Robert Manuel, who was put in a tough situation there in the ninth, took the blame for the loss. So, too, did Jonathan Papelbon. Dustin Richardson wasn't around to comment but his one walk in the inning didn't help.
Frankly it was a mess of a frame that just about turns out the lights on this season. That is Papelbon's seventh blown save of the season and he throws more pitches than in any relief outing of his career. Safe to say you won't be seeing him Monday night.
For that contest it will be Jon Lester against Jeff Niemann. First pitch is 7:10 p.m. We will see if there is any fight left in this team.
Final, White Sox 7-5: An ugly and hope-shattering afternoon ends quietly as the Red Sox go down in order in the ninth.
Matt Thornton struck out Ryan Kalish and Darnell McDonald before getting pinch-hitter Marco Scutaro to pop out.
As I said before, in a year of tough losses, today's defeat may be the toughest.
Top 9th, White Sox 7-5: Any good vibes in Fenway Park following Victor Martinez's go-ahead home run in the seventh are long gone.
In a difficult season, we may be looking at the absolute low point.
The Red Sox bullpen just absolutely imploded this afternoon and it's likely going to cost them.
But, they do have three outs to work with in the ninth inning and they'll need at least two to keep this one alive.
Matt Thornton is in for the ChiSox after closer Bobby Jenks picked up both saves in yesterday's doubleheader.
Top 9th, White Sox 7-5: What a disaster.
After Jonathan Papelbon walked the last man he faced, Dustin Richardson walked the first and only man he faced.
With the bases loaded, Terry Francona turned things over to Robert Manuel where things got even worse.
Manuel walked Gordon Beckham to force in the go-ahead run and eliciting groans from all over Fenway Park.
Top 9th, 5-5: Jonathan Papelbon has a new career high, and it's not a good one.
After getting the first out of the inning, the closer's accuracy betrayed him and that started the meltdown.
After issuing a walk, Papelbon was able to strike out Andruw Jones for the second out of the inning, but a Carlos Quentin double followed by a a single by Ramon Castro helped the White Sox tie the game.
Papelbon then walked Alexei Ramirez before being lifted by Terry Francona. It's the right-hander's seventh blown save of the season, a new career high for him.
Left-hander Dustin Richardson is coming on for the Sox to try to stop the bleeding and keep this game tied.
End 8th, Red Sox 5-3: The quest for a five-out save for Jonathan Papelbon just got a bit easier.
Adrian Beltre ripped a leadoff double in the eighth and eventually scored on a Bill Hall groundout.
Beltre was able to score for two reasons. First, he took third on a wild pitch, but more importantly, the Red Sox used the contact play to get Beltre in.
Even with the infield drawn in, Beltre took off on contact and the only play was at first to put away Hall.
Jonathan Papelbon is back out there looking for the save in what would be a big win for the Sox.
Mid 8th, Red Sox 4-3: The matchup with Manny Ramirez was a bit anti-climatic, but Jonathan Papelbon still got the job done in the eighth.
Terry Francona called on Papelbon when Manny Ramirez came up to pinch-hit, but Papelbon ended up hitting Ramirez with a pitch after a lengthy battle.
The closer settled down and stranded the tying run at second by striking out Gordon Beckham before getting Juan Pierre to fly out to left.
The Red Sox will look for insurance runs in the bottom of the frame before turning it back over to Papelbon in hopes of completing the five-out save.
4:22 p.m. With the tying run on first, Manny Ramirez is coming to
the plate for the White Sox. And with Manny Ramirez coming to the
plate, Jonathan Papelbon is coming on for the Red Sox.
Paps will be called upon to give the Red Sox five outs as Red Sox manager Terry Francona clearly realizes the magnitude of this moment and the implications it may have for the rest of the season.
End 7th, Red Sox 4-3: When Victor Martinez trotted down the line
watching his home run sail over the Green Monster he slammed down his
bat. It was like a release of all the frustration he and his teammates
have endured.
Victor's two-out bomb, his 14th homer of the year, gives the Red Sox a lightning-quick answer to the White Sox' error-aided rally in the top of the inning.
Hideki Okajima is trotting on to start the eighth. Jonathan Papelbon is stirring.
Mid 7th, White Sox 3-2: When you can't hit it's one thing. When you are just plain sloppy on top of it, things get a whole lot tougher to take. A Daniel Bard throwing error leads to two unearned runs and gives the White Sox the lead.
Bard got Paul Konerko on a 99 mph fastball and had a chance to get out of the inning. A Carlos Quentin comebacker glances off of him and when he finally recovers to throw to first it is in the dirt, allowing both runs to score (the first had already crossed but would not have counted if the out was made).
Some fans seemingly headed for the exits. This has been a very quiet place all weekend.
3:48 p.m.: Josh Beckett was a bit too concerned with Juan Pierre in the seventh and it ended up hurting him. After Pierre steals second he gets to third when Beckett throws a pickoff attempt into center for an error.
In the midst of all of that Beckett walked Alex Rios on four pitches. That leaves runners on the corners with one out for Daniel Bard.
Need a strikeout and this is the guy who can get it. A ground ball could also work.
End 6th, Red Sox 2-1: Bill Hall lines a single to center and scampers to second on an error by center fielder Alex Rios. That's where he will stay. Also, a pair of two-run homers has given the Rays the lead in Baltimore. Good times.
Mid 6th, Red Sox 2-1: Josh Beckett now has a new season high in strikeouts with nine and has given up one run in his last 10 innings overall. Pretty good pitching all around this weekend.
End 5th, Red Sox 2-1: Darnell McDonald is 3-for-3 in a rare start at leadoff. Just once has he advance past first base, however. Josh Beckett heads to the mound with his pitch count at 86.
Mid 5th, Red Sox 2-1: It's a shame we may see Josh Beckett finally find a groove when it's all too late. He has allowed just three earned runs over 12 innings over his last two starts and has eight strikeouts in this one, tied for a season high.
The Yankees and Rays are both losing. Chance to make up a game here. Warm up the duckboats!
End 4th, Red Sox 2-1: Every so often Mark Buehrle has an inning that is so fast you have to double check the number of outs when you see the players running off the field. He is such a fast worker. The lefty sets down the Red Sox in eighth pitches in the fourth.
Mid 4th, Red Sox 2-1: At this pace Josh Beckett will set season standards in hits and strikeouts. His prior high in a game for those two categories is 11 and eight, respectively. Beckett has given up eight hits and struck out seven through four.
End 3rd, Red Sox 2-1: So that's what a big hit looks like. David Ortiz ropes a 3-2 changeup into the right-center field gap to score two runs. It gives the Red Sox their first lead since Thursday.
Mid 3rd, White Sox 1-0: Chicago isn't helping itself out too much. It had runners on second and third with no outs in the third and failed to score.
First, Adrian Beltre threw home on a chopper to third, nailing Omar Vizquel at the plate for the first out.
Josh Beckett then picked up back-to-back strikeouts to finish it off. He has fanned five already, each with at least one runner on.
End 2nd, White Sox 1-0: One of the themes of the doubleheader sweep Saturday was the Red Sox' inability get the big hit. Not that they had scoring opportunities in every inning but the handful they did have were wasted.
Such was the case in the second of this one. Adrian Beltre singled with one out and Bill Hall walked with two before Yamaico Navarro lined out to end the threat.
Mid 2nd, White Sox 1-0: The White Sox' rally could have been a lot worse for Josh Beckett, but the righty battles back after giving up three straight hits to start the inning.
Alexei Ramirez drove in Carlos Quentin to open the scoring. Two strikeouts and a weak comebacker got Beckett out of the inning.
One more run and Chicago should be all set.
End 1st, 0-0: Leading off for just the third time this year, Darnell McDonald does his job by bouncing a single into left. But he gets picked off moments later and Mark Buehrle essentially has a 1-2-3 inning.
Mid 1st, 0-0: Omar Vizquel doubled and stole third in the top of the first. He was left right there but I'm not sure Vizquel gets talked about enough.
He is now 43 and batting .286. Known for his outstanding glove at shortstop all those years, he has played very well at third base for Chicago. Also, he has an outside chance at 3,000 hits if he can stick around in this semi-regular role for another two years.
Cooperstown will call someday.
Josh Beckett stranded Vizquel when he struck out Alex Rios and got Paul Konerko to pop to second.
1:37 p.m.: Josh Beckett has thrown his first pitch and we are underway under ideal conditions for baseball. With a win Chicago jumps past Boston in the wild card race.
12:24 p.m.: Marco Scutaro will get an MRI on his sore shoulder on Tuesday, just as a precaution. He has been battling soreness for about a month now and Terry Francona wants to make sure his shortstop is OK down the stretch.
"We know he's playing through a lot," Francona said. "How much, we don't know."
Before the doubleheader Saturday Francona gave Scutaro the choice of playing both games and then taking Sunday off or playing one game and then leading off again for the series finale.
Scutaro chose to play the full twinbill and was the only Red Sox player to drive in a run, knocking an RBI single in both games.
In other news:
– Jason Varitek will catch four or five innings for Pawtucket on Sunday. He is still on track to DH on Monday and then rejoin the team.
– The decision to bring back Clay Buchholz on Wednesday is still up in the air. Some of it may have to do with the results of the first two games of the Tampa Bay series. If the Red Sox can somehow trim their deficit before Wednesday, Francona may go for it and give Clay the start. Otherwise the bullpen will have to piece it together.
"We're trying to win," he said when asked what went into the decision. "That's kind of an obvious one. The rainout forced our hand a little bit."
If Boston remains eight games out or so, expect Tim Wakefield or Scott Atchison to start that one.
– The club's latest roster addition is hard-throwing right-hander Robert Coello. A 25-year-old from New Jersey, Coello was plucked from independent ball after the 2008 season. In 32 games (13 starts) split between Pawtucket and Portland this year he is 7-6 with a 3.86 ERA, striking out an eye-popping 130 men in just 107 1/3 innings.
Francona said there may be some innings for Coello right now. He also said Michael Bowden will definitely return once he is eligible to do so.
Lastly, if you were on the streets around Fenway Park about an hour ago you might've seen White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen riding his bike. He wheeled it back into the Chicago clubhouse around 11:45, sweating and cursing out the hard-to-navigate Boston roads.
10:46 a.m.: Greetings from Fenway Park, where Victor Martinez and David Ortiz's kids are swinging the bat in center field. Probably could use some new sluggers in the lineup and they certainly know how to hit. Here is the latest edition, as well as the starters for the White Sox, who are resting Manny Ramirez:
Red Sox
Darnell McDonald, RF
Jed Lowrie, 2B
Victor Martinez, C
David Ortiz, DH
Adrian Beltre, 3B
Mike Lowell, 1B
Bill Hall, LF
Yamaico Navarro, SS
Ryan Kalish, CF
White Sox
Juan Pierre, LF
Omar Vizquel, 3B
Alex Rios, CF
Paul Konerko, DH
Carlos Quentin, RF
A.J. Pierzynski, C
Alexei Ramirez, SS
Mark Kotsay, 1B
Gordon Beckham, 2B
8 a.m.: There's nothing to do but move on.
Reeling after consecutive 3-1 losses on both ends of a doubleheader Saturday, the punchless Red Sox will try to take the finale of a three-game series with the Chicago White Sox on Sunday.
Saturday featured the fewest runs scored by Boston in a doubleheader in more than 34 years. It was a meager effort that sucked even more life from a team now on life support.
With 26 games to play the Red Sox are 7 1/2 games out in the wild card race. If Tampa Bay goes 13-14 in its last 27 contests Boston will need to go 20-6 just to tie.
Josh Beckett takes on lefty Mark Buehrle in the pitching matchup. First pitch is 1:35 p.m.
