Jason Giambi Crushes Game-Winning Homer Off Jonathan Papelbon as Sox Drop Heartbreaker

Postgame, Rockies 8-6: Jonathan Papelbon has only blown two saves this year, but they've come in eye-popping fashion. You'll recall the home runs to Alex Rodriguez and Marcus Thames in New York last month.

You will someday recall this one, as well. Papelbon has now surrendered six home runs this year, already a career high. His four losses match a career high. In addtion, his rate of walks is the highest it has been since he became closer and his strikeout rate the lowest.

Papelbon's 3.64 ERA is almost a run higher than last season's career high 2.76.

He is still very good, but some of the numbers suggest some more chinks in the armor.

The Sox will have to dust themselves off and get back at it behind Daisuke Matsuzaka, who returns from the DL to start Thursday night opposite surging righty Jason Hammel. First pitch is 8:40 p.m. and we'll help you through it all right here.

Final, Rockies 8-6: What year is this? Jason Giambi crushing home runs to right to kill the Red Sox on a wild night in Denver. Yes, that just happened.

At least Jonathan Papelbon made it quick. He threw darts straight down the pipe to both Ian Stewart, who tied with the first jack, and Giambi, whose shot scraped the moon. It may have been a splitter to Giambi, actually, but you get the point.

That is the second blown save of the season for Papelbon, and the 36th career home run against Boston for Giambi (only one other team has surrendered more to the ex-Yank).

But what a roller-coaster ride. The Sox trailed 4-0 and 5-2 and rallied behind Daniel Nava, Darnell McDonald and John Lackey for four unlikely runs in the sixth off Ubaldo Jimenez. However, a couple of gopher balls seal their fate in the ninth.

Back in a bit to sum this up.

11:35 p.m.: It took two pitches for the Rockies to tie it. Ian Stewart crushes a Jonathan Papelbon fastball into the seats in right.

Mid 9th, Red Sox 6-5: Since his memorable blown save in New York midway through May, Jonathan Papelbon is 1-0 with seven straight successfully converted saves, allowing two earned runs in 10 1/3 innings.

End 8th, Red Sox 6-5: Perhaps it's fitting that Jason Varitek found his way into this game an inning ago. He'll be able to catch Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth, the same battery that ended the 2007 World Series on this field.

Now, if they celebrate as they did then, it might look a bit funny. But this would be quite a win if Papelbon can close it out.

Daniel Bard retired all four men he faced, and did so rather easily.

Mid 8th, Red Sox 6-5: It'll be Daniel Bard and then Jonathan Papelbon, provided nothing changes drastically going forward. Bard threw only one pitch to end the seventh.

By the way, in scoreboard watching I came upon the Yankees results thus far and did a double take. New York drew seven walks in 2 1/3 innings against Dontrelle Willis and somehow it is still trailing Arizona 4-2 in the fourth.

11:10 p.m.: With Daniel Nava on first (leadoff walk) and one out, the Rockies are calling on their fourth pitcher of the night to face Darnell McDonald.

End 7th, Red Sox 6-5: Despite removing David Ortiz from first base, the Red Sox still find a way to get the last out in the bottom of the seventh. Daniel Nava will come to the plate to lead off the eighth with two doubles and three RBIs already to his credit.

10:57 p.m.: Daniel Bard will relieve John Lackey with a man on first and two outs in the seventh. It looks as though a double switch will move Victor Martinez to first, remove David Ortiz and allow Jason Varitek to take Lackey's spot at ninth in the order. But I'll have to wait for confirmation on that.

Mid 7th, Red Sox 6-5: John Lackey is heading out there for his seventh inning of work. He is 14-5 in interleague play, but this would go down as one of the more unlikely victories, considering where we were just a few innings ago and how hittable he was early.

End 6th, Red Sox 6-5: It is remarkable how John Lackey's season is going. He'll wind up with 22 wins and an ERA near 5.00 at this pace.

Just as his team's offense breaks out, in part due to his 2-for-3 effort, Lackey has set down eight in a row and has a season-high seven strikeouts.

Mid 6th, Red Sox 6-5: The two-run homer was the first for Darnell McDonald since May 8. Nice to see the Fort Collins, CO, native get into the act in a return home.

The Sox trailed 4-0 and 5-2 in this one and Ubaldo Jimenez was still dealing as of an inning ago. That changed in a heartbeat, and you have to wonder if Jimenez ran out of gas due to the illness he had the past day or so.

Meanwhile, John Lackey is in line to win another lackluster start. If he wasn't already worth $82.5 million I would suggest he buy a lottery ticket.

10:31 p.m.: "The Replacements Part II," the story of the 2010 Red Sox outfield, has just added another improbable chapter, with Daniel Nava and Darnell McDonald again the stars.

Nava rips an RBI double off the suddenly hittable Ubaldo Jimenez to cut the lead to 5-3 and McDonald followed with a two-run bomb to tie it.

Not to be outdone, John Lackey kept the inning going with a double, his second hit of the game and third of his career. Marco Scutaro followed with an RBI single to chase Jimenez, suddenly on the wrong end of a 6-5 score.

End 5th, Rockies 5-2: We wondered if a rare stint running the bases would impact John Lackey going forward, as it often does with pitchers. It did, but just not how we thought. He records his first 1-2-3 inning in the fifth, ending it with his sixth strikeout.

Mid 5th, Rockies 5-2: The Sox get two more hits off Ubaldo Jimenez in the fifth and have his pitch count into the 80s, but he hasn't lost anything on his fastball.

With runners on first and second and one out, he lays a 97 mph heater on the corner to punch out Dustin Pedroia.

Victor Martinez's pop to center ends the threat.

John Lackey had one of the two hits in the fifth, just the second hit of his career. Let's see if running the bases affects him at all.

End 4th, Rockies 5-2: A generous John Lackey gives up three more hits, including an RBI single to pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez, who entered 3-for-35 (.086). To make matters worse, the runner coming home, Clint Barmes, barreled into the side of Victor Martinez's head, spinning the backstop to the ground.

Martinez shook it off, but you have to wonder if he will go on. That was a pretty good shot he took. In replays you see Lackey walking right past Martinez as the catcher lay face-down on the ground, Lackey cursing himself out for getting bested by his counterpart.

The inning would've been a lot worse if Ian Stewart hadn't made the misguided decision to try to stretch a leadoff single into a double. He was out by several steps, with Josh Reddick making a nice play in right to cut him down.

Mid 4th, Rockies 4-2: When you're down and out and struggling to score runs, who better to turn to than Daniel Nava? The phenomenal rookie lines a two-out, two-strike two-run double off Ubaldo Jimenez to get the Sox on the board.

Dustin Pedroia and Victor Martinez scored on the liner into the right-center field gap. They had singled to start the inning but it looked as if they might be stranded when David Ortiz struck out and Adrian Beltre popped to second.

Nava has nine RBIs and six doubles in 10 games.

End 3rd, Rockies 4-0: John Lackey's breaking ball has been pretty good, but the Rockies are hammering his heater, which he continues to groove. There were three straight hits on fastballs to open the third, two of those batters eventually coming home.

With the bases loaded and no outs, Brad Hawpe had an RBI groundout and Seth Smith lined a sacrifice fly to left.

It was a fastball that Smith hit for a triple in the second ahead of a home run by Miguel Olivo, who saw a cut fastball.

If recent patterns hold true, Lackey will now throw three or four shutout innings and the Sox will rally to get him a win. With Ubaldo Jimenez on the mound, that seems a bit less likely, doesn't it?

Mid 3rd, Rockies 2-0: There will be no second no-hitter for Ubaldo Jimenez after Darnell McDonald bloops one into shallow left for a one-out single in the third. However, Jimenez still has a shot at his third shutout of the season after stranding McDonald at first.

End 2nd, Rockies 2-0: I gave you a John Lackey quote after the end of the first inning, a reference to his strikeouts total. He followed that up by uttering these words: "I've been working to contact more than I have in my career and it's been kinda hit or miss for me."

It didn't much work in the second as the Rockies got a leadoff triple from Seth Smith and a no-doubt two-run blast by Miguel Olivo.

All three of Colorado's hits have gone for extra bases.

Mid 2nd, 0-0: The Sox put the bat on the ball a bit more in the second, but still have nothing to show for their efforts against Ubaldo Jimenez. Boston has scored one run in its last 16 innings.

End 1st, 0-0: Oh yeah, John Lackey is pitching in this one, too. Sometimes it's hard to remember who is opposite Ubaldo Jimenez, but Lackey makes his presence felt by striking out three in the first.

Lackey said after his last start when asked (again) about his shrinking strikeout numbers, "Strikeouts are nice but they're good for free agent years. I'm not gonna be doing that for awhile. I'm here to win."

I guess that could be taken a few different ways. Just thought I would throw it out there.

Mid 1st, 0-0: Ubaldo Jimenez may throw one of the easiest looking 99 mph fastballs. His delivery is remarkably slow before he explodes downward and the ball is on you in an instant. Just ask Marco Scutaro and Dustin Pedroia, strikeout victims right off the bat.

Victor Martinez managed to put the ball in play, but it was a lazy grounder to first. Solid opening for Jimenez.

8:40 p.m.: Ubaldo Jimenez is about to take the hill at Coors Field, where he is 5-0 this year. This will be quite a challenge for the top offense in the majors.

7:45 p.m.: Ubaldo Jimenez has been fantastic. There is no arguing that. But it's perfectly legit to question whether he can keep up this pace, which would give him one of the greatest seasons for a pitcher in baseball history.

A quick glance at the numbers suggests that the leveling off has already begun.

Jimenez had ERAs of 0.79 and 0.78 in April and May, respectively. That number "soars" to 2.57 in three June starts, during which he has a rather ordinary 18 strikeouts against 10 walks.

The 26-year-old gave up one home run in 80 1/3 innings through the first two months but has already surrendered two in June. And in his last start at home Jimenez gave up five hits and walked five in just six innings.

Something to chew on entering his 15th start of the year.

7:10 p.m.: Red Sox manager Terry Francona told reporters moments ago that J.D. Drew still may not be able to go Thursday as his strained right hamstring continues to be a problem.

There will be a roster move when Daisuke Matsuzaka returns to make his start Thursday, but it appears as if J.D. Drew will remain actively inactive until the San Francisco series. Josh Reddick will likely be sent back down to Pawtucket.

Francona still does not believe Drew will need to be placed on the DL. 

In other news, Josh Beckett's 55-pitch bullpen session went well this afternoon. He is still on track to do a simulated game this Saturday and then perhaps map out a series of rehab starts. Beckett has been sidelined with a lower back strain.

Also, Mike Cameron was given another day off but Francona hopes to have him in back-to-back games Thursday and Friday. Three out of four is about as good as you can expect from Cameron right now.

All reports say that Ubaldo Jimenez is still ready to make his start, despite coming down with an illness Tuesday. Maybe it will have just enough of an impact to make him a bit more beatable. Take anything you can get against this guy.

5:55 p.m.: As Terry Francona had promised, David Ortiz will get a start at first base this series. Ortiz will bat cleanup behind catcher Victor Martinez. Here is the complete Red Sox lineup:

Marco Scutaro, SS
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Victor Martinez, C
David Ortiz, 1B
Adrian Beltre, 3B
Daniel Nava, LF
Josh Reddick, RF
Darnell McDonald, CF
John Lackey, P

And here are the Rockies:

Jonathan Herrera, 2B
Todd Helton, 1B
Carlos Gonzalez, CF
Brad Hawpe, RF
Seth Smith, LF
Miguel Olivo, C
Ian Stewart, 3B
Clint Barmes, SS
Ubaldo Jimenez, P

4:56 p.m.: For you Sox fans holding out hope that Ubaldo Jimenez's sudden illness Tuesday night would cause him to miss his scheduled start, you're out of luck.

Denver Post reporter Troy Renck tweetsthat Jimenez texted him, later saying he will be pitching and "would have to be dead to miss a game."

We should have the lineups in a bit so hang tight and we'll get this thing going on what has been a marvelous sports day on a global scale.

7:20 a.m.: The Red Sox' return to the site of their 2007 World Series win did not go well Tuesday night. It won't get much easier for them in the second game of a three-game set in Colorado on Wednesday.

The Rockies will start Cy Young Award front-runner Ubaldo Jimenez, who leads the majors in wins (13) and ERA (1.15). The 26-year-old has won each of his last eight starts and is 5-0 at home.

Boston, which had won six straight before Tuesday's 2-1 loss, has scored just three runs in its last 17 innings.

John Lackeygets the call for the Sox. He has won four of his last five starts and is 14-5 in interleague play.