RED SOX REPORT: SEPTEMBER

Starting September With The Orioles:
The slots open up the month of September with a three-game sweep of the Orioles. In the series opener, Dustin Pedroia continued his hot hand at the plate with a two-run single in the sixth inning that propelled the Sox were 7-4 victory.Jason Varitek and Jeff Bailey hit back-to-back homers, and Paul Byrd had another good outing, picking up the win. The following night (9/2), and saw simply demolished to Baltimore's pitching en route to a 14-2 win. Youkilis was a late scratch. So the manager installed Pedroia in a cleanup spot, where he delivered a double, a homer and a single and five RBI. Ortiz and Crisp had three hits each as the Sox blew it wide open with four runs in the third and six runs in the fourth. Jon Lester had an easy time of it, going five innings to pick up his 13th win of the year. In the finale (9/3), the Sox came back from a 4-0 deficit with two runs in the seventh and eighth to tie the game and picked up a fluke run on the bottom of the ninth to win it. The Orioles used the combination of Lance Cormier and to Dennis Sarfate, who shut down the Sox' hitters over the first six innings. Pedroia put the Sox on the board with a solo shot, leading off the bottom of the seventh. The Sox then loaded the bases before Rocky Cherry walked crisp to bringin Boston's second run. In the bottom of the eighth, Mark Kotsay's bases clearing triple tied the score, but he was stranded when Bay and Varitek both struck out. In the bottom of the ninth, Cora led off with a single and went to second when Crisp reached on the bunt single that dribbled along the first-base line before curling fair at the last moment. Ellsbury stepped up and attempted to sacrifice both runners into scoring position. He's hitting infield font. That was picked up by the Orioles pitcher, Jim Miller, who threw the ball wildly past first baseman Aubrey Huff. The ball ended up in the outfield and Cora ended up scoring the winning run.

Three in Texas:
After day off, the Sox went west to Arlington for three-games with the woeful Rangers. In Friday's night opener (9/5), Josh Beckett made his first start since August 17 and went to five strong innings as the Sox pounded the Rangers 8-1. Lowell (returning from a strained oblique muscle) hit a solo shot in the second, and Crisp had a big night, going 3-5 and driving in three grounds. The following night (9/6), was one to forget, as Wakefield's knuckleball clunked in the Rangers tattooed him and the bullpen to the tune of 15 runs. The Sox scored 8 runs, but four of them came long after the horse left the barn. The Sox made amends in Sunday's finale (9/7) when Big Papi hit a two-run shot in the fourth inning to help the Sox to a 7-2 win. Paul Byrd had another good outing, winning his fourth start in five tries with Boston. Tampa Bay has lost five straight, and the Sox are now 1 1/2 games back at 84-58.

For All the Marbles With Tampa Bay:
The Sox returned home for a crucial three-game set with the Rays, with first-place in the AL East on the line. In the opener, Jon Lester started, and had an outstanding night going 7 2/3 shutout innings. The Sox got all the offense they needed in the first inning when Kotsay walked and scored on Ortiz' double. Ortiz later scored Youkilis' base hit. Bay made it 3-0 with a solo shot with two out. The only time things were shaky for Lester came about in the eighth, when Zobrist singled and Pena hit a ground rule double. Papelbon was summoned by the manager and whiffed Baldelli to put out the fire. The Sox were now 1/2 game behind Tampa Bay and looking to push ahead the following night. And everything was going according to plan until the top of the ninth when the Sox were ahead 4-3 and Papelbon was once more called upon to close things out. Up to the plate stepped Dan Johnson, who was sitting on "dead red" (waiting for a 95 mile an hour fastball). Papelbon gave Johnson the pitch he was waiting for, and Johnson conked it into the bullpen to tie the game. After that, Papelbon basically caved. Dioner Navarro knocked in the go-ahead run with a double and Tampa Bay won the game 5-4, increasing their lead to 1 1/2 games. The series finale was a 5:02 14-inning nightmare as the Rays scored three runs off of Timlin (sigh) and Tampa Bay won 4-2. There was not much worth remembering about the final two games of the series, except for a lot of aggravation.

From The Rays To The Jays:

Following the disappointing end to the series with the Rays, Toronto came to town for four games, with the Sox taking three out of four. In the opener (9/11), Wakefield had a nice bounce back start, going eight shutout innings as the Sox pummeled Toronto pitching 7-0. Kevin Cash was the offensive hero with a three-run homer while Ortiz and Lowrie each knocked in a pair of runs. The following night (9/12), it was the Blue Jays' turn to make life miserable for Paul Byrd has A.J. Burnett completely shut down the Sox' hitters and was aided by three each in the fifth and sixth innings as he coasted to an 8-1 victory. The Sox came back on Saturday (9/13) afternoon with three runs in the bottom of the eighth to post a 7-5 win. Toronto erased an early Boston lead with five runs in the top of the third. The Sox chipped away with single runs in the sixth and seventh innings. In the bottom of the eighth, Bay doubled to lead off and scored the tying run Lowrie's base hit. David Ross sacrificed Lowrie to second, and he advanced to third on Crisp's infield grounder. Ellsbury then hit an "excuse me" tap down the first-base line. Toronto's Scott Downs went to retrieve the ball but fell trying to make a play and Lowrie came in with the go-ahead run. Ortiz gave the Sox a little insurance when he doubled Ellsbury to make it 7-5. In Sunday's finale (9/14), Jon Lester and Roy Halladay went toe to toe in the pitcher's classic in which the Red Sox ultimately prevailed 4-3. Jose Bautista put Toronto on top with a solo homer in the first. The Sox came right back in the bottom half when Ellsbury singled leading off, stole second, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and later scored on Ortiz' infield grounder. The Sox went ahead in the following inning when Bay doubled and scored Crisp's two-out case base hit. The score fittingly remained 2-1 until the seventh inning when Crisp knocked in another run with a single, and the Sox put up another run in the eighth when Ortiz whacked a triple and came in on Youkilis' sacrifice fly. Papelbon entered in the top of the ninth and once more struggled to close things out. Sluggo Wells hit a leadoff double and came in on Lind's single to make it 4-2. Overbay followed with a base hit off the wall in left, but he was gunned down by Bay while going for two. It was a close play second and maybe, just maybe, Overbay may have been safe. Rolen hit a 5-3 grounder and Lind came in the back door to make it 4-3.Gregg Zaun (who feasts on Red Sox pitching) came up and fought off what seemed to be about 20 pitches before grounding out 4-3 to end it. Over the course of the weekend series in New York, Tampa Bay's lead over the Red Sox dwindled down to one game, so the Sox made way for St. Pete with another chance to regain first place.

The Final Road Trip of the Year:
Three More In The BlunderDome:

The Sox finished out the road portion of the regular season with three games in St. Pete with the Rays and three in Toronto. They came into Tampa Bay just one game in back of the Rays, and in the series opener (9/15) had one of their best offensive nights of the year, slugging six home runs and pounding the Rays, 15-8. Ortiz, Lowell, Bay, Varitek, Youkilis and Ellsbury each went deep in the victory. The biggest surprise was that the Sox were able to hammer Scott Kazmir, who usually pitches very well against Boston. The Sox scored four times in the first and never looked back. The seven run outburst in the fourth inning put the game away for Daisuke Matsuzaka (17-2) and the Sox were now in a virtual first-place tie with the Rays. The following night (9/16), Andy Sonnanstine cooled off the Sox' hitters as he and Josh Beckett were locked in the pitchers duel in which Tampa Bay prevailed 2-1 with a single runs in the eighth and ninth innings. The Sox manufactured a run in the sixth before Carlos Pena's solo homer tied it in the eighth. In the bottom of the ninth, Justin Masterson entered in relief and was ineffective, loading the bases before Dioner Navarro hit a line drive single to center with one out to end it. In Wednesday night's finale (9/17), Wakefield simply did not have it in Tampa Bay scored eight runs over the first three innings en route to a 10-3 thumping of the Sox, giving them a two-game lead with a week and a half remaining in the season.

North of the Border:
After an off day, the Sox closed out this final road trip, with three games in Toronto, where they have struggled mightily in recent years. Mike Lowell's hip injury is becoming a cause for concern with the Red Sox as he will sit out this series to give him additional rest and avoid needless wear and tear from playing on an artificial surface. In Friday night's opener (9/19), Paul Byrd and AJ Burnett hooked up in a pretty good pitcher's duel. The Jays scored two runs in the bottom of the third on three straight doubles by Rolen, Zaun and Snider. The Sox came back with a three-spot in the fifth as Varitek led off with a double, and scored on Youkilis' two-out singled. Casey then drove two runs with a double to right. Scutaro's double in the bottom half of the inning tied the score at three. In the Red Sox eighth, Bay singled with one out and Kotsay followed with a walk. After a pitching change, Lowrie walked to load the bases.Varitek then hit into a 6-4 force with Bay coming in the back door with the go-ahead run. Papelbon entered in the bottom of the ninth, and it was another roller coaster ride. Lind led off with an infield hit and advanced to second when Papelbon threw wildly to first base. Rolen then hit a soft liner to short. Zaun hit a tricky 4-1 grounder that advanced the potential tying run to third, but Papelbon was able to strike out Snider swinging to end the game.

Roy Halladay and Jon Lester hooked up in Saturday's matinée (9/20), but for second straight time in Toronto, Lester really struggled, allowing five runs in the first two innings in the Jays had an easy time of it winning 6-3. Halladay is such a dominating presence on the mound that if he's given a couple runs to work with early in the ballgame it's nigh impossible to beat him.
In the series finale (9/21), Daisuke Matsuzaka was the story as he went seven shutout innings, allowing only two hits while striking out six to earn his 18th win of the year as the Sox won 3-0. Ortiz hit a two-run homer in the third inning while Okajima and Papelbon pitched clean eighth and ninth innings to close things out. With this victory, the Sox are now 91-64 and have pretty much secured a spot in the postseason.

The Final Homestand.

Four with Cleveland:

The Sox wrapped up in the final week of the regular season at home with four games against the Indians followed by a weekend with the Yankees. It's hard to figure out what went wrong with Cleveland this year, as they were picked to be one of the contenders coming out of the AL Central and really struggled until recently. Monday night's (9/22) opener was again the Boston fans would just as soon forget. Zach Jackson gave the Indians six strong innings, and Cleveland scored three times off of Josh Beckett in the fifth inning to go on to a 4-3 win. But that doesn't tell the real story of the game. After squandering a couple of opportunities in the earlier innings, the Sox had runners at first and second with two outs in the sixth. Jeff Bailey hit a line drive down the third-base line that appeared ticketed for extra-bases, but the ball hit the third base umpire that enabled the third baseman Carroll to retrieve the rebound to and tag Bay, who was caught in a pickle between home and third. It got even worse: in the bottom of the ninth, the Sox had the potential tying and winning runs at second and third before Lowrie struck out to end the game. What an ugly way to lose.

The following night (9/23), the Sox won 5-4, and in the process secured their spot in the postseason. Wakefield outdueled likely Cy Young winner Cliff Lee (22-3) to pick up his 10th win of the year. Youkilis hit a two-run homer in the fourth, and (after Cleveland scored four runs) Pedroia followed with a two-run double in the fifth and scored the go-ahead run on Bay's single. Things got tense in the eighth-inning as the Indians loaded the bases with two outs, Papelbon entered and was able to douse the fire with one pitch, recording a ground out. After the victory, there was tremendous celebration by the team and its fans acknowledging the achievement of earning a postseason berth for the fourth time in the last five years. Papelbon's dancing around with a beer box on top of his head maybe a little over-the-top, but long-suffering Red Sox fans winning never gets old.

On Wednesday night (9/24), the Sox wasted no time getting to Fausto Carmona as they scored four runs in the first inning it came up with the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth to win 5-4. It was a typical sort of night for Paul Byrd, as he allowed four runs and 11 hits over five innings' work. In the bottom of the eighth, Jeff Bailey was sent up to pinch hit and he responded with a triple into the centerfield triangle. Kotsay followed by doubling in Bailey with the go-ahead run. If Manny Delcarmen came on to close things out and struck out Choo and Peralta to end the ballgame. In There was no drama in the series finale (9/25) as Lester pitched six innings of two-hit ball as the Sox cruised 6-1. The Sox manufactured five of those runs in the first two innings and never looked back. Lester had a great tune up heading into the playoffs.

Closing Out the Regular Season with the Yankees:

For the first time in ages, the Yankees came to town for a series that meant absolutely nothing in the standings. This is the first time since 1993 that the Yankees won't be playing October baseball. They closed down the old Yankee Stadium a week earlier, in an emotional ceremony that brought back many of the great Yankees from years' past but neglected to honor the contributions of Joe Torre, who will be going to the playoffs in his first year managing the Dodgers. Torre was one of the three greatest managers in Yankees' history and failing to knowledge him was really crass. The weather was the big player in in the weekend series. Hurricane Ike made its way up the eastern seaboard and created all kinds of cancellations and weather problems. Friday night's game was delayed, started, stopped and subsequently resumed. By the time it ended, the Yankees won 19-8 in a meaningless throwaway game. Saturday's game was postponed, setting up that day-night doubleheader on Sunday.

Prior to the opening of Sunday's first game, the Sox honored Johnny Pesky by retiring his #6 in a touching ceremony. Pesky has been around so long that most folks weren't around to remember just how good a hitter Pesky was. He's another in a long list of major leaguers who had the best parts of their careers taken away by military service. The guy ended up with a career .394 OBP, which is pretty astounding. But Johnny was not simply being honored as a hitter, but for all of his contributions to the team: player, manager, coach, broadcaster and goodwill ambassador. Think about it: this is a guy that played with Williams, managed Yaz, coached Fisk, Lynn and Rice and is beloved by the players of two world championship teams. Retiring #6 was a fitting honor.

It would've been nice if the Sox won the first game, but Mike Mussina had some extra motivation by trying to win 20 games for the first time in his long and illustrious career. Xavier Nady hit a three-run homer off of Daisuke in the fourth inning, and while the Sox came back with two runs in the bottom of the eighth, the Yankees scored three times in the top of the ninth for 6-2 win. 161 games down, one to go.

Wakefield started against Prince Sidney in the nightcap, and it took extra innings, but the Sox finally prevailed 4-3. The lineup cards for both teams didn't exactly feature the accustomed names. It was a meaningless game in the standings, and the Red Sox had more of an eye toward the playoffs starting on Wednesday than on Game 162. The Sox scored a run in the bottom of the first when Crisp doubled leading off and scored Bailey's two-out single. Things stay that way until the top of the sixth when the Yankees tied the score on a combination of singles and a groundout. The Sox picked up two runs in the bottom of the eighth when, with one out, Crisp, Cora and Carter each walked. With two outs, Casey hit a line drive single to right-center and Crisp and Cora crossed the plate with what seemed to be the go-ahead runs. But Aardsma (sigh) gave it right back up and the game moved into extra innings. In the bottom of the 10th, Alex Cora led off with a triple down the line in right field. After two intentional walks to the the bases and two outs, Jonathan Van Every hit a grounder to second that just went into the hole in right field and Cora scored the game-winning run. It was an enjoyable way to close out a long and tough regular season with a record of 95-67. Considering all of the travel, injuries, clubhouse drama and intrigue and stretches of inconsistent play, winning 95 games was a very good accomplishment. Now it's on to October Baseball!