to the gap in left-center. Pedroia may have been foolish to stretch his hit into two bases, but he executed a masterful headfirst slide, eluding Brian Dozier's tag by sliding to the infield side of the base.

With two outs in the top of the third, Dozier lifted a fly ball to left-center. Jonny Gomes stood stock still in left, having lost the ball in the dusky sky. Holt, playing his first game ever in center field and seeing that Gomes had lost track of the ball, sprinted over to left-center, and made a diving catch about 30 feet behind where Gomes was standing. NESN's live angle was fantastic because all we saw was Gomes standing still, then this white blur comes into the top right-hand part of the screen, catching the ball and tumbling to the ground! (See video of the catch here.)

Holt was not done electrifying the crowd. He led off the bottom half of the inning by driving the first pitch off the Wall in left for a double. Then, on the very next pitch - a ball to Xander Bogaerts - Holt stole third. X brought Holt home with a sac fly to center.

After Lester's lengthy first inning, which included 11 pitches to leadoff batter Danny Santana and nine more to Josh Willingham, the Sox lefty settled down, retiring 11 Twins in a row before allowing a one-out single in the fifth.

Minnesota got on the board in the sixth when Santana doubled into the left field corner, was bunted to third, and scored on Joe Mauer's double to left. With Mauer representing the potential tying run at second, Lester got Willingham to pop to first and retired Kendrys Morales on a grounder to short.

Lester was at 108 pitches through six innings, but he came out for the seventh and got Oswaldo Arcia on a first-pitch pop-up to Pedroia. Burke Badenhop faced only one batter, retiring Kurt Suzuki on a grounder to third. Craig Breslow walked Eduardo Escobar on four pitches, but got Sam Fuld on a fly to center.

Junichi Tazawa struck out the side in the eighth. Uehara had pitched in each of the last three games and four of the last five, so Mujica got the call for the ninth. He needed only 14 pitches to set down the Twins, fanning Willingham and Morales, and getting Arcia to pop out to Gomes in left.

Phil Hughes / Jon Lester

Holt, CF
Bogaerts, 3B
Pedroia, 2B
Ortíz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Nava, RF
Gomes, LF
Drew, SS
Ross, C

Grady Sizemore has been designated for assignment.

Clay Buchholz's next rehab start will be for Pawtucket on Thursday. He will throw approximately 90 pitches. ... Shane Victorino is likely to rejoin the Red Sox at some point during the upcoming West Coast trip to Oakland and Seattle. ... Will Middlebrooks is rehabbing with the PawSox.

With Buchholz and Felix Doubront finishing up their rehab stints in the near future, the Red Sox will have some tough decisions to make regarding their starting rotation, as Brandon Workman (2.88 ERA) and Rubby De La Rosa (2.84) have been superb. Alex Speier notes that Workman and RDLR have the lowest ERAs among Boston's starters (albeit in fewer starts). Workman's ERA as a starter is 3.21, just a bit better than John Lackey's 3.24 and Jon Lester's 3.33. (By contrast, Doubront (5.12) and Buchholz (7.02) have the worst starters ERAs.)

Boston's OPS+ leader? Brock Holt (129), just ahead of David Ortiz (125) and Mike Napoli (123). Xander Bogaerts has slipped to 118.

G70: Red Sox 1, Twins 0

Twins   - 000 000 000 - 0  3  0
Red Sox - 000 010 00x - 1  6  0

Rubby De La Rosa allowed only one hit through seven innings (7-1-0-3-3, 105) and retired the last 13 batters he faced. A.J. Pierzynski's sacrifice fly scored Daniel Nava with the night's only run.

RDLR had a shaky start, going to a 3-0 count on each of the first three batters to begin the game. Two of them walked, but Josh Willingham grounded into an inning-ending double play.

In the third, RDLR fell behind Sam Fuld (batting .128 since May 1) 3-0 and issued a five-pitch walk. After Fuld stole second without a throw, Santana dropped a single into center. Fuld held at third and Jackie Bradley's throw was cut off by Mike Napoli behind the mound. Napoli had Santana caught between first and second - the Twins rookie shortstop must have rounded the bag with his head down, assuming Bradley's throw would go through - but then Napoli whirled and fired to third, because Fuld had begun moving down the line towards the plate. Xander Bogaerts threw to Pierzynski, who ran Fuld back to the bag, tagging him as Santana jogged into third. Brian Dozier ended the threat with a groundout to second.

De La Rosa then retired the Twins in order in the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh innings.

Nava began the home half of the fifth by dropping a single down the left field line, the ball landing about three or four inches fair. Stephen Drew (who had doubled to start the third and been stranded at second) lined an opposite-field single. The ball hit the wall where the stands jut out and the ball caromed out to left field. Santana ran out and fired the ball to second, where Dozier put the tag on Drew, who was (quite stupidly, considering the 0-0 score and the fact there was no outs) trying for a double. Nava scored as Pierzynski also went the other way, flying to deep left.

Andrew Miller began the eighth for Boston by striking out Oswaldo Arcia. That was Miller's only batter as Burke Badenhop came in. Kurt Suzuki reached base when his sinking liner to center dropped in front of Bradley. Eduardo Escobar lined out to left, as Jonny Gomes (who had batted for Nava in the seventh) made a superb running catch towards the foul line. Fuld then doubled to right, sending Suzuki to third. Badenhop plunked Santana to load the bases, but he recovered, striking out Dozier on a sharp slider. (Badenhop has not allowed an earned run in his last 30 innings of work.)

Koji Uehara set down the Twins in order in the ninth: Joe Mauer flied to shallow left, Willingham grounded to third, and Kendrys Morales lined out to center.

Boston (32-38) is now 8.5 GB the Blue Jays, who begin a series against the Yankees (4.5 GB) in New York on Tuesday night.

Kevin Correia / Rubby De La Rosa

Holt, LF
Bogaerts, 3B
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Nava, RF
Drew, SS
Pierzynski, C
Bradley, CF

G69: Cleveland 3, Red Sox 2 (11)

Cleveland - 100 000 100 01 - 3  7  0
Red Sox   - 100 010 000 00 - 2  6  0

Corey Kluber / Brandon Workman

Earliest Known Footage Of Babe Ruth As A Yankee (March 1920)

Kristen Gowdy, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum:

[Senior curator Tom] Shieber, who received the 36-second clip from the University of South Carolina's Moving Image Research Collections in December 2013, was recently able to date the footage. He has confirmed the video was filmed just months after Ruth was sold to the New York Yankees in late 1919.

"I've seen a lot of Ruth footage, and this is the earliest Ruth footage in a Yankee uniform I've ever seen," Shieber said. ...

Ruth can be seen hitting three pitches before the video cuts to a close-up of his face.

The video of the 25-year-old Ruth can be seen here.

G68: Cleveland 3, Red Sox 2

Cleveland - 001 000 200 - 3 10  0
Red Sox   - 100 001 000 - 2  9  1

T.J. House / Jake Peavy

G67: Red Sox 10, Cleveland 3

Cleveland - 021 000 000 -  3  7  1
Red Sox   - 032 000 41x - 10 11  1

Justin Masterson / John Lackey

Holt, LF
Bogaerts, 3B
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Nava, RF
Pierzynski, C
Herrera, SS
Bradley, CF