RED SOX vs TWINS GAME II

FOR THE RECORD: At 21-11 (.656), the Red Sox own the best record in the majors.

The Sox 21-11 mark is tied for the 8th-best start in club history through their 1st 32 games, best since going 22-10 (.688) to begin the 2007 campaign.

FRIENDLY FENWAY: The Red Sox have won each of their last 6 home games, their longest winning stretch at Fenway Park since a 9-game run from 7/5-24/11.

• Boston is tied for the 3rd-best home record in the major leagues at 12-5 (.706), trailing the Rangers (11-4, .733) and Tigers (10-4, .714).

26 FOR PAPI: David Ortiz has hit safely in a career-high 26 straight games dating back to 7/2/12 over which he has hit at a .430 clip (40-for-93, 11 2B, 6 HR, 23 RBI, 17 BB) with a .514 OBP and .742 SLG.

• It is the longest active streak in the majors and the longest hit streak by a Red Sox since Manny Ramirez’s 27-gamer from 7/15-8/12/06.

STRIKING RESULTS: Sox hurlers lead the major leagues with 314 strikeouts, including an MLB-best 204 K’s by Boston starters…Sox relievers are 2nd in MLB with 110 strikeouts, trailing only Detroit (112).

• Red Sox pitchers have compiled at least 10 strikeouts 19 times, tops among all major league teams.
• The 19 games with at least 10 K’s is the most by any team through the 1st 32 games of a season…The Red Sox previous mark through 32 contests was 9 in 1986, 2001, and 2009.
• Boston pitchers are on pace for 96 double-digit strikeout games, which would mark the most all-time…The 2012 Rays set the record with 61.

RED SOX MAKE IT OFFICIAL, SIGN DREW

RED SOX SIGN SHORTSTOP STEPHEN DREW TO ONE-YEAR CONTRACT

BOSTON, MA—The Boston Red Sox today signed shortstop Stephen Drew to a one-year contract through the 2013 season.  A first-round selection of the Diamondbacks in the 2004 draft, Drew has appeared in 812 career Major League games over the last seven seasons with Arizona (2006-12) and Oakland (2012).

Drew, 29, is one of three players to have three seasons with at least 20 doubles, 10 triples and 10 home runs since 2008, along with current Red Sox Shane Victorino and Toronto’s Jose Reyes.  He ranks fourth among all Major League shortstops over the last five seasons with a .441 slugging percentage and fifth with a .770 OPS (min. 1,500 plate appearances).

He is a .265 career hitter (814-for-3,069) with 181 doubles, 52 triples, 77 home runs, 349 RBI, 414 runs, 293 walks, and 34 stolen bases.  The left-handed hitter has finished with the second-most triples in the National League on three occasions and his 41 triples since 2008 rank sixth in the majors.  His 52 career triples are an Arizona franchise record.

All 792 of his career appearances in the field have come at shortstop and his .978 fielding percentage is seventh-best among active shortstops with at least 650 games played.  His 72 errors are third-fewest among active shortstops with at least 3,000 total chances.

Drew has hit at a .417 clip (10-for-24) in his career as a pinch-hitter, the third-best mark among all Major Leaguers with 25 plate appearances in the pinch since 2006.

He is the younger brother of former Red Sox outfielder and 14-year Major League veteran J.D. Drew.  It will mark the 11^th time a set of brothers have both played for the Red Sox, the last being Pedro and Ramon Martinez.  The younger Drew will wear No. 7, just as J.D. did with the Red Sox.  His older brother Tim also pitched for parts of five seasons in the majors.

After spending his entire professional career with Arizona, Drew was traded to Oakland on August 20 and started 39 of the A’s last 41 games of the season en route to the team winning the American League West title.  He batted .250 (38-for-152) with five home runs and 16 RBI with Oakland, including a .315 mark (17-for-54) over his final 13 games.

Drew hit a combined .223 (64-for-287) with 13 doubles, one triple, seven home runs, 28 RBI, 38 runs and 37 walks in 79 games overall in 2012 after missing the first 73 games of the season while recovering from July 2011 surgery on a fractured right ankle.  He was 4-for-6 (.667) with seven RBI with the bases loaded and his .383 average (18-for-47) in 11 games against American League East opponents was tops among all Major Leaguers with at least 50 plate appearances against that division last year.

In 2008, Drew became the third shortstop in Major League history to collect at least 40 doubles (44), 10 triples (11) and 20 home runs (21) in a season, joining Nomar Garciaparra (Boston, 1997) and Hall of Famer Robin Yount (Milwaukee, 1980 and 1982).  He was named the D-backs’ Player of the Year by the Arizona chapter of the BBWAA that season and hit for the cycle on September 1, 2008, the third D-backs player ever to accomplish the feat.

His teams have reached the postseason twice and he started at shortstop in all seven of the Diamondbacks playoff games during the 2007 NLDS and NLCS, and all five of the A’s 2012 ALDS contests.  Drew has hit safely in all but two of his 12 career postseason games, batting .320 (16-for-50) with two home runs and five RBI, including a .500 clip (7-for-14) with two home runs and four RBI in the D-backs three-game sweep of the Cubs in the 2007 NLDS.

With the signing, the Red Sox 40-man roster is now at 40.

KEVIN HARRIMAN

RED SOX LOOK FOR TWO IN A ROW TONIGHT

BACK IN THE WIN COLUMN: With a 4-3 win last night, the Red Sox snapped a season-high 7-game losing streak which marked their longest drought since a 9-game slide from 8/25-9/4/01.

SEATTLE’S BEST: RedSox hurlers have posted a 1.48 ERA (12 ER/73.0 IP) in 8 games vs. Seattle this year…Since 1921, it is their lowest mark in a season series of at least 6 games against any single opponent…The last Sox staff with a lower mark against a team they faced at least 6 times in a season was the 1918 club’s 1.31 ERA against the Philadelphia A’s.

SWEET 15: Dustin Pedroia – who went 2-for-4 with a run, walk and stolen base in last night’s win – has hit in each of the last 15 games, going 24-for-61 (.393) with 7 doubles, 2 home runs, 8 RBI, 11 runs, 6 walks and 6 stolen bases…It marks the longest active streak in the Majors and is his longest run of the season…The 15-game streak is the 4th-longest in his career and longest since a career-best 25-gamer from 6/29-7/28/11.

• Pedroia has hit safely in all but 1 of 29 games since 8/5, batting a Major League-best .385 (45-for-117) in that time…He also leads the Majors with 45 hits and 14 doubles during that span, and is tied for 3rd with 18 extra-base hits…He is 4th in the AL in that time in OBP (.442) and tied for 5th in the circuit in runs (22).

ON THE DOUBLES: The Red Sox surpassed the 300 double mark on the season during last night’s game…Boston has now tallied at least 300 doubles in each of the last 17 seasons beginning in 1996, extending the longest such streak in Major League history…Atlanta had the next longest stretch, reaching 300 doubles in 8 straight seasons from 2003-10.

RED SOX LOOK TO AVOID SWEEP

SOUTHPAW STRIKEOUTS: Tonight’s starter Jon Lester enters the game with 1,033 career strikeouts, 10 shy of tying Bruce Hurst for the most ever by a left-handed pitcher in franchise history…Lester is in 8th place overall on the club’s all-time list, trailing Hurst for 7th.

OFFENSIVE OUTPUT: Red Sox batters have combined for 10 or more hits in 6 of their last 8, 8 of their last 13, and 10 of their last 16 contests…Over the last 8 contests, the team is hitting at a .328 clip (100-for-305) with 17 doubles, 9 home runs, 45 RBI and 50 runs scored.

LASER SHOW: Dustin Pedroia has hit in each of the last 9 games, going 13-for-39 (.333) with 4 doubles, 2 home runs, 7 RBI and 8 runs in the 9-game stretch.

• Pedroia has hit safely in all but 1 of 23 games dating back to 8/5, batting .358 (34-for-95) with 11 doubles, a triple, 3 homers, 15 RBI and 19 runs in that span.

RED SOX TAKE ON ANGELS: GAME 2

LEFTY LEDGER: The Red Sox face left-hander C.J. Wilson tonight…The club owns the AL’s best mark against lefty starters at 25-16 (.610), 4th in the Majors, and Boston batters have posted an AL-high .461 SLG vs. LHP (2nd in ML).

CENTER OF ATTENTION: Jacoby Ellsbury has tallied multi-hits in each of his last 6 games, going 13-for-28 (.464) with 5 RBI over the 6-game stretch and scoring at least 1 run in each game with 9 total runs scored in that span…According to Elias, his stretch of 6 straight games with at least 2 hits and 1 run is tied for the longest such streak in the Majors this season (also Albert Pujols, 7/30- 8/4)…The only other Boston player in the last 5 years who had a single-season streak of at least 6 games of that type was Ellsbury, who had a 6-game run from 6/7-12/11.

• Ellsbury has hit safely in a season-high 8 straight games overall, batting .405 (15-for-37) with 3 doubles, a homer, 5 RBI, 9 runs and 4 steals in the 8-game stretch.

DUSTIN STREAKING TOO: Dustin Pedroia has also hit in 8 straight games, going 12-for-36 (.333) with 4 doubles, 2 home runs, 6 RBI and 8 runs in the 8-game stretch.

• Pedroia has hit safely in all but 1 of 22 games dating back to 8/5, batting .359 (33-for-92) with 11 doubles, a triple, 3 homers, 14 RBI and 19 runs in that span.

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SOX TAKE ON ANGELS : GAME 1

AUGUST RUSH: Red Sox batters lead the Majors with 68 doubles and 93 extra-base hits in August…They are 2nd in the ML with 254 hits and 3rd with 127 runs (2nd in AL) during the month.

• Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury are tied for the Major League lead with 11 doubles each in August…Pedroia is also tied for the ML lead during the month with 15 extra-base hits, and is 3rd among AL leaders with 35 hits and 21 runs…Scott Podsednik is tied for 4th in the AL with a .360 August AVG.

OFFENSIVE OUTPUT: Red Sox batters have combined for 10 or more hits in 5 of their last 6, 7 of their last 11, and 9 of their last 14 contests…Over the last 6 contests, the team is hitting at a .340 clip (80-for-235) with 16 doubles, 8 home runs, 39 RBI and 42 runs scored.

MAKING AN IMPACT: Scott Podsednik is batting .375 (42-for-112) in 35 games with the Red Sox while Pedro Ciriaco is hitting at a .353 clip (49-for-139) in his 43 tilts with Boston…They own the top 2 batting averages in the Majors among players with at least 50 plate appearances.

CENTER OF ATTENTION: Jacoby Ellsbury has tallied multi-hits in each of his last 5 games, going 11-for-24 (.458) with 5 RBI over the 5-game stretch and scoring at least 1 run in each game with 7 total runs scored in that span…According to Elias, his stretch of 5 straight games with at least 2 hits and 1 run is 1 shy of the longest such streak in the Majors this season (Albert Pujols, 6 straight from 7/30- 8/4)…The only other Boston player in the last 5 years who had a single-season streak of at least 5 games of that type was Ellsbury, who had a 6-game run of that kind from 6/7-12/11.

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RED SOX TAKE ON ROYALS TONIGHT: GAME 2

DAVID RETURNS: David Ortiz was activated from the 15-day disabled list prior to last night’s game and went 2-for-4 with a double and 2 RBI, driving in both runs with a 1st-inning single on his 1st pitch seen since 7/16…It extended his season-high hit streak to 12 games since 7/2, the longest active run in the American League…He is batting .436 (17-for-39) with 2 doubles, 2 homers and 6 RBI over the streak.

GO-GO CIRIACO: Pedro Ciriaco drove in Boston’s game-tying and go-ahead runs last night with a 2-run double in the 7th inning last night…Of his 8 RBI since 7/28, 5 have either tied the game or given Boston a lead…All 4 go-ahead RBI in that stretch have come in the 7th inning or later, and his 4 go-ahead RBI in the 7th inning or later this season match the team high (also Adrian Gonzalez).

KING OF THE ROYALS: Dustin Pedroia has hit .385 (60-for-156) in 41 career games against the Royals, the best AVG by any Major Leaguer against Kansas City (min. 125 PA) in the franchise’s history (since 1969).

OLYMPIC HONOR: The Red Sox will honor 11 athletes with New England ties that participated in the 2012 Summer Olympics as part of tonight’s pre-game ceremonies…The Olympians attending include gold medalists Tina Charles (women’s basketball), Kayla Harrison (judo), Asjha Jones (women’s basketball) and Aly Raisman (gymnastics).

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BUCHHOLZ ON THE MOUND FOR SOX TONIGHT

SOLID CLAY: Tonight’s starter Clay Buchholz has yielded just 5 earned runs over his last 5 starts (39.0 IP) for a 1.15 ERA while going 2-0 (team 4-1) in those contests.

ELLS AND THE O’S: Jacoby Ellsbury went 2-for-4 with a double and RBI last night to extend his hitting streak against Baltimore to 38 games dating back to 4/17/09, batting .418 (71-for-170) in that stretch…It is the longest hit streak ever recorded against the Orioles franchise, ahead of Earl Averill (from 1929-31) and Jimmie Foxx (1935-36), who each had 31-game stretches against the St. Louis Browns.

• According to Elias, Ellsbury’s 38-game hit streak vs. the Orioles is the 2nd-longest stretch since 1900 for any player versus any team behind only Vladimir Guerrero’s 44-game hit streak vs. Texas from 4/9/04-8/4/06.

10 AGAIN: Dustin Pedroia has hit safely in each of his last 10 games at a .447 clip (17-for-38) with 5 doubles, a triple, 4 RBI, 8 runs and 5 walks in the 10-game stretch…It is his 2nd double digit hit streak of the season behind a 14-gamer, 4/29-5/13.

SOX IN BALTIMORE TOMIGHT

ELLS AND THE O’S: Jacoby Ellsbury went 2-for-5 last night to extend his hitting streak against Baltimore to 37 games dating back to 4/17/09, batting .416 (69-for-166) in that stretch…It is the longest hit streak ever recorded against the Orioles franchise, ahead of Earl Averill (from 1929-31) and Jimmie Foxx (1935-36), who each had 31-game stretches against the St. Louis Browns…Ellsbury’s 37-game hit streak vs. the O’s is the longest ever by a Red Sox player vs. any team.

A FINE NINE: Dustin Pedroia has hit safely in each of his last 9 games at a .471 clip (16-for-34) with 5 doubles, a triple, 4 RBI, 8 runs and 5 walks in the 9-game stretch.

OFFENSIVE LINE: Sox batters have scored 574 runs, 3rd in the Majors behind the Rangers (580) and Yankees (577)…The club tops the Majors with 412 extra-base hits, including a Major League-high 267 doubles…Boston is 2nd in the AL with 1,086 hits and 1,775 total bases (2nd in ML), and 3rd with 546 RBI and a .438 SLG.

SOX LOOK TO TAKE SERIES FINALE THIS AFTERNOON

POWER OUTAGE: Today’s starter Josh Beckett has not allowed a home run in a career-high 12 straight starts dating back to 5/15…It is the longest streak in the Majors this season and matches the longest single-season homerless streak by a Red Sox since Mel Parnell went 14 straight homerless starts from 6/29-9/11/48.

LEFT IS RIGHT: The Sox oppose LHP Matt Harrison today and are an AL-best 22-13 (.629) when facing a left-handed starter this season…Boston is 2nd in the Majors with 50 homers and 539 total bases vs. lefties and tops the AL with 118 extra-base hits against southpaws while ranking 2nd in the circuit with a .457 SLG.

WILL AND THE KID: Will Middlebrooks launched a 3-run, pinch-hit homer last night in the 7th inning, his 1st career home run in the pinch and his 14th overall, bringing his RBI total to 51 in 72 career Major League games…Since 1918, Middlebrooks is the 2nd Red Sox hitter to record at least 14 homers and 51 RBI in his 1st 72 career games during a single season, joining Ted Williams in 1939 (14 HR, 74 RBI)…In that time, Walt Dropo (1949-50), Norm Zauchin (1951, 1955) and Fred Lynn (1974-75) achieved the feat in multiple years.

BIRTHDAY BOY: Craig Breslow celebrates his 32nd birthday today.