G48: Red Sox 2, Royals 1

Royals  - 000 000 100 - 1  5  0
Red Sox - 020 000 00x - 2  5  0

Masterson was superb yet again: 6.1-3-1-3-5, 91. ... Francona on post-game: Masterson promoted to Pawtucket!!

He allowed a two-out double in the first, a two-out HBP in the second, walks in the third and fourth that were quickly erased, a two-out double in the sixth -- but pitched out of trouble each time. (A leadoff walk in the seventh eventually scored.)

The Red Sox made their second inning rally -- Kevin Youkilis one-out single, J.D. Drew single, Jason Varitek BB, Julio Lugo sacrifice fly, Coco Crisp RBI double -- stand up.

Hideki Okajima had some trouble in the 8th: leadoff double, one-out walk, two-out walk. Jonathan Papelbon came on with the bases loaded and two outs -- and struck out Billy Butler. He then pitched a perfect 9th, a 3-1 grounder and two strikeouts.

***

A first inning throwing error by Derek Jeter allowed the Orioles to keep batting -- and they scored seven runs -- en route to a 12-2 victory over the Yankees. ... NYY = 7.5 GB.

***

Gil Meche (5.98, 71 ERA)+ / Justin Masterson (1.50, 286 ERA+)

Masterson's only other major league appearance was against the Angels at Fenway on April 24, 2008. Boston lost the game, but he put up an impressive 6-2-1-4-4, 95 line.

Tampa held off the A's in 13 innings last night to remain 1 GB. They play again at 10, while the last-place Yankees (6.5 GB) host the Orioles at 7.

Wicked Lester

Jon Lester:

When I walked the leadoff guy [in the ninth], I had to step back and tell myself I don't have to be too fine. Let them hit the ball, let them put it in play. Let the guys behind me make the plays. ...

The last at-bat? To be honest, I don't even remember. I do know that early in the at-bat he fouled off a good curveball and a good cutter. We'd be doing that all night, throwing the four-seam cutter in, then try to go with the four-seam fastball away.

Warming up before the game, Lester was a bit worried about the start:

Usually when you're in the bullpen you can figure out what you're going to have. You have a good curveball, a good changeup or whatever. Today I didn't have any. I didn't know what was going to happen.

John Farrell, who came within three outs of no-hitting the Royals on May 4, 1989, agreed: "It was probably the most erratic he was of any bullpen throughout this season."


Jason Varitek is the first catcher to be behind the plate for four no-hitters:

Hideo Nomo (April 4, 2001, at Orioles)
Derek Lowe (April 27, 2002 vs Devil Rays)
Clay Buchholz (September 1, 2007 vs Orioles)
Jon Lester (May 19, 2008 vs Royals)

Ray Schalk's Hall of Fame plaque says he caught four no-hit games, but MLB changed its definition of a no-hitter in 1991 and Schalk's total dropped to three.

Varitek had no idea the Royals were hitless until the eighth inning:

I looked up after the seventh and saw that he was around 100 pitches [97] and I was like, "He did his job". And then I glanced in the bullpen and saw nobody warming up and I said, "That's kind of weird". I looked back [at the scoreboard] and said, "Uh-oh!"

The Globe has pictures and post-game video. Red Sox Monster has video of the final out.

I often think about a possible no-hitter after a pitcher gets through the first two innings. Yet for some reason last night -- too much attention to game thread comments? -- but I didn't even notice that Kansas City had no hits until the end of the fifth inning.

G47: Red Sox 7, Royals 0

Royals  - 000 000 000 - 0  0  1
Red Sox - 005 002 00x - 7  5  1

JON LESTER PITCHES A NO-HITTER!!!



9-0-0-2-9, 130 -- and he was hitting his spots all night long!

It's the first no-hitter by a Red Sox left-hander since Mel Parnell did it against the White Sox on July 14, 1956.







***

Luke Hochevar (3.94, 108 ERA+) / Jon Lester (3.95, 109 ERA+)

MLB.com:

Hochevar wasn't at his sharpest last Wednesday night but he still managed to shut out the Tigers for six innings, giving up just four singles. He showed an ability to work out of jams ... This was his fifth start since being called up from Triple-A Omaha on April 20. In all but his first outing, he's pitched six or seven solid innings. With an effective sinker, he's been good at inducing ground balls...

Hochevar has never faced any hitter on the Red Sox. ... Seven Royals are a combined 4-for-27 (.148/.273/.148) against Lester.

Tampa visits Oakland at 10 PM. The Yankees have the day off.

UPDATE: Nice short Q&A with hitting coach Dave Magadan about how David Ortiz began hitting off a batting tee for the first time on May 1. Since then, he has hit .354 and has been spraying the ball all over the field.

Art Martone: Baseball Today

Providence Journal Sports Editor Art Martone's "Baseball Today" link-o-rama should be near the top of your list of must-visits every day. Here are some of the bits from this morning:

WELL, THAT EXPLAINS IT: We all know the Red Sox have won two World Series in the last four seasons and we all know the roles Ortiz and Manny Ramirez have played in hanging those two flags. Makes sense, then, that SI.com's Jon Heyman would rank the signings of Ortiz and Ramirez as two of the five greatest free-agent acquisitions of all time -- Ortiz at No. 1 and Ramirez No. 5. ...

UP IS DOWN, BLACK IS WHITE ... and a journalist -- in this case, the St. Petersburg Times' Gary Shelton -- is actually writing that the Rays are better than the Yankees ...

MEET THE MUSINGS MAN: I link to an item or two in Baseball Musings almost daily, so you know I'd in interested in Statistically Speaking's interview with David Pinto. His choices for the players he'd build his team around: Hanley Ramirez and Cole Hamels. ...

WHAT'S THE BIGGER ACHIEVEMENT? The fact that the Reds' Edinson Volquez has an Adjusted ERA as good as Bob Gibson's record 1.12 ERA in 1968, or the fact that a mainstream media outlet actually built a feature around Adjusted ERA? (Cincinnati Enquirer)

Schadenfreude 47 (A Continuing Series)

Peter Botte, Daily News:

The Mets and their embattled manager began the weekend as the local team embroiled in turmoil. The Yankees and their new skipper now clearly are the ones in chaos and in need of a soul-searching team meeting.

Filip Bondy, Daily News:

Funny how a wet, one-sided weekend can change everything. Willie Randolph entered the borough on Friday reeling and rationalizing. He was supposedly losing control of his clubhouse. Two games later, the Mets are one game out of first place, while things are Subway Serious for the last-place Yankees and their beleaguered manager. ...

The Mets and Randolph are done running back-page interference for Girardi and the Yanks, who are now a full six games back of Boston, with plenty of possible wild-card ambushes lurking in three divisions.

More to the point, the Yanks are doing almost nothing well. ...

Bondy mentions the Red Sox and a non-Yankee wild card possibility in the East. On May 19!

            W   L   PCT   GB   RS   RA
Boston     27  19  .587  ---  239  209
Tampa Bay  25  19  .568  1.0  201  176
Baltimore  23  20  .535  2.5  179  184
Toronto    23  23  .500  4.0  177  181
New York   20  24  .455  6.0  179  197

Note: The Mets have played three fewer games than the Yankees, but have scored 25 more runs.

Lance Berkman

In his last 14 games (not including today), he is 32-for-53. That's a .604 batting average. .604!

Berkman started the season off a little slow, but since the 10th game of the season (April 9), he's hitting .434/.513/.868 -- for an 1.381 OPS.

For the season, Berkman is batting .399. Chipper Jones leads the NL at .412.

G46: Red Sox 11, Brewers 7

Brewers - 200 202 010 -  7   8  1
Red Sox - 102 321 20x - 11  15  0

A three-game sweep -- in under 25 hours!

Beckett (7-6-6-1-9, 107) allowed four home runs (Ryan Braun tagged his curveball twice), but his teammates battered a quintet of Brewers. The biggest bats:

Ortiz: 2 home runs, double, 2 runs, 4 RBI
Pedroia: 2 singles, home run, walk, 3 runs, 2 RBI
Youkilis: 2 singles, home run, 2 runs, 2 RBI

Bad news: Ellsbury was caught stealing on a fourth inning pitchout, ending his stealing streak at 24.

***

Carlos Villanueva (6.00, 71 ERA+) / Josh Beckett (4.21, 101 ERA+)

News for the week, from Benjamin:

Justin Masterson will be brought up on Tuesday, swapped with Chris Smith (who came up today). Then Masterson will return to the minors after the game, and Bartolo Colon will come up to the big league club and will pitch on Wednesday. ...

Monday:    Jon Lester /Luke Hochevar
Tuesday:   Justin Masterson / Gil Meche
Wednesday: Bartolo Colon / Brett Tomko
Thursday:  Daisuke Matsuzaka / Brian Bannister

RHP Chris Smith Added To Pen

The Red Sox will have an extra arm in the bullpen tomorrow, as they call up right-handed pitcher Chris Smith from Pawtucket and send outfielder Jonathan Van Every back down.

Sox Prospects on Smith:

Average fastball with power breaking curve. ... Throws off-speed pitches for strikes, often at unexpected counts. Pounds the strike zone with great command, doesn't walk many batters. Also has an effective knuckle-curve.

Smith, who turned 27 last month, has pitched in 10 games for the PawSox this season -- four starts and six relief appearances:

         G   IP    H   BB    K    ERA   AVG
Start    4   21   14    6   18   1.71  .187
Relief   6   10    7    1   10   0.90  .189
        10   31   21    7   28   1.45  .188

Van Every played in one game.

G45: Red Sox 7, Brewers 6

Brewers - 000 003 300 - 6  9  4
Red Sox - 202 010 20x - 7  6  3

After Mike Lowell gives the Sox an early lead -- two-run double in the 1st, two-run dong in the 3rd -- the Brewers battle back. The leads changes hands twice in a sloppy 7th inning (two errors on each side), before Mike Timlin pitches a tidy eight-pitch 9th to nail down the Saturday sweep.

***

David Bush (6.06, 70 ERA+) / Tim Wakefield (4.25, 100 ERA+)

Game 2!

Current AL East
  
Tampa Bay  25  18  .581  --
Boston     25  19  .568  .5

G44: Red Sox 5, Brewers 3

Brewers - 000 000 201 - 3   9  1
Red Sox - 130 000 01x - 5  11  1

Dice was strong (6.2-7-2-2-6, 103, both runs unearned) and David Ortiz belted a three-run home run to left-center in the second inning. The pen saw some nice work from Manny Delcarmen (1.1 IP, ending the 7th and taking the 8th, allowing only a one-out single).

Ortiz also scored in the first, on a bases-loaded walk to J.D. Drew. Doubles from Jason Varitek and Jacoby Ellsbury brought in the fifth run in the eighth.

Matsuzaka worked quickly through the first 4.2 innings, throwing only 58 pitches to 16 batters. But with two outs in the fifth, he allowed a single to Bill Hall, hit Jason Kendall and walked Rickie Weeks to load the bases before getting the final out.

A two-out error at third from Kevin Youkilis kept the seventh inning alive for Milwaukee and Mike Cameron followed with a two-run dong to left. Papelbon allowed a solo shot to Ryan Braun in the ninth.

The Red Sox had plenty of chances to add to their run total.

4th - runner on second, no outs
5th - runners on first and second, no outs
6th - runners on first and third, no outs
7th - runners on first and second, no outs

None of those runners scored. In fact, only one of those seven runners advanced even one base; the man on first in the 6th ended up at second.

***

Jeff Suppan (4.63, 92 ERA+) / Daisuke Matsuzaka (2.45, 174 ERA+)

Game 1 of today's afternoon-night doubleheader.

Okajima Has Sore Left Wrist

With three games scheduled in the next two days, the Red Sox have announced that Hideki Okajima has a sore left wrist and will be put on the shelf for a few days. (Jeemer discussed his inherited runner troubles here.)

This news comes in addition to the Red Sox needing a spot starter for Tuesday -- and possibly Wednesday, unless one of today's starters, Daisuke Matsuzaka or Tim Wakefield, returns after three days rest.

But with a short-handed bullpen, the Red Sox need both starters to go deep into the games today. It would also be helpful if Mike Timlin, Craig Hansen and Manny Delcarmen (who has worked only twice in the last 10 games and only three innings this month) would pitch well.

More On The Bronx Thongers

NYDN:

Derek Jeter agreed that Giambi's thong works, although "it's so uncomfortable running around the bases." ...

Asked if the thong got washed between wearings, [Jorge Posada] gave a cringe-worthy answer. "Ask Jason," said Posada. "Jason is a little strange."

Ellsbury on First, Second Base Open

During a recent game thread, a question arose: How many times has Jacoby Ellsbury reached first base with second base open and then attempted to steal?

Looking through my scorecards, I found 23 occasions so far this season (0412 = April 12, etc.):

Game 12 0412 - Leadoff single in 1st, 0-0;
                 SB on 2nd pitch to Pedroia
  
Game 13 0413 - Leadoff walk in 1st, 0-0,
                 SB on 2nd pitch to Pedroia
  
Game 17 0417 - Leadoff HBP in top 1st,
                 SB on 1st pitch to Pedroia
               HBP in 3rd, 1 out, Sox 1-0,
                 SB on 1st pitch to Pedroia
  
Game 20 0420 - Walk in 3rd, 1 out, Tex 2-0,
                 SB on 2nd pitch to Lowrie
               Single in 8th, 2 outs, Tex 5-2,
                 no attempt
  
Game 21 0421 - Leadoff walk in 3rd, 0-0,
                 SB on 1st pitch to Pedroia
               Single in 4th, 2 outs, Sox 2-0
                 SB on 3rd pitch to Pedroia 
  
Game 22 0422 - Single in 8th, 1 out, 6-6,
                 no attempt
  
Game 23 0423 - Single in 3rd, Cash on 3B, 0 out,
                 LAA 3-1, no attempt
  
Game 24 0424 - Single in 9th, 1 out, LAA 7-3,
                 no attempt
  
Game 26 0426 - Leadoff single in top 1st,
                 no attempt
  
Game 31 0502 - Single in 4th, 2 outs, Sox 3-0,
                 SB on 2nd pitch to Pedroia
  
Game 32 0503 - Leadoff single in 1st, 0-0,
                 no attempt
               Walk in 2nd, 1 out, Sox 3-2,
                 no attempt, but took 2nd on WP
  
Game 33 0504 - Leadoff single in 1st, 0-0,
                 no attempt
  
Game 36 0507 - FC in 5th, Varitek on 3rd, 1 out,
                 Det 5-2, SB on 2nd pitch to Lowrie
               Leadoff single in 7th, Det 8-5,
                 SB on 2nd pitch to Lowrie
  
Game 37 0508 - Leadoff single in 5th, Sox 3-1,
                 no attempt
  
Game 38 0509 - FC in 5th, 1 out, Sox 6-5,
                 SB on 1st pitch to Pedroia
               Single in 8th, 2 outs, Sox 6-5,
                 no attempt
  
Game 42 0513 - Walk in 8th, 1 out, Bal 5-3,
                 no attempt
  
Game 43 0514 - Leadoff single in top 1st,
                 SB on 1st pitch to Pedroia
               Single in 3rd, 1 out, Sox 1-0,
                 no attempt

In 12 of those 23 situations, Ellsbury has attempted to steal second base -- and he has been successful all 12 times. I have no idea how this rate (52%) compares to other base stealers. ... I should also note that in some of the other 11 situations, stealing would not usually be done.

However, Ellsbury has 15 (not 12) stolen bases so far this year. The other three pilfered bags came as part of double steals, one in Game 20 and two in Game 33.

There were also six times in which the next batter put the first pitch into play, giving Ellsbury no chance to steal:

Game  1 0325 - Leadoff single in 7th; Sox 3-2;
                 Lugo 1st pitch GIDP
  
Game  9 0409 - FC in 9th; 2 outs; Det 7-2;
                 Cora 1st pitch single
  
Game 12 0412 - Single in 6th; 1 out; NY 2-1;
                 Pedroia 1st pitch double
  
Game 36 0507 - Leadoff single in top 1st;
                 Lowrie 1st pitch GIDP
  
Game 40 0511 - Leadoff HBP in 3rd; Min 5-0;
                 Pedroia HBP on 1st pitch

Game 43 0514 - Single in 5th; Van Every on 3B,
                 2 outs, Sox 2-0, Pedroia 5-3 on
                 1st pitch to end inning

In summary, when Lyndon has been on first and second is open, he's tried to steal about half of the time. And almost always on the first or second pitch.

Ellsbury is also 24-for-24 in steal attempts to begin his career. The major league record is 27, set by Tim Raines.

G44: Brewers at Red Sox, PPD

After a rain delay of about 1:45, tonight's game was postponed. Extra Bases says it

will be played tomorrow in the second game of a split doubleheader (separate admission). First game at 3:55 p.m, second game at 8:35 p.m. If you've got tickets for last night's game, they are good for the night game.

The Mets/Yankees game was also rained out.

***

Jeff Suppan (4.63, 92 ERA+) / Daisuke Matsuzaka (2.45, 174 ERA+)

Michael Silverman takes a look at Matsuzaka's performance. While Dice's ERA and opponents' batting average and slugging percentage are much improved from last season -- 2.45 (5th in the AL), .170 (2nd) and .220 (2nd), respectively -- his strikeout-to-walk ratio has dropped, as has his innings pitched and K/9.

Dice has more walks (30) than hits allowed (28) while posting a 6-0 record. Jayson Stark informs us that

The only starting pitcher since 1900 to finish at least six games over .500 in a season with more walks than hits, according to the Complete Baseball Encyclopedia: Tommy Byrne of the 1949 Yankees (15-7 despite an insane 179-125 walk-hit ratio).

The only starting pitchers in the last 50 years who were even one game over .500 while allowing more walks than hits (with as many starts as Dice-K):

Nolan Ryan    1977 (19-16, 204 BB, 198 H)
Randy Johnson 1991 (13-10, 152 BB, 151 H)
Bobby Witt    1986 (11- 9, 143 BB, 130 H)
Ken Wright    1973 ( 6- 5,  82 BB,  60 H)

***

              W   L   PCT   GB
Devil Rays   24  17  .585   --- 
Red Sox      24  19  .558   1.0 
Orioles      21  19  .525   2.5 
Blue Jays    21  22  .488   4.0
Yankees      20  22  .476   4.5

Mets (Santana) at Yankees (Rasner), 7 PM
&
Rays (Sonnanstine) at Cardinals (Looper), 8:15 PM

Tuesday's Starter?

With Clay Buchholz on the disabled list, the Red Sox need a starting pitcher for Tuesday evening against the Royals.

Bartolo Colon pitched a one-hitter for Pawtucket in the first game of a Thursday doubleheader (box), throwing 64 pitches in six innings, 45 for strikes. In three starts for the PawSox, Colon has allowed six hits and one run in 14 innings (0.64 ERA), walking one and striking out 11.

The Globe's Gordon Edes thinks Colon will get the nod, but Michael Silverman of the Herald disagrees, saying David Pauley (who went 5-5-0-1-2, 75 in the second game of Pawtucket's doubleheader) or Charlie Zink are stronger possibilities.

Zink is starting tonight however, so a lengthy start from him would likely cross him off the list. Another possibility is Justin Masterson, who had a rough outing last night for Portland (6-9-7-2-3).

Lou Merloni, the newest NESN analyst, on playing in Boston:

When I was there, everything was coming to a head. This team needed to win a World Series fast and it did, the next year [2004]. But it was difficult, it was taking over people's lives. ... It made me laugh when Lugo was talking about the negativity in this town. This guy's got no clue what negativity is. No matter how bad it is right now, the true Red Sox fan sits back and says, "They won a World Series in '04 and '07. It's changed."

Mockery starts his job on May 27.

Giambi's Thong

Jason Giambi reveals that, to end a batting slump, he wears a gold lamé, tiger-striped thong. He adds that he has shared the thong with many teammates, including Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Johnny Damon, Robin Ventura and Robinson Cano:

All of them wore it and got hits. The thong works every time.

Giambi did not say whether any Yankees have worn one of these.

Also: A short history of players who wear glasses.

Interview: Manny's High-Five Partner

After Manny Ramirez's once-in-a-lifetime play on Wednesday afternoon, I looked forward to reading the article from whichever Boston reporter trekked out to left field to interview the fan who had been high-fived by Manny.

Amazingly, the next day, there was nothing. However, Manny's high-five partner left a comment on this blog after the game, so I emailed him.

Here are some of the comments from R. Dunning, a 24-year-old Red Sox fan from Edmond, Oklahoma. On top of everything else, it was the first (and obviously, only, so far) major league baseball game he has attended!

I am from Oklahoma, but became a Sox fan in the 2004 season, before the series win. My best friend at college at Oklahoma State University has always been a huge Sox fan, his family came from NE. He got me watching the Sox in 2003 a bit and I really started following them in '04. ...

I made a trip up to Fenway a couple summers ago and it was the experience of a lifetime. I didn't get to see a game, but I went on the tour and got to go on the field. I was just stunned to be standing where Manny does. Got to see "Manny's clubhouse" door on the monster. lol ... It was just an amazing experience. Dang near in tears.

I'd never been to a major league game before and my mom got me tickets to the game in Baltimore as a gift before I leave this Summer to ship off for ARMY NG training in South Dakota. ...

Anyways, at the game Manny was having fun with the Boston fans in the area. Talking as usual, joking and pointing to the Boston fans near the foul pole. Also, kinda shaking off the hecklers, which were near me. Funny enough I was sitting next to all Orioles fans other than my mom and dad. Maybe that's why he came to me, he knew I was right in the middle of all of them. :) ...

The play happened in an instant and I barely realized I had high-fived him when he came up the wall. When he caught the ball I did the point that he always does, and you can see that in some of the videos.

Then he came up. Pretty awesome. The only people around me that realized it were the couple next to me, whose husband was listening to the radio broadcast.


When he came out the next inning he just looked my way and smiled. Nothing really dramatic. I wish he'd come up and talked to me! I guess a high five will have to do. ... Anyways, I've got something to take back with me to Oklahoma and last forever. I'm now part of a Manny being Manny moment. lol...

Ack -- While getting this ready, I found out there is a much better interview with R. here. So consider mine the appetizer before the main course.

Something Else #9 - Replacements / Springsteen

Taking three out of four in Detroit was good, but then things went completely off the rails in Minnesota and Baltimore. Poor relief pitching and cold late-inning bats = several very frustrating losses.

But now the Red Sox are back at Fenway. And before they put an obscene beating on both the Brewers and Royals, we need to clear our heads with some rock and roll.

First, we have 44 tracks recorded by the Replacements for their 1981 debut album -- Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash. Peter Jesperson, the band's former manager, on hearing the band's demo in 1980: "I could hardly believe my ears ... It sounded like a wild reinterpretation of the fundamentals of rock-like Chuck Berry, the Stones and the Sex Pistols all rolled into one." When you visit me on my desert island, this will be one of my 10 albums. Inspirational lyric: "I hate music / It's got too many notes". (Note: The first four Mats albums -- Sorry Ma, Stink, Hootenanny and Let It Be -- have been remastered and reissued by Rhino with several bonus tracks each.)

Then we have one of the most famous Bruce Springsteen concerts of all time: February 5, 1975 at the Main Point in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. This show was broadcast on WMMR and at the time was the longest (2.5 hours) of Springsteen's career. It has been bootlegged many times -- on vinyl as "You Can Trust Your Car To The Man Who Wears The Star" and then on CD as "The Saint, The Incident, & The Main Point Shuffle". This remastered version is titled "The Prodigal Son At The Main Point". Notes: This was at the same time Bruce was writing and recording the Born To Run album, so there's an early version of "Thunder Road" called "Wings For Wheels" and "She's The One" has a lot of lyrics that would later become part of "Backstreets". Also, Suki Lahav plays violin and adds backing vocals.

The Ultimate Manny Moment

Manny Ramirez -- the only player in baseball history to high-five a fan while in the middle of turning a double play!!!

And then he celebrates with his teammate in center field -- who is making his major league debut!


Gowanus Baseball has screenshots of the play in a post entitled "The Five Stages of Being Awesome, by Manny Ramirez".

The catch itself was stunning -- what happened afterwards is the stuff of legend.

Looking for video ...

G43: Orioles 6, Red Sox 3

Red Sox - 100 110 000 - 3 12  0
Orioles - 000 002 40x - 6  8  0

In each of the last three games, the Red Sox have taken a 3-0 lead, then gone on to lose the game.

It happened against this afternoon. Boston led 3-0 in the bottom of the sixth when the Orioles scored twice against Lester. In the seventh, Javier Lopez got the first two outs, then gave up a sngle to Freddie Bynum. Craig Hansen came in and allowed a single to Guillermo Quiroz and a nine-pitch walk to Brian Roberts to load the bases.

Hideki Okajima came in and Jay Payton lined his second pitch into the left field stands for a grand slam. Jeemer has inherited 14 runners this season -- and he's let 11 of them score. Last year, he allowed only four of 28 inherited runners to score.

The team is obviously frustrated, having lost four in a row and five out of their last six games. Manny Ramirez beat out an infield hit with two outs in the eighth, but was called out at first. He slammed his helmet on the ground and was yelling, but was not ejected. In the ninth, after Mike Lowell singled, Kevin Youkilis grounded into a double play. He also barked at the umpire once he was called out.

Manny turned in the Play Of The Season: With one out in the bottom of the fourth, Nick Markakis was on second and Aubrey Huff was on first. Boston led 1-0. Kevin Millar crushed Lester's first pitch to deep left. Manny sprinted back, reached up and caught the ball over his shoulder, took two steps to the wall and leapt up against it to brace himself, high-fived a fan in the first row, then came down, turned and threw the ball in to Pedroia, who fired to Youkilis to double off Huff and end the inning.

NESN later showed several of Manny's teammates -- Lowell and Ellsbury among them -- gathered around one of the cameras by the dugout, crouching down to look very carefully at the replay and laughing. I can't wait to read (or hear) Manny's post-game comments on this play. Also, I hope at least one writer headed out to find that fan.

***

Jon Lester (4.06, 107 ERA+) / Daniel Cabrera (3.54, 119 ERA+)

The last time Cabrera faced the Red Sox (September 7, 2007), Coco Crisp was dancing off third base, Cabrera balked him home, then threw a pitch behind Dustin Pedroia's head. FY:

The guy's an idiot. ... I was upset they took him out of the game. He's good to hit. He's 9-15. The guy [stinks].

Boston (and Lester) won that game 4-0.

Buchholz To DL; Van Every Called Up

Clay Buchholz was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a broken nail on his right middle finger.

The Globe reports that the DL move

is due to a concern that 1) Buchholz' tender middle finger as a result of a torn fingernail, needs to heal; and 2) the possibility he could alter his delivery and injure a shoulder or an elbow if he pitched with it. ...

Buchholz said he ripped the nail across the top of his right middle finger while throwing a 2-seam fastball warm-up pitch before the start of the second inning of his last start. He said he didn't tell anyone about it, hoping to be able to get through the game. ...

With J.D. Drew's wrist hurting, the Red Sox called up outfielder Jonathan Van Every, who will make his major league debut in center field today.

Schadenfreude 46 (A Continuing Series)

With the Yankees (19-21) one half-game out of the AL East cellar, Mr. Hankee is not pleased:

We've got to forget about all the injuries and start playing our butts off. ... These players are being paid a lot of money and they had better decide for themselves to earn that money. ... I'm not saying they are not giving the effort, but they need to be playing harder. ...

This is going to get turned around. If it's not turned around this year, then it will be turned around next year, by force if we have too.

I guess the honeymoon for Joe Girardi is over. Less than three months ago, Hank claimed that Girardi would be "one of the greatest managers in the history of the game".