Red Sox-Twins Preview

David Ortiz may garner attention for his torrid hitting against the Minnesota Twins, but Dustin Pedroia is also making quite an impact.

They'll look to continue that success at the plate and help the AL East-leading Boston Red Soxto a fifth

straight win over the slumping Twins on Tuesday night.

Ortiz spent his first six seasons with the Twins (51-64) before he was signed by Boston as a free agent in 2003 in a move Minnesota has come to regret.

He's hitting .327 with 11 homers and 31 RBIs in 42 games against his former team. Ortiz powered the Red Sox to an 8-6 victory in Monday's series opener, homering among his four hits and driving in three.

"Of course you get a little excited when you play the team you've played for before," said Ortiz, who has six hits in two games. "But you go with the same intensity against everybody."

Pedroia has also made a habit of beating up on the Twins, particularly in Minnesota, where he has a .439 average with seven RBIs in 14 visits.

He had two hits Monday, and is batting .383 with nine homers and 26 RBIs in 36 games, hitting safely in all but two.

Pedroia and Ortiz have helped Boston win four straight against the Twins during which the Red Sox are batting .342 while averaging 5.7 runs per game.

Erik Bedard (0-0, 5.40 ERA) will make his second start with the Red Sox since being acquired in a seven-player, three-team deal with Seattle on July 31.

The oft-injured left-hander allowed three runs and seven hits with five strikeouts in five innings before leaving without a decision in a 7-3 loss to Cleveland on Thursday. He was much more effective than in his final appearance for the Mariners on July 29, when he was tagged for five runs in 1 1-3 innings of an 8-0 loss to Tampa Bay. Bedard had missed the previous month with a sprained left knee, and has landed on the disabled list at least once in five consecutive seasons.

He's still working his way back from his most recent injury.

"I felt pretty good," Bedard told the Red Sox's official website. "I threw strikes. That's a basic thing coming back and trying to get my pitch count up. That's the most important thing."

Bedard has won his last two starts against the Twins, allowing two runs in 11 innings. He scattered six hits in six innings of a 3-0 win at Target Field on May 25.

The Twins' offense has been punchless during a five-game losing streak, batting .209 while scoring 11 total runs.

Francisco Liriano (7-9, 5.03) may have to make do with minimal run support as he tries to rebound from a difficult outing.

The left-hander struggled against a lineup made up of right-handed hitters Thursday, surrendering seven runs and a season-high 10 hits in five innings of a 7-1 loss at Los Angeles.

Of the 11 homers he's allowed this season, 10 have come against right-handers.

That's been a factor in Liriano going 1-3 with a 7.78 ERA in four career starts against Boston. Righties have hit .328 with all three homers and 14 of 17 RBIs in those games.

Liriano, however, got his only victory over the Red Sox at home in impressive fashion on April 15, 2010. He gave up four hits and struck out eight in seven innings of an 8-0 win.

Pedroia is 6 for 10 off Liriano.

Minnesota's Jim Thome, two homers shy of 600, has one in 18 at-bats against Bedard.

Reddick's walk-off single gives Red Sox edge over Yankees

Josh Reddick hit a game-ending RBI single in the 10th inning and the Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees 3-2 on Sunday night.

With the win, the Red Sox took over sole possession of first place in the AL East and clinched a win in the

season series against New York for the first time since 2004.

The Yankees led 2-1 on homers by Eduardo Nunez and Brett Gardner before Mariano Rivera came in to close it out in the ninth.

But Marco Scutaro led off with a double for his fourth hit of the game. He moved up on a sacrifice and scored on a sacrifice fly to send the game into extra innings.

It was the fifth blown save of the season for Rivera, who pitched a scoreless inning in each of his first two appearances against Boston this season.

"That's huge. He's the best closer in the game right now," Reddick said.

David Ortiz sparked the game-ending rally with a one-out double against Phil Hughes (2-4). Darnell McDonald came in to run and the Yankees opted to walk Carl Crawford, who had three hits.

Reddick then hit a liner into the corner in left, driving in McDonald as the Fenway Park crowd erupted in cheers.

Daniel Bard (2-5) pitched a scoreless 10th for the win.

Boston lost the series opener but won the next two to snap the Yankees' eight-game winning streak and take the series. The Red Sox are 10-2 against New York this season with six games left, and one game up in the AL East.

Gardner had three hits for the Yankees, including the tiebreaking drive with two out in the seventh. He also stole two bases, giving him 35 on the season.

Nunez tied it with his homer in the fifth — one batter after Russell Martin was thrown out by Reddick trying to stretch a single into a double.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox kept producing baserunners -- and stranding them. They left the bases loaded in the second and sixth, and stranded a pair in the fourth.

Ellsbury keeping the heat on

For most major league hitters, it’s not easy to keep a hot streak going.

Don’t tell that to Jacoby Ellsbury. His bat simply refuses to cool off.

Last night at Fenway Park, he blistered a Felix Hernandez pitch, sending the ball over the right-field wall in the

third inning, putting the Red Sox up, 2-1. Ellsbury also singled and scored during the Sox’ pivotal five-run seventh inning en route to a 7-4 victory over Seattle.

Ellsbury’s production this season started out as a hot week, which became a hot month, which resulted in a hot first half - and that led to Ellsbury’s first All-Star selection.

Now, Ellsbury’s offensive output is no longer surprising. He’s batting .317 with 55 RBIs and a career-high 16 home runs.

“Nothing’s missing his barrel right now,’’ Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia said.

“He’s just hot. He’s a guy that can do that at any time. But for him to be hot all season long, it’s incredible.’’

Ellsbury can’t really describe what’s working without resorting to clichés and basic baseball terminology.

“The biggest thing when you’re feeling good at the plate is getting a pitch you know you can drive. You can’t miss it,’’ Ellsbury said. “Fortunately, I got a pitch that [Hernandez] left over the plate and put a good piece of wood on it.’’

Ellsbury was asked if his third-inning blast was one of the hardest-hit home runs of his career.

“It felt good leaving the bat,’’ Ellsbury said. “I knew it was gone when I hit it. I’ve hit some balls hard, but that one felt good.’’

Though the Sox have always expected Ellsbury to get on base and ignite their offense, his recent power surge is something new.

It’s just the end of July, and he has already nearly doubled his previous season-high of nine home runs (2008). Ellsbury has hit five homers in the past seven games, and seven homers this month alone. The last Sox center fielder to his seven home runs in any month was Carl Everett in June 2000.

Ellsbury’s hot month has garnered praise from another Sox player who’s having a pretty good July - Dustin Pedroia.

Last night, Pedroia extended his career-best hit streak to 19 games, which tied for tops in the American League this year.

Who’s one of the players Pedroia tied? Ellsbury, whose 19-game streak stretched from April 21 to May 10.

Pedroia, who has also hit six home runs this month, said he was impressed but not shocked by Ellsbury’s power surge.

“He’s ready to hit and he’s driving the ball,’’ Pedroia said. “He’s having a year like he had a few years back before he got hurt. I don’t think anyone’s surprised.’’

Ellsbury’s power has made him even more of a threat to opposing pitchers. In the past, he was known for his speed. Now, he can beat pitchers with a variety of weapons: stolen bases, doubles, and home runs, too.

“He’s very dangerous right now,’’ Sox manager Terry Francona said. “It may not continue at this rate, but it sure is nice. He’s been huge in helping us win games.’’

Beckett back to work

PHILADELPHIA — Since the moment they met, on an August weekend 12 years ago, Philadelphia Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee has known that Josh Beckett [stats] isn’t easily rattled.
Except, of course, when he has the flu.
A stomach illness laid up Beckett for several days last week, forcing the Red Sox [team stats] to delay his next start, first by five days, then by three more. By the time he went to the mound for last night’s interleague

series opener, it had been 12 days since his previous start, a complete-game one-hitter against the Tampa Bay Rays .
Turns out, the layoff left just enough rust for a game when Beckett couldn’t afford any margin of error. And sure enough, he was upstaged by Cliff Lee in a 5-0 loss that left the Red Sox even more relieved that the Phillies ace lefty didn’t sign with the New York Yankees as a free agent last winter.
“It seems like that damn flu gets me every year,” Beckett said. “If it doesn’t get me in the offseason, it gets me in spring training or gets me some other time. I’m going to have somebody give it to me in the offseason so I don’t have to deal with this (expletive) anymore.”
Beckett, who entered with a major league-best 1.86 ERA, gave up home runs to Domonic Brown and Shane Victorino and saw his ERA rise to 2.20 with the five earned runs allowed. Lee, meanwhile, gave up two hits against the Red Sox’ stripped-down lineup in a complete-game performance and ran his career-high scoreless streak to 32 innings.
Before the game, Dubee recalled his first impression of Beckett. It was 1999, and the Brockton native was the pitching coach for the Florida Marlins, who had just drafted Beckett in the first round. Beckett traveled to Houston to meet the team, and upon walking into the clubhouse at the old Astrodome, the high schooler predicted he would be pitching in the All-Star Game within two years.
One veteran Marlins pitcher, Alex Fernandez, took exception to Beckett’s bravado.
“Alex really kind of lit into him in front of the whole team — ‘I’ve been in the big leagues 10 years and I haven’t pitched in the All-Star Game. I’ve got 100 wins, and you think, coming out of high school, you’re going to be in an All-Star Game,’ ” Dubee said. “You knew Josh was tough because Josh didn’t bat an eyelash.”
These days, Beckett is no less defiant. Amid doubts that he could regain his ace status after a nightmarish 2010, Beckett has been as dominant as ever. And after losing a duel with Lee, he pointed the finger at himself.
Beckett said he left a pitch up to Brown, who belted it into the right field seats in the second inning. He was trying to pitch around Victorino in the fifth, but instead left a pitch over the plate that was also blasted beyond right field.
“I pitched like (expletive),” Beckett said. “You can’t give that guy (Lee) two runs in the first or second inning.
“It just lets him go to his whole deal.”
In fact, Lee was surprised to be pitching with such a cushion.
“I wasn’t expecting us to get five runs off Beckett, the way he’s been pitching,” said Lee, 5-0 with a 0.21 ERA in his last five starts. “I was anticipating it being a closer game from start to finish.”
But Beckett remains the Red Sox’ most consistent starter, and from afar, Dubee could have predicted his resurgence.
“He’s going to find a way to succeed, and he’s never going to accept mediocrity,” Dubee said. “He’s still got tremendous stuff. He’s changed his pitching style a little bit over the years, but he’s still a bulldog and he prepares himself to win.”
It’s just a little more difficult after he’s been sick as a dog.

DH assignment gives Jeter half-day of rest

BALTIMORE -- Jorge Posada's return to the designated-hitter spot lasted just one day. Derek Jeter took his buddy's place in the lineup on Wednesday night, getting a half-day against the Orioles.

"Against the lefties, I can kind of give my righties a half-day and get them off their feet a little bit," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.

Posada got back into the lineup as a DH on Tuesday against the Rays, going 2-for-3 in New York's 6-2 victory at Tropicana Field, but his at-bats have been much better left-handed than right-handed.

The 39-year-old switch-hitting Posada -- who asked out of the lineup on Saturday against the Red Sox after being dropped to the No. 9 spot -- is hitless in 24 at-bats against lefties this season. He is hitting .179 with six homers and 15 RBIs overall.

Girardi wouldn't rule out playing Posada against another lefty -- the Orioles started southpaw Zach Britton on Wednesday -- but he could also use Andruw Jones as a DH, along with his other veterans.

"It depends how long of stretches we're in," said Girardi, whose club won't have an off-day until May 26. "That's the hard thing. We're in some long stretches, and it's just kind of a way to give them a half-day."

Beckett shines again as Sox dump Yankees

It was at Yankee Stadium just shy of a year ago when Josh Beckett was pulled in the fifth inning, having injured his back. Two months on the disabled list followed. From there, a bad season only got worse.

It led to questions about whether Beckett’s time as a frontline starter had come to an end, a theory bolstered when manager Terry Francona didn’t start him until the fourth game of the season.

Beckett has instead looked like the ace he once was.

Back in the Bronx, the righthander’s revitalization continued last night with six brilliant innings as the Red Sox slammed the Yankees, 6-0, before a sold-out crowd of 48,790.

Beckett (3-1) allowed four hits, all singles, with two walks and nine strikeouts. He has thrown 18 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings, dropping his earned run average to 1.75.

“We had a lot of confidence in him. We always have,’’ Francona said. “He worked hard. He said at the end of last year that’d come back with a vengeance and I think he has.’’

Adrian Gonzalez’s three-run home run in the seventh inning off CC Sabathia (3-3) helped secure the win for Beckett, who has not allowed a run in 14 innings against the Yankees this season. Jacoby Ellsbury, who had two hits to raise his average to .301, added a two-run double.

“I’m making pitches when I need to and guys are playing great defense. That’s really it, there’s no secret to it,’’ said Beckett, who made up for lacking a good curveball with an effective changeup and his best cut fastball of the year.

The Sox, 4-1 against the Yankees this season, will have Jon Lester on the mound tonight as they try for the sweep and to get to .500 for the first time this season.

For the Yankees, it was a night of pinstriped turmoil on and off the field.

Jorge Posada, one of the team’s respected veterans, was scratched from the lineup 40 minutes before the first pitch after reportedly telling manager Joe Girardi that he refused to bat ninth. That led to an impromptu in-game press conference for general manager Brian Cashman in the back of the Yankee Stadium press box.

Once the game started, the Yankees lost their fourth straight and never came close to scoring. They have dropped 8 of 11 overall.

Sabathia allowed six runs on seven hits and three walks, falling to the Sox for the second time this season.

The Sox appeared to have Sabathia in trouble in the first inning. Ellsbury was hit by a pitch and then took third on a soft single to center by Dustin Pedroia (3 for 4).

But poor situational hitting, an issue with the Sox all season, was displayed again. Gonzalez, an RBI machine for the last few weeks, struck out swinging at a high fastball.

Kevin Youkilis then struck out on a slider, leaving him 0 for 11 with eight strikeouts with a runner on third and fewer than two outs. David Ortiz had the final chance and struck out on a slider in the dirt. In a span of 13 pitches, Sabathia ended the threat.

Beckett had a similar inning. After singles by Derek Jeter and Curtis Granderson, he struck out Mark Teixeira, got Alex Rodriguez to foul to first base, and struck out Robinson Cano.

Both pitchers got on a roll from there.

Sabathia had retired 12 straight going into the fifth inning when Jed Lowrie singled to right field. Carl Crawford followed with a single up the middle with one out. Sabathia then inexplicably walked Jason Varitek on four pitches.

Ellsbury made him pay for that mistake by ripping a slider into left-center for a two-run double.

The Yankees decided to intentionally walk Pedroia, who has been slumping, in order to get to the scalding-hot Gonzalez.

But it made sense given that righthanders were hitting .280 against Sabathia coming into the game and lefties were at .182.

The strategy paid off as Gonzalez broke his bat on the second pitch, a sinker, and grounded into a 5-4-3 double play that ended the inning.

The Sox added to their lead in the seventh. Mike Cameron drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Varitek lined an RBI single into right field to make it 3-0. It was Varitek’s first RBI against a lefthanded pitcher this season.

With two outs, Pedroia kept the inning alive with a single. This time, with first base occupied, the Yankees faced Gonzalez and he lined a fastball over the wall in right field.

Hitless to that point, Gonzalez told Francona he would look for a ball inside and take a swing like Ichiro Suzuki. He got that pitch, rotated his hips early, and flicked the ball over the fence.

“He amazes me. When you say you’re going to do it and you do it, that’s pretty impressive,’’ Francona said.

The home run was the fifth in four games for Gonzalez and his seventh in eight games. He leads the American League with 34 RBIs.

It’s no big deal, apparently.

“I usually go through these stretches once or twice a year,’’ Gonzalez said.

That was the night for Sabathia and Girardi, who was ejected by plate umpire Mike Winters after he made a trip to the mound.