"The way our roster is right now and the lineup we had tonight, it's not like you can make wholesale changes," manager Terry Francona said. "I certainly don't want to put J.D. in on a night we're resting him. Youk is not playing because of his back. But we're still able to give Pedey some time off and Billy Hall goes to second. Varitek ends up getting an at bat so it helps him for tomorrow but he didn't have to catch much. It worked out well."
Indeed, the club should have Youkilis and Drew back Saturday, as well as a rested bullpen and a starter in Daisuke Matsuzaka who was pretty darn good in his last outing against the Phillies.
The first pitch for game No. 2 of the series is 4:10 p.m. There may be some rain in the area but it doesn't look like it will be enough to seriously affect things. We will keep you posted on that and everything else leading up to the game.
Final, Red Sox 12-2: The way the last two nights went for the Red Sox, they could've used an easy win. They get it with an early offensive outburst and a fine start by John Lackey in the first of three against the Phillies here at Fenway.
We'll head downstairs to get you some feedback and be back up in an hour or so to wrap things up.
Tomorrow is a 4:05 p.m. start. Daisuke Matsuzaka, who nearly no-hit the Phillies his last time out, goes against Joe Blanton.
End 8th, Red Sox 12-2: Jason Varitek, who entered defensively in the top of the eighth, ripped the Red Sox' eighth double of the night. It is the most for the club since it also had eight on August 18, 2006.
Boof Bonser will pitch the ninth for Boston.
Mid 8th, Red Sox 12-2: Boof Bonser entered a game Wednesday with the Red Sox trailing 3-0 and helped turn it into an 11-0 game in a heartbeat. This time, he loads the bases on four pitches and a few groans are heard at Fenway. But a pop to right and an inning-ending double play turn the groans into the first "Boooooooof" chants in Bonser's Red Sox career.
End 7th, Red Sox 12-2: Boof Bonser is on in relief of John Lackey, who gave up two runs on six hits in seven innings, striking out three and walking none for the first time in a Red Sox uniform.
Mid 7th, Red Sox 12-2: Get Papelbon up!!! The Phillies are storming back, scoring one in the seventh on an RBI groundout. Just 10 more to go.
The Sox had Boof Bonser warming in the bullpen during the seventh. Bonser has an ERA of infinity after his rocky debut Wednesday night. If he continues to struggle like that when he comes in, Boston would lose Infinity-12.
We mentioned some defensive changes earlier but they were wrong. Mike Cameron is still in the game in center field. Bill Hall went from left to second base to relieve Dustin Pedroia and his balky right knee. Sorry about that.
End 6th, Red Sox 12-1: Bill Hall strikes out to end the sixth and perhaps sets himself up for some gentle ribbing in the clubhouse. Hall is the only Red Sox starter without a hit, and he has struck out three times.
Mid 6th, Red Sox 12-1: With Jonathan Papelbon back, the Red Sox bullpen is complete for the first time in a bit. But it might not matter. John Lackey has thrown only 72 pitches through six and has a great chance to work into the eighth for the first time as a member of the team.
End 5th, Red Sox 12-1: The runs have suddenly stopped coming, but Marco Scutaro continues to reach. He doubled with one out in the fifth and is now 3-for-3 with a walk in just five innings.
The Sox figure to move within four games in the American League East — Tampa Bay was down 11-2 at last check.
Boston has removed Mike Cameron. Bill Hall moves from left to center, Darnell McDonald from right to left and Josh Reddick comes off the bench to play right.
Mid 5th, Red Sox 12-1: The first "Beat LA" chant recently broke out. As this one settles into the middle innings all but over already, thoughts turn to Sunday's Game Five.
I'm sure the thousands of Phillies fans on hand, and there does seem to be thousands, are loving this. Not only is their team getting spanked, but their basketball team's biggest rival is being boosted to what could be another title.
Also, some Sox fans just got engaged near the Red Sox dugout. They're registered at Crate and Barrel, Bed Bath & Beyond and Jerry Remy's.
End 4th, Red Sox 12-1: The Phillies have already made three changes in their lineup, removing several of their stars. Center fielder Shane Victorino, second baseman Chase Utley and first baseman Ryan Howard have each been taken out. The white flag in the fourth inning?
Mid 4th, Red Sox 12-1: Well, you've gotta start somewhere. The Phillies cut their deficit to 11 with an RBI groundout by Raul Ibanez in the fourth.
Poor John Lackey (not financially, of course). He'll probably end up with his best start of the year and it'll be lost amid an offensive explosion. He doesn't seem like a guy who will care that much, though.
End 3rd, Red Sox 12-0: After Marco Scutaro reaches for the third straight inning with an RBI single and David Ortiz improves to 3-for-3 with four RBIs with a two-run hit of his own, it's time to comb through the record books to see what the Sox might threaten in this one.
Here is a quick rundown of some team marks that could be within sight if this keeps going the way it is:
- Runs: 29, 6/8/1950 vs. St. Louis
- Hits: 28, 6/8/50 vs. St. Louis and 6/27/2003 vs. Florida
- Doubles: 12, 7/29/1990 at Detroit
- Largest shutout win: 19-0, 4/30/1950 vs. Philadelphia Athletics
- Extra-base hits: 17, 6/8/1950 vs. St. Louis
Boston has six doubles and 14 hits so far.
Mid 3rd, Red Sox 9-0: After John Lackey breezes through the Phillies in the top of the third, the Sox give Tim Wakefield a nice tribute on the big screen, noting his passing of Roger Clemens for the team's all-time lead in innings pitched. Wake gets to the top step of the dugout and tips his cab to a loud ovation.
End 2nd, Red Sox 9-0: There is plenty to say about what the Red Sox have done, starting with the fact that Victor Martinez and David Ortiz are both 2-for-2 with two doubles and two RBIs. Boston's six doubles puts them halfway to the club and American League record of 12 in one game.
Also, this might be of interest to you. Because the Sox have sent exactly nine men to the plate in the first inning of their last two games, Marco Scutaro has led off the first and second innings in both affairs. He is 3-for-3 with a walk and three runs scored. That's pretty much all you need from your leadoff guy.
Jamie Moyer's line looks like this (put the kids to bed before reading on):
1+ IP, 9 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR
7:59 p.m.: The Sox have six doubles and a home run against Jamie Moyer in one-plus inning. Time to make a pitching change, eh? The Phils do, bringing in David Herndon after the Sox rip three straight RBI doubles for the second straight inning.
Mid 2nd, Red Sox 5-0: The Phillies have gone 11 straight innings without a run and have left a man in scoring position in each of the first two frames of this one. Jayson Werth singled and moved to second, but was left there when John Lackey struck out Carlos Ruiz to end it.
Before you put this one in the win column, remember that the Sox led 5-0 after two innings Thursday night, only to fall 8-7.
End 1st, Red Sox 5-0: Jamie Moyer's ERA of 6.43 in Fenway Park is his highest mark in any stadium. Consecutive RBI doubles by Victor Martinez, David Ortiz and Adrian Beltre and a two-run homer by Mike Lowell in the first doesn't help the 47-year-old Moyer with that number.
Martinez is now hitting .484 (30-for-62) with 10 doubles and 14 RBIs against lefties. Lowell, meanwhile, has his first home run since April 21 and as many RBIs as he has had in over a month combined.
The Sox sent nine men to the plate in a 41-pitch inning for Moyer.
Mid 1st, 0-0: Although the pattern had been established a few starts earlier, it was John Lackey's five-walk outing at Philadelphia on May 21 that really brought forth the questions regarding his high walk and low strikeout totals.
Lackey was not concerned, but that start was part of a five-game stretch in which he walked 18 and struck out only 14.
The big right-hander does hit a batter to start this one off and goes to three-ball counts to two other hitters, but gets Ryan Howard looking to strand a runner at third.
7:10 p.m.: Sporting their red jersey tops, the Sox are on the field and about to begin under pleasant, but cool conditions. Rain is in the forecast for the next couple of days so we have to enjoy this while we can.
6:51 p.m.: When the Sox visited Philadelphia last month, they dropped the opener 5-1. Including that game, the Phillies had averaged 5.7 runs per game over a 19-game stretch. Starting with Daisuke Matsuzaka's near no-hitter the next night, that all changed.
In 17 games since, including Dice-K's gem, Philadelphia has averaged just 2.3 runs per game. Included in that stretch is six shutouts.
Hard to imagine for a team often described as having an "American League lineup."
6:30 p.m.: Terry Francona was a teammate of Phillies starter Jamie Moyer in 1986 with the Chicago Cubs, just to give you another indication of Moyer's longevity. While Francona indicated that it was a miserable year (he was waiting to be cut and the Cubs were bad), he saw something special from Moyer right away.
"He's quite a story," Francona said. "Even when he came up in 1986 he was not a power pitcher. He had a good changeup, he could throw it behind in the count, His career took a lot of turns. He was even out of the game.
"He's had a phenomenal career for a long time. I don't know how guys do it. I'm sure there are days he wakes up and doesn't feel too good. I hope that's today."
5:53 p.m.: With Kevin Youkilis sidelined, the Red Sox lineup takes on an unusual look. But we're getting used to that, aren't we? Seem as if every night brings something different. Here are the linups for both teams:
Red Sox
Marco Scutaro, SS
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Victor Martinez, C
David Ortiz, DH
Adrian Beltre, 3B
Mike Lowell, 1B
Bill Hall, LF
Mike Cameron, CF
Darnell McDonald, RF
Phillies
Shane Victorino, CF
Placido Polanco, 3B
Chase Utley, 2B
Ryan Howard, 1B
Jayson Werth, RF
Raul Ibanez, LF
Ross Gload, DH
Carlos Ruiz, C
Juan Castro, SS
5:05 p.m.: There has been quite a roster shuffle in the hours before the opener of the Phillies series. Closer Jonathan Papelbon is back after a stint on the bereavement list, while Jeremy Hermida is on the disabled list with five fractured ribs, suffered in last week's collision with Adrian Beltre (where have we heard this before?)
Hermida underwent an MRI and the injury was discovered. He actually had been feeling better and was able to play two nights ago, but with the results of the test the team knew to tread cautiously.
"It's eerily similar [to Jacoby Ellsbury's situation]," Sox manager Terry Francona said. "Beltre's gonna take out our whole outfield."
The club has also designated reliever Joe Nelson for assignment and recalled Scott Atchison in a swap of right-handers. We will have more on all of the moves in a separate piece. Here are a few other notes from Francona's desk:
- Kevin Youkilis, who left Thursday's game with mild back spasms, is still sore but should be back in the lineup Saturday. Francona said he may be able to pinch hit in this one.
- Dustin Pedroia also underwent an MRI on his bothersome right knee, and everything came back clean.
Francona's daily meetings with the media are like going to med school.
"I'm getting more knowledge on this stuff than I really want," he said of the seemingly never-ending injuries.
But when asked about the ongoing issues with health in the outfield, the skipper said he feels pretty comfortable.
"We have Reddick tonight as an extra outfielder. We have Drew tonight as an extra outfielder. How many do you want? We'll be OK," Francona said.
Back in a bit with more updates.
3:17 p.m.: As we watch Cole Hamels and another Phillie play catch with an Aerobiein the Fenway Park outfield, we settle in for the first of three straight between these "natural rivals" (at least for this year).
One thing to watch for as we await the lineups is the status of Kevin Youkilis, who left Thursday's loss in Cleveland in the seventh inning with what was described as mild back spasms.
We also have not seen Mike Cameron play consecutive days this month, so he may be out as well after playing Thursday. This may be a makeshift lineup put together by Terry Francona, who has had to employ plenty of those this year.
9:22 a.m.:The Red Sox begin a nine-game homestand and a stretch of 15 straight contests against NL opponents, starting with the Philadelphia Phillies at Fenway on Friday night.
The Sox took three of four in Philadelphia last month, getting outstanding starts from Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield.
John Lackey, however, struggled in Boston's one loss in the set, giving up four runs and walking five in five innings. He will look for better results in just his second home start in more than a month.
The Phillies will turn to one-time Red Sox pitcher Jamie Moyer, 47, who makes his first start in Fenway Park since April 14, 2006.
First pitch is 7:10 p.m.
