Maybe We Shouldn't Fear The Big Bad Rangers After All

Odds are that the Boston Red Sox have had a better week than you, no matter who you are. Polishing off a 3-1 series in Kansas City is one thing but also winning three of four in Texas (after getting shut out in the first game) is really impressive.



Andrew Miller (6-1) and the Red Sox (80-50) put a bow on an awesome road trip (6-2) with a 6-0 win tonight at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington vs. the Rangers (74-58).



I still want no part of Texas in the playoffs, especially the ALDS, but this series has to give Boston and its fans confidence that they can beat the reigning AL champs in their own ballpark.



Watching the Red Sox pile up 11, 13 and six runs in the last three wins respectively, you couldn't help but notice that the Rangers are sorely lacking a No. 2 starter behind C.J. Wilson. Cliff Lee is in Philadelphia which changes everything; with him, Texas would probably be the AL team to beat. Without him, I think they're slightly behind Boston along with New York.



Oddly enough for the second straight time after not starting for a while, Miller was great. He went 6.1 innings, allowing only three hits with two walks and six strikeouts.



Like Colby Lewis and Matt Harrison before him, Alexi Ogando (12-6) simply didn't show up for Texas. In four innings, he allowed six earned runs on six hits with a walk and five strikeouts. Boston hit four homers against him in Williamsport South.



Red-hot Adrian Gonzalez added two more home runs (his 22nd and 23rd of the year), giving him five in the last three contests. What power outage?



David Ortiz had a solo shot (his 25th of the season) while former Ranger Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit a two-run blast (his 13th).



Before the world ends thanks to Hurricane Irene this weekend, can Tim Wakefield please get his 200th win? I think it's all of our last dying wish. Really though, he faces Gio Gonzalez tomorrow night back at Fenway Park (the start of a nine-game homestand) as the Oakland A's come to Boston for what promises to be a wet, miserable weekend. Sunday's game has already been moved to Saturday at 5 p.m. making for the strange doubleheader at 12 p.m. and 5 p.m.



The Red Sox still lead the Yankees by one game in the AL East. New York trailed Oakland 7-1 this afternoon but used three grand slams (first team ever to do that, speaking of Williamsport and joke parks) to win 22-7.



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Andrew Miller Returns From Nowhere And Submits His Best Performance Of The Season

Andrew Miller hadn't made a start since July 31. He had only come out of the bullpen twice since then so it would be easy to excuse him for having a poor start tonight against the Kansas City Royals.



Instead, Miller (5-1) put up his best effort of the season as the Boston Red Sox won 7-1 at Kaufman Stadium (home of the 2012 MLB All-Star Game), their second victory in as many nights in Missouri.



Terry Francona wanted to hold Miller to a Little League World Series style 85 pitches and thankfully, the lefty was efficient with his pitches for once (departing after 83). He went 5.1 innings, allowing one earned run on three hits with two walks and three strikeouts.



The Red Sox (76-48) were able to get to Royals (51-75) starter Jeff Francis (4-14), like seemingly everyone else in MLB that has faced the former Colorado Rockie this year.



In five innings, the soft-throwing Canadian allowed five earned runs on 11 hits with two walks (both intentional to Dustin Pedroia) and a strikeout. What are the odds Francis and Bruce Chen's lockers are next to each other in the Royals clubhouse? They have so much in common, namely throwing junk and looking out of place at the highest level of baseball.



Despite a lineup that was without David Ortiz (heel) and Kevin Youkilis (on the DL with a back injury), Boston was able to churn out 13 hits led by Adrian Gonzalez (3 for 4, RBI), who snapped an 0-for-14 slump in style (are you listening Carl Crawford?) and Jed Lowrie (3 hits, run, walk).



Former Royal Mike Aviles added two hits, a run and a stolen base while rookie Ryan Lavarnway-a Yale product-got his first MLB hit with his family in the crowd.



Alex Gordon's sacrifice fly in the third gave Kansas City a 1-0 lead but Boston went ahead once and for all with two in the fourth. Darnell McDonald hit an RBI triple which scored Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury knocked in McDonald with a sacrifice fly.



Jarrod Saltalamacchia put it in the win column with a three-run homer (his 12th of the season) in the fifth off Francis.



The Red Sox pushed across two more runs in the eighth on Gonzalez's sacrifice fly and a Royals error.



Alfredo Aceves picked up his second save of the season after going 3.2 innings, allowing only one hit and one walk with three strikeouts. His 45 pitches means he's probably done for a few days but as always he did yeoman's work by saving the rest of Boston's bullpen in what turned out to be a lopsided win.



The Yankees smoked the Twins 8-1, meaning the Red Sox remain .5 games behind New York for first-place in the AL East and that all important division crown.



For the fifth time, Tim Wakefield goes for career win number 200 tomorrow night. Kansas City will start Felipe Paulino (1-9) but I'm not going to jinx it, just going to post his awesome win-loss record and let you draw your own conclusions.



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Jacoby Ellsbury Has Become The Player We All Dreamed About

It was all too easy to make fun of Jacoby Ellsbury last season as he suffered through a variety of injuries and only played 18 games in the entire season (somewhere J.D. Drew nods his approval).

That all seems like ancient history as Ellsbury has become an absolute beast and the undisputed best leadoff hitter in MLB this year. He's playing his typical Gold Glove defense, a terror on the base paths, getting on base and he's added completely unexpected power.

Yesterday afternoon, he had a pair of solo homers (No. 14 and 15-six over his career-high) as the Red Sox (59-37) concluded their six-game road trip 4-2 with a 4-0 shutout of the Orioles (39-56).

Andrew Miller (4-1) submitted an erratic performance-walking a career-high six in 5.2 innings-but he limited Baltimore to only two hits. He added three strikeouts as Boston won two out of three at Camden Yards, just like they won two of three at the Trop.

Matt Albers (1.1 innings), Daniel Bard (1 inning) and Jonathan Papelbon (1 inning) teamed up for the last 10 outs of the contest and most impressively, none of them allowed a hit or walk. It was Bard's club-record 21st scoreless outing, he hasn't given up an earned run since May 24.

After his post All-Star game slump, it was nice to see Adrian Gonzalez get back to his usual results of crushing the ball. He went 4 for 5 in the win while Josh Reddick (run, walk) and Carl Crawford (RBI, walk, stolen base) both notched two hits.

O's starter Jake Arrieta (9-7) wasn't that bad but his teammates couldn't pick him up on this day. He went seven innings, allowing three earned runs on nine hits with no walks and four strikeouts.

After Miller walked three straight in the second yet escaped unscathed thanks to a double play ball by Craig Tatum, Ellsbury hit his first bomb in the third for a 1-0 Red Sox lead.

Jason Varitek's ground out in the fourth scored Reddick in the fourth then Ellsbury crushed his second homer to right in the seventh.

Crawford's bases loaded walk in the eighth provided the last run for Boston.

The Red Sox returned to Boston today for an off day and then they play three games against the Seattle Mariners and four against the Kansas City Royals. Honestly, if someone offered me free tickets the next few days with this brutal heat and these shitbums in town, I would probably say no. That's how unappealing it is to sit in Fenway this weekend.

John Lackey faces Felix Hernandez tomorrow night in the series opener. With any luck, Lackey will melt into a puddle and Boston can hold King Felix hostage before Seattle makes a deal for him to the Red Sox.

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Red Sox Snap Four-Game Losing Streak, Salvage Series Finale Vs. Pittsburgh

I missed pretty much all of the Red Sox-Pirates games on Friday and Saturday due to a couple concerts (Dispatch, Matisyahu). Clearly, those were better options than watching bad losses by Boston.

Yesterday afternoon was the first game of the series I actually paid attention to and no surprise, they turned things around (pats self on back). Andrew Miller made his second start for the Red Sox (45-32) and it was a good one as he helped Boston snap a four-game losing streak and leave Pittsburgh's (39-38) PNC Park with a 4-2 win.

To say this game was sloppy and Little League-esque, would be an insult to shitty Little Leaguers around the country. The Pirates made four errors while the Red Sox had two.

Miller (1-0) didn't seem to mind too much as he went six innings. He allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

Alfredo Aceves (seventh), Daniel Bard (eighth) and Jonathan Papelbon (ninth) combined for three scoreless innings as Boston walked out of Pittsburgh with a little pride after a rough couple days.

Pirates starter James McDonald (first cousin of Boston's Darnell McDonald) went six innings, allowing two runs (zero earned) on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

This truthfully might have been the most boring win in Red Sox history. Their four runs scored on two sacrifice flies, an error and a ground out.

Pittsburgh didn't exactly set the world on fire either, scoring on a sacrifice fly and an RBI single.

Oh well, Boston has today off and then they get to the main course of interleague play: a three-game series in Philadelphia against the Phillies (the NL's best team and easily one of the best teams in baseball). Say it with me: Possible World Series preview!

While we wait for tomorrow, let's all pray for J.D. Drew who had to leave yesterday's game in the second inning after suffering a black eye bunting during batting practice. I think I'm going to write a book, start a blog or twitter handle chronicling all of Drew's ridiculous injuries (haha vertigo?). Either way the guy is a joke: he's the most accident prone person in the world or the biggest pussy.

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Andrew Miller teases Red Sox fans with a decent debut

No sport has as many busts and flameouts as baseball. With so many rounds in the MLB Draft, not to mention four levels of minor league teams before reaching MLB, it's Darwin's survival of the fittest to make a major league roster.

Andrew Miller was a first round pick of the Detroit Tigers in 2006 and he was rushed to the big leagues (he made eight appearances for them that season which is insane). Perhaps not surprisingly, his career went off the rails and he was traded to the Florida Marlins (2008-10) where he didn't do much of anything notable.

Fast forward to present day and the tall lefty (6-7, 207 pounds) from the University of North Carolina is a spot starter for the Boston Red Sox. He didn't get a decision in his debut with his new team but his promising start has to make Red Sox fans dream that this talented guy can finally put it together with a change of scenery (15-26 career record, 5.82 ERA, 1.74 WHIP).

He went 5.2 innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits with three walks and six strikeouts. Miller departed after giving up a game-tying three-run bomb to Padres second baseman Orlando Hudson (3 hits) and ringing double to stud prospect Anthony Rizzo (obtained in the Adrian Gonzalez trade last winter) but Boston (44-28) turned it into a blowout with a 14-5 win over San Diego (30-44), which put more shine on Miller's start.

A 3-3 game in the seventh turned into a joke thanks to a bunch of awful performances by Padres relievers which enabled Boston to roll up 10 runs.

The biggest story line of the series is obviously Adrian Gonzalez's first trio of games against his former team. Gonzalez didn't disappoint, going 3 for 5 with three RBIs and two runs, including an RBI double and two-run single in the crazy seventh.

The Red Sox built a 3-0 lead on San Diego starter Wade LeBlanc (7 hits, 2 walks, 1 strikeout) before he left after three innings. Don't ask me how this terrible lefty has a job, even in the NL West and cavernous Petco Park. He throws complete junk, further proof that if you're a lefty pitcher, you have a much better shot to make it than garden variety right-handers.

Chase Headley went 4 for 5 with two runs for the Padres.

The Red Sox were led by Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz who had two hits and two RBIs while Dustin Pedroia scored three runs. Marco Scutaro had two hits and scored twice.

Boston had 14 hits and accumulated nine walks, a main reason why this nine inning game took a laborious nine innings and had NESN's Jerry Remy and Don Orsillo talking about soap operas and ties in the eighth and ninth innings.

Tonight could be more of a fair fight with Alfredo Aceves subbing for an ill Josh Beckett. San Diego sends Mat Latos (who is good but is having a rough season) to the mound. Oh who am I kidding, the Padres are awful and the Red Sox are the best team in baseball. Might be another ugly night for our visitors from the West Coast.

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