“And The Road Goes On Forever”

The Sox hit the road for eight games through Kansas City and Arlington in what has to be one of the more challenging moments of the season. The Sox are coming off of a franchise-low nine hits in the three-game home series with the Rays. Were it not for Ellsbury, they would’ve been swept. Before the opener in KC, the Sox announced that Youkilis was placed on the DL with a “bad back”. And Papi will miss at least a week with bursitis in his heel. Right now, it’s beginning to feel a lot like last year after the team fell apart because of injuries. They have recalled power hitting catcher/DH Ryan Lavarnway (30 HR at Portland/Pawtucket) and he was immediately installed in the lineup in Thursday’s opener.

Game 123 at Kansas City (8/18/11):

It was 44 years ago today that Tony Conigliaro was beaned by Jack Hamilton. We will never forget you, Tony C.

In the opener, Josh Beckett (9-5, 2.40) started against Luke Hochevar (8-9, 4.89). On July 28th, Hochevar picked up a win against the Sox going seven strong innings. In the bottom of the first, Alex Gordon hit a leadoff double to right and scored on Billy Butler’s sacrifice fly to center. The Sox came back to tie the score in the second as Reddick led off with a double and scored on Varitek’s base hit to right. The Sox broke the tie in the third as Aviles singled up the middle and Ellsbury walked. Gonzalez moved both runners into scoring position and Pedroia lined a base hit up the middle, scoring both. In the bottom of the third, Gordon whacked a two-run homer to tie the score again at three. The score remained tied until the fifth when Lowrie doubled with one out and scored on Pedroia’s base hit up the middle. Hochevar was finished after six and turned things over to Blake Wood. Beckett had another big outing (7IP, 7H, 3ER, 0BB, 4K) before giving way to Bard in the eighth. Bard allowed a single to Butler but got out of the inning on a couple of grounders and a strike out. Papelbon entered in the bottom of the ninth and blew away the final two hitters to close things out.

Game 124 at Kansas City (8/19/11):

In Friday night’s game, Andrew Miller (4-1, 5.40) started against one-time phenom Jeff Francis (4-13, 4.76). The Sox loaded the bases in the first with two outs as Gonzalez doubled down the rightfield line, Pedroia walked and Lowrie singled to right. But Lavarnway grounded out to short and that was that. The Sox loaded the bases again in the third as Ellsbury singled, Pedroia walked and Lowrie reached on a line drive that Escobar dropped. Again, Lavarnway flew out to right. Moustakas doubled leading off the bottom of the third and scored on Gordon’s long fly to the gap in right center on which Ellsbury made a remarkable catch. Carl Crawford doubled down the rightfield line leading off the fourth and scored the tying run on McDonald’s triple to center that Cabrera nearly tracked down. Ellsbury then hit a sacrifice fly to center and McDonald came in with the go-ahead run. Aviles and Gonzalez followed with back-to-back singles. Lowrie and Lavarnway (first major-league hit) reached on back-to-back singles to open the fifth. Saltalamacchia followed with a big fly out of the yard and the Sox took a 5-1 lead. Francis was done after five, allowing 11 hits and five runs. Gonzalez doubled to center with one out in the sixth. Miller left with one out in the sixth and had a very good outing (5⅓IP, 3H, 1ER, 2BB, 3K). Aceves came on in relief and pitched well through seven. In the top of the eighth, Ellsbury was hit on the back by a pitch and then Aviles doubled down the line in left. Gonzalez followed with a sacrifice fly to left and Ellsbury came across with the sixth run. Pedroia the reached on Escobar’s fielding error and Aviles raced around from second to make it 7-1. Ellsbury came out of the game as McDonald shifted to center and Reddick moved into right. Aceves stayed on through the ninth, allowed a double to Butler and a walk but got through to pick up the save.

Game 125 at Kansas City (8/20/11):

In Saturday night’s game, Tim Wakefield (6-5, 4.90) still in search of his 200th win started against Felipe Paulino (1-9, 4.30). Ellsbury was given the night off after having been hit by a pitch in the back in Friday night’s game. In the top of the third, Lavarnway walked and moved to second on a wild pitch. McDonald then reached on a bunt single putting runners on the corners. Scutaro then grounded into a double play with Lavarnway coming in the back door with the first run of the game. The Royals tied the score in the bottom of the third when Escobar singled and scored on Billy Butler’s double to right with two outs. In the fourth, Pedroia and Reddick started off with back-to-back singles. With one out, Crawford lined a base hit up the middle and Pedroia scored the go-ahead run. After Lavarnway singled to load the bases, McDonald hit a sacrifice fly to right and Reddick scored to make it 3-1. Saltalamacchia doubled leading off the sixth and scored on Lavarnway’s single to center. In the bottom of the sixth with one out, Hosmer singled to center and scored on Francoeur’s double to deep center. Moustakas then doubled to right and Francoeur came in to make it 4-3. Wake’s night was over at that point (5⅓IP, 9H, 4ER, 0BB, 3K) as Matt Albers took over. Perez walked and Getz singled to right scoring Moustakas with the tying run. So Wakefield must wait again for another chance to earn his 200th career win. With two outs, Gordon hit a double to deep left, driving in Perez and Getz, giving the Royals a 6-4 lead. Melky Cabrera then singled in Gordon and took second on a bad throw. After Butler received a free pass Albers was relieved by Franklin Morales. Eric Hosmer then tripled in both runners to make it 9-4, as that had to be one of the ugliest innings of the year. One horribly bad inning and that was all.

Game 126 at Kansas City (8/21/11):

The series wrapped up on a glorious day for baseball in the Heartland. Ellsbury remained out of the lineup with a back contusion and Darnell McDonald started in center and batted second. Jon Lester (12-6, 3.22) started against Danny Duffy (3-7, 5.66). Both pitchers were outstanding through the first four but the Sox got to Duffy for a run in the top of the fifth. Lowrie led off with a single and scored when Varitek tripled (!) with two outs. McDonald made it 2-0 in the sixth with a homer to left. In the seventh, Crawford hit a solo homer to right with one out. The Royals scored a run in the bottom of the seventh as Johnny Giavotella tripled to right leading off and scored on Mike Moustakas’ base hit. At that point, Lester was tiring and was relieved by Bard. All in all, it was another outstanding effort by Lester (6IP, 3H, 1ER, 4BB, 3K). The Sox broke it wide open in the eighth with three runs. Scutaro doubled to left leading off. McDonald (3-5 today) then singled up the middle putting runners on the corners. Gonzalez followed with a single to center and Scutaro came across. With one out, Lowrie hit a sacrifice fly to center and McDonald scored. Lavarnway then doubled to left and Gonzalez came in to make it 6-1. From there, Bard pitched a perfect eighth and Dan Wheeler set down the side in order and the Sox ended up taking three out of four in the series. With the Yanks having won, the Sox traveled to Texas for an important four game set still ½ game behind in the AL East race.

On To Texas

The Sox moved on to Arlington after taking three out of four in KC. Temperatures are expected to be brutal, but the Rangers are used to playing in such conditions while the Red Sox aren’t. The Sox were swept by the Rangers in April, and they face another tough test with the AL West leaders. The Sox would start off the series without Ellsbury and Ortiz while Youkilis remains on the DL. That’s a lot of offensive firepower that’s missing in the lineup to start what promises to be a very difficult four-game series.

Game 127 at Texas (8/22/11):

In the opener, Erik Bedard (4-8, 3.44) got the call against the very tough C.J. Wilson (12-5, 3.20). It was 102° at game time and that kind of heat has to feel like an elephant jumping up and down on your chest. Michael Young led off the bottom of the second with a single to right. Bedard came back to retire the next three batters. With one out in the bottom of the third and a runner on first, Kinsler lined out to right but the umpire incorrectly ruled that Reddick trapped the ball (games like these often turn on bad calls). Andrus followed with a base hit to short and Craig Gentry scored the game’s first run. In the bottom of the sixth, Young and Hamilton singled and Napoli followed with a three-run bomb to left. Yorvit Torrealba doubled to lead off the bottom of the seventh and Albers replaced Bedard. The Rangers later loaded the bases but Albers was able to get Young on a pop out. Other than that gopher ball, Bedard had another good outing (6IP, 7H, 4ER, 1BB, 4K). Neftali Feliz entered for Texas in the top of the ninth, walked Gonzalez but got through the inning when Kinsler made a sparkling stop and throw out of Crawford’s grounder up the middle to end the game.

Game 128 at Texas (8/23/11):

In Tuesday night’s game, John Lackey (11-9, 6.02) started against Colby Lewis (11-8, 3.83). Hopefully the offense will make an appearance tonight as CJ Wilson wilted the Sox hitters in the stifling heat last night. The temperature in Arlington was 106° an hour before the game. How human beings can withstand living in heat like that over prolonged periods is hard to fathom. One can only imagine how difficult summer football practices must be for the thousands of high schoolers and collegians getting ready for the new season.

Ellsbury returned to the lineup and singled to right leading off the ballgame and then stole second. With one out, Gonzalez uncorked a bomb into the second deck in right and the Sox took a quick 2-0 lead. Lo and behold, Lackey had a 1-2-3 first inning for only the second time this year. Lowrie reached on a squib roller down the first base line leading off the second. Crawford followed with a single to right. Saltalamacchia then doubled off the wall in right, driving in Lowrie. Scutaro then hit a sacrifice fly to center and Crawford scored. In the third, Reddick singled, moved to third on Lowrie’s single and scored on Crawford’s sacrifice fly to center. Lavarnway then doubled to the gap in left center and Lowrie raced all the way around from first to make it 6-0 Sox. Torrealba and Endy Chavez hit back-to-back singles to open the bottom of the third. Kinsler then singled to short to load the bases. Lackey then walked Elvis Andrus and Torrealba scored the Rangers’ first run. Hamilton then hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Chavez. Kinsler scored on Young’s sacrifice fly to right and it was suddenly 6-3. With two outs in the fourth, Gonzalez hit his second homer of the game, this time going to left center and the Sox went ahead 7-3. In the fifth, Josh Hamilton made a great sliding catch in foul ground of Reddick’s short pop to left. In the bottom of the fifth, Ellsbury made an even better lunging catch of Kinsler’s line drive to the gap in left center. With two outs, Hamilton hit a rocket into the rightfield bleachers to make it 7-4. With one out in the bottom of the sixth, Mike Napoli and Mitch Moreland hit back-to-back singles. Torrealba then hit a comebacker and Lackey fired to second and the Sox turned two. Lackey left with two outs in the seventh just as Hamilton was coming to the plate. Lackey’s outing wasn’t all that bad (6⅔IP, 7H, 4ER, 3BB, 5K). Now it was up to the bullpen to hold down the fort. “Ball Four” Morales entered the fray to face Hamilton, and retired him on a liner to left. In the top of the eighth, Lavarnway singled and Salty hit a long double to left. After a pitching change and with two outs, Scutaro hit a long fly to left that hit on top of the wall and bounced back into play, scoring both runners. The manager came out to argue but a video review confirmed that the ball did not go over the fence. After Gonzalez received a free pass, Pedroia followed with a long double off the wall, driving in Scutaro and Gonzalez to make it 11-4 Sox. With a seven-run lead, the Sox turned to Aceves to get a few outs, which he did. In the bottom of the ninth with Wheeler pitching, Kinsler homered to left with two outs. Wheeler then struck out Andrus to end the game. With the Yanks losing at home to the A’s, the Sox moved back into a tie for first place in the AL East.

Game 129 at Texas (8/24/11):

Temperatures in Arlington cooled to 105° with nasty winds swirling around the ballpark. On Wednesday, Josh Beckett (10-5, 2.46) faced lefty Matt Harrison (10-8, 3.28), who defeated the Sox 5-1 in the third game of the season. David Ortiz returned to the lineup after having missed the last week with bursitis in his heel. Ellsbury reached on an infield hit to open the ballgame. With one out, Gonzalez hit a wind blown pop up to center that dropped in for a single. Pedroia then hit a hard single to left and Ellsbury raced home from second, just beating the throw home. Ortiz followed with a line drive single to right, scoring Gonzalez. With two outs, Crawford doubled to right and Pedroia easily scored. Ortiz ran through the stop sign and appeared to be out by 10 feet but the catcher Napoli dropped the cutoff throw and Ortiz was safe. With one out in the second, Ellsbury singled to right and stole second. After Gonzalez walked, Pedroia ripped a base hit to left and Ellsbury came in to make it 5-0 Sox. Darnell McDonald beat out an infield hit to open the fourth and moved to second on Ellsbury’s grounder to second. Scutaro followed with a double to the gap in left center and McDonald easily scored. Napoli put the Rangers on the board with a towering homer to left with two outs in the bottom of the fourth. In the fifth, Ortiz hit a long double to right that Murphy nearly hauled in. Lowrie sacrificed Ortiz over to third and then Crawford hit a sacrifice fly to center. In the bottom of the fifth, Murphy and Chavez hit back-to-back singles to start things off. With one out, Beckett made an impressive catch of Kinsler’s screaming head-high liner back to the box. McDonald singled to right leading off the sixth and then Ellsbury launched a long, long homer to right. In the bottom of the sixth, Aviles replaced Pedroia at second. Ellsbury then made a fine running catch of Napoli’s long fly to the gap in right center. In the seventh, Lowrie singled to right with one out and Crawford followed with a line drive over the wall in center to make it 11-1. Beckett was finished after six and had another dominant outing (6IP, 4H, 1ER, 2BB, 4K). Franklin Morales was first out of the bullpen and he struck out two of the three batters he faced. In the eighth, Scutaro walked with one out and Gonzalez followed by hitting yet another big fly over the wall in right (that’s three in two days). Napoli singled in a run off of Albers in the bottom of the eighth. In a bit of a surprise, Papelbon came on to pitch the bottom of the ninth. OK, he hasn’t worked in a few days but are things so desperate in the bullpen that the team would risk using the closer with an 11-run lead? Omar Quintanilla drew the unlucky last straw and Papelbon struck him out to put an end to the Rangers on this night. Oakland beat the Yanks for the second night in a row so this win puts the Sox back in first at least for one day.

…sad news from Baltimore tonight as the O’s announced that former pitching great (and current broadcaster) Mike Flanagan suddenly passed away at age 59.

Game 130 at Texas (8/25/11):

In Thursday night’s finale, Andrew Miller (5-1, 4.99) got the call against Alexi Ogando (12-5, 3.30). The Yanks pounded Oakland 22-9 earlier today and can move back into a first-place tie with a win by the Rangers tonight. The temperature prior to the game was 102°. Last night, the Rangers did not have a big crowd as usual, so the heat (or football season) was probably the reason people stayed away. Once again, not much of a crowd turned out for this game. Gonzalez continued with his impressive power surge as he launched a fastball over the wall in center to give the Sox an early 1-0 lead. Ortiz led off the second with a mighty blow to right to make it 2-0. It was an inside fastball that Big Papi cleared out in the blink of an eye. After Ogando struck out Crawford and Saltalamacchia, Reddick ripped a double to right but Scutaro struck out. Michael Young lined a single to right leading off the second but Miller retired the next three batters. In the top of the third, Lowrie walked with one out and then Gonzalez hit a two-run homer to left-center into the Red Sox bullpen. Crawford singled to center leading off the fourth and then Saltalamacchia launched a two-run shot to left to make it 6-0 Sox. Miller was finished after one out in the sixth and was good in some spots and lucky in others (6⅓IP, 3H, 0ER, 2BB, 6K). Aceves entered in relief, and he retired the next two batters. Dan Wheeler came on to pitch the bottom of the ninth and struck out the last two batters he faced. So, the Sox took six out of eight on this brutal trip and return to Fenway one game ahead of the Yanks.