BASEBALL IS BACK…………

BY KEVIN FLANAGAN

BSD CORRESPONDENT

The only thing I dislike about the baseball season’s home opener is the day after opening day.  No baseball.  It is a tradition brought about by years of trying to play a summertime sport in a northeast climate during the first week of April.

So as the temperatures soar into the mid 70’s we are left to bask in the joy of an improbable start for the local 9 and to look forward to what is hopefully a rebirth of baseball in Boston.

Were you one of the many who had sworn off the Red Sox, classified them as no good frauds and swore that you won’t get fooled again?  Based on the buzz on sports radio and the early season ratings on NESN it looks like just when you thought you had made it out they sucked you right back in.

Let’s face it most of us were born with baseball in our blood.  For decades it was a rite of passage to shake off the calamities of the year before (need I mention the names Bucky “Bleeping” Dent, Bill Buckner and Aaron Boone?) and return the following year with hope restored and slates wiped clean.

Although my kids think that a championship every couple years from the Sox, Bruins, Celtics or Patriots are a birth right; my father went to his grave never seeing his beloved ballclub win it all.

Baseball is part of our lives.  It is the beacon in the distance on a cold February morning when the truck departs Fenway for Florida.  It is the sight and sounds of summer on a Sunday in March watching a bunch of guys wearing uniform numbers in the 60’s and 70’s during a meaningless Grapefruit League game on NESN.  It is our companion on a warm June afternoon sitting on the deck sipping an ice cold beer.

Baseball is transcendent.  It has the ability to reach back in time and bring us back to a place where we were young and life was simple.  I swear there I times when I am lying in my pool listening to a game on a Saturday afternoon and I can see my dad sitting in a lawn chair watching his little 13 inch black and white TV with a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

For the past 18 months baseball was not fun.  Everything we liked about the Red Sox was gone, replaced by a group of petulant, entitled millionaires who cared more about their tee times on their off day instead of their next start.

Whether it is right or wrong this fanbase feels that the Red Sox represents a small piece of who we are and nobody wants to see the face of an a-hole staring back at them when they look in the mirror.

When Daniel Nava hit that home run in the 7^th inning against Baltimore on Monday it was as if I saw an old friend for the first time in years.  The kid that went from washing uniforms for his college team and for whom the Red Sox paid $1 for his rights (true story, look it up) rounded the bases like he was walking on air and the dugout exploded to greet him.  Win, lose or draw that is the type of team I want representing me.

I won’t pretend to tell you what this team will do this year except to say I like their chances.  I don’t know about you but it feels like I’ve got my team back again.  I can’t wait for the first Saturday in the pool so I can enjoy it with my dad.

BROCKTON ROX OFFER A GREAT ALTERNATIVE FOR FAMILIES

If you were wondering what has happened to the Brockton Rox, well they are back and what great baseball the Future’s League presents.  Come see players that are on their way to the major leagues! If you like the fast paced and excellent offence or defense, then this is your venue.  The Rox have home games this Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday – with some fun activities!  You cannot find a more affordable family activity.
So if you are planning an office outing or a family fun night right in your back yard, come to a Brockton Rox game.  You will have a great time.  See you there!

Mary Waldron

SOX ACTIVATE YOUKILIS FROM DL

RED SOX ACTIVATE THIRD BASEMAN KEVIN YOUKILIS FROM
15-DAY DISABLED LIST

 

BOSTON, MA—The Boston Red  Sox today activated third baseman Kevin Youkilis from the 15-day disabled list.   With the move, the club’s active Major League roster is at 28.

Youkilis, 32, has been on the disabled list since August 18 due to a low back strain.  He appeared in two
rehab games with Triple-A Pawtucket, making one start at designated hitter and one at third base while going 2-for-8 with a solo home run and a walk.  The  right-handed batter has hit .266 (105-for-395) with 30 doubles, two triples, 17  home runs, 78 RBI, 64 runs scored and 63 walks in 110 games for Boston this year  and was named an All-Star for the third time in his career in July.  He ranks  fifth among American League leaders in RBI ratio (5.06 AB/RBI) and  10^th in on-base percentage (.380).  Selected by the Red Sox in the  eighth round of the 2001 First-Year Player Draft, Youkilis has posted a .291 average (921-for-3,170) with 230 doubles, 16 triples, 129 home runs and 548 RBI in 901 career games over eight Major League seasons with Boston (2004-11).

 

RED SOX NOTES: YANKEES GAME 3

 

FINAL MONTH: With 83 wins, Boston owns its 4th most ever entering the month of September and the club’s most since 1978 (84)…This is the 10th time since 1967 that Boston has held 1st place entering September, 1st since 2007 (5.0 GA), and is the club’s smallest 1st-place margin on the date since 1967 (0.5 GA).

-Boston ranked 4th in the AL with a .586 win pct. (17-12) in August, the club’s 4th straight winning month following an 11-15 (.423) April…Boston is 72-37 (.661) since the start of May, 4 more wins than the next-best team (PHI, 68).  

VS. THE YANKEES: The Red Sox conclude a 3-game set with New York tonight…Boston holds an 11-3 edge in their season series vs. NYY thus far in 2011…It is the 4th time the Red Sox have gone 11-3 or better in their 1st 14 decisions of a season with the Yankees, also 1912 (14-0), 1913 (11-3) and 1973 (11-3)…The Red Sox are the 1st team to win 11 of 14 (or fewer) games against the Yankees in a season since 1992, when Toronto went 11-2 against New York (Source: Elias).

-The Red Sox have taken the season set with New York for the 1st time since 2004 (11-8) after the Sox and Yanks split the overall season series, 9-9, in each of the previous 3 years.

-Boston is averaging 6.14 runs per game against the Yankees (86 R/14 G) compared to 5.31 (643 R/121 G) against the rest of baseball…Since 1950, the Red Sox have averaged at least as many runs per game against New York just twice in a full season: 1959 (6.82) and 2005 (6.26).  

BACKSTOP BARRAGE: Jason Varitek knocked his 10th homer of the season last night…He joins Jarrod Saltalamacchia (13 HR) as the 1st pair of Red Sox catchers to each reach double-digits in homers in a season since Bob Tillman (14 HR) and Jim Pagliaroni (11 HR) did it in 1962…Red Sox catchers have combined for 23 homers, tying Toronto for the most in the AL this year.

-Boston has gone deep in each of its last 8 games overall (17 total)…The Sox lead the Majors with 109 homers since the start of June, 1 ahead of BAL (108).  

SATURDAY REMINDER: Saturday’s home game vs. TEX (9/3) was selected for broadcast by FOX and will begin at 4:10 p.m.…FOX also selected 9/17 vs. TB and 9/24 at NYY, both of which will also begin at 4:10 p.m.  

HIGHLY RATED: Last night’s Red Sox-Yankees game earned a 15.2 household rating (26 share) in the Boston DMA, NESN’s highest game rating of the 2011 season.

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RED SOX NOTEBOOK: A’S GAME 2

DOUBLEHEADER: The Red Sox host the A’s in a split doubleheader today, with games at 12:00 p.m. and at 5:00 p.m.…The 2nd game, originally scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, was changed due to the threat of Hurricane Irene…Today’s regularly scheduled game was moved to 12:00 p.m.

-It is Boston’s 3rd doubleheader this season after splitting their previous twinbills on 5/29 at DET and 8/16 vs. TB…When playing 2 games on 1 day, the Red Sox all-time have swept 494, split 828 and been swept 444 times, and in that time, 33 times 1 of the games ended in a tie (Elias).

-Today’s scheduled Red Sox starting pitchers, Jon Lester and Erik Bedard, are the same as in the club’s last doubleheader on 8/16…It is the 1st time the same pitchers have started back-to-back Red Sox twinbills since Roger Clemens and Joe Hesketh on 8/21/91 vs. CLE and 9/26/91 at BAL.

DAY DREAMERS: The Red Sox are 28-11 (.718) during the daytime, the 2nd-best day record in the Majors this year behind the Yankees (35-8, .814)…Since 1946, Boston’s best day winning percentage in a season was a .694 mark (93-41) in 1946.

-4 of the top 7 AL day averages this year belong to Red Sox batters: Jacoby Ellsbury (1st, .363), Adrian Gonzalez (5th, .340), Carl Crawford (6th, .333) and David Ortiz (7th, .325).

GOING DEEP: Boston has hit at least 2 homers in each of its last 4 games, totaling 11 long balls in that time…The 4 straight multi-homer games mark the club’s longest streak since a 4-gamer from
8/10-13/10…The Sox last longer streak was an 8-gamer from 8/14-22.

-Boston’s 164 homers on the year overall rank 2nd in the Majors to the Yankees (181)…The Sox have 57 homers since the All-Star break, 1 shy of New York’s ML-leading 58 shots in the 2nd half.

PAPI POWER: Last night David Ortiz went 3-for-4 with a double and his team-leading 26th home run of the season, 7th most among American League leaders…He is batting .500 (19-for-38) with 4 doubles, 5 homers, 10 RBI and 6 walks over a 10-game hitting streak, his longest of the season, with 6
multi-hit games in that time.

-This marks Ortiz’s 8th career 25-homer season, all with Boston, which moves him out of a tie with Jim Rice (7 seasons) for the 2nd-most, 25-homer seasons ever by a Red Sox after Ted Williams (14)…His 8, 25-homer seasons since 2002 are tied with Alex Rodriguez for the AL’s most.

SAVINGS ACCOUNT: Jonathan Papelbon ranks 4th in the AL with 29 saves, 1 shy of becoming the 1st pitcher ever to record 30 or more saves in each of his 1st 6 full ML seasons (2006-11)…He has converted each of his last 24 chances since 5/13, the longest stretch of his career and the 2nd-longest save streak in the AL this year behind Detroit’s Jose Valverde’s current 38-save run.

-Papelbon has thrown 15.0 scoreless frames over his last 15 games, the longest active scoreless inning streak in the AL and his longest scoreless game and inning stretch since a 16-game, 15.2 IP run from
8/1-9/12/07.

KEVIN HARRIMAN

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TONIGHT’S RED SOX STARTER: JOSH BECKETT

19-JOSH BECKETT, RHP 10-5, 2.46 ERA, 24 starts

2011: 10-5, 2.46 ERA (43 ER/157.0 IP) in 24 GS 2011 vs. TEX: First appearance

CAREER: 122-79, 3.82 ERA (715 ER/1,685.2 IP) in 273 G, 270 GS CAREER vs. TEX: 2-2, 5.53 ERA (26 ER/42.1 IP) in 7 GS

CAREER ON ROAD: 59-44, 3.81 ERA (352 ER/831.0 IP) in 134 G, 132 GS CAREER at TEX: 2-1, 3.96 ERA (11 ER/25.0 IP) in 4 GS

LAST OUTING: Earned his 10th win of the season in a Red Sox 4-3 victory at KC on 8/18…Tossed 7.0 innings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits with 4 strikeouts…Gave up a sac fly in the 1st and a 2-run homer to Alex Gordon in the 3rd inning to tie the game, 3-3…Did not allow a run over his final 4.0 frames…Dustin Pedroia drove in Jed Lowrie in the 5th with the go-ahead run…Daniel Bard pitched the 8th and Jonathan Papelbon pitched the 9th for BOS.

Was his team-high 18th quality start…Has allowed 3 earned runs or less in 8 of his last 9 starts since 7/3 with a 2.90 ERA (19 ER/59.0 IP) and 57 K’s compared to 9 walks in that time.

Has now reached 10 wins in 6 of his last 7 campaigns with the exception of 2010 (6).

RANKINGS: Ranks 2nd in the Majors in opponent AVG (.201) behind Justin Verlander (.185)…Is 3rd in the AL in ERA (2.46) after Jered Weaver (2.10) and Verlander (2.28)…Ranks tied for 3rd in the AL in night ERA (2.44), 2nd in home ERA (1.95), and 10th in road ERA (2.87).

SUPPORT STAFF: Has a team-high 9 no-decisions this season, matching his single-season career high (2009 and 2010)…Has allowed 1 run or less in a no-decision 5 times this season, tied with Jered Weaver for tops in ML…Has held opponents to 2 runs or less in a no-decision 7 times this year, tied for 2nd most in the Majors behind CLE’s Justin Masterson (8).

ROAD WARRIOR: Is 6-3 with 8 quality starts in 9 road outings with a 2.82 ERA (19 ER/60.2 IP) since 5/14…2 of 3 losses in that span came in shutouts suffered by the Sox.

VS. THE RANGERS: Makes his 1st start against TEX in 2011…Picked up a no-decisions in both starts against the club last season despite posting a 9.75 ERA (13 ER/12.0 IP)…His career

5.53 ERA against TEX is his 2nd highest versus an AL team (6.57, TOR).

‘TEK SUPPORT: Is 70-31, 3.67 ERA (357 ER/875.0 IP) career with Jason Varitek catching and 11-14, 5.55 ERA (124 ER/201.2 IP) with other Sox backstops…Varitek has started all 23 of  Beckett’s starts this year after his 4/5 season-opener.

STRIKING RESULTS: Ranks 6th in the AL with 976 K’s since joining the Sox in 2006, 8th on the team’s all-time strikeout list after passing Bill Monbouquette (969) on 8/13…Is 10 shy of Smokey Joe Wood for 7th…Ranks 6th in the Majors with 1,559 strikeouts since the start of the 2002 season.

CHASING DR. K: Has recorded at least 1 strikeout in each of his 273 career Major League games since 9/4/01, the longest active streak in the Majors and 9th longest overall since 1919…Since 1900, Dwight Gooden is the only other pitcher with at least 1 strikeout in more consecutive outings to begin a Major League career, doing so in each of his 1st 349 games from 4/7/84-9/3/97.

Has recorded a strikeout in each of his 167 appearances with the Red Sox, the 2nd-longest streak on the club since 1919 to Pedro Martinez, who recorded at least 1 K in each of his 203 outings with Boston from 4/1/98-9/29/04.

ALL-STAR AGAIN: Was named to his 3rd career All-Star team, also 2007 and 2009 with BOS…Did not pitch in the exhibition.

PREVIOUS START: Gave up 5 runs on 8 hits and a walk in 5.0 innings and lost 5-4 loss to SEA’s Felix Hernandez on 8/13 at Safeco Field…Allowed all 5 runs on 5 hits in the 1st inning but did not allow a run in his final 4.0 frames…All 4 BOS runs came in the 6th inning…Matt Albers (1.2 IP), Franklin Morales (0.2) and Alfredo Aceves (0.2) combined for scoreless relief.

MORE 2011 HIGHLIGHTS: Was denied his 10th win for 3rd straight start despite holding NYY to 1 run over 6.0 IP on 8/7 at home…Is 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA (3 ER/27.0 IP) and 30 K’s in 4 starts vs. NYY this season…Went 6.0 IP and allowed 2 runs on 2 solo HR and fanned 7 but did not factor in the decision as BOS beat CLE 3-2 on a walk-off single in the 9th by Jacoby Ellsbury on 8/2…Allowed 4 runs and suffered his 1st career loss vs. KC on 7/28…Earned the 3-1 win over SEA on 7/23 after allowing 1 run in 7.0 IP on 7 hits and 1 walk with 7 K’s…Allowed a solo homer to start the 7th, snapping a 14.0-inning scoreless streak that began with 8.0 IP on 7/16 at TB…Allowed just 1 base runner in 8.0 innings at TB on 7/17, but did not factor into the decision as the Sox won, 1-0, in 16 innings…Left his start, a 10-3 win, vs. BAL on 7/8 after 5.0 innings with a mildly hyper-extended left knee…Had a stretch of 9 straight starts from 5/14-7/3 in which he went at least 6.0 frames and gave up 5 hits or fewer, the longest such streak in Red Sox history (Elias)…Allowed 5 runs in 6.0 innings at PHI on 6/28 after missing a scheduled start on 6/21 due to illness…Tossed a 1-hit shutout with no walks in a 3-0 win at TB on 6/15…Completed a series sweep of the Yankees with a win on 6/9 at NYY…Earned his 1st career regular-season win at CLE (1-3) on 5/24 in a 4-2 victory…Earned his 1st road win of the year on 5/14 at NYY after throwing 6.0 scoreless frames in a 6-0 team shutout…Threw 3 straight scoreless outings from 5/4-14 (17.1 IP)…Went 7.0 IP or more with 5 base runners or less in 3 straight games from 4/10-21…The only other Sox pitchers to have such a run since 1920 are Pedro Martinez (4, 7/25-8/10/2002), Tex Hughson (3, 6/13-22/1943) and Ed Durham (3, 9/12-21/1931)…Beat NYY on 4/10 at home with 8.0 scoreless IP, becoming the 2nd Sox pitcher since 1920 with 8.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H and 10 K’s in a game vs. NYY

RED SOX vs TEXAS IN GAME 2

SOX LATELY: The Red Sox were shut out 4-0 in Texas last night, the 9th time this year they have not scored in a game, but only the 2nd time since the beginning of July (also, 8/17 vs. TB)…The Sox have dropped 7 of their last 12 games overall, but have won 9 of their last 16 contests, 19 of their last 32, 22 of 37 since the All-Star break and 32 of 48 since 6/30, outscoring opponents 260-199 in that time.

The Red Sox took 3 of 4 games in Kansas City over the weekend and have now won or split 12 of their 14 series since the beginning of July, including wins in 10 of those sets.

ON THE RECORD: At 77-50 (.606), the Red Sox own the 2nd-best record in the AL after the Yankees (77-48, .616) and 3rd-best record in the Majors, also trailing Philadelphia (82-44, .651).

Boston is an American League-best 77-44 (.636) since picking up its 1st win of 2011 on 4/8, 2nd in the Majors in that time behind the Phillies (77-43, .642)…The Sox lost 6 straight games to begin the year, the club’s longest season-opening slide since 1945 (0-8).

The Sox 77 wins mark the club’s most through the 1st 127 games of a season since 1995 (77).

IN THE STANDINGS: Boston is in 2nd place in the AL East, 1.0 game behind New York who was idol
last night…The club lost its share of the division lead after a loss in Game 2 on 8/16, falling to 2nd place
for the 1st time since the conclusion of play on 8/5…Overall in 2011, the Red Sox have been tied or in the lead in the division on 55 total days since tying for 1st on 5/26.

The Sox have a 7.5-game lead over the Rays in the AL Wild Card race.

LONG ROAD: Tonight’s game is the Red Sox 15th in a stretch in which they play 14 of 17 contests on the road from 8/8-25, going 7-7 thus far…The club is playing the 2nd of 4 tilts in Texas after taking 3
of 4 in Kansas City to begin the current 8-day, 8-game trip…Following the set in Texas, Boston
returns home for a 10-day, 9-game homestand over which they will host the A’s (8/26-28),
Yankees (8/30-9/1) and Rangers (9/2-4).

Boston went 3-3 on its last trip to Minnesota and Seattle, snapping a stretch of 7 straight winning
road trips…The Sox had a winning record in each of their previous 7 trips after going 0-6 in their
season-opening jaunt, the 1st time in club history they won 7 straight road trips within a season
(Elias)…Boston has a ML-best 39-20 road mark (.661) since that stretch began on 4/19.

The Sox 39-26 mark (.600) away from home overall this year is 3rd in the Majors behind
the Yankees and Phillies (both 37-24, .607).

ROAD WARRIORS: The Sox have hit a Major League-high 84 homers on the road this year, 5 more
than the next-best team (STL, 79)…Boston sluggers have combined for 35 roundtrippers in their
last 24 contests away from home.

Sox batters have drawn a ML-high 254 walks on the road, and pace AL road leaders with 325 runs and
311 RBI…Adrian Gonzalez has hit .324 (85-for-262) on the road, 3rd among AL leaders.

VS. THE RANGERS: Boston is playing the 2nd tilt of a 4-game set in Texas, its 2nd series at Rangers
Ballpark this year…The Sox were swept in a 3-game set here to open the season and lost the 1st game
of the current set last night…The 2 clubs have 1 more regular-season series remaining this year, a 3-game set at Fenway Park 9/2-4 The Sox have lost 5 straight to the Rangers dating back to their last match-up vs. Texas in 2010, their longest losing streak vs. Texas since dropping 5 in a row, 7/30/03-5/2/04…The Red Sox last longer losing streak against the Rangers was a 6-gamer from 5/12-7/23/91…Boston
has lost 10 of its last 12 contests against the Rangers overall.

The Red Sox are looking for their 1st series win at Rangers Ballpark since 9/5-7/08 (2-1)…The club has ropped 11 of 13 in Texas since the beginning of 2009.

CLEANING UP: Dustin Pedroia has 16 career starts in the clean-up spot, including 12 this season,
and is 28-for-66 (.424) in his career when starting in the 4-hole with 6 doubles, 5 homers and 14
RBI in those tilts…He’s batting .347 (17-for-49) with 3 doubles, 3 homers and 8 RBI at clean-up
in 2011 with the Sox going 8-4 in those games.

HIT STORIES: The Sox last night were held to 4 hits, all singles, in their 4-0 loss at Rangers Ballpark…According to Elias, it was the 1st time in 30 years that Boston was shut out and held without an extra-base hit in a game at Texas…It last happened on 4/29/81 when Danny Darwin threw a 1-hit shutout vs. the Red Sox, allowing only a single to Rick Miller.

The Red Sox had tallied double-digit hits in each of their previous 3 games before last night and have 64
contests this year with at least 10 hits, tied with the Rangers for the most in the Majors…The Sox 1,231 hits overall on the season are 2nd in the Majors behind Texas (1,246).

The Sox lead the Majors with 439 extra-base hits overall, 6 more than Texas (433) who is 2nd.

SAVINGS ACCOUNT: Jonathan Papelbon ranks 4th in the AL with 29 saves…He has converted each of his last 24 save chances since 5/13, the longest stretch of his career and the 2nd-longest save
streak in the American League this year behind Detroit’s Jose Valverde, who has converted each of
his 37 chances thus far.

Papelbon has thrown 14.0 scoreless frames over his last 14 games, allowing just 3 base runners
(all singles) with 15 strikeouts in that stretch, while going 2-0 with 9 saves in that time…The
14.0 innings is the longest active scoreless streak in the AL and this is his longest scoreless
game and inning stretch since a 16-game, 15.2 IP run from 8/1-9/12/07.

He is 1 save shy of reaching the 30-save plateau for the 6th straight year…He would become the 1st pitcher ever to record 30 or more saves in each of his 1st 6 full ML seasons (2006-11).

HOLD ‘EM: Daniel Bard recorded his AL leading 30th hold with 2.0 perfect frames of work with 3 strikeouts Sunday at Kansas City…His 30 holds are the 2nd-most in the Majors behind only Washington’s Tyler Clippard’s 32…Bard is 2 holds shy of tying his club mark (since the stat was tracked
in 1969) of 32 that he established last season.

TRIPLE TIME: Jason Varitek notched an RBI-triple in the Sox win Sunday in KC…It marked his 14th career triple and 1st since 6/24/07 at SD…At 39 years, 132 days old, he is the oldest catcher to record a 3-bagger since Benito Santiago at 40/26 with Pittsburgh on 4/4/05 vs. MIL…Since 1983, the only other Sox to triple at 39 or older was Rickey Henderson, 5/27/02 at TOR (43/153).

WILLIAMS OUTRIGHTED TO PAWTUCKET: LHP Randy Williams, who was designated for assignment last Thursday (8/18), was today outrighted to Triple-A Pawtucket.

KEVIN HARRIMAN

RED SOX – MARINERS HITTING STATS

MARINERS CAREER vs. WAKEFIELD       RED SOX CAREER vs. FURBUSH

PLAYER AVG. AB H HR RBI                         PLAYER AVG. AB H HR RBI

Ackley — 0 0 0 0                                                       Aviles — 0 0 0 0

Bard .400 5 2 1 3                                                        Crawford .000 1 0 0 0

Carp .333 3 1 0 0                                                       Ellsbury .000 2 0 0 0

Gutierrez .214 14 3 0 0                                             Gonzalez .500 2 1 0 0

Kennedy .219 32 7 1 3                                               Lowrie .000 1 0 0 0

Olivo .278 18 5 2 5                                                    McDonald — 0 0 0 0

Robinson — 0 0 0 0                                                Ortiz .000 2 0 0 0

Rodriguez .250 4 1 0 0                                            Pedroia .000 2 0 0 0

Seager — 0 0 0 0                                                     Reddick .500 2 1 0 0

Smoak .200 5 1 0 0                                                  Saltalamacchia .000 2 0 0 0

Suzuki .256 39 10 0 1                                              Scutaro — 0 0 0 0

Wells .000 3 0 0 0                                                   Varitek — 0 0 0 0

Wilson .000 5 0 0 0                                                Youkilis .000 2 0 0 0

WAKEFIELD STATS; GOES FOR #200 TODAY

49-TIM WAKEFIELD, RHP 6-4, 4.92 ERA, 25 games, 16 starts

2011: 6-4, 4.92 ERA (62 ER/113.1 IP) in 25 G, 16 GS

2011 vs. SEA: 1-0, 6.00 ERA (8 ER/12.0 IP) in 2 G, 2 GS

CAREER:
199-176, 4.40 ERA (1,556 ER/3,185.0 IP) in 619 G, 456 GS

CAREER vs. SEA: 5-10, 4.32 ERA (73 ER/152.0 IP) in 29 G, 19 GS

CAREER ON ROAD: 93-97, 4.50 ERA (766 ER/1533.2 IP) in 302 G, 227

GS CAREER at SEA: 1-4, 4.89 ERA (29 ER/53.1 IP) in 11 G, 6 GS

LAST OUTING: Gave up 5 runs (3 ER) on 8 hits over 7.0 innings at MIN on 8/8…Left with a 1-run lead but the Twins tied it in the 8th before Boston plated 2 runs in the 9th on back-to back 2-out RBI hits by David Ortiz and Jarrod Saltalamacchia…Jonathan Papelbon pitched a perfect 9th to preserve the 8-6 win.

STRIVING FOR 200: Is 1 win from becoming the 108th pitcher in ML history, 89th modern Major Leaguer (since 1900), to record 200 career victories…

QUALITY STARTS: Has posted 3 straight quality starts with a 3.92 ERA (9 ER/20.2 IP) in his last 3 starts since reaching career win number 199 but has gone 0-1 in that time…It marks the 1st time he has failed to earn at least 1 victory over a span of 3 straight quality starts since going 0-2 in 3 starts from 6/3-15/06.

WINNING WAYS: Boston has won 10 of his 14 starts since rejoining the rotation on 5/22 including 6 of his 7 starts since the beginning of July…Wakefield is 6-3 with a 4.80 ERA (48 ER/90.0 IP) in that 14-start span, which includes all 8 of his quality starts this season.

Wakefield’s 8 quality starts this season are 3rd most on the team…Has held opponents to 3 earned runs or less in 5 of his last 6 starts since 7/6 and 10 of his 16 starts overall in 2011.

START IT UP: Is 6-4 with a 4.95 ERA (55 ER/100.0 IP) in 16 starts this year, with Boston winning 11 of those contests…Owns a 4.73 ERA (7 ER/13.1 IP) over 9 relief outings in 2011.

VS. THE MARINERS: Recorded his 2,000th strikeout as a member of the Sox and picked up his 199th career win despite allowing a season-high 7 earned runs and giving up his franchise high 7th career grand slam in his last outing against SEA on 7/24 at home.

Holds a .333 (5-10) career win percentage against SEA, his lowest against any AL club.

MR. 2000: Recorded his 2,000th strikeout as a member of the Sox on 7/24 at Fenway Park when he fanned Seattle’s Mike Carp in the 6th inning…The only other hurler to record at least 2,000 K’s with the club was Roger Clemens, who struck out 2,590…Became the
10th pitcher to record at least 2,000 K’s for one AL team…Only 3 other AL teams have had 2 hurlers fan 2,000 or more batters:

CAL (Nolan Ryan, Chuck Finley), CLE (Bob Feller, Sam McDowell) and MIN (Walter Johnson, Bert Blyleven).

AGELESS: At 45 years and 12 days old today, is the Majors’ oldest active player…With his relief appearance on 5/11, became the oldest player to ever appear in a game with the Red Sox, passing Deacon McGuire (44 years, 280 days on 8/24/1908)…Is the oldest player to start an AL game since Roger Clemens at 45 years, 43 days old on 9/16/07 at BOS for NYY.

Allowed 1 run in 2 separate starts in 2011, last on 5/22 vs. CHC at 44 years, 293 days old…Since 1994, only 1 older AL hurler has let up 1 run in a start: Roger Clemens, who did it 3 times, last at 45 years 25 days on 8/29/07 vs. BOS while with NYY. At 44 years and 338 days old on 7/6 vs. TOR, became the oldest AL pitcher to earn a win while recording 7 or more K’s in an outing of 7.0 IP or more since Nolan Ryan did it at 45 years and 160 days old on 7/9/92 with TEX (8 K’s in 7.0 IP).

ACTIVE LEADER: Is the active leader in wins (199) and innings pitched (3,185.0)…Ranks 2nd among actives with 2,125 K’s behind FLA’s Javier Vazquez (2,478)…WAS’s Livan Hernandez is 2nd on the active innings list with 3,098.0…PHI’s Roy Halladay is
2nd on the active wins list with 184 wins. Wakefield’s 423 career starts with the Red Sox are the most by any active hurler with 1 single team…Mark Buehrle is next on that list with 357 starts for the White Sox…Wakefield became the 13th pitcher ever to start at least 400 games for a single AL team on 6/25/10 at SF.

RED SOX RANKINGS: Ranks 1st all-time among Red Sox pitchers in games started (423) and innings pitched (2,964.2), 2nd in games (582) and strikeouts (2,015), 3rd in wins (185)…No other pitcher in Red Sox history has appeared in at least 500 games and made 350 or more starts. Is in his 17th year with the Sox, the most of any pitcher in club history and 4th-most overall behind Yastrzemski
(23), Evans (19) and Williams (19).

RED SOX NOTEBOOK: SEATTLE GAME 3

SOX LATELY: The Red Sox lost last night in Seattle, 5-4, the club’s 2nd loss in its last 3 games…Boston has taken 5 of its last 7 contests overall, 15 of its last 23, 18 of 28 since the All-Star break and 28 of 39 since 6/30, outscoring opponents 231-165 in that time.

ON THE RECORD: At 73-45 (.619), the Red Sox own the best record in the AL, behind only Philadelphia (78-41, .655) in the Majors.

Boston is a Major League-best 73-39 (.652) since picking up its 1st win of 2011 on 4/8…The Sox lost 6 straight games to begin
the year, the club’s longest season-opening slide since 1945 (0-8). The Sox 73 wins mark the club’s most through the 1st 118 games of a season since 1995 (73). A win today would give the Sox a victory in the current series…The Red Sox have won or split each of their last 11 series since the start of July, with victories in 9 of those sets.

FIRST PLACE: The Red Sox reclaimed 1st place in the AL East with a win over New York on 8/7 and currently lead the Yankees by
1.0 game…Overall in 2011, the Red Sox have been tied or in the lead in the division on 53 total days since tying for 1st on 5/26.

LONG ROAD: Today’s game is the Red Sox 6th in a stretch in which they play 14 of 17 contests on the road from 8/8-25, going
3-2 thus far…The club is continuing a 3-game set in Seattle after last night’s loss…Boston took 2 of 3 in Minnesota (8/8-10) to begin its current trip…Following the current series, the Sox will return home for an off-day Monday and then play 3 games in 2 days against Tampa Bay on Tuesday (doubleheader) and Wednesday before heading out for an 8-day, 8-game road trip to Kansas City (8/18-21) and Texas (8/22-25).

With a win today, Boston would claim its 8th straight winning road trip…The Sox have earned a winning record in each of their last 7 trips after going 0-6 in their season-opening jaunt…It is the 1st time in club history that the Sox have won 7 straight road trips within a season (Elias). The Sox 36-23 mark (.610) away from home overall this year is the 2nd-best road record in the Majors after the Phillies
(36-22).

ROAD WARRIORS: The Sox went deep twice last night and have hit a Major League-high 80 homers on the road this year, 10
more than the next-best team (STL, 70)…Red Sox batters have hit at least 1 homer in each of the club’s last 11 road games (18 total), matching their longest such stretch away from home this year (also 5/10-29)…Boston’s last longer streak of road games with at least 1 home run was a 14-game stretch from 6/7-7/6/05…Boston sluggers have combined for 31 roundtrippers in their last 18 contests away from home overall.

Sox batters have drawn a ML-high 235 walks on the road…They also lead AL road leaders in SLG (.432), OPS (.768) and runs (tied, 301), and are 2nd in that group in RBI (289), and OBP (.336). David Ortiz leads the team with 14 homers on the road, tied for 3rd most in the AL, while Adrian Gonzalez’s .326 clip on the road is 3rd among AL leaders.

VS. THE M’s: Today Boston plays the 3rd tilt of a 3-game set in Seattle, the club’s last game at Safeco Field this year, with the
Sox holding a 5-3 advantage…The clubs met for 2 sets at Fenway Park earlier in 2011…Last night’s loss snapped a streak of 5 straight wins against the M’s. Friday night’s victory secured the Sox a win in the season set vs. the Mariners in back-to-back seasons (7-3 last year) for the 1st time since 2003-04 (5-2 and 5-4)…Boston has won 19 of its last 29 games vs. the Mariners since 6/7/08 and has taken 22 of 35 matchups dating back to 8/4/07. Last night’s loss also ended Boston’s 4-game win streak in Seattle, the club’s longest win streak here since a 4-game run, 9/4/99-4/4/00…The Sox are 13-7 vs. the M’s in the Emerald City since 8/4/07 and 10-5 at Safeco dating
back to 7/21/08. The Red Sox are 215-157 (.578) all-time against the Mariners, the top winning percentage for any American League club against Seattle since the Mariners 1st season in 1977.

200 CLUB: Today’s starter Tim Wakefield is 1 win shy of becoming the 108th pitcher in Major League history and the 89th modern
Major Leaguer (since 1900) to record 200 career victories…

20/20 ACHIEVED: Jacoby Ellsbury knocked his 20th homer of the season last night in the 6th inning…Along with his 31 stolen
bases, he became the 6th Red Sox (7th time) to reach both 20 HR and 20 SB in a season, the 1st since Nomar Garciaparra in 1997…His 20 long balls are the most ever for a Red Sox with 30 or more steals. Ellsbury became the 4th member of the 20/20 club in the Majors this season, joining MIL’s Ryan Braun, NYY’s Curtis Granderson and LAD’s Matt Kemp…Ellsbury leads that group with 31 swipes.

CLEANING UP: Dustin Pedroia batted cleanup last night and hit a 2-run homer in the 6th inning…He has now hit safely in
all 10 career starts in the 4-hole, batting .500 (22-for-44) with 5 doubles, 1 triple, 5 homers and 11 RBI in those contests…The Sox are 8-2 in those games, including 5-1 in his 6 starts as the cleanup hitter this season.

Pedroia has hit safely in 47 of his last 52 games dating back to 6/15, leading the Majors in that span in AVG (.371), OBP (.436),
OPS (1.060) and total bases (131), and placing 2nd in that time in hits (tied, 78), extra-base hits (29), runs (tied, 41) and SLG (.624).

CLOSE LOSSES: 2 of Boston’s last 3 losses have come by 1 run and 7 of the club’s last 8 losses since 7/25 have been decided by 3
runs or less…The Sox are 48-24 since 5/23, and among those 24 losses, only 1 was decided by more than 4 runs: a 5-0 loss at Philadelphia on 6/28.

SAVINGS ACCOUNT: Jonathan Papelbon recorded his 27th save Friday night, 4th-most in the AL, and has converted each of his
last 22 save chances since 5/13, the longest single-season stretch of his career and the 2nd-longest save streak in the American League this year behind DET’s Jose Valverde, who has converted each of his 35 chances thus far.

Papelbon has thrown 12.0 scoreless frames over his last 12 games, allowing just 3 base runners (all singles) with 13 strikeouts in that stretch, while going 2-0 with 7 saves in that time.

PAPI POWER: David Ortiz has homered 4 times in his last 8 games, including in 2 of his last 3 contests…He has hit 24 roundtrippers on the season, tied for 7th among American League leaders, and 1 shy of his 8th 25-homer season, all with Boston…Ortiz would move out of a tie with Jim Rice (7 seasons) for the 2nd-most, 25-homer seasons ever by a Red Sox after Ted Williams (14). Ortiz is hitting .545
(12-for-22) with 3 homers and 7 RBI over his current 6-game hit streak.

KEVIN HARRIMAN