Nothing can rain on the Red Sox' parade tonight (see how that works?). Well, nothing except the illness that keeps taking people out.
Kevin Youkilis was the latest victim of something that seems to be sweeping the clubhouse. David Ortiz had it Monday and was nearly kept out of the game, but he played and homered. Terry Francona said he hopes that Youkilis can bounce back as quickly as others have.
Speaking of Ortiz, he was preparing to meet with reporters when TVs in the clubhouse showed the last out of Francisco Liriano's no-hitter in Chicago. Ortiz said, "You're going to see the real Ozzie Guillen now!"
Local fans hope they are seeing the real Red Sox right now. They've won three straight over three of the best, and hottest, pitchers in the league. The starting pitching has continued a historic streak, the offense has busted out and the defense remains one of the tightest in the AL.
"I think we've played some crisp baseball," Francona said of the impressive streak that has Boston to within a game of .500.
They will try to get back to that mark for the first time since being 0-0 (does that even count?) when Josh Beckett takes the mound Wednesday night opposite Ervin Santana. That one is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. and we will follow all the action right here.
Final, Red Sox 7-3: Jonathan Papelbon adds a tiny bit of intrigue in the ninth by allowing a pair of runs, but it only delays another win over the Angels.
Boston is now 15-1 against Anaheim since the 2009 ALDS loss, and many of the games haven't even been close.
Off to hear from the fellas. See you soon.
End 8th, Red Sox 7-1: A couple of home runs notes for you. The Adrian Gonzalez-David Ortiz back-to-backs were the first for Boston since J.D. Drew and Victor Martinez did it last September against New York.
The three-homer inning was the Sox' first since Aug. 13, 2010, against Texas.
Jonathan Papelbon is on to get the last three outs and try to get Boston to within a game of .500.
9:31 p.m.: It stands. Marco Scutaro has his first home run of the year and the Sox have tons of breathing room. Jonathan Papelbon is ready to go and could use the work.
9:28 p.m.: Well, if you are at home and your windows are open a crack to let the spring air in, those roars you hear are coming from Fenway, and they are coming in rapid fashion.
David Ortiz followed up Adrian Gonzalez's solo shot with one of his own, and Marco Scutaro just hit a two-run job, although it is being reviewed.
If it stands, the Sox will lead 7-1. If not, I believe it will be 6-1 but I'm not sure where the runner was. May be runners at second and third and a 5-1 score. Will see in a moment.
9:21 p.m.: For the second straight night, the Red Sox are piling it on late.
Adrian Gonzalez has gone deep for the first time at Fenway Park. He hammered the 108th and final pitch from Dan Haren into the Anaheim bullpen.
This place is pretty charged up, which has been a rarity this year. People like what they see from the Sox tonight.
Mid 8th, Red Sox 3-1: If you are scoring at home, just write three straight 4-3's for the Angels in the top of the eighth. Throw in a broken bat or two and you have a pretty good idea of what Daniel Bard did to the top of the Anaheim lineup in the eighth.
Pretty remarkable to think that if this score stays the same, the Angels will be 16-8 against all teams not from Boston, but 0-6 against the Sox.
Did I just jinx something?
End 7th, Red Sox 3-1: If you are a manager, fan or just someone who appreciates a well-played game by your team, those on the Red Sox side of things have to be smiling.
Aside from Jon Lester's awkward pickoff attempt error all the way back in the third, and the solo shot he served up to Mark Trumbo one inning earlier, there is a lot to like about this one.
Not only do you have Lester's solid start, but the bats have outlasted a dominant starter for the second straight night, and contributions are coming up and down the lineup.
Carl Crawford crept closer to .200 with his second hit of the night (6-for-11 in May), a single with one out, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia drove him in from there with a booming double to center. Crawford scored on another semi-close play at the plate, highlighting another solid aspect of the night — Boston has run the bases pretty well.
Daniel Bard will be on to pitch the eighth. For those of you wondering why Lester is out after 93 pitches, the Sox are in a brutal portion of the schedule, with just one day off until June 2. Every guy will be going on four day's rest for a month or more, and Boston is clearly making sure that it monitors the workload of each starter, as evidenced by the treatment of Josh Beckett this week.
Lester's impressive line: 7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 K's. He threw 93 pitches, 66 for strikes.
Mid 7th, Red Sox 2-1: Who's game is it? It's Lester's game! (Magic Johnson NBC basketball commentator voice).
Jon Lester is putting forth a pretty special effort here tonight. He recorded three more strikeouts in the seventh, has a season-high 11 overall and is two shy of matching his career high. More importantly, the Angels haven't had a runner reach second since the fourth and Boston has a lead.
While the 11 Ks look great, the best stat on Lester's line is his one walk. That's the ratio upon which he needed to improve, and he has during this dominant run.
Lester has thrown 93 pitches, so he has some more left, it would seem. Still, Daniel Bard is warming up with purpose in the bullpen.
End 6th, Red Sox 2-1: Everyone was at the edge of their seat when Dustin Pedroia stepped to the plate with Jacoby Ellsbury at second base (he doubled) and one out in the sixth.
When Pedroia struck out, many at Fenway settled back a bit, several of them groaning and wondering if/when the Sox would get to Dan Haren.
Before they could even get a word of frustration out, Adrian Gonzalez lined a first-pitch RBI single to left. Ellsbury beat the throw by a few feet, sliding in hard one night after bruising his left knee in a collision at home.
Huge hit by Gonzalez, who has been the most consistent offensive performer for Boston all season, despite the one little home run.
David Ortiz followed with a chop single down the right-field line, moving Gonzalez to third, and Jed Lowrie then hit a broken-bat single through the 3.5 hole to score another. Haren had allowed just two men to reach in the first five innings, but went from one run ahead to one run behind in a span of six pitches.
Mid 6th, Angels 1-0: Back and forth we go. Jon Lester finally gets the 1-2-3 inning he wants, adding two more strikeouts to his total, which now sits at eight. His season high is nine, his career high 13.
Lester has been good all year, save for the stinker in the April 1 opener. But he gets particularly stronger as games drag on, it seems. He has now allowed just one run in 10 1/3 innings beyond the fifth. No team has scored on him in four innings beyond the sixth, where he will venture in a little bit with a pitch count of 74.
End 5th, Angels 1-0: Last night, Dan Haren saw his teammate and fellow dominator, Jeff Weaver, raise his ERA above 1.00, settling in at a tidy 1.39.
Haren is heading in the other direction. His ERA is down to 1.10 after he strikes out three in the fifth, working around a two-out single by Marco Scutaro.
Haren actually cannot get to 1.00 tonight unless he goes 10 scoreless, but his figure is impressive nonetheless (his ERA, not his body).
Mid 5th, Angels 1-0: Jon Lester has yet to throw a perfect inning and has made one huge mistake in this game, but he continues to put up enough zeroes.
Since that three-run homer that Lester gave up to Mike Napoli in that disastrous opener in Texas, he has a 1.56 ERA. His sixth strikeout of this one ends the fifth with a runner at first.
End 4th, Angels 1-0: That's 49 pitches thrown by Dan Haren through four innings. Just one man has reached, that being Carl Crawford with one out in the third.
Jon Lester has allowed four more men to reach but his pitch count is at a very healthy 52 as he heads out to begin the fifth.
Mid 4th, Angels 1-0: It's getting to be a bit redundant, but Dustin Pedroia is making every play at second base.
A single and a walk put Jon Lester in some hot water to start the fourth. Erick Aybar then hit a soft little liner that Pedroia snagged as he ran toward first.
Adrian Gonzalez had drifted off the bag toward the ball, but Pedroia led him back to the bag with a soft, but perfectly placed and timed, flare. Gonzalez caught it just as his foot hit the bag to double off Vernon Wells, who drew the walk.
Lester then strikes out Mark Trumbo to end it. The lefty has five Ks in this one.
End 3rd, Angels 1-0: You wonder if Terry Francona will ever revisit the idea of grouping Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford near the top of the lineup, now that both are swinging a better bat.
Francona, and everyone else on this team, was very excited at the prospect of those two getting on and just destroying teams on the bases. The idea of Ellsbury on third and Crawford on first had those who love the speed game salivating.
With Crawford hitting eighth, they are somewhat grouped in the order, separated tonight by just one man, Jarrod Saltalamacchia. But if both get (or stay) hot, you may see a lineup or two where they both get up in the first inning.
Crawford is now 5-for-9 in May and 10-for-32 (.313) in his last nine games after a single in the third. He swiped second and move to third on Saltalamacchia's grounder. Ellsbury struck out to leave Crawford 90 feet from paydirt.
Mid 3rd, Angels 1-0: A couple of notes on Jon Lester, one negative and one positive.
First of all, he has short-armed about six or seven pickoff attempts to first base already this year. Adrian Gonzalez has blocked them all, until the one Lester uncorked into the dirt in the third, which allowed the speedy Peter Bourjos to move to second base with one out.
Not sure what the issue is there, but it will hurt Lester at some point.
The second point. Lester did not throw a single cutter in the first two innings. He tossed eight in the third, and with some nice precision. Two of them struck out Maicer Izturis and Bobby Abreu. That helped Lester strand the runner at second.
End 2nd, Angels 1-0: The bottom of the second lasted a grand total of eight pitches, or about the amount of time it took for me to finish my ice cream.
The meatloaf wasn't bad, by the way.
Dan Haren in a nice groove early on.
Mid 2nd, Angels 1-0: The first three half-innings of this one have featured a handful of broken bats, several swings and misses and one drive off the bat of Mark Trumbo.
Admittedly, I was looking down when Trumbo made contact, but the sound of his solo shot to left was so unique amid the early flood of weak contact against these two great pitchers.
It was an 0-2 fastball a little upstairs that Trumbo crushed for his fifth of the year.
Lester had some success climbing the ladder with the fastball on strikeouts of Howie Kendrick and Vernon Wells. But you have to make sure you go high enough, or a bit off the plate. That one sat right at Trumbo's belt, and Lester paid.
End 1st, 0-0: When Jon Lester defeated Dan Haren last month in Anaheim, it was my contention that Haren was the better pitcher, by a small margin.
It was Haren's defense that did him in, particularly in the outfield. Torii Hunter misplayed one ball in right, Peter Bourjos dropped a fly in center and Vernon Wells was charged with an error in left.
Had those plays not occurred, Haren might have been on the right side of the score. He has a better first inning than Lester in this one, and his defense gets some of the credit this time — third baseman Maicer Izturis made a nice backhanded play of a Dustin Pedroia hot shot for the second out.
Haren got Adrian Gonzalez looking to end it.
Mid 1st, 0-0: After a double by Maicer Izturis and a fly ball that moved him to third, the Angels had a nice opportunity to score an early run. (And no, Kevin Youkilis would not have reached the shot down the line by Izturis, especially with the way his hip pain has bothered him of late).
Jon Lester had other ideas. Lester rocked Howie Kendrick to sleep (fastball, changeup, fastball) to get a quick strikeout and then got Torii Hunter on a soft pop to Dustin Pedroia.
Credit Jarrod Saltalamacchia with a stop of a hard sinking two-seamer during the Hunter at-bat that would've led to a run if it got past him.
7:09 p.m.: Jon Lester's first pitch to Maicer Izturis is a a fastball a little low, and we are off and running.
6:43 p.m.: While we munch on meatloaf and mashed potatoes, the Red Sox announced that Kevin Youkilis is out of the lineup due to an illness. Not sure if he had any.
The new lineup looks like this:
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
David Ortiz, DH
Jed Lowrie, 3B
J.D. Drew, RF
Marco Scutaro, SS
Carl Crawford, LF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
5:48 p.m.: The lineup for the Angels features very few changes from the night before. Here is the crew that will take on Jon Lester:
Maicer Izturis, 3B
Bobby Abreu, DH
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Torii Hunter, RF
Vernon Wells, LF
Eric Aybar, SS
Mark Trumbo, 1B
Jeff Mathis, C
Peter Bourjos, CF
Hunter may be one guy to watch. He is 4-for-9 with a pair of doubles against Lester. The guy behind him, Vernon Wells, is just 6-for-31 (.194) vs. the lefty.
4:26 p.m.: It's a bit overcast and kind of muggy as the Red Sox take batting practice below. We've received some updates from manager Terry Francona.
Jacoby Ellsbury woke up feeling just fine this morning and says he is ready to go. His production since returning to the top spot in the lineup has been so important for a team that hasn't had everyone on the same page offensively. It's important for him to stay healthy (stating the obvious, I guess).
I said when they bumped Ellsbury to No. 9 in the lineup that it seemed premature. He was just one of about seven guys struggling at the plate and it seemed that he needed a chance to get going. But maybe they knew what they were doing and thought he could find his stroke a little lower down in the lineup and then return with a vengeance.
That he has, hitting .395 in the 10 games since returning to the top spot.
"You're seeing success," Francona said. "I don't know about the approach. I just think you're seeing him hit balls maybe he didn't hit early in the season. I think he's always tried to use the entire field and things like that, but when you do it he's getting to pitches he wasn't getting to earlier in the season. Because of that, he's not afraid to hit deeper in the count, so he's probably a better hitter."
On another note, Josh Beckett will not be on any sort of pitch count when he goes tomorrow night. And Daisuke Matsuzaka, who will start Friday, could have gone today on his normal rest if he had to. Doesn't seem to be any major issues with those guys, for now.
Francona was asked a bit about two guys struggling in the pen, Bobby Jenks and Dan Wheeler. With Jenks, the skipper is hopeful that a video session with pitching coach Curt Young will help. He also wants to get Jenks out there soon, knowing that the righty is chomping at the bit. As for if he will use Jenks in situations when the pressure is less, Francona said that will not be the case.
"We need him to pitch in those situations. For us to be the type of team we want to be, we need him to pitch in those situations."
Wheeler, whose ERA is 9.90, has been hurt when the cutter catches too much of the plate. His margin for error is slim, since he cannot overpower anyone. But he has to work in the periphery of the zone, and has not done that enough.
"It's a little bit like [Scott Atchison]," Francona said of Wheeler. "The cutter guy, it's a great pitch until you leave it over the middle, and then it gets wacked. That's kinda what Wheels is. It's not overpowering, it's crisp. He's got that nice cutter, but when you leave it over the middle, it can get hit.
"He'll eat up innings. When guys start out slow, we don't want to run from them. That's when you can make mistakes. Certainly might want to pick your spots with them a little bit until they get on a run, but the idea is to get them feeling comfortable as opposed to not pitching."
Back with more tidbits in a moment.
3:31 p.m.: Here is that lineup, with Jacoby Ellsbury in there. A good sign:
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
David Ortiz, DH
J.D. Drew, RF
Jed Lowrie, SS
Carl Crawford, LF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
3:15 p.m.: Greetings from Fenway Park, where the first sight seen is Dustin Pedroia in the cage getting in some early cuts. Do not take for granted what you have in this guy, Sox fans. A hard worker who gets his rewards.
We should have the lineups over to you momentarily.
9 a.m.: The Red Sox have showcased some extremely solid starting pitching of late, while at the same time facing, and defeating, many of the best pitchers the American League has to offer.
That trend continues Tuesday night at Fenway Park, where Sox lefty Jon Lester opposes Dan Haren of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
This marks the second time the two stars have faced in a span of 12 days. Lester got the win and Haren the loss, his only one this year, in Boston's 4-3 win in Anaheim on April 22.
Normally a slow starter, Lester is 3-1 with a 1.59 ERA over his last five outings.
The Sox, a day after defeating reigning Cy Young Award winner Felix Hernandez of Seattle, handed Angels righty Jered Weaver his first loss in seven decisions in Monday's opener.
Adrian Gonzalez had three RBIs, Dustin Pedroia delivered a big two-run single and David Ortiz went deep in the 9-5 win that gave Boston a 14-1 record in the series between the two teams since the start of last season.
First pitch for the second game of the four-game set is 7:10 p.m.
