DAVID ORTIZ…….SHOW HIM THE MONEY !

BY A.J. NICHOLS

BOSTON SPORTS DESK CORRESPONDENT

Give Papi what he wants!

This season has been a roller coaster ride for the Boston Red Sox that has featured clubhouse drama, the trade of Kevin Youkilis, devastating injuries, and inconsistent play.

However, the one reliable piece of the team has been the play of David Ortiz. Big Papi is batting .302 with 22 Home-runs and 55 RBI. On Wednesday, he hit his 400^th career home run in a 3-2 loss against the Oakland Athletics. Ortiz is on pace for another 40 Home run season and is currently 1^st in the AL with 46 Extra Base Hits (XBH) and 4^th in Total Bases with 178.

Recent talk has not been about Papi’s play yet rather his contract situation. He is currently under a one year deal worth a little over 14 million and will be up for free agency at the end of the year.

On Wednesday,  Papi expressed his feelings about prior contract negotiation with the Sox “It was humiliating, there’s no reason a guy like me should go through that. … And yet they don’t hesitate to sign other guys. It was embarrassing.” Ortiz is referring his arbitration case that was avoided last year when the Red Sox agreed to give him a 1 year 14.5 million dollar deal.

Ortiz has expressed publicly that he is looking for a two-year contract to give him a little extra security. The Red Sox have been weary of Ortiz’s age and ability to stay productive over longer contracts. He is 36 years old but without a doubt the best Designated Hitter (DH) in the league.

Many analysts justify the Red Sox reasoning by arguing that a team should not pay their DH equivalent to two-way position players. I look at it as production is production and David Ortiz has been one of the most consistent players in the league at the plate over the past two years. I can’t even start to mention the importance that Ortiz has meant to the club throughout his tenure. He is famous for countless Home runs and coming up clutch in big games.  If there is one guy I want up against Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the 9^th at Fenway in Game 7 of an American League Championship Series, it’s David Ortiz.

Not only has Ortiz been the face of the Red Sox on the field he has been just as visible off the field. When people think of the Boston Red Sox Big Papi is the first on their minds. It would be extremely difficult to see the Sox let him walk in free agency because of money difference. I totally agree with Ortiz’s point about the sox offering new players big deals to come play in Boston while they have been short-changing him.

Carl Crawford, John Lackey, and Adrian Gonzalez all got long lucrative contracts to come to Boston and so far the only one who has produced has been Gonzalez. It’s time for the Sox to reward their lone All-Star with some security.

RED SOX VS BLUE JAYS GAME II

SOX STATUS: The Red Sox have won 7 of their last 9 games (.778), tied for the Majors best record since 6/16 (also Texas, 7-2)…Boston is 9-3 (.750) since 6/12 and 26-16 (.619) since 5/11, 3rd best in the Majors in that time.

• The Red Sox and Blue Jays are tied for 4th in the AL East despite 38-35 records (.521)…Since each league split into 3 divisions in 1994, it is the highest winning percentage for any team with a share of last place entering play on 6/26.

TO THE LEFT: The Red Sox are 15-9 (.625) this season when facing left-handed starters…Boston batters lead the Majors with 35 homers, 86 extra-base hits and 366 total bases against left-handed pitching this season…They also top the AL with a .477 SLG and .805 OPS against lefties.

• Boston has hit 3 homers off their last 2 left-handed starters faced (ATL’s Mike Minor on 6/24, MIA’s Mark Buehrle on 6/19)…It is the 1st time the Sox have homered at least 3 times off back-to-back lefty starters faced since at least 1980.
• David Ortiz leads the Majors with 9 homers off left-handers this season and tops the AL with 16 XBH vs. southpaws.

DAVID’S 2 FOR 20 SPECIAL: David Ortiz hit his team-high 19th and 20th home runs of the season last night, matching his single-game career-high for the 39th time, which trails only Alex Rodriguez (60), Albert Pujols (42) and Andruw Jones (42) among actives…It was Ortiz’s 37th multi-homer game as a member of the Red Sox, tying him with Ted Williams for the most in Red Sox history…His 37 multi-homer games since 2003 ranks 2nd in the Majors after Pujols (40).

• Ortiz has reached the 20-homer plateau each of the last 11 years (2002-12), the only Major Leaguer to accomplish that feat…His 10, 20-homer campaigns with Boston are 4th in club history after Ted Williams (16), Dwight Evans (11) and Jim Rice (11)…It took him 73 games to reach 20 homers, the 2nd fewest of his career…He needed just 67 games in 2006 en route to a club-record 54 bombs that year.
• Ortiz is tied with Dale Murphy for 51st place on baseball’s all-time home run list at 398…He is 2 shy of becoming the 7th active player to hit 400 career long balls.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Yesterday Will Middlebrooks was named AL Player of the Week for the period ending 6/24…He went 10-for-16 (.625) with 3 doubles, 3 homers, 10 RBI and 6 runs in 6 games during that week, topping AL leaders in AVG, SLG (1.375), OBP (.632) and total bases (22)…Middlebrooks is the 1st Red Sox to win Player of the Week  in 2012 and is the 4th Boston rookie to get the nod since the award’s inception in 2003, joining 2007 winners Daisuke Matsuzaka, Dustin Pedroia and Clay Buchholz.

DRAFT SIGNINGS: The Red Sox have signed 2012 First-Year Player Draft selections RHP Greg Larson (20th round) and 2B Keaton Briscoe (24th round)…Larson has been assigned to Short-A Lowell and Briscoe to the GCL…Boston has now signed 19 players from the 2012 Draft.

LACKEY BACK: WEEI reported today that John Lackey, eight months following Tommy John surgery, threw in the Red Sox bullpen this afternoon

.

RED SOX STRUGGLES, DICE-K REHAB MEAN PACKED PRESS BOX AT McCOY

Things on Yawkey Way have become so bad in recent weeks, that the normally quiet McCoy Stadium Press Box is bursting at the seams tonight.

The combination of a struggling Red Sox team and the fact that Daisuke Matsuzaka is making a re-hab start tonight for the Pawtucket Red Sox has brought out the heavy-hitters (some literally) of the Boston media. Standing Room Only is the phrase for the night.

ESPN.com’s Joe McDonald, The Globe’s Nick Cafardo, Jeremy Kapstein (John Henry’s Senior Baseball Advisor) and the AP’s Mike Shalin have all invaded Pawtucket looking for a story.  Maybe a strong outing by Dice-K. Maybe a glimmer of hope from Dice-K that he may be able to contribute in Boston at some point.

As it stands now, there is now ray of hope in the Red Sox starting rotation. The Boston starting 5, thought to be a strong point of the team coming out of spring training, has been inept at best for the first five weeks of the season.

Once thought to be an after-thought, Dice-K is now viewed as a potential viable candidate for the 2012 rotation. Maybe Clay Buchholtz’s spot in the rotation ? Buchholtz has been inexplicably awful. Coming off of back surgery, Buchholtz would normally be given some slack to start the season. But when you tell the media that your back is “fine”….there is not much you can say about your performance. Buchholz is allowing 5-plus runs per game in his four starts so far. Not what you’d expect from your #3 pitcher.

Dice-K ? It seemed far-fetched, but I wonder. Hey, maybe John Lackey could become a great club house leader and Dice-K could win 20 !

Beer and chicken for everyone

KEVIN HARRIMAN

BOSTON SPORTS DESK PUBLISHER

 

DAISUKE MATSUZAKA NOTES:

Boston Red Sox RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka will make a rehab start for the PawSox tonight when they host Rochester at 6:15 pm at McCoy Stadium.  Dice-K was placed onBoston’s disabled list about one year ago (last May 17) and underwent Tommy John surgery last June 10 to reconstruct a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right arm.

He made his first official rehab start of the season on April 23 for Single-A Salem allowing 3 runs on 6 hits in 4-innings in a 7-2 loss to Wilmington – 4 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, 2 HRA.  His next (and most recent) outing came on April 28 for Double-A Portland when he received a no-decision in 9-1 Sea Dogs’ victory over Reading – 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO.  He threw 74 pitches during that start (44 for strikes).  He retired the first 7 batters he faced and had a 9-pitch 2^nd-inning.  In the 5^th-inning he gave up a triple on a ball lost in the sun by Portland outfielder Bryce Brentz and left with 2 outs and 2 runners on base in the 5^th (one of those inherited runners eventually scored).

Matsuzaka, 31, is in his sixth season with the Red Sox.  During his Red Sox career he is 49-30 with a 4.25 ERA in 106 games (105 starts) for Boston.  In 2007 he won Game 7 of the ALCS vs.Clevelandand won Game 3 of the World Series in Coloradoto help the Red Sox to the World Series title.  His best season came in 2008 when he went 18-3 with a 2.90 ERA.  Last year he was 3-3 with a 5.30 ERA in 8 games (7 GS) before going on the DL.  Dice-K has had previous rehab stints with the PawSox in 2008, 2009, and 2010.  Overall in 8 starts for  Pawtucket he is 3-1 with a 2.15 ERA (9 ER in 37.2 IP).

LACKEY ISSUES APPOLOGY

 

STATEMENT FROM JOHN LACKEY

 

FORT MYERS, FL—Red Sox pitcher John Lackey issued the following statement today:

 

“I apologize for my thoughtless choice of words that appeared in print earlier today.  I meant no harm, and I am sorry to all I offended.”

LACKEY’S ORIGINAL COMMENT

“Guys having a beer after their start has been going on for the last 100 years,” Lackey said (Boston.com). “This is retarded. It’s not like we were sitting up there doing it every night. It’s not even close to what people think.”

 

LACKEY TO HAVE TOMMY JOHN!

WEEI FLASH: Sox GM Ben Cherington announces John Lackey will undergo Tommy John Surgery. http://www.weei.com.

RED SOX ISSUE STATEMENT ON RECENT EVENTS

STATEMENTS FROM
THE BOSTON RED SOX, JON LESTER, JOSH BECKETT, JOHN LACKEY AND TERRY
FRANCONA

BOSTON, MA— The Boston Red  Sox today issued the following statements regarding the allegation about  drinking in the dugout during games in the 2011 season.  Additionally, former manager Terry Francona has asked that the team release a statement on his behalf.

JON LESTER: “The accusation that we were drinking in the dugout during games is completely
false.  Anonymous sources are continuing to provide exaggerated and, in this case, inaccurate information to the media.

JOSH BECKETT: “I cannot let this allegation go without response; enough is enough.  I admit that I made mistakes along the way this season, but this has gone too far.  To say that we drank in the dugout during the game is not true.”

JOHN LACKEY: “There are things that went on this season that shouldn’t have happened, but
this latest rumor is not true, and I felt that it was important to try to stop this from going any further.”

TERRY FRANCONA: “In 32 years of professional baseball, I have never seen someone drinking beer
in the dugout.”

PRESIDENT/CEO LARRY LUCCHINO ON BEHALF OF THE BOSTON RED SOX: “Tonight our organization has heard directly from Jon, Josh, John, and former manager Terry Francona.  Each has assured us that the allegation that surfaced today about drinking in the dugout during games in 2011 is false, and we accept their statements as honest and factual.

“As we continue our internal examination to fully understand what went wrong in September, 2011,
we appreciate these strong and clear statements from our players.

“It is time to look forward and move forward, rather than allow a reckless, unsubstantiated
accusation from ‘anonymous sources’ to mislead the public.”

RED SOX STARTING PITCHER:JOHN LACKEY

TODAY’S RED SOX STARTING PITCHER

41-JOHN LACKEY, RHP 12-10, 5.94 ERA, 23 starts

2011: 12-10, 5.94 ERA (90 ER/136.1 IP) in 23 GS

2011 vs. TEX: 1-1, 11.32 ERA (13 ER/10.1 IP) in 2 GS

CAREER: 128-92, 4.04 ERA (831 ER/1,852.1 IP) in 290 G, 289 GS CAREER vs. TEX: 12-13,
6.04 ERA (128 ER/190.2 IP) in 35 GS

CAREER AT HOME: 67-43, 4.00 ERA (413 ER/930.0 IP) in 144 GS

CAREER vs. TEX in BOS: 0-0, 2.57 ERA (2 ER/7.0 IP) in 1 GS

LAST OUTING: Went 7.0 innings in a 5-2 loss vs. NYY on 8/30, allowing 5 runs (4 ER) on 7 hits, 4 walks and a hit batter…Trailing 1-0, gave up 2 runs in the 4th inning on an RBI double by Robinson Cano and RBI single by Eric Chavez…Surrendered a solo homer to Francisco Cervelli to start the 5th…The Red Sox stranded 16 base runners in the game. Has gone at least 6.0 innings in a season-high 6 straight starts.

TURNAROUND: Is 7-2 with a 4.22 ERA (30 ER/64.0 IP) in his last 10 starts beginning 7/9…The stretch has lowered his ERA from 7.47 to his current 5.94 mark, his best since 4/30. Is 10-5 since coming off the DL on 6/5, surrendering 4 runs or less in 12 of 16 starts.

WIN STREAK: Won a career-high 6 straight decisions over 7 starts from 7/9-8/17…In that span,  Posted a 3.92 ERA (19 ER/43.2 IP) and 34 strikeouts compared to just 7 walks.

Won 4 consecutive starts from 7/9-27, posting a 2.52 ERA (7 ER/25.0 IP) in that time…Was his longest such streak since winning 4 starts in a row for the Angels, 7/12-29/09.

VS. THE RANGERS: Last faced TEX on 8/23 on the road and earned the win, going 6.2 IP with 4 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks…Gave up 10 hits and 9 runs in 3.2 IP for the loss on 4/2 at TEX in his season debut…His career 6.04 ERA (128 ER/190.2 IP) is his highest vs. any AL club.

TEX’s Michael Young leads actives with 32 hits and 16 RBI in his career against Lackey.

TOUGH LUCK: Has lost 3 times when allowing 2 runs or less this year in a start (1 R, 4/19 at OAK; 2 R, 4/30 vs. SEA; 2 R, 6/29 at PHI), the 2nd most in the AL behind TB’s Jeremy Hellickson (4)…Has doubled his career total of 2-run losses (6) after never suffering more than 1 such loss in a season…Is winless in 14 of his 29 quality starts since joining BOS in 2010.

TAKE TEN: Has tallied at least 10 wins in each of the last 9 seasons since 2003…Is 1 of 3pitchers in the Majors to record double-digit wins each season during that span, also NYY’s CC Sabathia and CWS’s Mark Buehrle.

DECIDED START: Began the season with 17 straight decisions (9-8) before his only no-decision on
8/1…It was the longest streak of decisions to begin a season by a Red Sox since Tim Wakefield in 2007
(16-10 in 1st 26 starts)…He is 1 of 3 ML starters with a decision streak of at least that length in 2011, joining C.C. Sabathia (23) and an active streak by Justin Verlander (19).

CATCHING THE BREAK: Has won 6 of his 9 starts since the All-Star break, going 6-2 with a 4.71 ERA (30 ER/57.1 IP), after compiling a 6-8 record with a 6.84 ERA (60 ER/79.0 IP) before the break.

Last year posted a 4.78 ERA (60 ER/113.0 IP) in the 1st half and a 3.97 mark (45 ER/102.0 IP) in the 2nd half…Has a career 64-42 record (.604) with a 3.87 ERA (390 ER/907.0 IP) in the 2nd half compared to 64-50 (.561) with a 4.20 ERA (441 ER/945.1 IP) before the break.

PREVIOUS START: Tossed 6.2 innings for the win, allowing 4 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks, in the Sox 11-5 win at TEX on 8/23…With the Sox leading 6-0, gave up 3 runs in the 3rd on a bases-loaded walk
and a pair of sac flies…Yielded his final run in the 5th on a solo homer by Josh Hamilton.

MORE 2011 HIGHLIGHTS: Snapped a career-high 6-game win streak with a loss vs. TB on 8/17…Threw 125 pitches, his most as a member of BOS and the 2nd-highest total of his career…Picked up his 10th win in a 10-4 victory over NYY at home on 8/6…Did not factor in the decision in the Sox 9-6 loss to CLE on 8/1 in which he gave up back-to-back homers in the 6th inning, the 1st time he had allowed 2 home runs in an inning as a Red Sox and 1st time he’d given up back-to-back HR’s since 8/9/08
vs. NYY while with LAA…Surrendered 1 run on 8 hits in 7.0 IP for the win vs. SEA on 7/22…Was the

4th time he has allowed 1 run on 8+ hits in his career, 1st since 6/29/10 vs. TB…Snapped his 2nd 3-start losing streak of the season with a 4-0 win vs. BAL on 7/9 after losing each of his outings from
6/22-7/4, including a rain-shortened affair on 6/22…Beat MIL on 6/17 with a stretch of 15 straight

batters retired…Struck out a season-high 8 batters on his way to a 16-4 win at TOR on 6/11…Returned from the disabled list on 6/5 and earned a 6-3 win vs. OAK…Was on the DL from 5/16 (retro to 5/12)
to 6/5 with a right elbow strain…Allowed 9 runs on 9 hits in 6.2 innings in a 9-3 loss to Toronto

on 5/11 before being placed on the disabled list…Took his 1st career loss to LAA (4-1) after allowing 8 runs in 4.0 innings on 5/5…Snapped a 15.0-inning scoreless streak in the 3rd inning of a loss on 4/30
at BAL in which he gave up just 2 runs in 6.0 innings…Pitched on 10 days of rest on 4/19 at OAK after being skipped due to a rainout on 4/13 and allowed 1 run over 7.0 innings…Started Boston’s home opener vs. NYY on 4/8 and was credited with the win in the team’s 1st victory of the season…Took a loss
on 4/2 at TEX after 3.2 IP and giving up 9 runs on 10 hits (7 for extra bases) and 2 walks.

KEVIN HARRIMAN

TONIGHT’S RED SOX STARTER: LACKEY

41-JOHN LACKEY, RHP 12-9, 5.98 ERA, 22 starts

2011: 12-9, 5.98 ERA (86 ER/129.1 IP) in 22 GS

2011 vs. NYY: 2-0, 7.36 ERA (9 ER/11.0 IP) in 2 GS

CAREER: 128-91, 4.03 ERA (827 ER/1,845.1 IP) in 289 G, 288 GS

CAREER vs. NYY: 8-8, 4.67 ERA (69 ER/133.0 IP) in 21 GS

CAREER AT HOME: 67-42, 3.99 ERA (409 ER/923.0 IP) in 143 GS

CAREER vs. NYY in BOS: 3-0, 4.01 ERA (11 ER/24.2 IP) in 4 GS

LAST OUTING: Tossed 6.2 innings for the win, allowing 4 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks, in the Red Sox 11-5 victory at TEX on 8/23…With the Sox leading 6-0, gave up 3 runs in the 3rd inning on a bases-loaded walk and a pair of sacrifice flies…Gave up his final run of the outing in the 5th on a solo homer by Josh Hamilton…Adrian Gonzalez went deep twice in the game…Boston collected 4 runs in the 8th to put the game away.

TURNAROUND: Is 7-1 with a 4.11 ERA (26 ER/57.0 IP) in his last 9 starts beginning 7/9…The stretch has lowered his ERA from 7.47 to his current 5.98 mark, his best since 4/30. Is 10-4 since coming off the DL on 6/5, surrendering 4 runs or less in 12 of 15 starts.

WIN STREAK: Won a career-high 6 straight decisions over 7 starts from 7/9-8/17…In that span, posted a 3.92 ERA (19 ER/43.2 IP) and 34 strikeouts compared to just 7 walks. Won 4 consecutive starts from 7/9-27, posting a 2.52 ERA (7 ER/25.0 IP) in that time…Was his longest such streak since winning 4 starts in a row for the Angels, 7/12-29/09.

VS. THE YANKEES: Has won a career-best 3-straight starts against NYY including 2 this season…Has beat the Yankees twice at Fenway Park in 2011…Last faced NYY on 8/6 in a 10-4 Sox victory at home in which he tossed 6.0 innings, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks.

TAKE TEN: Has tallied at least 10 wins in each of the last 9 seasons from 2003-11…Is 1 of 3 pitchers in the Majors to record double-digit wins each season during that span along with NYY’s CC Sabathia and CWS’s Mark Buehrle.

TOUGH LUCK: Has lost 3 times when allowing 2 runs or less this year (1 R, 4/19 at OAK; 2 R,4/30 vs. SEA; 2 R, 6/29 at PHI), the most such losses in the AL…Has doubled his career total of 2-run losses (6 total) after never suffering more than 1 such loss in a season…Is winless in 14 of his 29 quality starts since joining BOS in 2010.

DECIDED START: Began the season with 17 straight decisions (9-8) before his only no decision on 8/1…It was the longest streak of decisions to begin a season by a Red Sox since Tim Wakefield in 2007 (16-10 in 1st 26 starts)…He is 1 of 3 starters in the ML with a decision streak of at least that length this season, joining CC Sabathia (23) and an active streak by Justin Verlander (18).

CATCHING THE BREAK: Has won 6 of his 8 starts since the All-Star break, going 6-1 with a 4.65 ERA (26 ER/50.1 IP), after compiling a 6-8 record with a 6.84 ERA (60 ER/79.0 IP) before the break.

Last year posted a 4.78 ERA (60 ER/113.0 IP) in the 1st half and a 3.97 mark (45 ER/102.0 IP) in the 2nd half…Has a career 64-41 record (.610) with a 3.86 ERA (386 ER/900.0 IP) in the 2nd half compared to 64-50 (.561) with a 4.20 ERA (441 ER/945.1 IP) before the break.

PREVIOUS START: Took the loss vs. TB on 8/17, snapping a career-high 6-game win streak…Tossed 6.2 innings and allowed 4 runs (3 ER) on 6 hits, 3 walks and 2 hit batters…Gave up solo homers to B.J. Upton in the 4th inning and Evan Longoria in the 5th…Exited in the 7th trailing 4-0 after giving up a

TONIGHT’S RED SOX STARTER: JOHN LACKEY

41-JOHN LACKEY, RHP 11-9, 6.02 ERA, 21 starts 2011:

11-9, 6.02 ERA (82 ER/122.2 IP) in 21

GS 2011 vs. TEX: 0-1, 22.09 ERA (9 ER/3.2 IP) in 1 GS

CAREER: 127-91, 4.03 ERA (823 ER/1,838.2 IP) in 288 G, 287

GS CAREER vs. TEX: 11-13, 6.07 ERA (124 ER/184.0 IP) in 34 GS

CAREER ON ROAD: 60-49, 4.07 ERA (414 ER/915.2 IP) in 145 G, 144

GS CAREER at TEX: 6-6, 6.78 ERA (66 ER/87.2 IP) in 17 GS

LAST OUTING: Took the loss vs. TB on 8/17, snapping a career-high 6-game win streak…Tossed 6.2
innings and allowed 4 runs (3 ER) on 6 hits, 3 walks and 2 hit batters…Gave up solo homers to B.J. Upton in the 4th inning and Evan Longoria in the 5th…Exited in the 7th trailing 4-0 after giving up an RBI double to Ben Zobrist…The Red Sox offense managed just 3 hits off of David Price in his 8.0 innings of work.

Threw 125 pitches, his most as a member of the Red Sox and the 2nd-highest total of his career…He threw 131 pitches with LAA on 8/9/09 vs. TEX.

TURNAROUND: Is 6-1 with a 3.93 ERA (22 ER/50.1 IP) in his last 8 starts beginning 7/9…The stretch has lowered his ERA from 7.47 to his current 6.02 mark, his best since 4/30.

Is 9-4 since coming off the DL on 6/5, holding opponents to 4 runs or less in 11 of 14 starts.

WIN STREAK: Won a career-high 6 straight decisions over 7 starts from 7/9 to 8/17…In that span, posted a 3.92 ERA (19 ER/43.2 IP) and 34 strikeouts compared to just 7 walks.

Won each of his 4  from 7/9-27, posting a 2.52 ERA (7 ER/25.0 IP) in that time…Was his longest such
streak since winning 4 starts in a row for the Angels, 7/12-29/09.

TAKE TEN: Has tallied at least 10 wins in each of the last 9 seasons from 2003-11…Is 1 of 3 pitchers in the Majors to record double-digit wins each season during that span along with NYY’s CC Sabathia and
CWS’s Mark Buehrle.

VS. THE RANGERS: Gave up 10 hits and 9 runs in 3.2 IP for the loss on 4/2 at TEX in his season debut…His career 6.07 ERA (124 ER/184.0 IP) is his highest vs. any AL club and his 6.78 ERA (66 ER/87.2 IP) at Rangers Ballpark is his worst at any ML ballpark (min. 2 starts).

TEX’s Michael Young leads actives with 32 hits and 15 RBI in his career against Lackey.

DECIDED START: Began the season with 17 straight decisions (9-8) before his 1st nodecisionon 8/1…It was the longest streak of decisions to begin a season by a Red Sox since Tim Wakefield in 2007
(16-10 in 1st 26 starts)…He is 1 of 3 starters in the Majors with a decision streak of that length or more at any point this season, joining active streaks by Justin Verlander (17) and CC Sabathia (23).

CATCHING THE BREAK: Has won 5 of his 7 starts since the All-Star break, going 5-1 with
a 4.53 ERA (22 ER/43.2 IP) after compiling a 6-8 record with a 6.84 ERA (60 ER/79.0 IP) before the break.

Last year posted a 4.78 ERA (60 ER/113.0 IP) in the 1st half and a 3.97 mark (45 ER/102.0 IP) in
the 2nd half…Has a career 63-41 record (.606) with a 3.85 ERA (382 ER/893.1 IP) in the 2nd half compared to 64-50 (.561) with a 4.20 ERA (441 ER/945.1 IP) before the break.

TOUGH
LUCK: Has an AL-high 3 losses in starts when he allowed 2 runs or less
this year (1 R on 4/19 at OAK, 2 R on 4/30 vs. SEA, 2 R on 6/29 at

PHI) and 6 such
losses in his career…2011 marks the 1st time he has suffered more than 1 such
loss in a season…Is winless in 14 of his 29 quality starts

since joining BOS in
2010.

PREVIOUS
START: Earned the win on 8/12 at SEA with 6.0 innings of work in which he
allowed 4 runs on 10 hits and 2 walks…Gave up 3 runs over

the 1st 2 innings…Josh Reddick hit a 2-run homer in the 6th inning to put the Sox ahead for good, 5-4…The bullpen tossed 3.0 scoreless innings of relief.

RED SOX NOTEBOOK: MARINERS

John Lackey tonight

SOX LATELY: The Red Sox enjoyed an off-day yesterday after winning 4-0 in Baltimore on Wednesday…The
club has taken 14 of 17 since 6/30, outscoring opponents 109-70 in that time.

LEADERBOARD: T SOX LATELY: The Red Sox enjoyed an off-day yesterday after winning 4-0 in Baltimore on Wednesday…The club has taken 14 of 17 since 6/30, outscoring opponents 109-70 in that time.

LEADERBOARD: The Red Sox own the best record in the AL at 59-37 (.615), 2nd in the Majors behind  Philadelphia (61-36, .629)…Boston is a Major League-best 59-31 (.656) 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).

SEEKING 60: A win tonight would give the Red Sox their 60th win of the season in their 97th game of 2011…It would be the club’s
fastest to 60 wins since 1979 (95th game)…The only other times the Red Sox have reached 60 wins at an earlier date were 1912 (7/19), 1946 (7/17) and 1978 (7/16).

JULY HEAT: At 13-3 (.813), the Sox have the best July record in the Majors…Boston batters lead the Majors during the month in runs per
game (6.50), homers (29), walks (75) and OBP (.368), rank 2nd in SLG (.511), OPS (.879), extra-base hits (70) and total bases
(293), and 3rd in AVG (.281). in runs (104) and RBI (99).

Dustin Pedroia leads the Majors in July with 27 hits (tied) and 17 runs (tied) and Jacoby Ellsbury has a Major League-high 52 total bases this month…Ellsbury (.394) and Pedroia (.386) rank 2nd and 3rd in the AL in batting average and are both T-2nd in the AL with 12 extra-base
hits in July.

FIRST PLACE: Boston leads the AL East by 2.0 games over New York following last night’s Yankees loss…It is the Sox largest division lead since the completion of 6/17 (2.5 games)…The club has been tied or in the lead in the division on 33 days since tying for 1st after a win on 5/26.

HOME SWEET: The Red Sox open a 7-game homestand tonight, the start of a stretch in which the club will play 14 of its next 17 games at Fenway Park. The Sox have won 20 of their last 28 home games since 5/7, including a season-high 7-game home win streak to begin that stretch…Boston is an AL-best 26-13 (.667) at home dating back to 4/16 and ranks 2nd in the AL overall with a .622 home win pct. (28-17) this year.

Adrian Gonzalez (.381) and Kevin Youkilis (.379) own the top 2 home batting averages in the Majors…David Ortiz (6th, .338) and Jacoby Ellsbury (10th, .320) also rank among the AL’s top 10.

VS. THE M’s: Tonight Boston opens its 2nd series vs. Seattle this year, both at Fenway Park…The Sox went 1-2 against the M’s from 4/29-5/1 and they meet for a final set in Seattle, 8/12-14.

The Sox have won 15 of their last 24 games against Seattle since 6/7/08 and have taken 18 of 30 against the club dating back to 8/4/07…Since 2002, the Red Sox are 21-11 against the Mariners at Fenway Park, including wins in 11 of 19 home games against the M’s starting in 2006.

Red Sox hurlers have allowed 3 earned runs or less in 8 of the club’s last 9 meetings since 8/23/10 and in 31 of their last 47 contests dating back to 2006…Boston’s 3.29 ERA (154 ER/420.2 IP) against Seattle since 2006 is the club’s best mark against any AL team in that time.

At 211-156 (.575) all-time against the Mariners (since 1977), the Red Sox own the top winning percentage against the club by an American League team.

SIX SHOOTER: The Red Sox began their post-break schedule going 4-2 in a 6-game road trip through TB (2-1) and BAL (2-1)…They have now taken 6 straight road trips after going 0-6 in their season-opening jaunt…The Sox are a ML-best 31-20 (.608) away from home in 2011 overall. Jacoby Elsbury hit .500 (6-for-12) with 2 homers in Boston’s 3-game set in Baltimore and has hit safely in each of his last 29 contests against the O’s since 4/17/09, batting .445 (57-for-128) with 18 extra-base hits (11 2B, 3B, 6 HR) and 31 runs…It is the longest hit streak ever vs. the Orioles since they moved to Baltimore in 1954…Since 1919, the only other Red Sox with a hit streak of that length against any team was Ted Williams, a 30-gamer vs. WSH, 4/22-42-6/30/46. 17

KEVIN HARRIMAN