Clay Buchholz took the mound hoping to build upon his last strong outing and keep the winning streak alive for the Sox.  Clay pitched well and it could easily be seen as another step forward, however he would not get a win for his efforts. 

Clay seemed to have his best outing stuff wise.  He was throwing all of his pitches for strikes and doing well.  However, a mistake in the 2nd would end up being the difference in the game for him.  Clay got called for a balk in the 2nd to plate Carlos Pena.  Sox 0-1.  Nava would tie up in the 4th with an RBI single.  Clay kept pitching and putting up zeros on the scoreboard until the 6th.  A ball deflected off Clay and his ankle.  The trainers came out and he seemed fine.  However, he followed that with a single to Carlos Pena and Bobby V went out to get Buchholz.  Andrew Miller got Luke Scott to fly out to shallow right.  Unfortunately, Cody Ross made an awkward catch and it allowed Joyce to get home.  Sox 1-2. 

In terms of balks, the Sox weren't done.  Morales came out in the 7th and between the 7th and 8th innings, Morales got called for 2 balks.  Morales' throw to first always looks like a balk, so the Sox staff really need to get him and his mechanics down.  The final piece of news in the game is in the 8th inning.  Morales hit Rhymes in the arm right near the elbow.  Rhymes made his way to first base and then ended up passing out.  The trainers came out and ended up taking him out on a cart.  I imagine that Rhymes was either in shock or broke something.  However, it looked pretty scary.  I hope he's alright. 

Red Sox 1  Rays 2  BOXSCORE

WP: Hellickson (4-0)  LP: Buchholz (4-2) SV: Rodney (12)

Sweeney CF
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Gonzalez 1B
Middlebrooks 3B
Saltalamacchia C
Ross RF
Nava LF
Aviles SS

Buchholz SP

It's amazing that 5 short days ago the Sox seemed to be in shambles and it seemed like everyone and their brother wanted Josh Beckett run out of town.  The past 4 starting pitchers have put in quality starts and if anyone needed to follow suit, it was definitely Beckett.  On his 32nd birthday, Beckett did just that.  He seemed to quell the trade/release talk, at least for now.

Photo Credit: Elsa/Getty Images

Beckett was a strikeout machine on the mound today.  He struck out 9 batters in 7 innings of work.  Beckett was also caught by Jarrod Saltalamacchia for the first time this season and so far, so good.  Beckett didn't give up a hit until the 4th inning when he gave up a single to Suzuki.  In the 6th, Beckett gave up another single to Suzuki, he stole 2nd and 3rd, but Beckett kept him right there and retired Seager to end the inning.  The Mariners seemed to be making better contact against Beckett in the 7th, however that contact was turning into outs.  Beckett left the 7th with a 4-0 lead and was done for the night.  Beckett's line for the night was 93 pitches, 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 Ks.  Beckett's ERA is now sitting at 4.97.  That was just the kind of outing we needed from Beckett.  Hill came out in relief of Beckett in the 8th and had himself a nice 1-2-3 inning.  Aceves came out for the 9th even though it was a non-save situation.  Aces had a 1-2-3 inning with a K to snag the win for the Sox.  

The Sox got on the board in the 3rd with a solo HR from David Ortiz.  He is just continuing to kill the ball.  In the 4th, the Sox added two more runs with a Aviles RBI double and a Sweeney sac grounder.  Sox 3-0.  In the 5th, the Sox added one more run with a Middlebrooks RBI single.  Sox 4-0. In the 8th, the Sox added their final run with another Mike Aviles RBI double.  Sox 5-0.  Daniel Nava continued to show himself off well since being called up.  He went 1 for 3 with a HBP.  Nava currently has a .533 batting average.  Not too shabby kid. 

Happy Birthday Josh Beckett!  Thanks for giving us a dominant performance and an easy peasy win for your birthday!

Red Sox 5  Mariners 0 BOXSCORE

WP: Beckett (3-4)  LP: Beavan (1-4)

There was a lot to celebrate today at Fenway Park as it was "Thanks Wake" Day!  It was wonderful to see such a nice ceremony to celebrate the 17 years of service that Tim Wakefield gave the Boston Red Sox, the community and the fans.  Wakefield retired in February and said that he never planned on signing with another team, even though there were numerous offers. 

David Ortiz came out and read a speech to honor Wake.  He said that Wake taught him how to be a teammate and how important it is to be a positive presence in the community.  It was real sweet and special, broken English and all.  

My favorite moment of the ceremony was Don Orsillo saying that Doug Mirabelli's flight was delayed and he couldn't make the ceremony, only to have Dougie brought in with a police escort.  That was fantastic!  Mirabelli caught Wake throwing his knuckleball for a first pitch. 

Wake made his way into the booth and chatted with Don and Jerry for a half an inning.  He said that he still watches the Sox nightly and is rooting hard for them.  Wake also had some really nice and positive things to say about Josh Beckett who was pitching on the mound. 

If you want to watch the ceremony for yourself, head on over to soxanddawgs.com since he has the video clips up on his account. 

Here is the lineup for today's game vs. the Mariners.  Today is also "Thanks Wake" Day, so let's hope the boys win for Wake!

Sweeney CF
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Gonzalez 1B
Middlebrooks 3B
Saltalamacchia C
Ross RF
Nava LF
Aviles SS

Beckett SP

Game time is at 4:05pm.  The game is on NESN/WEEI.

“I wasn’t coming out of that game unless we scored 10.  For me, it was my game, and Bobby was going to have to fight me for the ball if he came to the end of the dugout."

-Jon Lester on pitching a complete game last night.

The Red Sox were riding a 3 game winning streak and were handing the ball over to Jon Lester in hopes of keeping the trend of quality starting pitching going.  That is just what Lester did.  He not only gave a quality start, but he pitched a complete game and was "this close" to pitching a shutout. 

Lester looked great from the first inning and kept it up the entire game.  Lester didn't give up a hit until he was into the 4th inning when he gave up an infield single to Ichiro Suzuki.  In the 6th, Lester gave up 2 singles but none of them came home to score.  In the 7th, Lester also got himself into a wee bit of trouble, but a sick defensive play by Dustin Pedroia that led to a double play and once again Lester was out of the inning.  Lester went back out for the 9th and the Mariners were able to get one run against him.  Lester gave up a single and a double and then Seager ended up getting the only run on a sac grounder.  However, Lester still looked tremendous.  Lester's line was 119 pitches, 9 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 Ks.  Lester's ERA is now down to 3.71.  I know many question if he is a true ace, however he sure looked like an ace last night.  I hope we see a lot more of that version of Lester in his starts to come.  Good job Jonny!

Photo Credit: Jim Rogash/Getty Images

The Red Sox offense also got some work done.  The Sox got on the board early with RBI doubles back to back from Papi and Gonzo.  Sox 2-0.  In the 4th inning, Daniel Nava hit a 2 run HR to put the Sox up 4-0.  This was Nava's first HR with the Sox since his Grand Slam HR at his Sox debut.  Shoppach followed Nava's lead and hit a solo HR over the Monster.  Sox 5-0.  The final Sox run was scored in the 8th with a Marlon Byrd sac fly.  Sox 6-0. 

All in all, it was a great win.  Timely hitting from all areas of the lineup and some tremendous pitching.  The Sox still have a lot of work to do, however they are showing a lot of grit and fight in them lately. 

Red Sox 6  Mariners 1  BOXSCORE

WP: Lester (2-3)  LP: Vargas (4-3)

Here is tonight's lineup vs. the Mariners:

Aviles SS
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Gonzalez 1B
Middlebrooks 3B
Ross RF
Nava LF
Byrd CF
Shoppach C

Lester SP

Game time is at 7:10pm EST

Bobby, I kind of feel bad for you. As a native New Englander, you jumped at the chance to manage the Red Sox. You knew the team had just had one of the greatest September folds in baseball history. You knew that some players had acted irresponsibly. But you could not have been ready for all that has happened this season.

Jacoby Ellsbury, one of the best all-around players in the league, dislocated his shoulder and is still weeks away from returning. Projected closer Andrew Bailey has a thumb injury and is still on the DL, as is outfielder Carl Crawford. Longtime team leader Kevin Youkilis is out with a lower back sprain.

I hate to always bring up the "big three" starters, but I have to say they have been horrible. As of Sunday, they read: 115 2/3 innings pitched, 131 hits, 66 earned runs, 51 walks, 68 strikeouts, and a 5.13 ERA. These are the same guys we thought were among the best starters in baseball. Josh Beckett also continues to act like a jerk off the field. Even Dustin Pedroia is making comments about Valentine's time in Japan. A game story last week mentioned the fact that Valentine is looking older and older by the day. Sometimes he seems like an old man standing in the dugout with a puzzled look on his face.

Young players like Felix Doubront, Will Middlebrooks, and Daniel Nava provide some hope for the season. But the pitching staff is on their third coach in three years; from what I have read, Curt Young contributed next to nothing last year. Bob McClure seems to have more on the ball, but he has a tough job ahead. An amazing statistic is that Sox pitchers have walked 13 batters after 0-2 counts. Many of these walks seem to have led to big innings, as happened to Jon Lester last week in Kansas City. If this continues, the team is headed for its first sub-.500 season since 1997.

The Sox better hope that the Celtics go deep into the playoffs. Otherwise it will be a long, long summer.

Daniel Bard was taking the mound for the Red Sox on this Mother's Day in hopes of keeping this little winning streak going.  He was going against old friend Justin Masterson.  Masterson's history is that he usually pitches like gang busters against us. 

Today, Masterson would falter followed by fellow Sox Dan Wheeler and Bard would gut through his outing and get himself his 3rd win of the season.  Bard seemed to cruise through his first two innings and then found trouble in the 3rd.  Bard seemed to just lose the strike zone.  With the bases loaded and one out, Bard walked in Kipnis for a run.  Bard ended up getting Hafner to ground into a double play and got out of the inning with minimal damage.  Bard said in his post game interview that starting in the 3rd...everything felt like a struggle.  Bard gave up 2 more hits in the 4th and 2 hits in the 6th, but none of them turned into runs.  Bard's line for the night was 97 pitches, 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 4 BBs and 2 Ks.  Bard was followed by three innings of scoreless relief from Hill, Albers and Atchison.  All in all, a nice day on the mound for the Sox.

The same could not be said for the former Sox playing for the Tribe.  Masterson got two quick outs in the first and then the Sox bats got going.  Papi walked, Gonzo hit a double and then Middlebrooks hit an RBI single to score Ortiz.  Sox 1-0.  Daniel Nava hit an RBI double to score Gonzo.  Sox 2-0.  Cody Ross was hit by pitch and then Salty hit an RBI single to score Middlebrooks and Nava.  Sox 4-0 in the 1st inning.  In the 3rd, Middlebrooks hit his 4th HR of the season.  Sox 5-1.  Masterson seemed to settle down for the next few innings.  Masterson gave up one more run in the 6th with a single from Salty to score Nava.  Sox 6-1. 

Dan Wheeler came on in relief of Masterson and the Sox bats blew this game wide open.  Pedey started the inning by hitting a double.  Papi hit an RBI single to score Pedey.  Sox 7-1. Gonzo followed that with a double.  Papi scored when Middlebrooks walked and Wheeler threw a wild pitch.  Sox 8-1.  Nava hit an RBI double to score Gonzo and Middlebrooks.  Sox 10-1.  Wheeler finally recorded an out when he got Cody Ross to ground out.  Salty then followed it with a 2 run HR.  Sox 12-1.  It's an understatement to say it was not a good outing for Wheeler.  

Salty had a great night at the plate going 3 for 4 with 5 RBIs.  The PawSox kids also had a nice day at the plate.  Middlebrooks went 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs and Nava went 2 for 2 with 3 RBIs.

Red Sox Win!  Happy Mother's Day and Happy Birthday Bobby V! 

Photo Credit: Elsa/Getty Images

Red Sox 12  Indians 1  BOXSCORE

WP: Bard (3-4)  LP: Masterson (1-3)