Kevin Youkilis ends the Sox 5 game losing streak with a two-out single in the ninth to claim game one of the series 1-0

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RED SOX EDGE OUT BLUE JAYS 1-0; MOVE TO 16-12
Kevin Youkilis ends the Sox 5 game losing streak with a two-out single in the ninth to claim game one of the series 1-0

(April 29, 2008) – There is a saying that the better the competition you are playing against the better it makes you as an athlete. Well this is what happened to the Red Sox 24-year-old left-hander Jon Lester tonight. Toronto ace Roy Halladay is an overall better pitcher with a career record of 113-58, 1,106 strike outs and an ERA of 3.63 but tonight Lester matched Halladay pitch-for-pitch.

There was an Old Time Baseball feel at the ballpark. None of this new generation, offense is everything business. It was simply Old Time Baseball where defense and pitching was everything. (I think Steve Buckley would be proud. So be sure to read in the Boston Herald tomorrow about how Buckley remembers pitchers completing games all the time back in the day. Which, according to Dane Cook, was a Wednesday by the way.) Both starters went eight inning combining to allow just four hits total and striking out 12 opposing batters.

From the first inning with Halladay on the mound, there was the feeling the first pitcher to make a mistake would be the loser. But neither pitcher made a mistake until the bottom of the ninth inning. It looked as if the Sox and Jays would be heading to extra frames after Coco Crisp and Dustin Pedroia flew out to center and popped to third, respectively but David Ortiz, who was 0-3 before stepping to the plate in the ninth, walked to bring Manny Ramirez to the plate. Ramirez kept the inning alive with a bloop base hit in front of Jays center fielder Vernon Wells to give Kevin Youkilis the chance to be a hero and he was. The base it was not a scorching line drive but it had enough juice on it to get past John McDonald and Aaron Hill for the game winner.

Remember folks the ninth inning rally all started when Ortiz drew the walk against Halladay so conclusions can be drawn from tonight’s game. Ortiz is not just a clutch player when he hitting game winning homeruns or doubles he is clutch when he does whatever is necessary to prolong the inning to give the Red Sox the opportunity to pull it out in the end. Remember that Red Sox fans. He may be slumping now but if it was not for Ortiz tonight, Youkilis would not have been the number one star of the game. Ortiz does whatever it takes for the team to win even when he is not playing well.

Lester walked four Toronto batters but was able to “minimize the damage” thanks to the defense behind him. He was helped out by two double plays in the fifth and sixth inning after a hit and a walk, respectively. Lester completed full innings before being replaced by closer Jonathan Papelbon who would get his first win of the season when Youkilis drove in Ortiz in the bottom of the ninth.

(photo courtesy of TLC) In the fifth inning if Lester had a second baseman who was two inches taller than Zach Roloff (left) then his no-hit bid would have still been intact going into the ninth. But Lyle Overbay's base hit was just a tad too high for little second baseman to snag from the sky. (Actually on second thought I think Zach would made that catch.)

Halladay also pitched magnificent for Toronto. Tonight’s game was his fourth consecutive start where he went the distance, pitching nine innings giving up one run on five hits while walking just one Sox hitters while striking out six. The Blue Jays did not give their Ace run support tonight.

After being pushed back to Wednesday night, Daisuke Matsuzaka go for his fifth win of the season against the Jays right hander Dustin McGowan. Matsuzaka is coming of an 11-3 win against Texas where he allowed three earned runs on five hits while striking our four Rangers in 5.1 innings. McGowan, who will be looking to bring his record back to .500 against the Japanese sensation, is 1-2 on the season with a 4.18 ERA and 23 strike outs. In his last start against the Rays in St. Petersburg, the Jays righty pitched just four innings while allowing five runs – four of them earned – on four hits while walking seven Rays and striking out six.

WIN: Jonathan Papelbon (1-1)

LOSS: Roy Halladay (2-4)

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Game Notes:

22 years ago today – Roger Clemens set the record for the game high strike outs with 20 against the Seattle Mariners.

The Jays broke a six game losing streak on Sunday with a 5-2 against the Kansas City Royals behind Jesse Litsch. Coming into tonight’s game the Sox lost five of their last 10 games and are relying on the young Jon Lester to snap the five game losing streak.

Terry Francona held Jacoby Ellsbury out of the line up due to a sore groin and says it's not worth letting the injury linger.

J.D. Drew left the game in the top of the third with a left quadriceps injury that he appeared to injure running out a ground ball to the shortstop David Eckstein. Brandon Moss replaced him in the field. In the top of third.

The 3 Stars of the Game:

1. Kevin Youkilis, BOSTON 2-4 Game winning RBI

2. Jon Lester, BOSTON 8IP, 1H, 0R, 3BB, 6K

3. Roy Halladay, TORONTO 9.0, 5H, 1ER, 1BB, 6K

The Big Hurt’s fifth inning, 2-out Grand Slam completes the 3-0 sweep of the Red Sox

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RED SOX SWEPT BY BLUE JAYS 6-2; MOVE TO 3-4
The Big Hurt’s fifth inning, 2-out Grand Slam completes the 3-0 sweep of the Red Sox

(April 6, 2008) – Frank Thomas’s fifth inning grand slam off right hander Manny Delcarmen and Roy Halladay’s eight innings and six strike outs lifted the Blue Jays to a 7-4 win to sweep the series against the Red Sox.

Going into the bottom of the fifth inning both starting pitchers, Halladay and Josh Beckett, put on a masterful performance for the fans who flocked to the Rogers Centre on Sunday afternoon. Beckett, who was making his first start since coming off the disabled list, pitched methodically through the first 4.2 innings, striking out six Jays batters. Until the fifth his only mistake come off a two run homerun to centerfielder Vernon Wells, driving in Alex Rios who was Beckett’s second walk of the day.

Beckett’s day would be over after back-to-back walks to Rios and Wells in fifth inning to load the bases. Delcarmen came in, in relief of Beckett, to face the Big Hurt and that is exactly what he did to Delcarmen. Thomas wasted no time with a first pitch fastball and drove the ball into deep center field, way over the head of center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury. Three of the runs would be charged to Beckett. In 4.2 innings, he allowed five earned runs on three hits while walking four.

After the Blue Jays offense gave Halladay a four run lead in the bottom of the fifth, the work horse continued to pitch another three innings allowing four runs on six hits while striking out six Sox hitters. The heart of the Red Sox order was 3-for-14 against Halladay with four strike outs and the only hit coming from a double to left center off the bat of Manny Ramirez. But the bottom half of the Sox line up was productive against the Jays starter, amounting for all the Sox runs in the game. J.D. Drew, Jason Varitek and Ellsbury hit their second and first homeruns, respectively in the third, fifth and seven innings.

Shortstop Julio Lugo contributed to Toronto’s seventh run of the game with his third error of the game, when third baseman Marco Scutaro hit a ground ball to short that Lugo could not handle. Scutaro would come around to score on second baseman Aaron Hill’s double to right in the bottom of the sixth. In Scutaro’s previous at-bat he reached on Lugo’s second error of the game.

The Red Sox tried valiantly to make a come back in the top of the eighth inning when Kevin Youkilis hit a blooper in between Wells, Hill and shortstop John McDonald. Youkilis was able ended up with a triple on the play when Wells and McDonald collided while trying to make the catch on the pop fly ball. David Ortiz would drive in Youkilis from third with a base hit into center field to break up a personal 0-for-11 slide.

The Red Sox return to action on Tuesday April 8, when they face the disappointing 0-5, Detroit Tigers on Opening Day at Fenway Park. Daisuke Matsuzaka will get the ball on Opening Day and will oppose Tigers lefty Kenny Rogers. Matsuzaka is 1-0 on the season, coming of a win in Oakland where he went 6.2 innings allowing just one run on two hits while striking out nine Athletics. He leads the Sox in strike outs with 15. Rogers is coming off a 4-0 loss to the Kansas City Royals, that saw him pitch six innings allowing two earned runs on five hits while recording four strike outs.

WIN: Roy Halladay (1-1)

LOSS: Josh Beckett (0-1)

SAVE: Jeremy Accardo (3)

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Game Notes:

Jacoby Ellsbury hit his first homerun and second RBI of the 2008 season with solo shot to over Rios’s head in right field.

Mike Lowell made his first error of the season in first inning off the bat of lead off hitter Shannon Stewart.

The 3 Stars of the Game:

1. Frank Thomas 1-3 Grand Slam HR, 4 RBIs
2. Roy Halladay 8IP, 6H, 4ER, 6Ks
3. J.D. Drew 2-4 HR, RBI