Thanks for following along on the live blog, and be sure to check back on NESN.com tomorrow as Jon Lester looks to stop the skid and save Labor Day weekend.
End 8th, 5-1 White Sox: A solo homer from Paul Konerko extends the lead to four runs as the Red Sox have their final chance.
The top of the order is due up.
6:13 p.m.: Thirsty for good news? The Orioles took a lead over Texas.
6:08 p.m.: You can put it on the board. Just what the Red Sox needed.
Middle 8th, 4-1 White Sox: Jason Bay's leadoff homer temporarily restores hope in Red Sox Nation, but Lowell, Drew and Casey Kotchman go in order. Floyd recorded strikeouts No. 10 and 11 as the Red Stockings are in trouble.
End 7th, 4-0 White Sox: Nick Green ends the inning by showing off his cannon ("Hey Mikey Lowell, did you see that?!").
Six outs for the Red Sox to get something going.
5:54 p.m.: Seriously? Really? Red Sox fantasy football picks? Right now? Really? I mean … really?
I just hope Tim McCarver tries to talk about fantasy football.
5:53 p.m.: Mike Lowell, without saying a word, says, "Hey, Nick Green. I'm Mike Lowell. You're Nick Green. I'm going to catch this one. Have a nice day. P.S. — Nice single."
Middle 7th, 4-0 White Sox: We haven't seen the Red Sox play well, but we have seen Ken Rosenthal get eaten by a creepy green thing.
Almost an even tradeoff.
5:43 p.m.: Whether you're a glass half-full or glass half-empty type of person, you have to admit that, if the Sox lose this game, it will be infinitely more digestible than Friday night's debacle. They've avoided the embarrassment of a perfect game, got some quality innings from their starter and could get it done in a little more than two hours.
While the 12-2 loss on Friday only took about three hours, it felt like an eternity.
That said, it's definitely not too late for a rally, but it's not bad to have a backup plan.
End 6th, 4-0 White Sox: I'm not a major league fielding coach (shocking, I know), but in my estimation, Martinez just isn't comfortable enough catching Wakefield to throw runners out at second base at a regular pace just yet. On the replays, you can see Martinez having to stay in his crouch until the ball is deep in the mitt before popping up to make the throw.
At some point, he might grow comfortable enough to pop up a little earlier.
Meanwhile, Kotsay's homer makes it a 4-0 lead.
5:35 p.m.: Yikes. Timmy can't even come close to covering first base in time. What do you do when your pitcher can't run 50 feet?
5:33 p.m.: Lordy. Mark Kotsay hit one home run in 49 games for the Red Sox. He now has two in the last two games. But he's on the White Sox.
Middle 6th, 3-0 White Sox: So the perfect game is gone, which leads me to wonder if White Sox fans are furious with McCarver for saying "perfect game" every 27 seconds.
Normally, I'd think they're crazy, but any time folks can band together against certain analysts, it's not the worst thing.
5:27 p.m.: There it is. Renowned slugger Nick Green blasts one at least 130 feet into center field, ending the perfect game and no-hitter and perhaps igniting a two-out rally.
5:26 p.m.: How's the view, J.D. Drew?
This is bordering on insanity.
5:24 p.m.: Of course, the guy who hits the slow dribbler up the middle and gets thrown out by three steps is Mike Lowell, who hasn't been able to run all year.
End 5th, 3-0 White Sox: Can we please get a timeout? This game is going too quickly. Nine pitches and it's on to the next inning. Time for Lowell to take a second crack at Floyd.
Middle 5th, 3-0 White Sox: Not only can the Red Sox not touch anything offered from Floyd, but they can't even make him work.
He's thrown just 58 pitches through five innings and seriously may be throwing a Wiffle Ball at this point. He got Bay swinging at a nasty 2-2 pitch to end the inning.
End 4th, 3-0 White Sox: You didn't give up on Mr. Wakefield after the first did you? This man is an All-Star.
The knuckler is working as Wake gets through the fourth with 67 pitches to his name.
Now, can someone spoil perfection?
5:10 p.m.: Alexei Ramirez is listed at 170 pounds. This simply cannot be true. It just can't.
Middle 4th, 3-0 White Sox: I'm glad nobody took me up on that wager. Floyd perfect through four innings, and McCarver is on his lecture stand, saying that announcers can't affect perfect games. I swear he's made this argument five times this season.
4:59 p.m.: Speaking of Amalie, she dropped a couple of interesting nuggets before the game on her Twitter page: the man, the myth and the legend, Mr. Matsuzaka, is in Chicago and Bowden is sharing a locker with Josh Reddick.
End 3rd, 3-0 White Sox: If I was a gambling man, I'd lay down at least $2 to say that someone is going to reach base this inning. Maybe even $3. I mean, look at Youkilis' face in this picture.
4:54 p.m.: Extra, extra, read all about it! A runner is thrown out attempting a steal against Wakefield. Super-duper slow-mo even shows it was a good call.
The catch? The would-be base stealer is a catcher. Bummer.
Middle 3rd, 3-0 White Sox: Nothing works, as Gavin Floyd has become Cy Young. Lazy fly out, swinging strikeout and a 1-3 putout on a Nick Green bunt, and the Red Sox are back in the field. Nobody for Boston made it on base after one stroll through the order. Given Floyd's Wiffle Ball-like speed, you have to like their chances the second time through.
4:48 p.m.: McCarver impressively butchers Amalie Benjamin's name twice in the span of about four seconds. Impressive.
End 2nd, 3-0 White Sox: It looks like Wake just needed to warm up a little bit, as he settled down to retire the side in order. The bottom of the order has a chance to get something started for the Red Sox' offense.
4:41 p.m.: As Fox's Ken Rosenthal reports (in his slow and mostly awkward style) that Daisuke Matsuzaka gave up two solo homers in Pawtucket, it's important to remember that, as crazy as it may sound, the results of a rehab start are not as important as they may seem.
Sure, giving up homers to some minor leaguers wasn't Daisuke's goal, but he likely didn't spend any time going over hitting charts before the game. The key is throwing and feeling good. He said afterwards that he's ready, to we'll all find out soon enough.
Middle 2nd, 3-0 White Sox: Youkilis swinging, Ortiz swinging and Bay looking. Fourteen pitches, and Floyd's resting on the bench. Wake needs a quick inning, or this could quickly turn into the least enjoyable pair of games in a long time.
End 1st, 3-0 White Sox: It was a difficult inning for Wakefield, but he benefits from an extraordinarily generous strike three call from home plate umpire Paul Emmel. It was the kind of strike that even MLB.com's Gameday couldn't justify.
Still, with a 28-pitch inning, Wake and the Red Sox have an early hole.
4:29 p.m.: According to everyone's favorite analyst Tim McCarver, the Red Sox won 12-2 last night. Thanks.
4:26 p.m.: Good news? Victor Martinez threw out a base stealer. Bad news? It didn't count, because Wakefield walked Mark Kotsay.
Baby steps … .
4:25 p.m.: It appears as though the White Sox never went to bed Friday night. They must have stayed on the field and scrimmaged, because their bats have yet to cool off.
4:23 p.m.: Heading into the game, we didn't know what Wakefield could do. Now we know that he can move off the mound and grab a bunt, but he can't throw it more than 50 feet toward first base.
4:20 p.m.: Scott Podsednik wasted no time stealing second, making it in easily.
I still can't think of Podsednik without first wondering if I spelled it correctly and then recalling the time he beat out Derek Jeter in the vote for the final spot in the All-Star Game. Is Scott Podsednik more popular than Derek Jeter? How does that happen? Ever?
4:16 p.m.: Now it's time for Wakefield watch. Last time out, Wake apparently hurt his back early on, but none of us noticed. Today, we'll all pretend to be orthopedic surgeons, analyzing (or overanalyzing) his every move.
Middle 1st: The Sox go down quickly, forcing Gavin Floyd to throw just nine pitches.
4:13 p.m.: As the first pitch heads toward the plate, here's a look at the starting lineups:
1. Ellsbury
2. Pedroia
3. Martinez (Catching)
4. Youkilis
5. Ortiz
6. Bay
7. Lowell
8. Drew
9. Green
1. Podsednik
2. Beckham
3. Pierzynski
4. Konerko
5. Kotsay
6. Quentin
7. Getz
8. Ramirez
9. Rios
3:58 p.m.: Insurance for Wakefield today comes in the form of Michael Bowden, who was called up from Pawtucket.
Bowden was given a tough task last time he joined the big club, so hopefully this time he'll have a better shot.
In other news, Kevin Youkilis looks downright nasty in this photo. He will inspire me throughout the day, that's a guarantee.
2:57 p.m.: Big day for Boston. Not only do the Red Sox have to rebound from Friday night's 12-2 shellacking, but they also have to prepare themselves for what is likely to be a make-or-break start for Tim Wakefield.
If things go well today, Boston will spend the final month of the season with three very capable, reliable starters that could handily carry them toward the salvation of the postseason. If not, the Sox better hope that Daisuke Matsuzaka is ready to return to the big club soon.
On second thought, let's just hope things go well for Wake today.
