Carl Crawford's single in the seventh inning plated two runs, including the game winner, as the Red Sox overcame a 4-0 deficit to beat the Oakland A's 8-6 on Friday. The win breaks a four-game losing streak. Boston and Oakland play today at 1:10 p.m. after the team moved the game to avoid a conflict with the Bruins playing in game two of the Stanley Cup finals.
1
Results tagged “daisukematsuzaka”
With the NHL building an extra day into the schedule for the Stanley Cup finals, we all have more time to dwell on the game one defeat. The Bruins should take an extra day to figure out how to handle Vancouver's physical play and speed, two areas the Canucks excelled at Wednesday.
Last night's rain-soaked game at Fenway Park might have made you wonder why the MLB doesn't play in the rain, at least until the Red Sox beat the Tigers, 1-0, to win their fifth straight game. The pitching dominated the night until the eighth inning when Carl Crawford scored from first base on a Jarrod Saltalamacchia wall double for the lone run of the game.
The full Daisuke Matsuzaka (3-3) experience was on display yesterday at Fenway Park. Translation: It was a performance only his mother could love. It's all good because the Red Sox won anyway with mostly good pitching and the arrival of a healthy offense leading to a 9-5 victory over the Twins.
A three-game winning streak is no more after a deluge of offense from the L.A. Angels resulted in two losses. Before Wednesday's 5-3 loss, the Red Sox were within one game of .500 at 14-15. The quick turnaround from Wednesday to Thursday agreed with the Angels to the tune of an 11-0 romp to close out the series.
The Patriots are focused on offense in the 2011 NFL Draft after three rounds as only one of five players Bill Belichick has picked so far is a defensive player. The Patriots picked Ras-I Dowling, a defensive back from Virginia, in the second round of the NFL draft Friday. Belichick selected two running backs in the second and third round with Shane Vereen of California and Stevan Ridley of LSU, respectively. In the third round, Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett was picked. Belichick likes all of his day two picks, of course.
A day after Tim Thomas was named a finalist for the 2010-11 Vezina Trophy, he went out and proved why he's up for the title of top NHL goalie. Thomas held off Montreal into a second overtime until Nathan Horton's score lifted Boston to a 2-1 victory and a 3-2 series lead that was highly improbable a few days ago.
The Red Sox (8-11) look for their fourth straight win tonight in Anaheim against the Angels. Jon Lester didn't pitch long, just six innings, in fact, in Friday's 4-3 win. He was effective when he pitched as he shut the Angels out on four hits and eight strikeouts.
David Krejci, Nathan Horton, and Rich Peverley scored consecutive goals to give the Bruins a 3-0 lead they never relinquished as they won game three of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, 4-2. The Bruins trail Montreal 2-1 in the series with game four on Wednesday. At the moment the Red Sox needed a quality start, Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched perhaps his best game in a Boston uniform as he blanked Toronto for seven innings in a 9-1 win Monday. The Sox are now 5-10 with three straight victories.
Timing is everything for the Bruins lately. They're riding a hot streak now by winning six of their last nine games, including a 3-2 decision last night against the New York Islanders. They broke the 100-point barrier for the 19th time and their 101 points are just two points shy of the conference's second playoff seed.
No Sox watchers ever thought the team would be winless four games into the season. The idea that Daisuke Matsuzaka would be all that stood between Boston and an 0-5 record is a pretty ridiculous thought to actually type. But, that is the reality that is 2011.
Memories of the Bruins 7-0 thrashing of the Canadiens were long gone on Saturday as the New York Rangers earned a 1-0 playoff-esque win at the TD Garden. Henrik Lundqvist backstopped the Rangers to the win with 26 saves en route to his 11th shutout this season. Only Derek Stepan beat Tuukka Rask, who stopped 22 other N.Y. shots. Boston could see N.Y. or Montreal as a first-round playoff opponent.
Sal DiMasi convinced a judge he can't pay his legal bills. We get to pay them for him. Chuck Turner begins his prison term today at the Hazelton Federal Prison in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia. Remember to follow Bostonist on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
A 2-0 advantage wasn't enough for the Boston Bruins as they dropped a 4-3 decision in overtime to Buffalo. Loads of penalties did not help one bit - Jack Edwards seemed convinced it was a conspiracy to balance the lack of a suspension for Zdeno Chara - as Boston twice gave away the lead.
The Red Sox split their squad today and had a zero in the win column. It's March, though, so none of it really counts anyway. That doesn't mean nothing important happened. The Florida Marlins beat the Red Sox, 11-2. In June, we'd be concerned. Today, not so much. Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched and completed three innings and allowed seven runs on six hits. Oscar Tejada was 3-5 with three RBI versus Baltimore in a 4-4 split-squad tie. Jose Iglesias was 3-4 with an RBI. Carl Crawford had his first two hits for Boston.
So much for needing Clay Buchholz on short rest. So much for a lot of things. Even when it was a 2-0 Sox lead early in last night's game, Don and Jerry seemed more inclined to talk about some couple they kept showing in the stands than anything happened on the field. (The crack Bostonist research team learned that they were contestants from a TV show called The Bachelorette. The crack research team then learned that The Bachelorette has been going on for six seasons. The crack research team has decided to take a few days off and donate some money to brain research.)
Is September going to turn into one long Monty Python skit for the Red Sox? Is it going to be one long month of the fans/media/Rays/Yankees trying to claim they're dead, only to be met at every turn with "it's just a flesh wound" or "we're getting better"? Well, we love Monty Python, so bring it on.
How do you know Jed Lowrie was the least likely member of the Boston Red Sox to hit a walk-off home run in last night's 5-4 11th inning victory over Toronto? He's not known as a power hitter, he's battled injuries, and had a shaky defensive play in the 10th. All are true, and also valid answers. Bostonist knows he's an unlikely hero because he kept his helmet on during the post-game interview. Take the lid off, kid. It could also be a Beltre issue, too, we guess.
Bostonist was tempted to write just those three words this morning because what can anyone say about Friday night's, uhhh, performance, we guess, by the Red Sox that doesn't involve profanity? Probably nothing.
The Red Sox ended their two-game winning streak against the Mariners with a 5-1 thud Saturday. Jon Lester (11-5) was perfect for 5.1 innings before an Eric Patterson error set the stage for a two-run home run from Michael Saunders that was the eventual winning blast. Seattle added three in the eighth. Lester threw a career-best 13 strikeouts. David Ortiz homered in the fourth. Daisuke Matsuzaka takes the ball today looking for his third consecutive win. [Globe]
Let's talk about the Red Sox for a few minutes. We plan to have other things on our mind for the next couple of weeks, so the Sox - who have been kind of an afterthought this year already - might be forgotten in all the hubbub.
Was Paul Pierce telling the truth? We, not to mention the Orlando Magic, will know soon enough if a sweep happened here. We know what Shaughnessy thinks. The last time Boston played Orlando, it looked like the Celtics were scrimmaging with Everett High School. Sorry, Everett. Orlando completely quit on Saturday in a 94-71 no-show loss. It was over before Rajon Rondo got up off the floor. You saw the play.
And, for only the second time this year, they've won two straight games against two different teams! Things are startin' to come together. We reserve the right to backpedal tomorrow or at any point.
When the 2010 Boston Red Sox are finally buried for good (and you might have noticed a backhoe or two headed towards Kenmore Square this morning, possibly with a shock of curly red hair flopping out from under a hard hat), May 17th is going to shine out as a key day in their march towards the grave.
Step aside, Boston Bruins. Your reign as winners of the "Most Half-Assed and Lethargic Performance In A Playoff Game" award didn't even last for 24 hours.
Because for about eight minutes last night, the Celtics played sloppy and graceless basketball. Then they looked up at the scoreboard and noticed Cleveland was playing right there in the muck with them. Then they turned it around, seized every opportunity, and hammered the Cavs 120-88. LeBron James? As much of a factor as Shelden Williams - the King was 3-for-14, listless, and didn't score a field goal until well into the second half. Cavaliers adjustments to James' poor play? Well...we're still waiting.
So, if the Bruins need to win nine more games to capture the Stanley Cup, and lose a player for the season every game and a half...can Chara, Satan and Rask beat San Jose 3-on-6?
Wow. A lot happened this weekend. Some of it good. Some of it bad. Some of it inexplicable. Let's start with the good news.