The Monday, July 25, 2011

*

High marks

Michael Vega

He had no inkling. When Tim Wakefield recorded his 2,000th career with the Red Sox in yesterday‘s 12-8 victory over the , fanning on a foul tip to end the sixth inning, he said he was unaware of the significance.

It wasn‘t until approached Wakefield to congratulate him that the 44-year- old knuckleballer fully realized the magnitude of the milestone.

―Salty was walking towards me and I was like, ‗What‘s going on?‘ ‘‘ Wakefield said. ―And he said, ‗Congratulations on 2,000 .‘ ‘‘

A message on the video board in center field touted Wakefield‘s achievement, triggering a thunderous ovation from the crowd of 37,650.

―Not that guys watch their stats, but that‘s a pretty big number, so I assumed he knew he was getting close,‘‘ Saltalamacchia said. ―When I told him, he was like, ‗Congratulations for what?‘ and I was like, ‗Did I get this wrong?‘ I wanted to make sure. I looked at the board and it said 2,000. He looked up and saw it and just started smiling.‘‘

Saltalamacchia embraced Wakefield, handed him the ball, and escorted him toward the , where Wakefield doffed his cap to the crowd before descending the steps.

―It was a pretty cool ovation and a pretty cool day for me,‘‘ said Wakefield (6-3, 5.15 ERA), who joined (2,590) as the only other in club history to record 2,000 strikeouts. It was the highlight of Wakefield‘s 199th career victory, which he earned despite allowing a season-high seven earned runs on 10 hits, including a seventh-inning grand slam by Brendan Ryan that cut Boston‘s lead to 11-7 and chased him from the game with one out.

―Any milestone that you achieve is ranked up there pretty high for me, and 2,000 is a high number,‘‘ Wakefield said. ―It says a lot about being at one place for a long time, like I have, and going through ups and downs in my career and being able to persevere for the last 17 years.‘‘

Exhorted by the crowd, Wakefield made a curtain call, this time to an even louder ovation before he again retreated to the dugout where his teammates and coaches - except manager - congratulated him.

―It‘s funny, because with the situation today, he‘s not coming out of the game yet,‘‘ said Francona, who recorded a significant milestone himself in the three-game sweep of the Mariners with his 1,000th career win in Saturday night‘s 3-1 victory.

―So not quite sure how to react to that,‘‘ Francona said. ―I was thrilled people were showing their appreciation. I just kind of sit there and say, ‗I‘ll shake his hand when he comes out.‘ ‘‘

That happened in the seventh, when Wakefield gave up four consecutive hits, capped by Ryan‘s second career slam. Still, it didn‘t stop the crowd from treating Wakefield to another standing ovation.

―I‘d like to have that seventh inning back,‘‘ said Wakefield, who acknowledged it was difficult to collect himself after all the adulation over the 2,000th strikeout. ―I was very fortunate that we were able to score 12 runs today, which made it a lot easier.

―That last inning, I was pitching to the scoreboard and trying to get through that inning as quickly as possible. Just made one bad pitch.‘‘

The Sox erupted for 12 runs on 17 hits against five , who were unable to prevent the Mariners from absorbing their franchise-record 15th consecutive loss. The Sox scored at least 10 runs for the 14th time this season, matching their total from a year ago; they are unbeaten in those games.

Kevin Youkilis had a two- shot to left in a five-run eruption in the first inning off Michael Pineda (8-7, 3.64 ERA), who was tagged for seven runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings.

That erased the deficit created when Miguel Olivo a two-run homer off Wakefield in the top of the first.

―We were fortunate,‘‘ Francona said. ―Pineda has the reputation as you get into the game he starts getting stronger, as a lot of guys do. We got to him before he got into a rhythm and got comfortable and we got to him later.

―Sometimes you get a guy like that and you look up in the sixth inning and he‘s throwing 97 and you‘ve missed your opportunity.‘‘

After the Mariners got one back in the fifth on Ryan‘s RBI to left, the Sox came back in the bottom of the frame and sent Pineda packing after roughing him up in another five-run outburst.

With one out, Adrian Gonzalez singled to center, Youkilis walked, and after Aaron Laffey relieved Pineda, singled to short. , who went 3 for 4 with a walk, 2 runs, and 2 RBIs, then hit a two-run single through the hole at short.

Josh Reddick doubled off the wall in left-center to score Ortiz, and Saltalamacchia (3 for 4, 4 RBIs) followed with a two-run single to right to make it 10-3.

Dustin Pedroia, whose career-high 20-game hitting streak seemed in peril, extended it to 21 when he doubled to center in the sixth. Gonzalez (3 for 5, 2 runs, 2 RBIs) singled up the middle to drive in Pedroia, making it 11-3.

After Ryan‘s slam in the seventh, ‘s run-scoring flare over short scored Reddick in the Sox‘ half to make it 12-7.

Alfredo Aceves relieved Wakefield and pitched the last 2 2/3 innings, allowing one run on three hits, to put the wraps on a series full of milestones.

―That‘s why I enjoy being a part of this team, because there‘s so many great people and great players,‘‘ Saltalamacchia said. ―It‘s what this team brings: 1,000 [managerial] wins, 2,000 strikeouts. It‘s a legacy that keeps going on and on and it‘s an honor to be a part of something like that.‘‘

Finding a colorful solution

Bob Ryan

I‘m on the verge of giving up.

This drug business with regard to baseball players and how it may affect someone‘s chances of getting into the Hall of Fame is the single most aggravating issue of my sportswriting career. It is an unwelcome intrusion on what is already a difficult process. It was hard enough when all we voters had to deal with was a combination of what we saw, what we read, who said what about whom, and a long, hard look at the numbers, knowing that there are numbers and there are numbers, or, as Mark Twain famously quoted the great 19th century English politician Benjamin Disraeli as saying, ―There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.‘‘

And now we have at our disposal more numbers than ever. We are no longer limited to such mundane stats as batting average, runs batted in, homers, , and . Now we have such statistical exotica as WHIP, BABIP, EqSO/9, EqBB/9, and, of course, VORP and WAR. I‘m amused by the very thought of my old pal Clif Keane dealing with VORP or WAR, although I must say we had a wonderful Old School columnist named Harold Kaese who may very well have embraced all the modern numerology, and so what if he lived into his 60s without ever learning to drive a car? Isn‘t that why God invented the T?

But we digress.

Writers take voting for the Hall of Fame very seriously. Most of us consider it to be an honor and a privilege, some people, in my view, actually taking it too seriously. I‘m thinking of those who refuse to vote anyone into the Hall on the first ballot. They apparently believe they are protecting the integrity of the game in some intensely personal fashion, which is nice in spirit but utterly ridiculous in application.

Thanks to their stubbornness and, I feel, illogic, no one has ever been a unanimous selection to the Hall of Fame. Not . Not . Not . Not Stan Musial. Not . Not Hank Aaron. Not . Not Warren Spahn. Not .

No one.

A few have come close. The highest first-ballot percentage ever, people are often surprised to learn, was the 98.8 percent tally accumulated by Tom Seaver in 1992. He received 425 out of 430 ballots submitted, but the total was actually a wee bit better because that was the year three members of the voting body submitted blank ballots in protest of ‘s exclusion from the ballot. So, Seaver actually had 425 of 427, or a percentage of 99.5. Still, wouldn‘t you like to know what was going on in the minds of those two holdout guys?

As far as I‘m concerned, there should be anywhere between 50 and 75 unanimous selections. not a first-ballot Hall of Famer? You‘re joking, right?

All eyes to be on Lester tonight

Michael Vega

Having said he expects to pitch without any impediment from the left latissimus strain that caused him to go on the 15-day disabled list July 6, Red Sox lefthander is eager to return to the mound tonight to face the Royals at Fenway Park.

―I don‘t need [tonight‘s] start to put it to rest,‘‘ Lester said Friday.

―We‘ve tested it enough. I‘ve had plenty of long toss, so it‘s definitely not something that‘s on my mind.‘‘

If that were the case, Lester said, ―I wouldn‘t go out there if it was still bugging me. It wouldn‘t be smart.‘‘

Manager Terry Francona said the team will keep an eye on Lester, but he also didn‘t believe Lester would be inhibited in any way.

Lester‘s return is likely to result in the optioning of Kyle Weiland back to Pawtucket.

Of Lester (10-4, 3.31 ERA), who will oppose righthander Kyle Davies (1-9, 7.32), Francona said, ―He‘s come through this about as well as you could hope. He was completely pain-free when he started throwing and that‘s what we wanted.‘‘

Lester left after four no-hit innings with five strikeouts in Boston‘s 3-2 win over the Blue Jays July 5 at Fenway. The only Jay who reached was J.P. Arencibia, who walked to lead off the third inning.

Lester will be making his first appearance of the season against the Royals, a team against which he has gone 4-1 (1.22 ERA) in his career (including a no-hitter), allowing five earned runs in 37 innings.

―Now it‘s about being able to build up endurance,‘‘ Francona said.

―If you go out and let a guy throw 120 [pitches] his first time out, he‘s going to be sore. So we don‘t want to do that.

―We want to balance winning the game with bringing him along. When that bell rings, he‘s going to forget about, ‗I‘ve been down a couple of weeks.‘

―He‘s going to go out there and fire and try to win and that‘s good, but we‘ve got to keep an eye on him.‘‘

Manager grilled So how did Francona celebrate his 1,000th career win after Saturday night‘s 3-1 victory over the Mariners?

―Had a grilled cheese sandwich,‘‘ he said. ―Always have a grilled cheese sandwich.‘‘

Asked if he received much of a response, Francona took a jab at himself, saying, ―The prevailing thought seems to be that people are surprised that I‘m still here. I got that more than anything. I got some nice messages from people who mean a lot to me and that made me feel better than anything.‘‘

And yet, Francona remained humbled to become the 57th manager in major league history to record 1,000 wins.

―I think it‘s kind of obvious that I was honored and I‘m proud, but I‘m a lot more comfortable talking about our guys and the team,‘‘ Francona said before yesterday‘s 12-8 victory over the Mariners. ―I just think that‘s the way it should be.

―You‘ve got to remember that it‘s a round number, but then you‘ve got to start looking at those other guys and maybe you need to hush up because there‘s some guys with some pretty big numbers who are still managing.

―It‘s actually kind of humbling, a little bit. It makes you realize how long they‘ve been doing it and how hard it is to win.‘‘

Staying hot extended his career-best hitting streak to 21 games, the longest in the this year, with a double off the wall in left-center in the sixth. It was the eighth double of Pedroia‘s streak, during which he‘s hit at a .385 clip. He‘s reached safely in a career-high 33 consecutive games, the longest active on-base streak in the majors . . . , who blasted his 14th homer of the season, is hitting .339 with 10 extra-base hits (7 doubles, 3 homers) and 15 RBIs in his last 14 games . . . Jacoby Ellsbury went 2 for 5 for his fourth straight multi-hit game and 12th in his last 19 games, over which he has hit .412 with 5 doubles, 2 triples, 7 homers, and 19 RBIs. His run-scoring single in the seventh gave him 18 RBIs for July, the most of any month of his career . . . Tim Wakefield, who recorded his 2,000th strikeout with the Sox when he got Mike Carp to fan on a foul tip to end the sixth inning, will be gunning for his 200th career win in his next start. ―One step closer,‘‘ said the 44-year-old Wakefield. ―I‘ve been fortunate this year to pitch as well as I have. The last couple haven‘t been that great, but they‘ve been good enough.‘‘

Crawford contributes any way he can

Nicole Auerbach

This is what Carl Crawford signed up for.

He wanted to be a part of a lineup that could put up 12 runs on a beautiful afternoon at Fenway Park, a fitting end to yet another series sweep. He wanted to play for one of the best teams in baseball. That‘s why he signed a seven-year, $142 million contract with the Red Sox last winter.

―Definitely - days like this, the way the guys are playing,‘‘ Crawford said after yesterday‘s 12-8 win over the Mariners. ―It‘s nice to be a part of this. You see it when everybody‘s hot, and we‘re winning games. Everybody‘s smiling and giving high-fives. It‘s real fun.‘‘

On a red-hot Red Sox lineup like this, it‘s hard to stand out. But Crawford has attracted attention for the numbers he‘s put up since returning from the disabled list a week ago. After missing a month because of a left hamstring strain, Crawford has gone 9 for 24 (.375) with two doubles and four RBIs in six games.

The numbers are solid, but it‘s the way he‘s hitting that‘s even more impressive. He‘s going to the opposite field - left field, for the lefthanded hitter.

Yesterday, each of Crawford‘s three hits went to left. In the first inning, he hit a double in the midst of a five-run Sox explosion. In the fifth, his single drove in two runs and, once again, kept a rally going. The Sox put up five runs that inning, too.

―That‘s part of trying to get your swing back right - trying to go the other way,‘‘ Crawford said. ―It‘s rare that the pitchers throw in. You want to have your opposite-field stroke down pat because you know you might get one - if that - one or two pitches to hit inside.

―It does ease your mind, knowing you can go to left and something good can happen.‘‘

Manager Terry Francona said he thinks Crawford might be an even better player now than he was before he went on the DL.

―We really weren‘t worried so much about his legs, because he worked so hard and he looked like he was moving around so much,‘‘ Francona said. ―He did so much hitting, and he‘s come back, and he‘s gotten himself comfortable real quick. That‘s really helpful to us.

―Sometimes you play a guy and you have to let him ease his way in and get his at-bats, and he‘s been helping us right from the first game back.‘‘

Francona said before yesterday‘s game that he‘s also liked Crawford‘s aggressiveness on the basepaths. That‘s another sign that Crawford‘s hamstring is healthy.

And that means good things for the hitters batting behind Crawford, such as catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

―When you get CC on base who can steal bases, they start worrying about him and throwing over the plate,‘‘ Saltalamacchia said. ―That makes it easier on us. He‘s a career .300 hitter. He‘s not going to all of the sudden start hitting .220. The fact that he‘s healthy, his hamstring is good, I think is the main, important [thing].‘‘

Francona was asked to compare Crawford‘s swing from April to now.

―Oh, he was struggling,‘‘ Francona said. ―He was so late and quick, and now he‘s getting into the hitting position so much easier. There‘s balance and he‘s seeing the ball and swinging at strikes and using all the field.‘‘

And that means?

―He looks like Crawford,‘‘ Francona said.

Crawford is experiencing the team he signed up for, and now his team is seeing the Crawford it signed.

* The Boston Herald

Red Sox pound 17 hits to sink lowly M’s to new depths

Dan Duggan

The Red Sox -Mariners series was as much of a mismatch as expected.

Seattle limped into Fenway Park on Friday loser of 12 straight. Meanwhile, the Sox have been the best team in baseball since their inexplicable 0-6 start. Both trends continued this weekend, with the Sox finishing a three-game sweep with a 12-8 win yesterday.

The Sox‘ relentless offense pounded 17 hits, with six players having multiple knocks. Jarrod Saltalamacchia (3-for-4, four RBI), Carl Crawford (3-for-4, two runs, two RBI) and Adrian Gonzalez (3- for-5, two runs, two RBI) spearheaded the attack.

That was enough support to get Tim Wakefield his 199th career win, despite allowing seven runs on 10 hits in 61⁄3 innings. Wakefield (6-3, 5.15 ERA) had a memorable day, recording his 2,000th strikeout as a member of the Sox to close the sixth inning. A grand slam by Brendan Ryan in the seventh ended Wakefield‘s outing on a down note, but the 44-year-old was feeling better as he reflected on another milestone.

―Pretty special, very emotional for me,‖ Wakefield said. ―It was a pretty cool ovation and a pretty cool day for me.‖

Wakefield has a 7.06 ERA in his last five starts but has managed to post a 2-1 record during that stretch. It doesn‘t hurt that he‘s enjoyed 8.8 runs per game of support from the league‘s best offense in those starts.

―I think it‘s the best lineup I‘ve ever played with here,‖ Wakefield said. ―It‘s pretty solid 1-through-9. From (Jacoby) Ellsbury to (Marco) Scutaro, everybody has pitched in and done their part, considering the start we got off to in April. This team has really rebounded and shown what we‘re capable of doing.‖

The Sox fell in a 2-0 hole after a Miguel Olivo in the first but responded with a five-run outburst in the home half against Seattle‘s All-Star rookie, Michael Pineda. Gonzalez singled in Ellsbury, who led off with a double, and then scored on Kevin Youkilis ‘ 14th home run of the season.

David Ortiz (2-for-5, two runs) then singled, and Crawford followed with a double before Saltalamacchia drove in both with a single to right.

The Mariners closed to 5-3 with a run in the fifth, but the Sox again immediately responded with a five- spot. With one out, Gonzalez singled and Youkilis walked. With three straight lefties due up, Seattle manager Eric Wedge played the percentages and called on southpaw Aaron Laffey. The move did not achieve the desired results.

Ortiz loaded the bases with a swinging bunt, Crawford slashed a two-run single down the third-base line, and (2-for-5, two runs, RBI) pounded an RBI double off the top of the scoreboard in left. The switch-hitting Saltalamacchia ended Laffey‘s brief appearance with his second two-run single, giving the Sox a 10-3 lead.

―We were fortunate,‖ Sox manager Terry Francona said. ―Pineda has a reputation as you get into the game he starts getting stronger, as a lot of guys do. We got to him before he got into a rhythm and got comfortable, and then we got to him again later. Because sometimes you get a guy like that, you look up in the sixth inning and he‘s throwing 97 mph, and you‘ve missed your opportunity.‖

Wakefield ran into trouble in the seventh, allowing three straight singles before Ryan‘s bomb over the Monster seats. Alfredo Aceves came on in relief and held Seattle to one run in 22⁄3 innings to close it out.

The schedule continues to work in the Sox favor, as they trade the cellar dwellers from the AL West for the , who are in last place in the AL Central. The Mariners take their 15-game losing streak to New York for a three-game set with the Yankees, whom the Sox lead by three games in the AL East.

―I was on a team that lost 10 (straight) last year and it felt pretty bad,‖ Gonzalez said, referring to the Padres. ―I just hope (the Mariners) can win the next three games.‖

Setting a torrid pace

Michael Silverman

Even after beginning the season 0-6 and then 2-10, the Red Sox have surged back to a 62-37 record, which puts them on pace for a 101-win season. Only three other Red Sox teams have cracked the 100-win barrier — each time that team reached the , winning two of them. In order to get to 101 wins, the Red Sox would have to win 39 of their remaining 63 games.

Here‘s how the six Sox teams with the most wins fared at, and after, the 99-game mark of the season:

Season Final record After 99 games Game 100 on

1912: 105-47 (.691) 68-31 (.687) 37-16 (.698)

Skinny: The Sox opened up Fenway in grand style, running away with the pennant and the franchise‘s second World Series title behind (34-5, 1.91 ERA, 35 complete games) and (.383 average, 1.031 OPS).

1946: 104-50 (.675) 70-29 (.707) 34-21 (.618)

Skinny: The Sox reached the World Series for the first time since 1918, winning the pennant easily by 12 games over the Tigers. Ted Williams‘ lone World Series appearance ended in a heartbreaking seven-game loss to Cardinals.

1915:101-50-4 (.669) 62-34-3 (.646) 39-16-1 (.709)

Skinny: 20-year-old rookie pitcher Babe Ruth (18-8, 2.44) helped the Sox edge the 100-win Tigers to take the pennant. They breezed past the Phillies in the World Series, winning 4-of-5 games.

1978: 99-64 (.607) 63-36 (.636) 36-28 (.563)

Skinny: An 11-2 tear in September helped the Sox ease the sting of blowing a 141⁄2 game lead on the Yankees in July. The one-game playoff gave rise to Bucky ―Bleepin‖ Dent.

2004:98-64 (.604) 55-44 (.556) 43-20 (.683)

Skinny: The acquisition of , the trade of and a historic ALCS victory over the Yankees led to the Sox‘ first World Series title in 86 years.

1977:97-64 (.602) 56-43 (.566) 41-19 (.683)

Skinny: The Red Sox could have used the wild card this year, when they finished tied with the Orioles, both 21⁄2 the 100-win Yankees.

2011:101-61 (.623)* 62-37 (.626) 39-24 (.619)*

Skinny: Turnaround from a 2-10 start has been impressive, even while battling injuries to Carl Crawford and starting rotation. Still nine more games with Yankees and 10 more with Rays to play.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia is driving force with 4 RBI

Rich Thompson

Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia was content with his escalating power numbers, except for one.

Saltalamacchia wanted his RBI number to accumulate at a higher rate, and yesterday that‘s what he got by knocking in four runs for the Red Sox in their 12-8 victory against the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park .

Saltalamacchia went 3-for-4 while driving home a pair of runs in the first inning and two more in the fifth to up his season total to 31.

―I feel good at the plate and I‘ve been working every day on it,‖ Saltalamacchia said. ―I‘m starting to come through and I‘m starting to feel better at the plate.‖

Saltalamacchia had no previous history against Seattle starter Michael Pineda, a right-hander who was making his 20th major league start and first against the Red Sox. Pineda was treated like a pinata by Red Sox batters even before Saltalamacchia got his first at-bat.

After the Mariners tagged Red Sox starter Tim Wakefield in the top of the first, Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury began the beat down on Pineda with a leadoff double to right.

Ellsbury went to third on a wild pitch before Dustin Pedroia popped to center. Adrian Gonzalez singled up the middle and scored on Kevin Youkilis ‘ 14th home run of the season. David Ortiz followed with a single to left and went to third on Carl Crawford‘s double of The Wall. With two outs, Saltalamacchia drove in the final runs of the rally with a single to right.

―I knew to be ready for the fastball,‖ Saltalamacchia said. ―He was a little wild today, I was watching films of him pitch in the past, and he‘s usually more commanding of the zone.

―I knew I had to get a fastball over the plate and put it in play and get some runs. I was able to do it.‖

The Red Sox enjoyed five more runs in the fifth. Josh Reddick doubled Crawford over to third before Saltalamacchia, who was facing lefty reliever Aaron Laffey this time, belted a two-run single to right to give the Sox a 10-3 lead.

―I had faced (Laffey) in the past and I knew he had a little cutter,‖ Saltalamacchia said. ―He likes to go after people with his fastball, and I was looking for a good pitch early I could drive.

―I got ahead on the count, and he threw that cutter. I swung over, and at that point I just wanted to get it out into the outfield.‖

2,000 K’s: Tim Wakefield odyssey

Dan Duggan

Tim Wakefield ‘s strikeout of Seattle‘s Mike Carp to end the sixth inning seemed like a fitting conclusion to a solid start.

The strikeout was Wakefield‘s 2,000th as a member of the Sox, a mark that only has been eclipsed by Roger Clemens (2,590). Wakefield was congratulated by teammates and received a lengthy standing ovation from the Fenway Park crowd that lasted until he emerged from the dugout for a curtain call.

For manager Terry Francona, there was only one problem.

―In the situation today it‘s funny because for me, he‘s not coming out of the game yet so I‘m not quite sure how to react to that,‖ Francona said. ―I‘m thrilled that people are showing their appreciation. I just kind of sit there and think, ‗I‘ll shake his hand when he comes out.‘ ‖

Wakefield went out for the seventh and allowed a grand slam to Brendan Ryan. Still, the 44-year-old received a standing ovation from the crowd when he was removed. Wakefield was able to enjoy the day thanks to the offensive support he received in the Sox‘ 12-8 win.

―Any milestone you achieve is ranked up there pretty high with me. Two-thousand is a high number,‖ Wakefield said. ―It says a lot about being in one place for a long time like I have and going through ups and downs in my career and being able to persevere for the last 17 years.‖.

Lester back

Jon Lester will make his return from a strained left lat muscle tonight against Kansas City at Fenway. Lester (10-4, 3.31 ERA) hasn‘t pitched since July 5, when he left a start against Toronto after four no-hit innings due to the lower-back injury.

―The biggest thing will just kind of be watching his workload,‖ Francona said. ―He‘s come through this about as well as you could hope. He‘s completely pain-free when he started throwing, and that‘s what we wanted. Now, it‘s just being able to build up endurance. If you go out and let a guy throw 120 (pitches) his first time out, he‘s going to be sore, so we don‘t want to do that. We try to balance winning the game and bringing him along where he can get on a roll.‖ . . .

Clay Buchholz, on the disabled list since June 19 with a lower-back strain, is scheduled to throw a session today. The right-hander has slowly made progress, but today will be a big test, as it will be his first time throwing off a mound since the injury.

Hitting for 21

It was only a matter of time before Dustin Pedroia joined the Sox‘ hit parade. The second baseman was hitless in his first three at-bats before doubling to center in the sixth inning. It extended his career-long hitting streak to 21 games. Pedroia also has reached base safely in a career-high 33 straight games. . . .

Jacoby Ellsbury went 2-for-5 for his fourth straight multihit game. . . .

Adrian Gonzalez had his major league-leading 18th three-hit game with a 3-for-5 day. Gonzalez is 9-for-16 on the Sox‘ current four-game winning streak. The had two RBI to increase his major league- best total to 82.

Living in the moment

Francona celebrated his 1,000th win Saturday with a customary postgame grilled cheese sandwich and some self-deprecating wit.

―The prevailing thought seems to be that people are surprised I‘m still here, more than anything,‖ Francona quipped. ―I got some nice messages from people that mean a lot to me, so that was nice. That actually probably made me feel better than anything.‖

Francona ranks eighth among active managers, though he‘s far behind Tony LaRussa. The Cardinals skipper has 2,691 wins, good for third all time.

―It‘s a round number, but then you start looking at some of those other guys and you need to maybe hush up,‖ Francona said. ―There‘s some guys with some pretty big numbers that are still managing, so it‘s actually kind of humbling a little bit. It kind of makes you realize how long they‘ve been doing it and how hard it is to win.‖

Francona, 52, has no designs on catching LaRussa.

―I would be willing to bet if you see my name with (2,691 wins), there‘s going to be asterisk because I‘m going to be dead,‖ Francona said. ―That would be quite an accomplishment.‖

Drew to DL

Josh Reddick has played all over the outfield in his career, though he was primarily in left field this season while filling in for the injured Carl Crawford. Since Crawford‘s return last Monday, Reddick has shifted to right field in place of J.D. Drew , who will go on the disabled list (shoulder) today to make room on the roster for Lester.

―The more he‘ll be out there, the better because he‘s really athletic,‖ Francona said before the game of Reddick. ―That‘s one of his strengths. He‘s fast enough, he‘s got plenty of arm, but there are some quirks out there that J.D. makes look really easy that will take some time with Red. But he‘s a good .‖

Reddick showed off his arm in the first inning, gunning down Seattle‘s Justin Smoak at the plate. Smoak tried to score from second on a hard single by Carp, but Reddick charged and fired a strike for an easy out.

Seventh haven

The Mariners outscored the Sox 4-1 in the seventh inning, which is at odds with the Sox‘ dominance in the frame this season. The Sox have a 94-37 advantage in the seventh this season.

―I‘m sure there can‘t be just one answer,‖ Francona said. ―I think for the most part when we‘ve got rallies going, we‘ve prolonged them pretty well and we‘ve turned them into crooked numbers.

―For whatever reason, I don‘t know why it‘s the seventh inning. Maybe you get to a point in the game where they‘re changing pitchers and you have a lead so they‘re not going to their top-tier guys. I really don‘t know. Maybe it‘s just coincidence.‖. . .

The Sox improved to 24-8 in day games. They have won seven of their last eight, 17-of-20 and nine straight at Fenway. They have won six straight series. . . .

The Sox scored in double digits for the 14th time the season, adding to their major league-leading mark. They batted around in the first and fifth innings, a feat they‘ve accomplished 22 times this season.

Carl Crawford quick to recover

Rich Thompson

Red Sox manager Terry Francona yesterday made note of the steady improvements Carl Crawford has made since coming off the disabled list last Monday.

―Actually, I think he looks a little bit better,‖ Francona said prior to his team‘s 12-8 victory against the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park .

―He got rewarded and got a couple of hits the first game (against the ). I thought that relaxed him at the plate. But I think on the bases he‘s been really aggressive. He‘s taken off on the first pitch maybe three times, which maybe he wasn‘t necessarily doing before.

―So it is obvious that he feels good physically. I think he‘s in a good place.‖

Crawford is 9-for-24 with two doubles, four RBI, four runs, two walks and two stolen bases since coming off the DL. He had been sidelined since straining his left hamstring while attempting to beat out a throw to first base in a June 17 game against the at Fenway. Yesterday, Crawford delivered at the plate, on the basepaths and in left field to help the Sox complete a three-game sweep of the Mariners. He went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs, two RBI and a walk.

―As far as health-wise, I feel great,‖ Crawford said. ―The swing feels a little better, and I‘m starting to get into a little groove.

―Hopefully, I‘ll start to get better each and every game. I‘m just trying to get ready early, trying to hit the ball and not overswing. I try to hit the ball where it is pitched.‖

With the Sox already ahead 3-2 in the first inning and David Ortiz at first base after a single, Crawford sent an opposite-field double off The Wall. After Josh Reddick struck out, Jarrod Saltalamacchia singled to right, scoring Ortiz and Crawford for the 5-2 lead.

―I saw him (M‘s starter Michael Pineda) pretty good,‖ Crawford said. ―He‘s a hard thrower, so you know you have to zone him in.‖

Crawford added singles in the third and fifth, both to the opposite field.

―That is part of trying to get your swing back right, going the other way,‖ Crawford said. ―You try and take whatever the pitcher lets you have.‖

* The Providence Journal

Red Sox 12, Mariners 8: Sox just too hot to touch

Brian MacPherson

Tim Wakefield has pitched on teams with and Andy Van Slyke, with and Nomar Garciaparra and .

But never has Wakefield seen an offensive juggernaut like he's seeing right now.

"I think it's the best lineup I've ever played with," he said.

A 12-8 pummeling of Seattle pitching on Sunday was the latest example of the relentlessness of the Red Sox offense. Kevin Youkilis hit a two-run home run, Jarrod Saltalamacchia drove in four runs and Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez each collected three hits, three runs scored and three RBI. Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia and Josh Reddick each doubled and scored at least one run.

For Pedroia, his double extended his hitting streak to 21 games - the longest streak in the American League this season.

"It's nice to be part of this," Crawford said. "You see it when everyone's hot. We're winning games. Everyone's smiling and giving high-fives. It's real fun to be part of that."

"It's fun to watch these guys hit in front of me," said Saltalamacchia. "Watching Adrian all year, David all year, Pedey, Ells, one through nine, it's fun to sit there, watch these guys and be a part of it. It kind of makes everyone else at ease when we can score runs like that."

The Red Sox now have won four straight games and 17 of their last 20, dating back to the end of June. They've also won nine straight games at Fenway Park - a streak that spans more than three weeks.

Since they started the season 2-10, they've won at a .690 clip -- a 112-win pace over an entire season. With last-place Kansas City next on the slate, the parade of wins doesn't figure to slow down anytime soon.

All-Star rookie Michael Pineda bore the brunt of the barrage on Sunday, surrendering seven earned runs in 4-1/3 innings - including five runs in a first inning in which the Red Sox batted around.

"Pineda has a reputation that, as you get in the game, he starts getting stronger, as a lot of guys do," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "We got to him before he got in a rhythm and got comfortable, and then we got to him again later. Sometimes, if you get a guy like that, you look up in the sixth inning and he's throwing 97 (mph) and you missed your opportunity."

Lefty Aaron Laffey replaced Pineda in the fifth inning and gave up hits to all four hitters he faced - including back-to-back doubles by Crawford and Reddick and a two-run single to Saltalamacchia.

It was a particularly impressive achievement given the opponent. The Mariners might be in last place, but they've pitched and played defense all season. Sunday marked the first time all season they'd lost a game in which they'd scored more than six runs - and it marked their 15th consecutive defeat, the worst in team history.

The fireworks made for an easy 199th career win for Wakefield, who gave up seven earned runs in 6-1/3 innings. The final pitch he threw wound up in the seats atop the Green Monster for a grand slam off the bat of Brendan Ryan, but the Fenway Park crowd was in such a festive mood it showered Wakefield with a standing ovation anyway.

Part of the reason for that was that Wakefield recorded his 2,000th strikeout with the Red Sox in the sixth inning. Only Roger Clemens had reached that plateau in franchise history.

Wakefield saw his ERA rise to 5.15, but the offensive onslaught was enough to earn him his 185th win with the Red Sox, seven shy of the franchise record shared by Clemens and .

Crawford's bat showing signs of life

Tim Britton

With the non-waiver trade deadline a week away, much of the focus in Boston has centered on the uncertainty in right field and the potential solution currently playing in Queens, N.Y.

The reason the Red Sox don‘t need to make a big splash for a of Carlos Beltran‘s caliber, though, isn‘t who they already have in right; it‘s who they already have in left field.

Boston leads the majors in most every offensive category, despite receiving subpar contributions from Carl Crawford through the season‘s first half. The Red Sox persevered — more or less — through Crawford‘s well-documented April struggles and later through his month-long stint on the disabled list.

Since coming off the DL last week, though, Crawford has nine hits in 24 at-bats for a .375 average. He‘s driven in four and stolen two bases. Those numbers were capped on Sunday by Crawford‘s first game with at least three hits since June 4.

―Swinging feels a little better. I‘m starting to get into a little groove,‖ said Crawford, who has maintained a cautious optimism throughout the season. ―Hopefully I can continue to get better with each game.‖

A big reason Crawford feels better at the plate is that he‘s finally gotten his timing down. He attributes the change to first spending much of his time on the disabled list studying, and second getting ready a touch earlier at the plate. That allows him to go the other way with pitches on the outer half more easily — certainly an advantage at Fenway Park.

―It‘s rare that the pitchers throw in. You want to have your opposite-field stroke down pat because you might get, if that, one or two pitches to hit inside,‖ he said. ―If you hit it to right here [at Fenway], it‘s an automatic base hit. It does ease your mind a little bit knowing you can go to left and something good can happen.‖

A lot of good things can happen if Crawford swings the bat the way he has out of the sixth slot in the order. It‘s no coincidence that the Sox have won five of six since his return, averaging more than seven runs per contest in the last week.

―You have to give him a lot of credit. When he was down, he worked real hard,‖ manager Terry Francona said. ―He did so much hitting and he‘s come back and gotten himself comfortable real quick. That‘s really helpful to us. So many times you play a guy and you have to let him ease his way in and get his at-bats. He‘s been helping us right from the first game back.‖

Sunday marked the fourth time this year that Crawford had at least three hits; the Red Sox have scored 14, 14, 12 and nine runs in those four games. When the left fielder has at least two hits, the team is 13-5. Indeed, Boston‘s offense has looked its very best on days when Crawford has lived up to his considerable offensive pedigree.

―He‘s doing what Carl does,‖ said Adrian Gonzalez.

That was rarely the case earlier in the season. It will be difficult for Crawford to salvage a .300 batting average for the sixth time in the last seven seasons, sitting as he does at .254 in late July. But it‘s more reasonable to envision him hitting .300 or so the rest of the way, providing another dimension to an already deep Red Sox batting order. It‘s a nightmare prospect for opposing pitchers who have had enough trouble dealing with a Boston lineup getting next to nothing from its corner outfield spots.

Crawford‘s impact in lengthening the order could be seen over the weekend, when Boston wore down Seattle‘s Felix Hernandez and Blake Beavan in the first two games before getting to Michael Pineda early on Sunday. Against a pair of All-Star starting pitchers, the Sox put up 13 runs in 1062/3 innings. Pineda became the 26th starting pitcher to not survive five innings against Boston this season.

Perhaps the best sign of how Crawford feels is his renewed aggressiveness on the basepaths. A player who had averaged 52 steals per season had only eight at the break. In the last six games, he has two first-pitch thefts.

―On the bases, he‘s been really aggressive,‖ Francona said before Sunday. ―Obviously he feels pretty good physically. I think he‘s in a good place.‖

If Crawford were to be any semblance of the player he was for Tampa Bay — the player he has been over this last week — Boston would be gaining a corner outfielder for the stretch run even better than Beltran without paying the cost in a prospect.

Red Sox Journal: 2,000th strikeout a surprise to Wakefield

Brian MacPherson and Tim Britton

As Jarrod Saltalamacchia jogged out to congratulate Tim Wakefield on his 2,000th strikeout with the Red Sox, he got a blank look from the pitcher - and he suddenly feared he'd made a miscalculation.

"Not that guys watch their stats, but that's a pretty big number, so I assumed he knew he was getting close," Saltalamacchia said. "When I told him, he was like, 'Congratulations for what?' I was like, 'Did I get this wrong?'."

But Saltalamacchia received reassurance from the notice on the center-field scoreboard - and from the growing ovation from the Fenway Park crowd. Wakefield, a pitcher who normally knows exactly when milestone moments are approaching, had indeed struck out his 2,000th career hitter.

"I had no idea that it had happened," Wakefield said. "Salty was walking toward me, and I'm like, 'What's going on?' He said, 'Congratulations on 2,000 strikeouts.'."

"I'm proud of him, happy for him," said Saltamacchia. "I had goosebumps."

Wakefield received a lengthy standing ovation on his way off the mound and handshakes all around in the Red Sox dugout. The only person who refrained from shaking his hand was his manager, who didn't want to do so until he was ready to take him out of the game.

"For me, he's not coming out of the game yet, so I'm not quite sure how to react to that," Terry Francona said. "I'm thrilled that people are showing their appreciation. But I'm sitting there thinking, 'I'll shake his hand when he comes out.'."

Wakefield eventually came out after a Brendan Ryan grand slam in the seventh. He'd more than given the Red Sox a chance to win by limiting the Mariners to three runs through the first six innings, a span during which the Red Sox had scored 10 runs.

The grand slam trimmed an eight-run lead to a four-run lead, which still was plenty for reliever Alfredo Aceves.

The knuckleballer has a 7.06 ERA in his last five starts, but the Red Sox have won four of the five.

"The last couple haven't been that great, but they've been good enough," he said. "I'm fortunate to be on a great team, and I've been able to get some wins here and there."

No surprise here

Seattle phenom Dustin Ackley had never faced Daniel Bard before his eighth-inning single on a 98-mph fastball on Saturday night.

But Ackley was more than familiar with that fastball.

Ackley didn't follow college baseball all that much while growing up in Walnut Cove, N.C., but he started to pay closer attention once college recruiters started paying attention to him. His recruitment just happened to coincide with the rise of the program at North Carolina, a rise fueled largely by two flame-throwing arms - Bard and Andrew Miller.

By the time Bard and Miller had pitched the Tar Heels to the College World Series, Ackley already had made the decision to play his college baseball in Chapel Hill.

"Anytime you see guys in college throwing 100 mph, that's a pretty big deal," Ackley said. "I remember watching (Bard) and watching the success he had, and it was pretty fun to watch. You always pull for the team you're going to play for in college."

Scouts almost certainly would have found Ackley - Baseball America's Freshman of the Year in 2007and the No. 2 overall pick of the Seattle Mariners in 2009 - without any help.

But Bard and Miller together put the UNC baseball program back on the map. They never played with Ackley - both were drafted and signed in the first round in 2006, two months before Ackley reported to campus - but their impact on the program had a lot to do with the decision Ackley made.

Trip down memory lane

On the day of the Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cooperstown, Francona remembered his encounters with Pat Gillick, and .

Gillick was the general manager in Seattle when Francona interviewed for the Mariners' managerial opening in late 2003. It was memorable, but for the wrong reasons.

"He almost killed me," Francona said. "I went out to Seattle, and that's when I got sick, so I have a little bit of history there. I told him he asked too many hard questions and just about put me under."

Francona discovered he had blood clots shortly after the interview, as the job eventually went to .

Francona played with Alomar in winter ball.

"He was young," said Francona. "Robby had just touched the big leagues or was just getting there. He could do anything he wanted. It was so obvious that he could do anything he wanted - defensively, on the bases, . You could see it coming."

Finally, Francona recalled meeting Blyleven across generations.

"I saw Bert pitch in 1970. I was 11 years old. I went on a road trip with my dad, and he threw like a two- hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers," said Francona of a game in which Blyleven had actually allowed two runs on seven hits with a dozen strikeouts. "That's when my dad knew I was paying attention because, after the game, I came into the clubhouse and I said, 'Dad, you had no chance hitting that curveball.' He was looking at me, like, 'OK, you're watching.'."

Francona's father struck out in that game against Blyleven. Francona got his own chance to face that curveball nearly two decades later. Although the manager said he got "some hits" off an older Blyleven, he actually went 1-for-9 against him.

Drew headed for DL

According to CSNNE, the Red Sox will place outfielder J.D. Drew on the 15-day disabled list on Monday with a left shoulder impingement. The Boston Globe first reported the DL as a possible landing spot for Drew earlier Sunday. Drew, who's hitting just .219, hasn't started a game since Tuesday, having been replaced as the regular right fielder by Josh Reddick over the last week. It's unclear when exactly Drew first injured his shoulder.

* The Springfield Republican

It's 199 wins and counting for Tim Wakefield as Red Sox roll

Ron Chimelis

It was a weekend of milestones for the Boston Red Sox and, for that matter, the Seattle Mariners.

For Tim Wakefield, an even bigger plateau awaits. Sunday's 12-8 victory at Fenway Park was the 199th of his career, moving him one step away from some special company.

It came one day after Terry Francona had managed his 1,000th victory, all but 285 with Boston. It also sent the Mariners to their 15th straight loss, a club record.

Wakefield will go for No. 200 against the White Sox in Chicago on Friday night. He made sure to get yet another milestone out of the way Sunday.

With his sixth-inning strikeout of Mike Carp, Wakefield logged his 2,000th as a Red Sox pitcher. Only Roger Clemens, with 2,590, has more.

"(Catcher) Jarrod Saltalamacchia came over to me, and I wondered what was going on. I didn't know about 2,000 until they told me,'' said Wakefield, who received a standing ovation that caught him by surprise.

"Any milestone is special. It says I stayed a long time in one place, through the ups and downs, and persevered.''

"When you've done as much as he's done, every time you look up, there seems to be something to give him an ovation for,'' Francona said.

Wakefield's four K's Sunday left him with exactly 2,000 in Boston. Prior to his arrival in 1995, he had another 110 with Pittsburgh.

Wakefield's line wound up looking pretty grim - seven runs and 10 hits in 6 1/3 innings. Those numbers became inflated when Brendan Ryan's seventh-inning grand slam turned an 11-3 rout into a ballgame.

But the bottom line for Wakefield is winning, and while Ryan's slam scuffed up the statistics, it did not seriously threaten the outcome.

Only 88 pitchers since 1900 have won 200 games. Joining them would be a nice birthday present for Wakefield, who turns 45 Aug. 2.

Ryan's grand slam came in the inning after Wakefield heard the cheers for 2,000 strikeouts.

"It is a little bit hard (to refocus). I'd like to have that seventh inning back, but it is what it is,'' he said.

A 17-hit Red Sox attack gave him plenty of support.

"I think this is the best lineup I've played with here,'' said Wakefield, who is in his 17th Red Sox season.

"From 1 through 9, from Jacoby Ellsbury to Marco Scutaro, it's pretty solid.''

While the Red Sox are playing like champions, the Mariners bungled their way through a weekend sweep. Inhibited by a major deficiency on offense, they also offered a startling array of poor baserunning decisions and fielding mistakes.

To stop the slide, they leaned on Michael Pineda, whose 3.24 ERA has made him a candidate for Rookie of the Year. But Kevin Youkilis' two-run homer in the first made it 3-2.

By the end of the inning, it was 5-2.

Wakefield (6-3) had his first 14 wins with Pittsburgh, and the rest with Boston.

With 185 Red Sox victories, he needs seven to tie the club record, shared at 192 by Clemens and Cy Young.

Staying in the rotation for the rest of the year would give him about 12 more starts. He's had 13 starts already, and won six.

Boston's 62-37 record is the team's best since 1979, when the Sox had the same record after 99 games.

Their three-game lead over the Yankees is their largest since July 17, 2009. They have also won nine straight at home, and could extend that run this week with four games against the Royals, who occupy the AL Central cellar.

Don't look now, but Red Sox outfielder Carl Crawford is rolling

Ron Chimelis

Two months is a fairly large sample size, even when it's interrupted by a trip to the disabled list.

That lends significance to Carl Crawford's .330 average since May 25, a 27-game span that has seen the Red Sox left fielder raise his average to .254.

Crawford is gradually restoring his game after a slow start, and his three hits helped forge Sunday's 12-8 victory over Seattle at Fenway Park.

He is hitting .375 in 24 at-bats since coming off the disabled list for a hamstring strain. Since May 25, he is 34 for 103 with 13 extra-base hits, 18 runs and 21 RBIs.

All three hits Sunday, including a double, were sprayed to left field.

Asked if using the entire field was a sign his mechanics were sound, the lefty-hitting Crawford said, "You'd like to think that way.

"Going the other way, you are taking what pitches they give you. I saw the pitches today pretty well; I was zoned in.''

Crawford had two RBIs. He has six in six games since coming off the DL.

"You've got to give him a lot of credit. He's worked so hard,'' Red Sox manager Terry Francona said.

"I wasn't worried about his legs (after the DL stint). But he's done so much (extra) hitting, and he got comfortable real quick.

"Some guys, you have to ease them back in, but he's really helped us.

"Everything looks quicker. He's got good balance, he's swinging at strikes and seeing the ball well.''

"I'm trying to get ready quicker at the plate, and not overswing,'' Crawford said.

"I feel great, and I'm starting to get in a little groove.''

In Boston's 17-hit attack, Dustin Pedroia extended his hitting streak to a career-high 21 games.

Kevin Youkilis homered and is hitting .339 in his last 14 games. He has seven doubles, three homers and 15 RBIs in that span.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia went 3 for 4 with four RBIs. Like Crawford, his average is rising and now stands at .259.

"I'm getting comfortable. It's hard not to feel that way here, since the guys are so great,'' the catcher said.

He also credited hitting coach 's instruction.

"Mags knows me now. I can just look at him, and we can fix what's wrong,'' Saltalamacchia said.

Has Dustin Pedroia surpassed Adrian Gonzalez as the Red Sox MVP?

Nick Underhill

It‘s become universally accepted that Adrian Gonzalez is the front-runner for the American League MVP award.

Jose Bautista has garnered some consideration, but since we like our MVPs to at least play some meaningful baseball games and the are merely treading water in the AL East standings, he‘s been relegated to ‗Best Player in Baseball‘ status.

Gonzalez doesn‘t have those problems. He‘s lucky enough to play for what is currently the best team in the AL and also leads the league in average and RBIs. If he maintains that level of production, chances are he‘ll take home the award.

There‘s nothing wrong with that. I happened to pick Bautista as my first-half MVP since team success doesn‘t mean much at that point, but Gonzo would have been my choice had the season ended there.

I‘m not so sure I feel the same way today.

I still think the honor belongs in Boston; it just might be time to start looking at Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia instead.

―I wouldn‘t trade Pedey for anybody in the league right now,‖ David Ortiz said recently. ―Put that in the paper.‖

Pedroia's resume isn‘t as obvious as Gonzalez's or Bautista‘s, and his overall numbers, while solid, aren‘t going to blow you away.

He‘s hitting .301 with a .404 on-base percentage, 13 homers and 23 doubles, figures that place him 11th, 4th, 28th and 18th in baseball, respectively (all numbers and ranks entering Sunday).

But consider that June 4 he was hitting .239/.349/.324 with four homers and seven doubles and those numbers become staggering.

Since then, he‘s hit .389 over 39 games – a period where the Red Sox were fighting through a plethora of injuries that could have easily tripped them up enough to allow the Yankees to build a lead in the division.

Thanks to that run, using advanced metrics such as Wins Above Replacement, Pedroia now ranks as the second-most instrumental player in baseball behind Bautista.

―He‘s gotten it done when we absolutely needed it,‖ pitcher said recently after christening Pedroia ―The Muddy Chicken.‖

Indeed he has. In a pair of games last week, he stepped up to provide a pair of game-breaking hits, a role that is quickly becoming the norm for him.

July 16, in an epic 16-inning game against the , Pedroia collected three hits and drove in the winning run while the rest of the team went 2 for 45. The next night, he broke a 7-7 tie against Baltimore in the eighth inning with a two-run double that allowed the Sox to go on to win 15-10.

Gonzalez deserves credit for carrying Boston early in the season while it was waiting for Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis to get untracked, but he‘s since cooled, allowing others to emerge as MVP candidates.

It‘s a good problem to have two guys fighting it out for the league's top honor, and some people have even begun to suggest that Jacoby Ellsbury might be the most pivotal piece to the Red Sox puzzle.

I‘m not willing to go that far, but I am willing to say that, for now, Pedroia is currently the most important player on the Boston Red Sox.

Given how talented this roster is, we'll see if I still feel the same in a month or two.

* The MetroWest Daily News

Milestone effort for Wakefield in win

Eric Avidon

It's easy to take Tim Wakefield for granted.

He's pitched for the Red Sox seemingly forever - in truth, only since 1995 - and he doesn't do anything in spectacular fashion. There's no fastball that nears digits, like his teammate on that club 16 years ago Roger Clemens. There's no nasty cutter like current teammate Jon Lester, or the arsenals of former running- mates Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling.

All Wakefield has going for him is the , the most bizarre pitch in baseball, and the guile of his 44 years (he'll be 45 on Aug. 2), and old guys with moxie throwing strange pitches don't stand out in an age of sensationalism.

But this is a time to notice Wakefield, appreciate what he's done.

Yesterday, Wakefield got one step closer to winning his 200th game, something just 107 others have done. His 199th career victory helped the Red Sox to a 12-8 win over the hapless Seattle Mariners, who have now lost 15 straight games.

Wakefield, who will pitch Friday night against the White Sox in Chicago, didn't have his greatest day, allowing seven runs on 10 hits in 6 1/3 innings. But he deserved better, giving up a workmanlike three runs through six innings before getting touched for a grand slam in the seventh on his 100th pitch of the afternoon.

"I'd like to have the seventh inning back," said Wakefield. "I was very fortunate we were able to score 12 runs today, which made it a lot easier. I was pitching to the scoreboard ... and made one bad pitch."

Along the way yesterday, Wakefield (6-3) got his 2,000th strikeout since coming to Boston, joining Clemens as the only two pitchers to strike out that many batters while wearing a Red Sox uniform.

Fittingly, the milestone, which ended the sixth inning, was accomplished with a knuckleball that clocked just 66 miles per hour. Seattle's Mike Carp was the victim, and Wakefield got a rousing ovation from the 37,650 in attendance at Fenway Park.

"When I told him (it was his 2,000th), he was like, 'Congratulations for what,"' said catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. "I told him to look up at the board and it said 2,000 and he started smiling."

While Wakefield inched closer to 200 wins on the mound, the Red Sox obviously lit up the afternoon with their bats.

After Seattle's Miguel Olivo hit a two-run home run in the top of the first inning, Boston batted around in the bottom of the frame, scoring five runs to start the assault. Kevin Youkilis hit a two-run home run into the third row of the Monster Seats to highlight the rally, while Saltalamacchia had a two-out, two-run single to punctuate it.

The Mariners closed to within 5-3 with a run in the top of the fifth, but just as they did in the first, the Red Sox answered with five runs in the bottom of the inning, batting around yet again. Six straight Boston hitters reached base after there was one out. Carl Crawford delivered a big blow with a two-run single to left, his third hit of the day, and Saltalamacchia drove in two more with a single to right.

The Red Sox went up 11-3 with a lone run in the sixth before Brendan Ryan cut the lead to 11-7 with a grand slam in the top of the seventh. Boston made it 12-7 a half-inning later before Seattle scored the day's final run in the top of the ninth.

The Red Sox have won seven of nine since the All-Star break, and remain three games ahead of the Yankees in the AL East.

"We're playing good baseball," said Adrian Gonzalez, who had three hits and drove in two runs. "The key to winning is playing good baseball, and scoring more runs than the other team."

Whenever it happens for Wakefield, 200 wins will mean something. It won't be a ticket to the Hall of Fame, like 300, and when his name hits the ballot five years after he finally retires it's unlikely Wakefield will get many votes, if any.

But it will add validation to a career.

Since being picked up off the scrap heap following the demise of his tenure with the , he's done just about everything a pitcher can do for a team. He became the ace of that 1995 Red Sox team that won the AL East, finishing third in the Cy Young voting and 13th in MVP balloting.

Just four years later he was the Red Sox closer. After that he was a setup man before being reinstated in the Boston rotation in 2003. In recent years he's pitched long relief and started whenever necessary.

And he's done all of it with very few complaints.

Even now, Wakefield is playing an important role. He began the season as the odd man out on a team with six pitchers worthy of a spot in the rotation, but as one pitcher after another has gone on the disabled list Wakefield has assumed a starting role.

Yesterday was his 13th start.

"I'm one step closer (to 200)," said Wakefield. "I've been fortunate this year to pitch as well as I have. The last couple haven't been great, but they've been good enough. I'm fortunate to be on a great team and have been able to get some wins here and there."

It's easy to take a man like Tim Wakefield for granted, a veteran who simply does what he's asked. But it's also safe to say the Red Sox would not be where they are today were it not for such a man.

Carl Crawford returning to form

Eric Avidon

Carl Crawford isn't going to hit .300 like he did last year and the year before while still with the Tampa Bay Rays. He's not going to swipe 40 bases, like he did seven times before signing a big free-agent contract with the Red Sox this past offseason.

He simply got off to too poor a start this season, failing to get his batting average even to .200 until May 6.

But while he won't compile his customary numbers for a full season, Crawford is off to a fast start to the second half of the season, and is showing why the Red Sox invested seven years and more than $136 million in the speedy outfielder.

Since coming off the disabled list last Monday, Crawford has hit safely in five of six games, going 9-for- 25. He has multiple hits in three of those games, including three hits in yesterday's 12-8 win over the Seattle Mariners.

The left-hander ripped an opposite-field double off the Green Monster and scored in the first inning, singled to left in the third, then singled to left and drove in two runs in the fifth.

"Part of trying to get your swing back right is going the other way," said Crawford. "You take whatever the pitcher lets you have. ... I feel great. I'm starting to get into a little groove. Hopefully I continue to get better with each and every game."

Crawford's average was up to .243 when he went on the disabled list on June 17 with a left hamstring strain, and since returning he's raised that to .254.

"You've gotta give him a lot of credit," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "While he was down he worked really hard. We weren't really worried about his legs (coming off the DL) because he worked so hard ... but he did so much hitting and he's come back and gotten himself comfortable real quick.

"That's really helpful to us. So many times you have to let a guy ease his way in and get his at-bats, and he's been helping us right from the first game back."

* * *

Crawford isn't the only member of the Red Sox who got off to a slow start but has both heated up and played a big role in yesterday's win.

Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia looked like a disaster at the start of the season. He was hitting an even .200 on May 11, and had zero home runs with eight runs batted in despite starting a vast majority of the time.

Fast forward 10 weeks and Saltalamacchia - who had three hits and drove in four runs yesterday - is up to .259 with eight home runs, 31 RBIs and an OPS of .780.

In addition, after pitchers got lit up when they threw to him over the first few weeks of the season, now there seems to be no difference in pitchers' performances when he catches versus when is behind the plate.

"The team has been great to me," said Saltalamacchia. "I learn a lot from the guys hitting in front of me ... and (hitting coach Dave Magadan) has been great working with me every day. I feel like Mags knows my swing now, and whenever I feel something I can look at him and he can tell me what I'm doing and fix it right away."

* * *

With a double in the sixth inning, Dustin Pedroia extended his hitting streak to 21 games, the longest streak in the American League this season. He's also reached base safely in 33 straight games ...

The Red Sox open a four-game series with the Kansas City Royals tonight. Boston is slated to start Jon Lester, Andrew Miller, and Josh Beckett in the series, while Kansas City will counter with Kyle Davies, Danny Duffy, Bruce Chen and Luke Hochevar. ...

''Mad Men'' star John Slattery, who plays Roger Sterling on the show, threw out the first pitch yesterday, firing a strike to Darnell McDonald.

* The Lawrence Eagle Tribune

Former high school teammates Bard, McDonald reunite at Fenway

Christopher Smith

Seattle Mariners catcher remembers watching Red Sox backup outfielder Darnell McDonald play high school football at Cherry Creek High in Colorado where McDonald rushed for a then-state record 6,121 yards and also scored 83 career touchdowns.

"He was the best high school football player I've ever seen," said Bard before the Red Sox beat the Mariners 12-8 here at Fenway Park yesterday afternoon. "He's a player and really found a good niche over here (in Boston) and has been real valuable to these guys, but I think he could've had a great career in the NFL (too)."

Bard, a former Red Sox player, also attended Cherry Creek High and played on the varsity baseball team with McDonald.

In baseball, McDonald started all four years of high school, never hit lower than .456 in a season and hit 15 homers as a junior. McDonald was offered a full scholarship by the University of Texas to play both baseball and football.

Bard and McDonald also played on the same high school baseball team with reliever Brad Lidge. The three of them together won a state championship in baseball, beating Phillies ace Roy Halladay's high school team in the championship game. Halladay pitched in relief in the title game because he had pitched the semifinal game.

"And then the next year we (McDonald and Bard) beat (former major league pitcher) Shawn Chacon in the state championship," Bard said.

Bard, Lidge and McDonald grew up playing baseball together.

"It was a special time with a special group of guys," Bard said.

McDonald added: "We played well together. We all played Little League through high school (together). We all had a lot of great camaraderie. You look back at it now and it's pretty special to have a team like that in high school."

Bard and McDonald did speak with each other this past weekend at Fenway Park. And McDonald said he, Bard and Lidge stay in contact nowadays.

"I follow their careers and I'm sure they've done the same for me and (we're) definitely good friends," McDonald said.

No. 2,000

Tim Wakefield struck out the 2,000 batter of his Red Sox' career here at Fenway Park yesterday.

Strikeout No. 2,000 was the final out of the sixth inning.

Wakefield received a standing ovation from the Fenway Faithful as he walked off the mound. And he tipped his cap.

He then came back out for a curtain call, too, stepping out of the dugout to acknowledge the fans.

"Pretty special, very emotional for me," Wakefield said about the ovation. "I had no idea that it had happened. Salty (catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia) was walking toward me and I'm like, 'What's going on?' And he said, 'Congratulations on 2,000 strikeouts.' It was a pretty cool ovation and a pretty cool day for me."

Wakefield earned his 199th career victory. But he did allow a season-high seven earned runs. Four of those runs came in the seventh when Brendan Ryan smashed a grand slam home run off the knuckleballer and over the Green Monster.

"I'd like to have that seventh inning back," Wakefield said. "It is what it is. I was very fortunate that we were able to score 12 runs today, which made it a lot easier."

Laser show

Dustin Pedroia extended his career-long hit streak to 21 games. It is the longest hitting streak in the AL this year.

Pedroia is batting .385 with seven homers, 16 RBIs eight doubles, 21 runs scored and 10 walks over the hit streak.

"This is his game — this is The Laser Show," McDonald said. "You don't get the nickname 'The Laser Show' by doing nothing. He's definitely living up to that. Hopefully, he can continue doing the same thing throughout the season."

On a roll

Carl Crawford has been on a roll since returning from the DL last Monday. He has hit safely in 5 of 6 games since his return and has gone 9 for 24 (.375 average) with two doubles, four RBIs and four runs scored over the six games.

Crawford went 3 for 4 with two runs scored and two RBIs yesterday. He raised his average to .254.

"He did so much hitting and he's come back and got himself comfortable real quick," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "That's really helpful to us. So many times you play a guy and you have to kind of let him ease his way in."

Odds and ends

Saltalamacchia knocked in a season-high four runs. He tied a season high with three hits. ... Jacoby Ellsbury went 2 for 5 for his fourth consecutive multi-hit game and his 12th multi-hit game in his past 19 contests dating back to June 30. ... Ellsbury has driven in 18 runs this month, the most out of any single month during his career. ... Adrian Gonzalez stroked three hits for his major league-leading 18th three-hit game of the season. ... The Red Sox banged out 17 hits.

Red Sox 12, Mariners 8

Winning Pitcher: Tim Wakefield (6-3), allowed seven runs and 10 hits over 6 1/3 innings to earn career victory No. 199.

Losing Pitcher: Michael Pineda (8-7), rookie phenom lasts just 4 1/3 innings, giving up seven hits and seven runs.

The big story: Five-run innings in the first and fifth send the Mariners to a franchise-record 15th straight loss.

Sox heroes: Kevin Youkilis' two-run homer sparked a five-run first inning, has 10 extra-base hits (7 doubles, 3 homers) and 15 RBI in his last 14 games.

Dustin Pedroia extended his career-long hit streak to 21 games and has reached base safely in a career-high 33 straight games.

Carl Crawford had three hits yesterday, hitting safely in 5 of 6 games since coming off the DL Monday (9- for-24 with two doubles, four RBIs and 4 runs scored).

Jarrod Saltalamacchia collected a season-high four RBIs with three hits, going 7 for 16 with seven RBIs over his last 4 games.

Well-prepared Bard sets new Sox record

Christopher Smith

Red Sox reliever Daniel Bard looks like a well-oiled machine out there on the mound these days.

So how much studying of video and scouting reports does he do before each game?

"I don't (look) at video in advance," Bard said before the Red Sox' 12-8 victory over the Seattle Mariners yesterday here at Fenway Park. "I use the video more after the game. I re-watch my outings just to kind of see where I was throwing the ball.

"We have a pretty basic scouting report that (Red Sox bullpen coach Gary) Tuck keeps out in the bullpen — in a little binder. I'll review that early in the game. ... It just has hot and cold zones for all the hitters on all the (different) pitches. It gives what their averages are on different pitches and different counts. So it kind of gives me an idea on how I'm going to approach a guy."

There is more to Bard's 24-inning scoreless streak than just throwing hard.

He is well prepared and has done a nice job of mixing in his secondary pitches to complement his blistering fastball.

The right-handed fireballer is in the midst of 24-inning scoreless streak that has spanned over his past 23 games.

The streak started May 27. He hasn't allowed a run since May 23, the night when the Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning played Game 5 of their Eastern Conference final series — and back when the Red Sox trailed both the and Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East standings by a 1/2 game each.

Bard has the longest active scoreless innings streak in the majors and the longest overall by an American League hurler this year. It is tied for the second longest in the majors this season after Philadelphia starter 's 34-inning streak from June 11 through July 3.

And let's not forget: Bard has 24 holds, the second most holds in the majors behind Washington's (25).

Bard arguably is the best setup man in all of Major League Baseball and is in the process of making Red Sox history.

Since 1974, the only lengthier scoreless innings streak by a Red Sox reliever during a single season was 's 27 1/3 inning streak in 1980.

Bard's 23 consecutive scoreless outing streak is an all-time club record, according to Elias.

Bard is aware of the exact number of scoreless innings that his streak stands at right now.

"I do (know) because everyone was asking me about it (Saturday) night," he said, chuckling. "It's pretty cool. It's obviously gotten way past where I thought it would ever get just because there's so much luck involved with relievers giving up runs and really any pitcher giving up runs."

Bard enters today's game vs. the Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park with a 1.85 ERA and 0.82 WHIP.

"I've tried to stay the same and keep my mentality the same," he said. "A lot of coming out of the bullpen is having confidence and knowing that you can dominate every time out. Sometimes you don't and you still have to convince yourself the next time that you're that (dominant) pitcher. So I had a couple (situations) that tested me early and tested my confidence early. But I just tried to bounce back and do what I always try to do."

Bard's confidence was tested early. Remember back when the right-hander surrendered four earned runs in 2/3 of an inning on in Texas and his postgame ERA was 54.00?

Bard doesn't really like to be reminded of that debacle. He said he feels like has been making up for that poor performance all season. He didn't even look at his ERA until weeks after Opening Day.

For Bard, his prep work before each outing also sometimes consists of studying right before he takes the mound.

For instance, he knew Saturday night while warming up in the bullpen that he was going to face Seattle's Dustin Ackley, Justin Smoak and Adam Kennedy.

"So I knew the three guys I was about to face and so if I'm loose in time, I'll peek at the book and just do a quick run through on those guys to refresh my memory," he said.

But Bard's best pitch is his fastball and so he is not going to throw all changeups to someone who struggles hitting changeups. "I'm going to pitch to my strengths more than anything else," he said. "But it's nice to have (the scouting reports)."

Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia said even when a pitcher can throw a fastball near 100 MPH, that pitcher still needs a game-plan and needs to know the opposing hitters' weaknesses.

"You always want to go with a guy's strength, and that's with everyone in the bullpen, but you still go over hitters," Saltalamacchia said. "That's one thing he (Bard) has done this year, and I think that has made a difference is throwing his secondary pitches for strikes. He's able to mix things up because a guy who throws that hard, if you just throw that and everyone sits on it, then in the big-league level, you can get hit. But he's able to throw his fastball for strikes on both sides of the plate (while) mixing his slider and his changeup. So a hitter really can't get too comfortable in there."

Bard is throwing his fastball 70.5 percent of the time this year and his fastball is averaging out at 97.3 MPH, according to fangraphs.com. He is throwing his slider 21.2 percent of the time and for an average of 84.0 MPH. And he is throwing his changeup 8.3 percent of the time for an average of 90.5 MPH.

Bard's scoreless streak also can be attributed to how well the rest of the bullpen has pitched lately.

The emergence of Matt Albers (2.29 ERA, eight holds) and Alfredo Aceves (3.44 ERA, seven holds) has helped make Bard's job much easier than a year ago when hardly anyone else besides him was performing out of the pen.

Bard now knows that the eighth inning is his. For the most part, he no longer has to worry about being brought in during the sixth inning because manager Terry Francona can't trust any other relievers.

"It's nice when we've got Albers, (Dan) Wheeler, (Franklin) Morales — you name it — all those guys who can eat up the sixth and seventh innings if we need them to," Bard said. "A lot of times the lead is handed over to us in the sixth or seventh inning and it's not me usually anymore who has to come in and get those big outs in the sixth and seventh. I can pretty much be confident that I'm going to come in and throw the eighth."

It also has helped that closer has pitched so well this year. Papelbon has only one blown after blowing a career-high eight saves last year.

Twenty-four straight innings without allowing a single run and Bard is convinced he could do better.

"I'm always working on them (secondary pitches) and trying to improve them," Bard said. "I haven't been locating my slider very well. So I've been kind of getting away with (that)."

* The Quincy Patriot Ledger

Tim Wakefield reaches strikeout milestone

Mike Fine

There‘s certainly a lot to be said for longevity. Just ask Tim Wakefield.

No doubt, the Boston Red Sox veteran has been an institution in Boston since 1995.

So when he came up with his 199th career win and his 2,000th career strikeout with the Red Sox Sunday, the career factor was big, but there‘s so much more to it.

For one thing, Wakefield has carved out a niche career with his knuckleball, which has probably reduced a lot of wear and tear on his body. He‘s spent a lot of time confounding and confusing opposing batters.

Lately, though, there‘s been another part of the equation. Wakefield‘s teammates have carried him, so much so that the 12-8 Fenway Park win over the Mariners was more due to his teammates than to him. The Sox pounded out 17 hits and won their ninth straight game at Fenway, sending the hapless Mariners to their 15th straight loss.

―I‘ve been fortunate this year to pitch as well as I have,‖ Wakefield said. ―The last couple haven‘t been that great, but they‘ve been good enough and I‘m fortunate to be on a great team and been able to get some wins here and there.‖

Over his last five starts, Wakefield has amassed a 7.06 ERA, allowing 27 runs (23 earned), in 29 innings. His opponents have touched him for a .362 average. Yet, he‘s 6-3, 5.15 overall.

That‘s not to say that what he did Sunday wasn‘t impressive. Throw away the two-run first inning and Wakefield actually was looking darned good until he ran into trouble in the seventh, loading the bases and giving up a grand slam to Brendan Ryan. Wakefield allowed 10 hits and seven runs.

Perhaps he could be excused, though, given that he‘d been sidetracked an inning earlier. Having recorded two quick outs, Wakefield then got Mike Carp swinging, the pitcher‘s 2,000th strikeout.

It‘s was a wonderful moment, catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia hustling out to the mound to give him the ball and his congratulations.

―I walked over to him. I knew it was 2,000 so I gave him the ball and gave him a hug and congratulated him,‖ said the catcher.

Wakefield, though, didn‘t seem to know why.

―He didn‘t. I was surprised,‖ said the catcher. ―I knew it. Not that guys watch their stats, but that‘s pretty big numbers so I assumed he knew he was getting close. When I told him he was like, ‗Congratulations for what?‘ I was like, ‗Did I get this wrong?‘ so I wanted to make sure I looked at the board and it said 2,000. And he looked up and saw it and started smiling. It makes me happy to be able to catch him and have a milestone like that.‖

Wakefield got back to the dugout and began receiving congrats all around. Having tipped his cap to the crowd, he walked back in front of the dugout and saluted the fans again.

―When you‘ve done as much as he‘s done it seems every time you look up there‘s something to give him an ovation about,‖ said manager Terry Francona. ―It was funny because for me he‘s not coming out of the game yet so I‘m not quite sure how to react to that. I‘m thrilled that people are showing appreciation but I kind of sit there and think I‘ll shake his hand when he comes out.‖

After the to-do, Wakefield did go back to the mound, and that‘s where he had his problems. This being the Red Sox, though, he was easily bailed out. Saltalamacchia had a season-high four RBI on three singles, for instance, and Carl Crawford stroked three singles to left in his first three at-bats. The Sox scored five in the first and five more in the fifth.

―I‘d like to have that seventh inning back,‖ Wakefield said. ―I was very fortunate that we were able to score 12 runs today, which made it a lot easier. I think it‘s the best lineup I‘ve ever played with here. It‘s pretty solid one through nine. From Ellsbury to Scutaro, everybody‘s pitched in and done their part.‖

Picking up a win under those circumstances was exactly what Wakefield needs these days. Receiving the ovation from the fans was icing on the cake.

―It was pretty special,‖ he said. ―It was very emotional to me. I had no idea it had happened. Salty was walking toward me and I was saying, ‗What‘s going on?‘ It was pretty cool.

―Any milestone you achieve ranks up there pretty high with me,‖ Wakefield said. ―And 2,000 is a high number. It says a lot about being in one place for a long time like I have and going through the ups and downs of my career and being able to persevere for the last 17 years.‖

Red Sox’ Josh Reddick has history of playing right field

Mike Fine

Josh Reddick‘s first three starts of the season were in right field, and now the last four.

Everything in between, 16 starts, were in left or center, but as far as he‘s concerned, playing right field fits like a glove.

―It‘s pretty natural,‖ he said. ―I grew up in the minors as a right fielder so I‘m pretty used to it.‖

So perhaps it was no surprise that Reddick fielded a Mike Carp first-inning line single and then nailed Justin Smoak by a mile as he tried to score from second base, ending an early Seattle rally.

―I feel really good right now,‖ said Reddick who struck out in his first two at-bats, going on to double, single, get an RBI and score twice in the Red Sox‘s 12-8 win over the Mariners.

―The more he‘s out there the better because he‘s really athletic and he‘s fast enough and he‘s got plenty of arm,‖ manager Terry Francona said. ―There are some quirks out there that J.D. (Drew) makes look a little easy. It‘ll take some time with Redd but he‘s a good outfielder.‖

The timing is right for more than several reasons. The Sox will be announcing Monday that Drew has been placed on the disabled list with a left shoulder impingement.

Francona reaches 1,000

Francona got a beer shower from David Ortiz shortly after winning his 1,000th major league game Saturday night, but when he got home and realized what he‘d accomplished, he really kicked back and celebrated.

―I had a grilled cheese sandwich,‖ he said.

It‘s not that Francona doesn‘t appreciate what he‘s done, but he‘s got other priorities, which is one reason he reached 1,000 wins in the first place.

―I‘ve gotten messages from people that mean a lot to me,‖ he said. ―I‘m honored and I‘m proud, but I‘m a lot more comfortable talking about the team and the guys.‖

Francona said that while he‘s reached 1,000, there are many more managers with even larger numbers. St. Louis manager Tony LaRussa, he said, has 2,300 or so wins (actually 2,691). ―I look at the other guys and I need to hush up. It‘s humbling. It makes you realize how long they‘ve been doing it, and how hard it is to win. If you see my name with 2,300 (wins, like LaRussa), there‘ll be an asterisk and I‘ll be dead.‖

Francona became the 57th manager to reach 1,000, and the seventh active manager, joining LaRussa, (1,547), Dusty Baker (1,454), Bruce Bochy (1,332), Davey Johnson (1,158), Mike Scioscia (1,035) and Jack McKeon (1,027).

―Tito winning a thousand games is pretty special,‖ said starter Tim Wakefield, who won his 199th. ―It shows you his character. He‘s done the right things over his career. He‘s a great manager and I‘m proud to say that I‘ve been able to play for him for eight years. He‘s brought two World Series championships to the city of Boston and he gets the most out of his players on the field, for sure.‖ around the bases

Carl Crawford had three opposite-field hits and is batting .375 since returning from the DL. ―Part of trying to get your swing back right is going the other way and taking whatever pitch that you have,‖ he said. ―Healthwise I feel great. The swing feels a little better. I‘m starting to get in a little groove so hopefully I can get better with every game.‖ … Jarrod Saltalamacchia had four RBI on three hits and is 7-for-16 over his last three games. ―I think I‘m getting a little more consistent, with the playing time it‘s hard not to feel comfortable here. The team‘s been great to me, the guys are awesome. I learn a lot from the guys in front of you, too. David, Gonzo, Pedey. Mags (hitting coach Dave Magadan) has been working with me every day, too, so it‘s nice because I feel like Mags knows my swing now so whenever I feel something I can look at him and he can tell me what I‘m doing and fix it right away.‖ … Jon Lester remains on track for a Monday night start against the Royals. ―The biggest thing will be kind of watching his workload,‖ Francona said. ―He‘s come through this (lat strain) about as well as you could hope. He was completely pain free when he started throwing and that‘s what we wanted. Now he‘s gotta be able to build up endurance where if you want a guy to throw 120 (pitches) his first time out he‘s gonna be sore. So we don‘t want to do that. So you have to balance winning a game and bringing him along where he can get on a roll. When that bell rings he‘s gonna forget about ‗I‘ve been down for a couple of weeks.‘ He‘s gonna be firing and trying to win and that‘s good, but we‘ve gotta keep an eye on him.‖

* The New Hampshire Union Leader

Francona steady at Sox' helm

Dave D'Onforio

At various stages in their ascension to the top of the , different Red Sox have been lauded for helping lift the club beyond its lousy start. Credit has gone to Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Jacoby Ellsbury, David Ortiz and, lately, Dustin Pedroia.

They've deserved it, too, for getting the club to 60 wins faster than any Boston team since 1979, even after starting the year at 2-10. But ask someone who sat in a similar position for 15 seasons, however, and he'll contend that not all the plaudits should go to the players.

―I think,‖ ex-major league manager Bobby Valentine said, ―Terry Francona has done as good a job as anybody's done in any one year of baseball.‖

It's a high compliment, certainly, but as underappreciated as Francona still is by those who believe he's merely the beneficiary of a big-market payroll, and as undervalued as his work has been during the Red Sox resurgence, there's validity to Valentine's opinion that this may be the manager's best job yet.

By starting the season as poorly as it did, Boston became the fifth team in the past 10 seasons to lose 10 of its first 12 games. Of the previous four, none finished the year any better than 14 games below .500, and on average those teams wound up winning 67 games.

For perspective on how quickly Francona steadied his ship, consider that Friday's win over Seattle put the Sox within seven victories of that typical total – and they had 65 contests still to play. By moving to 60-37 they put themselves on pace to win 100, woke Saturday just a game shy of the best record in baseball, and had long since moved on from their stumbling start.

Thanks in no small part to the manager who had a chance Saturday to become the 57th manager in big league history to win 1,000 games.

―It takes an attitude of living in the now and not worrying about what happened, and not worrying about the expectations of what you hope might happen,‖ Valentine said in a phone conversation Monday, a day after he and the rest of ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball crew called the Sox' 16-inning win over the Rays. ―It's managing the day-to-day situations the best that you can. One pitch at a time, one day at a time — it sounds like a cliché, but the reason it's a cliché is because it has a foundation in truth.‖

Valentine would know. As skipper of the Mets he faced expectations like Francona does in Boston, especially when he had veteran teams full of well-paid players, and twice while in New York he turned slow starts into highly satisfying seasons.

The first came in 1999, when the club was under .500 as late as June 5, but wound up winning 97 games en route to the Championship Series. The second came a year later, when the Mets were just 20-20 at the quarter pole — precisely like the Sox this year — and rallied to win the NL pennant.

Asked how he fixed things, Valentine said it wasn't something he did. It was something he didn't.

―What I didn't do is the same thing that Terry didn't do,‖ he said. ―We didn't panic. We didn't take the bait. We didn't fall in the trap to think that what has happened will write our epitaph. We just kept pitching and playing and continued to believe that we were good enough to succeed.‖

Francona's club never lost that confidence, and as a result it's poised to join some elite company. Prior to this season, 110 teams had ever started a season with at least five losses, and only two of those had gone on to make the playoffs. They were the 1974 Pirates, as well as the 1995 Reds.

And it's no coincidence that each of those teams was guided by one of the 50 most successful managers — measuring by either wins or — in major-league history. The Pirates were led by Danny Murtaugh, a two-time World Series champion and winner of 1,115 games, while the Reds were steered by Davey Johnson, another champ who took 1,156 victories into this weekend.

Those recoveries shows a manager's ability to motivate his team when things are tough, then keep them focused in the face of prosperity — and that's exactly what Francona does best. He's an expert when it comes to managing expectations, according to Valentine, and as a result he's able to get his players in a position to meet them year after year. This one, even after 0-6 and 2-10, is no exception.

―They're the most talented team in baseball,‖ Valentine said, ―so they're right where they're supposed to be.‖

And for that, it's time to give credit where credit is due.

------

REDD HOT: At least for the time being, Josh Reddick has supplanted J.D. Drew as the Sox primary right- fielder against right-handed pitching — a decision Francona acknowledged Friday to the media, and was driven home to Reddick when he saw his name on the lineup card against reigning Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez.

―Getting the start against a guy like that,‖ Reddick said, ―it shows me that they believe in me a lot more than they have in the past.‖

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TRADE BAIT?: As the Sox approach next Sunday's trading deadline, one player who might've played his way into those discussions this season is 23-year-old catcher Ryan Lavarnway. After homering for the eighth time in 10 days on Friday, and the 13th time in 134 Triple-A at-bats, his combined numbers between Pawtucket and Portland included a .322 average, 27 homers, 74 RBI and a 1.006 OPS in 90 games.

His defense has reportedly improved, too, and what makes his future in Boston even more intriguing is that Jarrod Saltalamacchia is just two years older. That could potentially make the Yale product expendable — and an enticing carrot to hang in front of other teams.

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STAT OF THE WEEK: With three more on Friday, opponents have succeeded in 23 of 25 attempts against John Lackey. That's an 8 percent success rate for the pitcher — whose career averaging coming into the year was 26 percent, and whose worst year was 19 percent in 2008.

* The Worcester Telegram and Gazette

Wakefield flutters to 2,000 strikeouts

John Conceison

The numbers are coming up big for Tim Wakefield and the Boston Red Sox.

Wakefield shrugged off a first-inning two-run homer by Miguel Olivo to earn his 199th career win and register his 2,000th strikeout in a Red Sox uniform, and his offense provided him with two five-run innings and 17 hits in a 12-8 victory over the reeling Seattle Mariners yesterday at Fenway Park.

We couldn't be talking about two teams heading in more opposite directions. The Red Sox, now 60-27 since their 2-10 start in April, have won four straight and are 7-2 since the All-Star break. They hold a three-game lead over the Yankees in the AL East. Worcester's own Tim Collins and his Royals, last in the AL Central, visit next for four games.

For the Mariners, it was their 15th straight loss, and they're heading to Yankee Stadium for a three-game series.

―I was on a team that lost 10 (straight) last year,‖ said Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, the former San Diego Padre, who was 3 for 5 with two RBIs yesterday, ―and that was pretty bad, so I hope they can win the next three games.‖

Wakefield (6-3) settled down for a while after the first, staying ahead in the count (72 of 100 pitches for strikes) as the Sox posted five-spots in the first and fifth innings en route to an 11-3 lead. And he appreciated the run support, especially after Brendan Ryan's grand slam closed Seattle to within 11-7 in the seventh on the knuckleballer's final pitch.

―I think it's the best lineup I've ever played with here,‖ said Wakefield, who's in his 17th season in Boston. ―It's pretty solid one through nine, from Ellsbury to Scutaro. Everybody has pitched in and done their part.‖

Carl Crawford and Jarrod Saltalamacchia each went 3 for 4, with Crawford driving in two runs and Saltalamacchia delivering four. Kevin Youkilis' two-run homer, his 14th, keyed the five-run first.

Crawford has hit in five of six games since coming off the disabled list last Monday.

―He's come back and gotten himself comfortable real quick,‖ manager Terry Francona said after his 1,001st career victory. ―There's balance, he's seeing the ball, he's swinging at strikes, he's using the whole field. He looks like Crawford.‖

―I'm starting to get in a little groove, so I hope to continue to get better with each and every game,‖ said Crawford, who raised his batting average to .254. ―Just trying to hit the ball where it's pitched.‖

Saltalamacchia delivered two-run singles to right in each of the five-run innings off Seattle starter Michael Pineda (8-7). ―It's hard not to feel comfortable here,‖ the catcher said. ―It's nice to get guys on base with less than two outs and be able to produce. At the same time, when everyone's hitting the ball, it kind of trickles down.‖

Dustin Pedroia extended his hitting streak to 21 games with a double off the Green Monster in the sixth inning. Josh Reddick, who was 2 for 5 with an RBI double and two runs, threw out Justin Smoak at the plate trying to score on Mike Carp's single to right in the first inning.

Wakefield got Carp swinging for the milestone strikeout to end the sixth, setting off a relentless ovation that prompted Wakefield to come out to the top dugout step and tip his cap.

―It was pretty special … it was a pretty cool ovation,‖ Wakefield said. ―Two thousand is a high number, it says a lot about being in one place for a long time like I have, going through the ups and downs in my career.‖

Light load for Lester

John Conceison

As Tim Collins and his Royals invade Fenway Park, Jon Lester comes off the disabled list for tonight's start.

Lester (10-4, 3.31 ERA) has been on the DL since July 6 due to a left latissimus strain, suffered the night before after throwing four no-hit innings with five strikeouts in Boston's 3-2 win over Toronto.

―The biggest thing will be kind of watching his workload,‖ manager Terry Francona said. ―He's come through this about as well as you could hope. He's completely pain-free when he started throwing, and that's what we wanted.‖

Lester is 4-1 with a 1.22 ERA in five career starts against Kansas City, including that no-hitter May 19, 2008. He has won all four career starts against the Royals in Boston, allowing just one earned run in 32 innings.

Francona emphasizes the Sox want to build up Lester's endurance.

―You try to balance, win the game and bring him along where he can get on a roll,‖ the manager said. ―Because when that bell rings, he's going to forget about ‗I've been down a couple of weeks' — he's going to go out to fire and try to win, and that's good, but we've got to keep an eye on him.‖

The Red Sox will open a roster spot for Lester by placing J.D. Drew on the disabled list with a shoulder impingement, according to Sean McAdam of Comcast Sports New England. Such a move would allow the Sox to keep Kyle Weiland in the bullpen. Weiland, who made two starts in Lester's absence, warmed up in the bullpen during yesterday's win over the Mariners. A team source told ESPNBoston.com last night that a final decision on Drew hadn't been made yet.

Congrats on 1,000th The morning after posting his 1,000th career victory as manager, Francona tried to play down the accomplishment.

―I got some nice messages from people that mean a lot to me,‖ said Francona, whose team rallied in the seventh inning Saturday night to beat Seattle, 3-1. ―I was honored, and I was proud, but I'm a lot more comfortable talking about our guys and the team. That's the way it should be.‖

Francona is one of eight active managers with 1,000 or more wins. ―There are some guys with pretty big numbers who are still managing, so it's kind of humbling,‖ he said. ―It makes you realize how long they've been doing it and how hard it is to win.

―How many wins does Tony La Russa have? 2,300? (actually, 2,691) I'd be willing to bet if you see my name with 2,300, there's going to be an asterisk — I'll be dead. That'll be quite an accomplishment‖

Ellsbury patience pays off Jacoby Ellsbury's two-run single on a 1-2 count in the seventh to win Saturday night's game gave him 18 RBIs in his last 18 games, and he drove in another yesterday with a seventh-inning single. Ellsbury has become more patient at the plate and he's delivered out of deep counts.

―I think he's a better hitter all the way around,‖ Francona said. ―As he's gotten success, he's not afraid to hit deep into the count. Early in the season, I think he struck out a little because of it, but now he's just a better hitter. It's amazing what confidence can do.‖

Ellsbury went 2 for 5 for his fourth straight multi-hit game, and he has more than one hit in 12 of his last 19 games. His 58 RBIs are only two shy of his career high of two years ago.

Diamond Dust The Royals are in for four games starting at 7:10 tonight, with Lester facing right-hander Kyle Davies (1-9, 7.32). Other matchups include Boston's Andrew Miller (4-1, 4.65) vs. left-hander Danny Duffy (2-4, 4.58) tomorrow night, John Lackey (8-8, 6.28) vs. lefty Bruce Chen (5-3, 3.30) Wednesday night and Josh Beckett (9-3, 2.07) vs. right-hander Luke Hochevar (6-8, 5.29) in a Thursday 1:35 p.m. start. … Gonzalez recorded his major-league-leading 18th three-hit game. … Jarrod Saltalamacchia is 7 for 16 (.438) with seven RBIs over his last four games. … ―Mad Men‖ actor and Boston native John Slattery threw the ceremonial first pitch. … After the game, the sixth Picnic in the Park took place on the field, benefiting the Red Sox Foundation.

* The Portland Press Herald

On Baseball: Maine Day at Fenway Park honors all kinds of heroes

Kevin Thomas

Recognizable mascots like Slugger (Sea Dogs), Crusher (Red Claws) and Bananas (University of Maine) patrolled Fenway Park before the game.

There was a touching moment when Staff Sgt. Melissa Larson of Portland received a standing ovation while standing atop the Red Sox dugout, and a cute incident when special education teacher Janice Bigos of York cheated up about 40 feet when she threw out the first pitch.

The national anthem (by Sarah Khan from Sanford and Berwick Academy) and "God Bless America" (Jeremy Porter of Portland) were performed brilliantly.

All we needed to make Maine Day at Fenway Park complete Sunday afternoon were a couple of former Sea Dogs becoming the stars of the day.

Well, Adrian Gonzalez (Sea Dogs Class of 2002) recorded three singles, two for RBI.

But it was a trio of imports -- Tim Wakefield, Carl Crawford and Jarrod Saltalamacchia -- leading Boston to a 12-8 win over Seattle.

While Wakefield gave up 10 hits and seven runs in 6 1/3 innings, the two standing ovations he received Sunday were more for his career milestones -- namely 2,000 strikeouts and 199 wins.

"When you've done as much as he's done, it seems like every time I look up, there's something to give him an ovation (for)," Red Sox Manager Terry Francona said.

Who would have thought it? Wakefield, who turns 45 next week, is now 6-3, having moved into the rotation full time after had Tommy John surgery.

Pass on your congratulations to Wakefield.

But let's not get too sentimental.

Wakefield has a 5.15 ERA and has allowed 27 runs (23 earned) in his last five starts. He is pitching in -- pun intended -- during the season, but he is not a likely candidate for the postseason roster, given the better starters in front of him and his limited bullpen abilities.

As for Saltalamacchia and Crawford, both began the season with struggles, with the spotlight especially bright on Crawford because of his seven-year, $142 million salary.

He batted .155 in April before he started to turn it around. Then came a left hamstring strain and one-month stay on the disabled list.

Since coming back last Monday, Crawford is 9 for 23 (.391).

"I actually think he's a little bit better (since coming off the DL)," Francona said. "He got a couple of hits that first game (July 18), and I think that relaxed him at the plate.

"When he was down, he worked so hard. I think he's in a good place."

Saltalamacchia, acquired in a trade with Texas last year, was a question mark when he began the season. Could he stay healthy? Would his defense hold up? And, with a .248 career batting average, could he hit well enough to not drag down this potent Boston lineup?

"Salty" has been strong, having caught 62 games, and has been solid enough behind the plate (throwing out 18 runners so far).

Offensively, after a slow start, .203 through May 13, he's hitting .259, .296 in his last 28 games.

"Been working every day on it, and I'm starting to feel good at the plate," Saltalamacchia said.

With Crawford and Saltalamacchia contributing, Boston recorded 17 hits to back up Wakefield, so he could celebrate with a victory. Wakefield has been with Boston since 1995 and has been part of some special teams. As for 2011?

"This is the best lineup I've ever played with," Wakefield said.

Boston (62-37) has won four straight, 17 of its last 20 games, and sits three games ahead of the Yankees.

MAINE DAY NOTES: Sgt. Larson was applauded during the game as part of the Red Sox "Hats off to Heroes" military recognition program. ... Bigos threw out the first pitch after winning the "Maine State Your Case" essay contest. Two runners-up were also recognized: Jennifer Paul of Pittston and Dudley Gann of Cape Elizabeth. ... The Massabesic High ROTC provided the color guard for the national anthem. ... The honorary batboy and batgirl were Curtis Forcier (Biddeford) and Emily Long (Rockport).

* RedSox.com

Red Sox sweep on strength of big frames

Jason Mastrodonato

The Mariners came to Boston this weekend hoping three pitchers with ERAs under 4.00 could find a way to stop a losing streak that has since broken the franchise record.

But against the best offense in baseball, it didn't seem to matter who Seattle had on the mound.

The Red Sox picked apart American League Rookie of the Year candidate Michael Pineda and the Mariners' bullpen on Sunday, cruising to a 12-8 win at Fenway Park, and capping off a three-game sweep in which they scored 23 runs.

"You know they're good pitchers, but we tried to find what weaknesses they have and tried to exploit it," said Carl Crawford, who was 3-for-4 with a walk.

"They're swinging it," Seattle catcher Miguel Olivo said of the Red Sox. "They're a good team. They're competing with the Yankees for first place. I know [Pineda's] one of the best pitchers, but right now that team is hot and we're struggling."

The Mariners thought Pineda might have been tipping his pitches and the Red Sox immediately caught on.

"Obviously something was going on with Pineda," said shortstop Brendan Ryan, who was 2-for-4 with five RBIs. "You're not teeing off on a guy like that just coincidentally. They saw something. Hopefully we can figure that out, because he's too good to be hit like that."

Tim Wakefield pitched 6 1/3 innings for the Red Sox, allowing seven earned runs, including two homers, while walking one and striking out four.

The 44-year-old had his knuckleball working in all but two innings, allowing a two-run home run to Olivo as the Mariners scored first for the third straight game.

But the Red Sox one-upped their effort in the bottom of the inning, when Kevin Youkilis sent a home run over the Green Monster to put Boston on top, 3-2. Youkilis is hitting .377 at Fenway Park this season, compared to just .193 on the road.

After throwing 32 pitches in the first inning, Pineda allowed just one baserunner until the fifth. Adrian Gonzalez started the one-out offense with one of his three singles on the day, advancing to second after a walk by Youkilis --- which promptly ended Pineda's day at 85 pitches (tied for a career low).

"We were fortunate -- Pineda has a reputation as you get in the game, he starts getting stronger," said Boston manager Terry Francona. "And we got to him before he got in a rhythm and got comfortable. And then we got to him again later. Because sometimes, you get a guy like that, you look up in the sixth inning and he's throwing 97 [mph], and you missed your opportunity."

With the infield shifted toward right field for David Ortiz, the designated hitter smacked a slow dribbler toward third base off reliever Aaron Laffey. Laffey fielded the ball cleanly and turned to get the lead runner at third, but no one was there to cover as the Red Sox loaded the bases.

Crawford, who is 9-for-24 since returning from the 15-day disabled list, roped a double to left field, his third hit of the day, to score two more, while back-to-back hits by Josh Reddick and Jarrod Saltalamacchia put the Red Sox up, 10-3.

"He's getting into hitting position so much easier," Francona said of Crawford, who admitted to finally being settled into the No. 6 spot in the order. "There's balance and he's seeing the ball and swinging at strikes. He's using the whole field. He looks like Crawford."

Wakefield collected his 2,000th strikeout with the Red Sox during the fifth inning, joining just Roger Clemens in Boston's elite club. The moment paved way to a brief stoppage and one of three ovations given by the Fenway crowd. The veteran pitcher had no idea what was going on until Saltalamacchia came out to the mound to congratulate him.

But the milestone only caused a distraction to Wakefield, who ran into trouble in the seventh inning. He got a quick out from Adam Kennedy before loading the bases on three straight singles. With Alfredo Aceves up in the bullpen, manager Terry Francona opted to leave his starter in the game. Wakefield had been getting hit at a .406 clip while throwing pitches No. 76-90, and fittingly, Ryan drilled the first pitch he saw over the left-field wall for a grand slam, pulling the Mariners within four runs.

Aceves took over after the home run and finished the game.

"I'd like to have that seventh inning back, but it is what it is," Wakefield said. "I was very fortunate that we were able to score 12 runs today, which made it a lot easier. That last inning was just pitching to the scoreboard, trying to get through that inning as quickly as possible. I made one bad pitch."

Wakefield improved to 6-3, notching his 199th career win, despite having a 7.06 ERA over his last five starts.

"I've been fortunate this year to pitch as well as I have," he said. "The last couple [starts] haven't been that great, but they've been good enough. I'm fortunate to be on a great team, and I've been able to get some wins here and there."

Dustin Pedroia extended his career-high hit streak to 21 games with a double in the sixth inning.

The Red Sox improved their Major League-best record in July to 16-3, maintaining a three-game lead over the Yankees in the American League East. They've won nine in a row at home and scored 10-plus runs a Major League-best 14 times this season, already matching their total from last season. The Mariners, meanwhile, dropped their 15th in a row.

"You know when a team is struggling," said Crawford. "We knew they had lost a bunch of games coming in. We just wanted to keep them down while we could and not let them gain confidence while they were here."

Crawford lost 15 in a row while with Tampa Bay in 2002.

"It's nice to be part of this," he said. "You see it when everyone's hot, we're winning games, everyone's smiling and giving high-fives. It's real fun to be part of that. Days like this, the way guys are playing -- it's definitely what we signed up for."

Bard's heater rising with the temperature

Jason Mastrodonato

As the July temperatures continue to bring the heat to Boston, so too does Daniel Bard.

His strikeout of Jack Cust from Saturday night's 3-1 win over the Mariners continues to be shown on video screens, as his long swooping slider catches even Jason Varitek off guard before dropping in the back corner of the plate for a called strike three.

"Yesterday's slider was OK," said the level-headed Varitek. "Sometimes it's down a little more, sometimes it's a little more across."

Bard has said his slider continues to gain movement as the weather has gotten better, allowing him to form a better grip on the ball.

"You ever try to grip something in the cold and try to grip something with your fingertips?" Varitek said. "It's all grip and thumb speed."

Cust is just one of 23 strikeout victims over Bard's record-setting scoreless-outing stretch, which reached 23 games after he worked out of a none-out, bases-loaded jam on Saturday.

While Bard's off-speed pitches have been effective this season, and he's thrown the lowest percentage of fastballs in his three-year career, Varitek insists it's the heater -- averaging 97.3 mph -- that is Bard's bread and butter.

"That's still his best weapon," the captain said. "But he's more into pitch-mode rather than just throwing strikes. And his changeup has really developed. He continues, as time goes on, getting a feel for his breaking ball."

Francona displeased with missed call

Jason Mastrodonato

Red Sox manager Terry Francona had a chance to look at the replay of Marco Scutaro's two-out double in the seventh inning of Saturday's 3-1 win over the Mariners, and he wasn't happy with what he saw.

As his squad was trying to rally from a 1-0 deficit, Scutaro's double into right field might have scored Jason Varitek from first base had a fan not reached over the rail and yanked the ball out of play, forcing a ground- rule double and Varitek to stay on third base.

"I think there's a good point for it being [fan] interference," Francona said. "I told [first-base coach Ron Johnson] this: 'RJ, you've got to tell [the umpires].' I go to RJ on that. I can't see it. And I told RJ, and he told me, 'I would have told you, but I didn't think it was.' It happens quick."

Of course, the play turned out not to matter when Jacoby Ellsbury smacked a two-out, two-run base hit up the middle to give the Red Sox the lead for good, and Francona got his 1,000th victory.

Royals draw Lester in first start off disabled list

Cash Kruth

Boston's Jon Lester will make his anticipated return from the disabled list Monday at Fenway Park, facing a Royals team that has won four of its last five.

Lester, on the DL since July 8 with a strained left latissimus -- near his shoulder -- is expected to throw about 80 or 90 pitches, Boston manager Terry Francona said earlier this week. Francona said the Red Sox are happy Lester went pain-free through his recovery and want to keep him that way.

"Now it's about building up endurance where, if you go out and let a guy throw 120 his first time out, he's going to be sore. So you don't want to do that," Francona said. "You try to balance winning the game and bringing him along where he can get on a roll. When that bell rings, he's going to forget about 'I've been down for a couple weeks.' He's going to go out there and fire and try to win. And that's good, but we've got to keep an eye on him."

Lester has dominated the Royals throughout his career, going 4-1 with a 1.22 ERA in five starts.

Trying to cool off the hot Red Sox bats that have outscored opponents 131-83 in the club's last 20 games is right-hander Kyle Davies. Davies has lost his last eight starts, but struck out a season-high nine in his last outing against the White Sox.

Davies also will have to deal with Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who has a 21-game hitting streak, the longest in the American League this season. Pedroia is hitting .385, with eight doubles, seven home runs and 21 runs scored during the streak.

Royals: Walk-off warriors The Royals have a Major League-leading 11 walk-off wins this season, one ahead of San Francisco entering Sunday. Their latest came Friday, when rookie delivered the game-winning hit. Along with the walk-offs, Kansas City also is 9-6 in extra innings. Reliever Tim Collins said the Royals' attitude has led them to have success in those situations.

"We're just a team that doesn't give up, man," Collins said. "We've lost a lot of one-run ballgames that easily could have been a win in our column. We have a lot of fight, we have guys who have a lot of heart. We're here, we want to win."

• The Royals shouldn't have to worry about any injuries to their starters, as the club is expected to roll with a six-man rotation for the foreseeable future. Manager Ned Yost said he sees the positive and negative of a six-man staff.

"Especially with the off-days built in, they're pitching every seventh day, which I don't really like, but that's the way that it is," Yost said. "But yeah, you don't worry so much about pitch counts getting elevated past 110, 115 like you normally would on a five-man."

Red Sox: Crawford heating up Carl Crawford has recorded a hit in his last five games, including a 3-for-4 performance Sunday. Crawford entered the game only 6-for-20 since returning from his hamstring injury, but Francona said prior to the Sunday's game he was confident Crawford would get going.

"I actually think he's looking better," Francona said. "He got rewarded, got a couple hits in that first game. I thought that relaxed him at the plate."

• Right-hander is scheduled to throw a side session before Monday's game. Buchholz hasn't pitched since June 16 because of back pain.

Worth noting • Despite Sunday's loss, the Royals recently completed their first winning homestand since April 29-May 8.

• On Monday, Boston tries to tie its longest home winning streak since a 10-gamer from August 28-Sept. 16, 2009.

• Royals outfielder is a .389 (7-for-18) career hitter against Lester.

Boston's Drew appears to be headed to DL

Jason Mastrodonato

After losing his starting job in right field, more bad news appears to be on the way for J.D. Drew.

According to CSNNE's Sean McAdam, the Red Sox will place Drew on the 15-day disabled list on Monday with an impingement in his left shoulder. Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe first reported the DL as a possibility for Drew, who his hitting .219 in 233 at-bats this season and has lost playing time to the hot-hitting Josh Reddick.

The only available outfielder on Boston's 40-man roster is , who has been out of action since April with a shoulder injury. Darnell McDonald is currently the squad's fourth outfielder, and while he's had success against left-handed pitchers, he hasn't fared well against righties.

Yamaico Navarro, the club's backup infielder, has also played some outfield, and the Red Sox could recall Drew Sutton, who was recently sent down to Triple-A Pawtuckett.

Cafardo also reported the Red Sox could be in the hunt for another outfielder via trade.

Crawford's big day latest proof he's comfortable

Jason Mastrodonato

With the hot-swinging Jacoby Ellsbury looking like the most productive of the Red Sox this season, Carl Crawford's return from a hamstring injury that landed him on the 15-day disabled list has gone under the radar.

But the speedy Crawford was 3-for-4 with a walk in Sunday's 12-8 win over the Mariners, improving his average to .375 since returning from the DL.

"I actually think he's looking better [than before the DL trip]," said manager Terry Francona. "He did so much hitting and he's come back and gotten himself comfortable real quick. That's really helpful to us. So many times you play a guy and you have to let him ease his way in and get his at-bats. He's been helping us right from the first game back."

After hitting .155 in April, Crawford has hit .305, with 29 RBIs and 31 runs.

"He was struggling [in April]," Francona said. "Everything was so late and quick. Now he's getting into hitting position so much easier. There's balance and he's seeing the ball and swinging at strikes. He's using the whole field. He looks like Crawford."

"He's a career .300 hitter," said catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. "He's not going to all of a sudden start hitting .220. So the fact that he's healthy, that his hamstring is good, is the main thing right now."

Crawford said he's gotten his timing down on taking outside pitches to the opposite field, which is especially helpful in a park like Fenway, with the Green Monster so close in left field.

"You know, if you hit it right here, it's an automatic base hit," he said. "It does ease your mind a little bit knowing you can go to left and something good can happen. ... You want to have your opposite-field stroke down pat, because you might get, if that, one or two pitches to hit inside."

After missing an entire month, Crawford said his hamstring feels great and his swing is just starting to get into a groove. But becoming a threat to steal whenever he's on base has been an added bonus, having swiped two bags since his return after going just 8-for-12 in stolen base attempts before the DL trip.

"On the bases, he's been really aggressive," Francona said. "He's taken off on the first pitch maybe three times, which he wasn't necessarily doing before. Obviously he feels pretty good physically. I think he's in a good place."

* ESPNBoston.com

Is Dustin Pedroia on road to Hall?

Joe McDonald

The baseball barely kissed the scoreboard at the base of the left-field wall, but it was good enough for a double to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning, letting Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia extend his hitting streak to 21 consecutive games.

It's the longest streak in the American League this season and he's batting .385 (35-for-91) with eight doubles, seven home runs, 16 RBIs and 19 runs during the stretch.

It's no coincidence Pedroia began this torrid pace on June 29, only days after learning that he was not named to the AL All-Star roster, snapping a string of three consecutive All-Star selections.

Dustin Pedroia, who has excelled in the field and at the plate, is off to a start comparable to new Hall of Fame second baseman Roberto Alomar.Pedroia is not one to focus on individual accomplishments. He would rather produce to help the team win another World Series in 2011. He won't talk about his hitting streak, only saying he wants to put together good at-bats in order to get on base for Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz.

Pedroia, 27, is in only his fifth full season in the big leagues, but he can be considered one of the best second basemen in Red Sox history.

He helped Boston to a World Series title in 2007, while earning the AL Rookie of the Year honors. In 2008, he was named the AL Most Valuable Player, and also won a Gold Glove and .

So, on a day when former big league second baseman Roberto Alomar was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, it makes for an interesting discussion to consider how Pedroia might measure up to Alomar.

Alomar, who broke into the majors at age 20 with the , consistently produced in almost every aspect of the game for 17 seasons. He was a 12-time All-Star, a 10-time Gold Glove fielder, a four- time Silver Slugger winner and played 2,320 games at second base for the Padres, Toronto Blue Jays, , Indians, Baltimore Orioles, and .

Current Blue Jays infielder John McDonald was a teammate of Alomar's in Cleveland. McDonald has also played against Pedroia in the AL East for the past six seasons. McDonald's not about to compare the players, but admits he can see why people would consider Pedroia a possible future Hall of Famer.

"It's tough for anyone to start talking about the Hall of Fame until a player has 10 years in," McDonald said. "The benchmark is longevity and part of it is dominating an era. Unfortunately, I know Dustin has been hurt and banged up last year and the year before.

"When you look at his numbers when he's healthy and what he means to the team, and how well he plays that position, there's potential for that. That's why the Hall of Fame is such an exclusive club, because those guys did it over a long period of time."

Pedroia made his big league debut at 22 and played only 31 games in 2006 after being promoted from Triple-A Pawtucket.

Obviously, Pedroia has a long way to go before he can even be mentioned in the same breath as the Hall of Fame, but he's shown the ability and desire to make that a reality as long as he can remain healthy for another 10 years.

There are only 20 second basemen with a plaque in Cooperstown, N.Y., including the Red Sox's . Pedroia could join the club.

Considering Pedroia was limited to 75 games in 2010 because of a broken foot and has played only 96 games in 2011, let's compare his time in the majors to Alomar's first five full seasons.

Pedroia has played a total of 621 regular-season games, and during that time has produced a .303 average. He's scored 438 runs, collected 765 hits with 189 doubles, 65 home runs, 296 RBIs, 76 stolen bases, 274 walks and has struck out 228 times.

Alomar vs. Pedroia, first 5 seasons Stat Alomar Pedroia Games 761 621 Avg. .291 .303 Runs 439 438 Hits 862 765 Doubles 146 189 Homers 39 65 RBIs 302 296 SBs 192 76 Walks 292 274 Strikeouts 369 228 >> Pedroia sampling is through first 5-plus seasons Alomar's first five seasons were also impressive.

He played a total of 761 games and posted a .291 average. He scored 439 runs, collected 862 hits, 146 doubles, 39 home runs, 302 RBIs, 192 stolen bases, 292 walks and struck out 369 times.

"When you think of a Hall of Fame player, and you look at what Robbie did over his career, he was a tremendous fielder, a tremendous hitter and he stole bases," McDonald said. "There are a lot of numbers that jump off the page and he did it for a long period of time."

During that same time frame defensively, Pedroia has committed 25 errors in 640 games at second base, while Alomar made 81 errors in 747 games.

"I don't want to say that it's fair or unfair to Dustin, but he's had some tremendous years already," McDonald said. "He's had Hall of Fame seasons, but to draw those comparisons to somebody over a short period of time is unfair to both guys."

It's safe to say Pedroia compares to Alomar's earlier years.

"[Pedroia] does so many things on the field and can hurt you in so many different ways," McDonald said. "It's fun to watch. There are so many comparisons you can draw and if Dustin can continue to do this over the next five to 10 years, you're going to start seeing comparable numbers."

Anytime a young player is on a hot streak, as Jacoby Ellsbury was in 2007 and Josh Reddick is now, Red Sox manager Terry Francona will be the first to say, "Let's not put the kid in the Hall of Fame just yet."

Prior to Sunday's game at Fenway Park, a 12-7 victory by the Red Sox over the Seattle Mariners, Francona talked briefly about his relationship with Alomar, saying the two played winter ball together when Alomar was breaking into the majors.

"I got to know him pretty well, actually," Francona said. "He was young and it was obvious he could do anything he wanted, whether it was defensively, on the bases, or at bat. You could see it coming."

Even though Francona would never admit it publicly, it's probably a safe bet he feels the same way about Pedroia as he did about Alomar.

Maybe we are witnessing a future Hall of Famer in Pedroia.

* WEEI.com

A deadline catch: One year after deal, Saltalamacchia flourishes

Alex Speier

The trade deadline: Even for contenders, it‘s not just about 2011.

July 31 represents the end-point for teams to make trades that do not require waivers. The final days building up to the end of the month invariably feature a flurry of rumors and activity as teams look to improve their positions.

For the most part, contenders will look to address deficiencies that have the potential to trip them up either before or in October. In most instances, teams in the pennant hunt will give up pieces of their future in order to bolster themselves for the present.

But that is not the sole fashion in which contenders — including the Red Sox — view the deadline. Indeed, there was a reminder for the Sox in Sunday‘s 12-7 victory over the Mariners (recap) about the value of using this window to eye future improvement.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia delivered one of his finest games as a member of the Red Sox, going 3-for-4 while driving in four. The output matched his season high in hits and represented a new season-best in RBIs.

He is emerging as a trusted leader of the pitching staff while delivering above-average production at a position where offense is at a premium. He has bumped his average up to .259 with a .326 OBP, .454 slugging mark and .780 OPS. Of the 26 big leage with at least 200 plate appearances, the 26-year- old ranks sixth in slugging and OPS.

To put those numbers in context: Saltalamacchia, while splitting time with Jason Varitek, has posted better numbers than American League All-Stars Matt Wieters of the Orioles (.262/.322/.411/.733) and Russell Martin of the Yankees (.227/.330/.375/.705).

And he is in this position because the Sox made a deal to secure his services and address a future need in the minutes prior to last year‘s trade deadline. A combination of foresight and fortune led the Sox to make a move in the middle of the 2010 season that solidified a potential area of need for 2011.

READY FOR A CHANGE

A year ago, Saltalamacchia was languishing in Oklahoma City with the Rangers‘ Triple-A affiliate. He‘d kickstarted the Rangers‘ season with a walkoff single on Opening Day, but went on the DL days later with a sore back.

When he was healthy, Texas optioned him to the minors due to throwing problems he‘d developed the previous year while dealing with thoracic outlet syndrome, an issue that had required surgery after the 2009 campaign. Saltalamacchia had rushed back from that procedure, and it had proven costly.

―Six weeks out of surgery, I was playing winter ball. I wasn‘t even supposed to pick up a baseball,‖ said the catcher. ―I was frustrated because I wasn‘t feeling like I was 100 percent and didn‘t know why, until I talked to the doctors and was told that you shouldn‘t be touching a baseball let alone playing.‖

He played 63 games with Oklahoma City, and though he fixed his throwing issues, Saltamacchia posted unremarkable numbers. The switch-hitter hit .244 with a .326 OBP, .445 slugging mark and .771 OPS – along with 11 homers and 33 RBI – in 63 games.

Formerly a heralded prospect who served as the major league-ready component of a trade that sent Mark Teixeira from Texas to the Braves in 2007, the former first-round pick sensed that he wasn‘t going to get the chance to advance his career as an everyday catcher with the Rangers. He was hoping for a change of scenery.

―I was sitting in Triple-A, doing nothing, basically. So I wanted to get traded, start somewhere new, get somewhere fresh and get back to the big leagues,‖ said Saltalamacchia. ―I felt like I deserved the opportunity. I felt like I should have had the opportunity.

―But it wasn‘t being presented to me,‖ he added. ―I was kind of frustrated with that. so I think it was just time for us both to go our own ways. If they felt that I didn‘t deserve that opportunity at the big league level, someone else obviously did.‖

That someone was the Red Sox. The Sox had spent years discussing the possibility of a trade for the catcher. When he was with the Braves, the team was told that it would take Jon Lester to acquire him. That wasn‘t going to happen. With the Rangers, the Sox were told that the cost of acquisition was Clay Buchholz. Again, no.

But by last summer, a couple factors had altered the dynamics of trade talks. First, his career in the Rangers organization had stalled, something that both Saltalamacchia and Texas officials acknowledged. He was stagnating with the Rangers; he had become a player who needed a new organization in order for his career to move forward.

Secondly, the Rangers needed money. Ordinarily, Saltalamacchia might have been a better candidate for an offseason deal, when more teams would have the available resources and roster flexibility to make a run at him. But a unique set of circumstances prompted the Rangers to make him available at the deadline in a year that saw them make the World Series for the first time in franchise history.

By the middle of the summer, the team had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection while a sale of the team was being finalized. The Rangers had taken on payroll over the course of the summer through a series of trades (adding Cliff Lee, Benjie Molina and Jorge Cantu); with the trade deadline looming, there was a significant incentive to unload some salary.

Saltalamacchia wasn‘t earning much, but in the context of the club‘s needs to balance its books, shedding any payroll was important. Moreover, dealing the catcher gave the Rangers an opportunity to get cash back.

The Sox remained engaged with the Rangers about the catcher, knowing that Victor Martinez was prepared to hit free agency following the 2010 season. At a time when the Sox were scouring the trade market to address some of the shortcomings of its 2010 squad – most notably, in the bullpen – the team recognized an opportunity to address a need for the 2011 campaign in the middle of last year.

Saltalamacchia was aware that a deal to the Sox might happen. Indeed, he was hoping for such an outcome. But as the trade deadline approached, the catcher had started to become skeptical that he would be dealt.

―I was surprised at the time because I was told that nothing could be done, that it was too late and that no deal could be worked out,‖ said Saltalamacchia.

Right at the deadline, the two teams settled on the names and terms of a deal. Saltalamacchia would finally go to the Red Sox; in exchange, the Sox sent fireballing right-hander Roman Mendez, first baseman Chris McGuinness, a player to be named (catcher Michael Thomas, whom Texas converted to the mound) and $350,000.

GETTING TO KNOW THE NEW GUY

The timing of the deal proved ideal from the perspective of both the player and his new team. Saltalamacchia would become acquainted with his new team and pitching staff, thus giving him a significant head start on the following year. He would also get a chance to start working with Sox catching guru to refine his work behind the plate.

The organization, meanwhile, would have an opportunity to get to know the catcher while evaluating the question of whether he was indeed capable of handling its catching duties in 2011.

Saltalamacchia was initially assigned to Triple-A Pawtucket and then called up in mid-August. He received only limited playing time with the Sox, as he landed on the DL for a staph infection days after his call-up and then saw his season come to an abrupt halt with a torn ligament in his thumb in mid-September.

Still, he‘d impressed the Sox both with a tremendous work ethic and willingness to learn from Tuck, as well as with his work with the pitching staff. The time was valuable in laying the groundwork for Saltalamacchia – after an offseason spent working with Tuck on his catching technique – to assume an expanded role as a leader of the pitching staff in 2011.

―The main thing was just to get me around the guys, get used to the pitching staff, get used to the coaches,‖ said Saltalamacchia. ―That was beneficial for me, because going into spring training, I knew guys. I knew how the program went. I was able to get ready for the season.‖

FROM APRIL ADVERSITY TO KEY CONTRIBUTOR

Of course, the path wasn‘t without its challenges. In the first month of the season, the Saltalamacchia experiment seemed in jeopardy of going terribly awry.

He got off to a horrific start both as a hitter (batting .138 with a .391 OPS through 12 games) and behind the plate, where runners took off on him at will. He was a lightning rod as the team got off to a stunning 2- 10 start, and after entering the year with the expectation of assuming primary catching duties, he drifted into a timeshare with Jason Varitek.

But Saltalamacchia did not shrink from the challenge. Instead, he worked through his problems both at the plate and behind it. The result was that he gained the trust of his pitching staff while emerging as a solid contributor at the plate.

In 52 games since April 17, he is hitting .278 with a .344 OBP, .500 slugging mark, .844 OPS, eight homers and 29 RBI. And, more significantly, the team has been winning with him behind the plate, with a 32-17 record (.653) in games he‘s started since his early-season low-point.

―To be where I‘m at right now, thinking back to the beginning of the season, I was batting .091 or .100 or whatever. To jump from that is great,‖ said Saltalamacchia. ―But more importantly, that 0-6 start, to bounce back to where we‘re at, be three games up, that‘s the goal. Obviously personal accomplishments are great because they help the team out. But if I was hitting .200 right now, as long as I was doing the job behind the plate, that‘s all that really matters.‖

There is satisfaction for the catcher in what he has accomplished, and ambition for what is to come, both on a personal and team level.

―I feel like I‘ve done a good job this year. I don‘t think I‘ve touched what I can do,‖ said Saltalamacchia. ―I feel like I can do a better job at the plate. Catching-wise, I‘m happy with what I‘ve done so far. But I look to get better. There‘s a lot about the game I can get better at. We‘re working everyday. It‘s a good first year so far, but our goal is to win the World Series. It would be nice to have that for the first year.‖

That Saltalamacchia is in position to harbor such visions is a result of the fact that the trade deadline is not simply a time for a team to worry about the present, but also to build for the future. The Sox acquired Saltalamacchia at a time when his value was near its low point in the middle of the 2010 season; as a result, the team had a potentially key area of need addressed for the 2011 campaign and beyond.

* CSNNE.com

July 24, 2011: Red Sox 12, Mariners 8

Sean McAdam

It doesn't take much to beat the Seattle Mariners these days, but just in case, the Red Sox pounded out 17 hits and gained a 12-8 win over the slumping Mariners, who lost for the 15th straight time.

A grand slam by Mariners shortstop Brendan Ryan in the seventh made the final score seem respectable -- and chased starter Tim Wakefield. But the game had long since been decided.

Wakefield gave up seven runs in 6 1/3 innings but not before recording his 199th career win and notching his 2,000th strikeout as a member of the Red Sox. He received a long standing ovation after fanning Mike Carp for the final out in the sixth.

The Mariners grabbed a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first, but the Red Sox quickly answered with five runs in the bottom of the inning and pulled away with five more in the their half of the fifth.

Every Red Sox starter except Marco Scutaro collected at least one hit, with Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford and Jarrod Saltalamacchia each getting three hits. Saltalamacchia had four RBI.

Jacoby Ellsbury, Josh Reddick and David Ortiz had two hits each.

Alfredo Aceves pitched the final 2 2/3 innings, giving up one run.

While the Mariners' free-fall continued, the Red Sox won for the 17th time in their last 20 games.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia

Saltalamacchia collected three hits -- one of three Red Sox players to do so -- and added four RBI.

He provided a two-run single in the five-run first for Boston, then added a two-run single in the fifth when the Red Sox added another five-run frame. The four RBI represented a season high for the catcher, who is hitting .438 over his last seven games.

Carl Crawford

Crawford lifted his average to a season-high .254 with a two-hit game while knocking in two runs.

Crawford came off the DL Monday in Baltimore and is 9-for-24 since returning to the lineup.

Michael Pineda

The Mariners said after the game that their rookie pitcher may have been tipping pitchers; it certainly looked like the Red Sox knew what was coming, especially in the first when everything they hit off him was a rocket.

He lasted 4 1/3 innings and was charged with seven runs.

Crawford's two-run single

In the fifth inning, the Red Sox were leading 5-3 with one out and the bases loaded.

Crawford's two-run single to left scored two and two batters later, chased Pineda from the game.

15, 9, 17 of 20

While the Mariners have lost 15 straight, the Red Sox have nine in a row at home and 17 of the last 20 overall.

"This is the best lineup I've ever played for here. It's pretty solid one through nine.'' --Tim Wakefield.

Wakefield gets strikeout No. 2,000

Joe Haggarty

Tim Wakefield might be the first pitcher in Red Sox history to give up a grand slam at Fenway Park, but also get a standing ovation and cap-tipping moment as he trudged off the mound toward the dugout.

That‘s the power of Wakefield‘s endless contributions as the longest-tenured member of the Red Sox, and the milestones that the 44-year-old keeps tossing into his bag like stray golf balls found along the fairway. Wakefield improved to 6-3 on the season with 6 1/3 innings that saw him bailed out by a strong offensive performance against the lowly Mariners, and eventually survive a 12-8 slugfest at the Fens.

Wake gave up 10 hits and seven earned runs in one of his worst starts of the season, but months and years from now it will be remembered for only two things: the 2000th strikeout in a Red Sox uniform and the 199th victory of his 18 years in a Major League uniform.

"When you‘ve done as much as he‘s done it seems like every time he pitches there is something to give him an ovation about,‖ said Terry Francona. ―It‘s funny. In a situation like today it‘s funny because he‘s not coming out of the game yet, and I‘m not quite sure how to react to that. I‘m thrilled that people are reacting like that, but I‘m sitting there thinking I‘ll shake his hand when he comes out [of the game]."

Wakefield joined Roger Clemens as the only two Red Sox pitchers to amass 2,000 strikeouts while wearing the Red Stockings, and nailed the 2K plateau when he fanned Mike Carp on a foul tip to end the sixth inning. Wake wasn‘t sure at first what the crowd was cheering about as he stalked off to the home dugout, and only realized the record when Jarrod Saltalamacchia pointed him toward the Fenway jumbotron pronouncing his career achievement.

"It was very emotional for me," Wakefield said. "I had no idea. I saw Salty walking toward me and he said, ‗Congratulations.‘ It was a pretty cool ovation and a pretty cool day today. Any milestone you achieve ranks up there pretty high for me. Two-thousand [strikeouts] is a very high number and it says something about staying in one place for a long time like I have. Going through ups and downs and being able to persevere over the last 17 years.‖

The ovation and genuine emotional reaction from Wakefield might have distracted him a bit from his pitching duties in the seventh inning, but it was a Sunday afternoon that was meant to be positive for the knuckler and for the Red Sox. There should be another ovation high on the heels of Wakefield‘s Sunday party as his next win will be the 200th of his career, and something that he mentioned as important to him personally when he decided to keep pitching for the Sox.

―I‘m one step closer. I‘ve been fortunate this year to pitch as well as I have,‖ said Wakefield. ―The last couple [of starts] haven‘t been as great, but I‘m fortunate to be on a great team where we‘ve been able to get some wins. I‘ve pitched well when I got back into the rotation, and now it‘s a matter of straightening things out the next time I go out there.‖

It‘s all systems go for Jon Lester as he prepares to make his first start in almost a month on Monday night against the Kansas City Royals. The ace lefty hasn‘t toed the rubber since straining his left lat after four no- hit innings on July 5, and the Sox will be mindful that there is some rust to be kicked off.

He‘s pain-free at this point, and Sox manager Terry Francona said the key is to set some guidelines for Lester in his return. The Sox skipper and pitching coach Curt Young will be watching Lester‘s against the Royals offense, and it‘s a pretty sure bet Lester won‘t be getting near 100 pitches in his first time back.

Lester is 10-4 with a 3.31 ERA and a .231 batting average against this season, and his return to the rotation adds to the Red Sox euphoria that comes with their biggest lead over the Yankees in the AL East of the 2011 baseball season (three games).

―The biggest thing, we will be watching his workload. He‘s come through this about as well as you could have hoped,‖ said Francona. ―He was completely pain-free when he started throwing and that‘s what we wanted. Now it‘s about building up endurance. If you let him go throw 120 pitches in his first time out then he‘s going to be sore, and we don‘t want that. So it‘s a balance between winning the game and bringing [Lester] along so he can get on a roll.

―When that bell rings he‘s going to forget about being down for a couple of weeks. He‘s going to go out firing and trying to win the game. So we‘ve got to keep an eye on him out there.‖

Lester‘s return to the rotation will likely mean that rookie starter Kyle Weiland has his bus ticket punched for a trip back to Triple-A Pawtucket.

Dustin Pedroia extended his career-long hitting streak to 21 games dating back to June 29, and now owns the longest hitting streak in the American League this year. Pedroia is hitting .385 (35-for-91) with 21 runs, seven home runs and 16 RBI during the hot stretch, and has reached base in a career-high 33 straight games for the Sox. Pedroia extended the hitting streak with a double smacked to left-center field to start off the sixth inning for Boston.

Chone Figgins was a last minute scratch for the Seattle Mariners prior to Sunday‘s series finale, and multiple reports from the M‘s media crew had the struggling utility guy missing the game for ―personal reasons".

The Red Sox scored 10-plus runs for the 14th time this season extending their Major League lead for such games and already matching their total from last season. Boston has not lost when scoring 10 runs or more this season.

―I think it‘s the best lineup I‘ve ever played with here [in Boston],‖ said Wakefield. ―When you look at the quality one-through-nine [in the lineup] from Ellsbury all the way to Scutaro. Everybody has pitched in and done their part considering the start we got off to in April. Everybody has responded and shown what we‘re capable of doing.‖

Carl Crawford had some sympathy for the Seattle Mariners as they depart Boston having been swept in three straight games at Fenway Park, and amidst a 15-game losing streak that has become epic in its futility. The Sox outfielder remembers the days of the Devil Rays in Tampa when his ballclub would customarily lose 100 games a season, and struggle to maintain morale as the defeats piled up on each other.

―Those Devil Rays days when we lost 100 games . . . I‘m not sure if it was 15, but I‘m pretty sure we lost something close to that,‖ said Crawford. ―I can feel it and understand what [Seattle] is going through a little bit. It‘s terrible. When you have a stretch like that it‘s tough to get up and go to the field every day. Pretty much everything is bad.‖

Terry Francona has a long history in the game of baseball, and his connection with all three Major League Baseball figures going into the National Baseball Hall of Fame this weekend -- Pat Gillick, Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven -- was strong.

Former Mariners and Blue Jays general manager Gillick interviewed Francona for a vacant managing job with Seattle – a conversation that figured directly into the timeline for the Sox skipper‘s health issues prior to getting the managing job with the Sox.

―I told him he asked me too many tough questions and he almost put me under,‖ Francona smirked.

Francona played winter ball with Alomar and came away impressed with the fluid, natural athletic skills of the best second basemen of his era.

The Sox skipper said watching a young Blyleven pitch was a coming of age baseball story for the manager and his big league father.

―I saw Bert pitch in 1970 when I went on a road trip with my dad, and I was about 11 years old and he threw a two-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers,‖ said Francona. ―That‘s when I think my dad knew I was paying attention. Because I came into the clubhouse and said ‗Dad, you had no chance of hitting that curveball tonight,‘ so he knew that I was watching.

―I faced him a few times when I was a little bit older and got a few hits against him. He was still pretty good, but I think he was about 40 years old at that point.‖

Francona was still glowing after collecting the 1000th win of his Major League managerial career on Saturday night. (He had also sufficiently dried off from the beer shower given to him by David Ortiz following the victory.)

The Sox skipper remained humble about the accomplished – citing the huge number of victories that Tony LaRussa has amassed (2,691) in his big league career – and mentioned the calls and text messages he received from those near and dear to him.

―The prevailing thought is that people are surprised that I‘m still here. I heard that more than anything. I got some nice messages from some people that mean a lot to me,‖ said Francona. ―That probably meant more to me than anything else. I was honored and I was proud, but I‘m a lot more comfortable talking about our guys and our team. That‘s the way it should be. But it did make me feel good.‖

There weren‘t a lot of great explanations from the Sox skipper for a clearly dominant seventh inning performance from his baseball team that‘s lasted all season long. The Sox have outscored their opposition by a 93-33 margin in the seventh innings of games, the most dominant inning for the Olde Towne Team this year.

"I saw the stat and there can‘t be just one answer. I think there is more than one answer. Maybe when we get rallies going we prolong them pretty well and we turn them into crooked numbers,‖ said Francona. ―Maybe we get to a point in the game where we‘re changing pitchers and we have a lead, so they don‘t bring in their top tier guys. I don‘t know.

―Maybe it‘s just a coincidence. Getting through a good lineup that third time is hard. Our guys do a good job of seeing pitches, so something that got you out in the first at bat might not get you out in the third at bat.‖

Drew (shoulder) headed to the disabled list

Sean McAdam

Outfielder J.D. Drew will be placed on the disabled list Monday with an impingement in his left shoulder, according to a baseball source.

Drew hasn't been in the lineup since the Red Sox returned home from their six-game road trip to Tampa Bay and Baltimore.

It's unknown how long he'll be out of the lineup.

In the last week or so, Drew has lost playing time as the Sox continue to find playing time for Josh Reddick, who is hitting .358.

The Red Sox will use Drew's DL placement as a way to get Jon Lester back onto the active roster. Lester has been sidelined for the last three weeks with a lat pull, but is scheduled to return to the rotation Monday night in the first game of a four-game series wit5h Kansas City.

The move will leave with the Red Sox with just four outfielders -- Reddick, Carl Crawford, Jacoby Ellsbury and Darnell McDonald -- though Yamaico Navarro, an infielder, is capable of playing the outfield.

Drew going on the DL also means that pitcher Kyle Weiland, who made two spot starts in Lester's place, will remain with the Red Sox, at least for the time being.

The prevailing though was that Weiland would return to Pawtucket when Lester returned, but he was up in the seventh inning in the bullpen Sunday.

Weiland was a closer at Notre Dame and is no stranger to pitching in relief, though he has started exclusively since turning pro.

"It's about what I remember (in terms of) getting ready in college -- the mentality and all that," said Weiland said of pitching in relief. "Besides that, it's obviously a different level and I have some things to learn. I'll keep talking to guys around here and figure out what it takes and make the adjustments at that time."

Weiland was unsure how long he was going to stay when he was promoted to Pawtucket.

"Whatever the role I get put in," he said, "I'm excited and I think I can do it pretty well. Once I'm out there, I think it's going to be the same game it's always been. Pitching is pitching and it's just a matter of just getting into that comfort zone."

Crawford finally coming around

Joe Haggarty

The biggest word thrown around Carl Crawford during his fitful first few weeks with the Red Sox was ―comfortable".

As in Crawford might not be ―comfortable‖ in the No. 3 hole in the Sox lineup, and the left fielder might not be ―comfortable‖ with the bright lights and big city vibe of Fenway Park after flourishing in Major League Baseball‘s version of a hideout in Tampa Bay.

Certainly there were questions about whether Crawford would ever be ―comfortable‖ attempting to justify a $140 million contract inked with the Sox, and going about the virtually impossible task of proving he‘s a $20 million a year player to an entire city full of baseball-crazed people.

Well it appears the word might be getting put to bed now that the 29-year-old Crawford is really getting ―comfortable‖ in Red Stockings after a rocky first few steps to his Sox career. Crawford has been white-hot since jumping back into the Boston lineup and looks like he‘s only going to throttle up the speed.

Since coming off the 15-day disabled list with a hamstring injury on July 18, Crawford is hitting .375 (9- for-24) with four runs scored, four RBI, two walks and a pair of stolen bases in six games during the month of July.

Not bad for a guy that was down for nearly a month with an injury.

―You‘ve got to give him credit because he worked so hard,‖ said Sox manager Terry Francona. ―We weren‘t really worried about his legs. He did so much hitting and he‘s got himself comfortable really quick. That‘s been so helpful for us.

―[In April] he was struggling. Everything was so late and so quick. Now he‘s getting into the hitting position so much easier and there‘s balance. He‘s seeing the ball and swinging at strikes to all fields. He‘s looking like Crawford.‖

Crawford was instrumental in Sunday afternoon‘s 12-8 bashing of the Seattle Mariners while going 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and a big two-run double that helped break things open for the Sox. It was probably the exact kind of game the former Tampa Bay All-Star envisioned in his head when leaving the small market Rays for the big time in Boston.

―Guys are smiling and excited because we‘re scoring runs and winning ballgames,‖ said Crawford. ―Days like this are exactly what I signed up for.‖

Best of all the lefty-swinging Crawford was going opposite field with power and production – a recipe for hitting success that every left-hander must follow during their at bats at Fenway Park.

―[The outside corner] is where the pitchers are at most of the time,‖ said Crawford. ―It‘s rare for them to go to the inside. You want to have your opposite field stroke down because you might only get one or two pitches to hit. If you hit it right here [at Fenway] then it‘s going to be an automatic base hit, so it does ease your mind that you can go left and something good is going to happen.‖

While Crawford looked like he was climbing out of the doldrums right before he popped his hamstring on June 17, the athletic outfielder looks exactly like the guy the Sox envisioned when they signed him to a seven-year, $142 million deal during the Winter Meetings. It‘s a credit to the player that he hit the ground running with Boston after undergoing a rehab stint in Pawtucket, and it makes the Sox offense look that much more lethal when Crawford is lurking in the No. 6 hole behind the rest of the Yawkey Way Murderer‘s Row.

―Health-wise I feel great, my swing feels better and I‘m starting to get into a little bit of a groove,‖ said Crawford. ―Hopefully I‘ll just keep getting better every time I go out there for every game.

―I‘m just trying to get ready and hit the ball. Just trying not to over-swing and hit the ball where it was pitched. I just focused and adjust to the six-hole a little bit. I had some to adjust a little and watch, and see what was going on with guys hitting sixth. You‘ve got to be a little patient at the plate.‖

On the season the 6-foot-2, 215-pounder is up to a .254 batting average with six homers and 35 RBI after finishing April with a pathetic .155 batting average – a sign that all those possibly waiting for the Boston/Crawford marriage to flop are going to have wait for an awfully long time.

* NESN.com

Tim Wakefield enjoys emotional day at Fenway as he becomes second pitcher in Red Sox history to record 2,000 strikeouts

Tony Lee

Tim Wakefield's final line wasn't anything to write home about. But when those who were on hand think back to Sunday at Fenway Park, it will be remembered fondly.

On a sparkling afternoon, the senior member of the Red Sox picked up a major milestone, got to tip his cap not once but twice and moved to the precipice of becoming the 111th member of the 200-win club.

After throwing 6 1/3 innings in a 12-8 victory over the Seattle Mariners, Wakefield's career win total moved to 199. The celebration for the 200th will come in time. On Sunday, however, he was given plenty of love for becoming the second pitcher to reach 2,000 strikeouts in a Red Sox uniform, doing so on a trademark knuckleball to end the sixth.

Roger Clemens is the only other hurler to achieve the feat, finishing his career in Boston with 2,590 strikeouts.

A message acknowledging Wakefield's achievement was posted on the video board, which helped clue in the unsuspecting right-hander. What followed was a bear hug from David Ortiz atop the dugout steps, high- fives from his teammates and a lengthy ovation that prompted the 44-year-old to make a curtain call.

"Pretty special, very emotional for me," Wakefield said. "I had no idea that it had happened. [Jarrod Saltalamacchia] was walking towards me. I'm like, 'What's going on?' He said, 'Congratulations, 2000 strikeouts.' Pretty cool ovation and a pretty cool day for me."

Just as manager Terry Francona did when he achieved his 1,000th career win Saturday, Wakefield expressed gratitude for the position he's in.

"Any milestone you achieve is ranked up there pretty high with me," he said. "Two thousand is a high number and says a lot about being in a place for a long time like I have. Going through ups and downs in my career and being able to persevere for the last 17 years."

Wakefield is in line to get his chance to go for his 200th victory at Chicago on Friday. If he misses out there, he'll likely have a shot during the ensuing seven-game homestand. Cleveland would be the likely opponent.

For the most part, Wakefield has somewhat shied away from talk of that milestone. But it's hard for him to ignore how close he really is after picking up his sixth win of the 2011 season.

"One step closer," he said. "I've been fortunate this year to pitch as well as I have. The last couple haven't been that great, but they've been good enough. I've been fortunate to be on a great team and to get some wins here and there."

Terry Francona reflects on encounters with 2011 baseball Hall of Fame inductees

Tony Lee

Bert Blyleven, Roberto Alomar and former executive Pat Gillick are being enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday. Because of a life in the game, beginning with his childhood spent trailing his father around major league clubhouses, Red Sox manager Terry Francona has a connection to them all, each coming at a different stage of the skipper's life and career.

Francona‘s memories of Blyleven go back over 40 years. He recalls seeing his dad's Milwaukee Brewers flummoxed by Blyleven in a game in 1970. After the game, little Francona told big Francona that his team would never touch the famous Blyleven curveball.

"That's when my dad knew I was paying attention," Francona said.

Francona was also paying attention when he first encountered Alomar. The two were teammates in winter ball at Ponce in the Puerto Rico Baseball League, Francona on the tail end of his career and Alomar on the cusp of great things.

"He could do anything he wanted," Francona said. "It was so obvious he could do anything he wanted, whether it was defensively, on the bases, at bat. You could see it coming."

Alomar would go on to record over 2,700 hits, bat .300 and win 10 Gold Glove awards in a stellar 17-year career.

Finally, Francona had an encounter with Gillick he would rather forget, not necessarily because of any issues he had with the former Seattle, Toronto, Philadelphia and Baltimore general manager.

Francona interviewed for the vacant Mariners managerial position in 2002, after Lou Piniella left for Tampa Bay. Around the same time, Francona developed near-fatal blood clots in his lungs, which caused him to spend nearly two weeks in the hospital.

He did not get the job, but he did regain his health. Years later, he can joke about that encounter with Gillick.

"He almost killed me," Francona said of Gillick. "Seattle, that's why I got sick. Told him he asked too many tough questions, almost put me under."

Carl Crawford benefiting from recent time off, making early-season struggles a distant memory

Tony Lee

There is never a good time for an injury, but there can be benefits.

In Carl Crawford's case, his hamstring strain allowed him to wipe the slate clean after a pretty rough first half -- the worst of his career in terms of batting average and on-base percentage. He was able to rest his oh-so-valuable legs, clear his head, take a ton of cuts in the batting cage and eventually jump back into an offense that has been clicking on all cylinders.

Crawford has jumped in headfirst and his manager is seeing the benefits of that time off. Terry Francona said prior to Sunday's 12-8 win over Seattle that he actually thinks Crawford looks "a little bit better" since coming off the disabled list Monday.

Following the game, which saw Crawford go 3-for-4 with two RBIs, there was even more to take in.

"He sure does," Francona said when asked if Crawford looks more comfortable. "You've got to give him a lot of credit. While he was down, he worked real hard. We weren't really worried about his legs because he worked so hard and he was moving around so much, but he did so much hitting, and he's come back and gotten himself comfortable real quick. That's really helpful to us."

Crawford is 9-for-24 (.375) with two doubles, four RBIs and four runs scored in the six games since returning from the injury. On Sunday, he doubled and scored in the first, singled in the third and then knocked in two runs with another base hit in the fifth.

The effort put his average at .254, the first time it has been above .250 all season.

Afterward, he admitted that the time off, while not welcome initially, has given him a little extra something upon return.

"I feel great. Swing feels a little better. Starting get into a little groove," Crawford said. "Hopefully I continue to get better with each and every game."

The Red Sox offense began to flourish long before Crawford got hurt legging out an infield single against Milwaukee on June 17, and it continued to do so in his absence. To take the attack to a new level, if there is one for this loaded lineup, it will need Crawford to provide punch from that sixth spot in the order.

The star-studded first five in the everyday lineup get all the notoriety, but this offense truly clicks when the latter half of the order is chipping in. Crawford, Josh Reddick and Jarrod Saltalamacchia -- the six through eight hitters in Sunday's order -- were a combined 8-for-13 with seven RBIs and four runs scored.

Normally a top-of-the-lineup figure, Crawford acts almost as a leadoff man for that crew, and they knew he would eventually provide that lift.

"He's a career .300 hitter," Saltalamacchia said of Crawford. "He's not going to all of the sudden start hitting .220. He's healthy. His hamstring's good. That's the main thing right now."

Indeed, since a miserable April, Crawford has hit .305 (58-for-190) with 31 runs scored and 29 RBIs in 49 games. With a little time off to reset, it appears as if he will sustain those career norms, or surpass them, going forward.

He has made the early struggles a faint memory.

"He was struggling [in April]," Francona said. "Everything was so late and quick. Now he's getting in a hitting position so much easier. There's balance and he's seeing the ball, swinging at strikes and using the whole field. Looks like Crawford."

Red Sox will place J.D. Drew on disabled list with shoulder impingement

Tony Lee

When Jon Lester returns from the disabled list to start Monday at Fenway Park, the presumption was that rookie Kyle Weiland would be sent back to Triple-A Pawtucket to make room on the roster.

However, according to Sean McAdam of Comcast Sports New England, right fielder J.D. Drew will be placed on the 15-day disabled list with a shoulder impingement.

Drew has not played since Tuesday in Baltimore. Josh Reddick has started in his place ever since, in large part because he has outhit Drew by a wide margin. A physical issue for the veteran may also be a factor.

The 35-year-old Drew has struggled all season. He is batting a career-low .219 with four home runs and 21 RBIs in 77 games. Reddick, who was first recalled in late May and then again in the middle of June, is at .358 with four homers and 19 RBIs in just 32 games.

If Drew goes on the DL, the club will have Darnell McDonald as the first backup for all three outfield spots. Yamaico Navarro has played some corner outfield in the minors and has appeared in two games in left in his short time with the Red Sox.

It would also allow Weiland, who made his first career relief appearance, to stick in the bullpen. The righty took Lester's spot in the rotation, going 0-1 with an 8.10 ERA.

Terry Francona takes 1,000 wins milestone in stride, humbled by those ahead of him

Tony Lee

Red Sox manager Terry Francona spent much of Saturday deflecting praise for reaching the 1,000-win mark.

On Sunday, after spending hours answering notes from friends and family, that pursuit continued. "The prevailing thought seems to be that people are surprised I'm still here," he said.

As he did before and after his 1,000th victory, Francona stressed he would rather discuss his players and the rest of the organization. Part of what makes that desire so strong is a quick glance at the wins leaderboard.

Francona is the 57th manager in the game's history to reach the milestone. Of the 56 in front of him, seven are still active and some are approaching levels of success that Francona said he can only dream of.

For instance, Tony LaRussa enters Sunday with 2,691 victories. Francona said that his lifespan, much less whatever time he has left as a manager, would never allow him to reach such a stratosphere.

"[One thousand wins] is a round number, but then you start looking at some of those other guys, you better hush up," he said. "There's some guys with some big numbers that are still managing, so it's actually kind of humbling a little bit. Makes you realize how long they've been doing it, and how hard it is to win.

"I would be willing to bet if you see my name with 2,300 there's going to be an asterisk. I'll be dead. It'll be a big accomplishment."

In a fashion befitting someone who is taking the milestone in stride, Francona made sure to not go overboard with any celebrations. In fact, he kept his postgame routine on par with the other 999 wins, as well as the 880 losses.

"I had a grilled cheese sandwich," he said. "I always have a grilled cheese sandwich."

*

Boston's 17-hit attack beats Seattle 12-8

Jarrod Saltalamacchia drove in four runs, Kevin Youkilis hit a two-run homer and the Boston Red Sox extended the Seattle Mariners ' franchise-worst losing streak to 15 games with a 12-8 win on Sunday.

Tim Wakefield (6-3) joined Roger Clemens as the only pitchers to strike out 2,000 batters with Boston and moved one win away from his 200th victory. But the 44-year-old knuckleballer left after giving up Brendan Ryan 's grand slam that cut the lead to 11-7 with one out in the seventh.

Boston's powerhouse lineup had 17 hits with Saltalamacchia, Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford getting three each.

Michael Pineda (8-7) allowed five runs in the first after Seattle took a 2-0 lead and gave up seven runs in 4 1-3 innings.

The Red Sox kept their three-game lead in the AL East over the New York Yankees , who beat the 7-5.

Baseball's best hitting team scored at least 11 runs for the fourth time in Wakefield's last eight starts. The Red Sox swept the three-game series with their 17th win in 20 games.

The loss broke Seattle's record for its longest losing streak, set in 1992. It is the longest in the majors since Kansas City lost 19 in a row in 2005.

Wakefield struggled in the first, giving up a two-run homer to Miguel Olivo , his 14th of the season. But the Red Sox took the lead after sending just four batters to the plate.

Jacoby Ellsbury started the first with a walk and scored on a single by Gonzalez before Youkilis hit his 14th homer for a 3-2 lead. David Ortiz then singled and Crawford doubled, putting runners at second and third. Saltalamacchia then lined a two-run single to right.

Wakefield allowed just one hit through the next three innings. But in the fifth Ryan doubled home , who had singled. Again, the Red Sox responded with five runs in the bottom of the inning.

They loaded the bases on a single by Gonzalez, a walk to Youkilis and an infield single by Ortiz. Crawford followed with a hard, two-run single just inside the third-base line, Josh Reddick doubled in a run and Saltalamacchia singled in two more.

Wakefield ended the sixth with his 2,000th strikeout, getting Mike Carp on a foul tip that Saltalamacchia held on to. The catcher then trotted to meet Wakefield at the first-base line and hand him the ball. Wakefield received a standing ovation and tipped his cap before entering the dugout.

But he retired just one more batter before giving up four straight hits - singles by Jack Cust , Franklin Gutierrez and Suzuki and Ryan's second career grand slam and second homer of the year.

Boston's last two runs scored on RBI singles by Gonzalez in the sixth and Ellsbury in the seventh.

Notes: Dustin Pedroia extended his hitting streak to 21 games with a double in the sixth. He has reached base in a career-high 33 straight games. ... Pineda has allowed five runs or more in four of his last five starts. ... Mariners manager Eric Wedge shaved off his long, drooping mustache before the game. "Everybody needs to relax and we need to smile in the clubhouse," he said. "I was thinking about it for two days and before I went to bed (Saturday) night I did it. My wife approved." ... Boston is 24-8 in day games, second best in the majors behind the Yankees.

Wakefield now 2nd Red Sox pitcher with 2,000 Ks

Tim Wakefield has joined Roger Clemens as the only pitchers with 2,000 strikeouts for the Boston Red Sox.

The 44-year-old knuckleballer reached the milestone on Sunday when he struck out Mike Carp on a foul tip to end the top of the sixth inning against the Seattle Mariners. Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia then trotted to meet Wakefield at the first-base line and give him the ball.

Wakefield received a standing ovation and tipped his hat to the crowd as he walked to the dugout. The applause continued and Wakefield emerged and tipped his hat again.

Clemens had 2,590 strikeouts with Boston. The strikeout of Carp gave Wakefield 2,110 for his career, including 110 in two seasons with Pittsburgh.

* USA Today

Jon Lester, Chipper Jones set to bolster Red Sox, Braves

Seth Livingstone

Not every contender will need to make a trade to get a significant boost by Monday night.

Red Sox left-hander Jon Lester and Braves third baseman Chipper Jones are expected to return from the disabled list in time for Monday's games. Lester, who last pitched four no-hit innings before leaving the mound July 5 with a strained lat muscle near his shoulder, will face the Kansas City Royals, a team he has dominated with a 1.22 ERA in five career starts.

Lester, 10-4 with a 3.31 ERA this season, says his side sessions have erased any doubt that he's healthy.

Boston manager Terry Francona told reporters the one thing he won't do is push Lester, who is expected to throw between 80-90 pitches.

"Now it's about building up endurance," Francona said. "You try to balance winning the game and bringing him along where he can get on a roll. When that bell rings, he's going to forget about 'I've been down for a couple weeks.' He's going to go out there and fire and try to win. And that's good, but we've got to keep an eye on him."

Lester will be opposed by Kyle Davies (1-9, 7.32 ). The Royals have struggled on the road, their 14-30 record away from home matching Baltimore's for worst in the majors. But they have had a knack for coming from behind. Eric Hosmer's walk-off double against Tampa Bay on Saturday provided Kansas City with its 11th victory in its final at-bat, tops in the majors this season.

Jones returns to third base for the Braves after July 9 surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. He's expected to start in the opener of a four-game series against the Pirates, who regained a share of first place in the NL Central on Sunday.

Jones is hitting .259 with eight homers in 77 games for the Braves, who trail the Phillies by 6 games but hold a 4-game lead in the NL wild card standings.

Like Lester, Jones says he's ready after making two rehab starts at Class A Rome (Ga.).

"I know my body and what I could do just from working out up at Gwinnett (Ga, for three days prior to his rehab starts)," Jones told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. "]. I have no limitations."

The Braves have gone 6-6 without Jones in the lineup.

Other teams that could benefit from the return of veteran stars before the end of the July include the Yankees (reliever Rafael Soriano, third baseman Eric Chavez), Twins (outfielder Denard Span), Phillies (pitcher Roy Oswalt, who is expected to make one more rehab start) and Rays (catcher John Jaso).

* The Seattle News Tribune

Record wreck for M's

Ryan Divish

The 2011 Seattle Mariners cemented themselves in the franchise‘s record books Sunday afternoon.

But this wasn‘t a good record. It‘s a record of futility. It‘s a record of frustration. It‘s a record that can be extended even further today.

With a 12-8 throttling by the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, Seattle lost its 15th consecutive game, eclipsing the previous high of 14 set in 1992. It‘s the longest losing streak in baseball since the Kansas City Royals lost 19 games in a row in 2005. The longest losing streak in the modern era belongs to the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies at 23 games, while the longest American League losing streak is 22 by the 1988 Orioles.

Not even the Mariners in their current state seem bad enough to eclipse either record. Then again, it‘s difficult to recall that this team was a half game out of first place in the and two games over .500 at 37-35.

―I honestly feel like every time we suit up we are going to win, but this is beyond Groundhog Day,‖ shortstop Brendan Ryan said, referring to the Bill Murray movie where the lead character experiences the same day over and over. ―It‘s pretty unbelievable.‖

Indeed, not even the most creative of horror-movie writers could script a stretch this painful.

The last time Seattle won was July 5 in Oakland. Since then, it‘s been a torturous run of defeats.

The Mariners have lost games in which they failed to hit. They‘ve lost games where they hit, but failed to score. They‘ve lost games where the bullpen imploded. They‘ve lost games where the starting pitcher was shelled.

But never once in those losses did they score eight runs and lose like they did Sunday. In fact, the Mariners had not lost a game this season when they scored seven or more runs.

But make no mistake, the record-breaking defeat really wasn‘t that close.

Seattle may have racked up eight runs and banged out 13 hits, but its pitchers gave up 12 runs on 17 hits.

―We‘ve got to put it all together,‖ Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. ―If you want to win a baseball game against the teams we are playing, teams that are playing very well, you have to put it all together to get it done.‖

When was the last time the team played a as defined by Wedge?

―It was before the (All-Star) break, that‘s pretty vague,‖ Ryan said. ―We were going for the sweep in Oakland and it didn‘t happen. But we still felt good going into Anaheim. We got beat there and it just continued on.‖

And on, and on, and on.

Sunday‘s game started out with so much promise. For the second consecutive day, the Mariners scored in the top of the first. With Ryan on first, Miguel Olivo crushed a first-pitch knuckleball over the Green Monster in left for a two-run homer. Justin Smoak followed with a double, but was easily thrown out at home by Josh Reddick while trying to score on Mike Carp‘s single to right.

―We are trying to be aggressive, but we were probably pushing it a little there,‖ Wedge said.

Still, even after wasting that opportunity, the Mariners had given rookie All-Star pitcher Michael Pineda a 2-0 lead to start the game and the tantalizing promise of more runs to follow.

But Pineda, pitching for the first time against the Red Sox at Fenway, saw how quickly things can change in this hitter-friendly park and against the best offensive team in the American League.

He gave up a leadoff double to Jacoby Ellsbury and then uncorked a wild pitch that advanced him to third. After getting Dustin Pedroia to fly out, Adrian Gonzalez singled up the middle to score Ellsbury. Kevin Youkilis then crushed a belt-high fastball over the Monster in left for a two-run homer.

Pineda‘s punishment didn‘t stop there. David Ortiz singled and Carl Crawford doubled to right. Pineda came back to strike out Reddick, but Jarrod Saltalamacchia singled to right to drive in two runs.

Pineda finally retired Marco Scutaro on a ground ball to second to end the inning. But the Red Sox had sent all nine hitters to the plate and scored five runs, crushing any sort of momentum the Mariners might have had.

―I don‘t know what happened,‖ Pineda said. ―I wanted to throw pitches my down and some of them were up.‖

All of six of the hits came on fastballs – Pineda‘s best pitch.

―He was missing some spots with his fastball and they were aggressive,‖ Wedge said. ―They came out and tried to get on him early.‖

However, Ryan hinted that Pineda might have been tipping his pitches.

―Obviously something was going on there,‖ he said. ―You are not teeing off on a guy like him just coincidentally.‖

His catcher, Olivo, wasn‘t certain, but thought it might be a possibility.

―In the first inning, they were taking all the sliders and swinging at only his fastball,‖ Olivo said. ―I went to the mound and he changed a little bit and it worked. I‘m not 100 percent (certain). But maybe.‖

Credit the Boston hitters, too. They‘re quite adept at hitting fastballs, even one thrown by Pineda at 98 miles per hour.

―They have good hitters, everyone is like a No. 4 hitter,‖ Olivo said. ―You can‘t make a mistake, or they will make you pay.‖

Down 5-2, the Mariners‘ bats went silent against Wakefield for the next three innings. They finally scored again in the top of the fifth. Franklin Gutierrez drew a leadoff walk and scored on Ryan‘s double off the wall in left to make it 5-3.

But, much like the first inning, the Red Sox not only answered the Mariners‘ score, they bettered it.

After getting a quick out, Pineda gave up a single to Gonzalez and walked Youkiilis. With left-handers coming up and Pineda‘s pitch count at 85, Wedge went to lefty Aaron Laffey. But the left-on-left matchups didn‘t help.

David Ortiz reached on an infield single when Laffey fielded the ball in front of the mound and looked to third base. Problem was, no one was there because the Mariners were shifted over against Ortiz.

―He has to be aware that Adam Kennedy is going to come after that ball too,‖ Wedge said. ―He has to know that if he fields that ball, his only play is first.‖

The free out loaded the bases for Carl Crawford who quickly unloaded them by singling home two runs. Reddick doubled off the wall in right-center to score another. Saltalamacchia continued the pounding by ripping a two-run single to right-center.

Laffey was lifted without getting an out. Five runs scored, two of which were charged to Pineda.

Down 10-3, the Mariners were done.

Not even Ryan‘s second career grand slam in the seventh to make it an 11-7 offered much hope.

―There‘s nothing really to celebrate there,‖ he said. ―It sure would be nice to celebrate that with a ‗W.‘ It‘s pretty meaningless and lost in another ‗L.‘ ‖

* The Seattle Times

Mariners set franchise record with 15th straight loss

Geoff Baker

A beaten group of Mariners packed up after a day on which their rookie All-Star tipping his pitches to opposing hitters was only the start of their woes.

Later on, they would see their veteran right fielder — and highest-paid player — get picked off first base with runners at the corners. Then, in the inning that truly sealed a 12-8 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Sunday, they saw their left-handed reliever cost his team a key out by forgetting a defensive shift was on.

Add it all up, and the worst part of the day seemed inevitable: the Mariners losing for the 15th consecutive time to set a franchise record.

"Once again, I don't really know what to say," said Brendan Ryan, whose grand slam off Boston starter Tim Wakefield in the seventh capped a five-RBI day that made the final score more respectable. "I honestly feel like every time we suit up, we're going to win. It's beyond Groundhog Day. It seems redundant, but coincidental at the same time. A lot of things have to be going right and wrong. It's pretty unbelievable."

The loss snapped a tie between this Mariners squad and the 1992 version for the franchise record. The major-league record for consecutive losses is 24 by the Cleveland Spiders in 1899, while the modern-day record, post-1919, is 23 by the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies.

Not a whole lot went right for the Mariners after a two-run homer by Miguel Olivo in the first inning gave them a 2-0 lead. Seattle pushed for more that frame, but Justin Smoak was easily thrown out at home to end the inning on a single to right by Mike Carp.

Things went downhill from there in front of 37,650 fans at Fenway Park as Michael Pineda gave up a quick run, then a two-run homer to left by Kevin Youkilis that gave Boston the lead. Jarrod Saltalamacchia capped the rally with a two-run single that made it 5-2 before the first inning was over.

"Obviously, something was going on there with Pineda," Ryan said. "You're not teeing off on a guy like that just coincidentally."

The Mariners' coaches and catcher Olivo agreed that Pineda was inadvertently doing something to tip off the Boston hitters in advance of what he was about to throw.

"They were taking all the sliders and swinging at all the fastballs," Olivo said. "I went out to the mound and told him what I thought he was doing, and he changed it and it worked."

Worked for a while, anyway.

The Red Sox can hit fastballs as well as any team, and that has been Pineda's primary weapon all season long. His changeup remains a work in progress, and the handful he threw were of no use against lefties in this one.

Pineda agreed that he was probably tipping pitches. He said the streak of losses — six shy of the American League mark held by the 1988 Baltimore Orioles — is stressful for the entire team.

"It's just something that's really hard," he said, through an interpreter. "We all feel really bad."

Pineda kept it at 5-2 into the fifth when Seattle scored a run on a Ryan double off the fabled Green Monster in left field. But just before that, with runners at the corners and one out, Wakefield faked a pickoff move to third base before nabbing Ichiro leaning off first.

"The third to first there, that can't happen with Ichi," Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. "We can't give them an out right there. I've said all along, when you're in a stretch like this, your veterans have to lead the way. The last thing you want to see them doing is making mistakes, whether it be on the basepaths, in the field or wherever it may be."

Just last Monday in Toronto, was picked off first base in an identical situation. Figgins was out of the lineup the next day.

After Ryan's double on Sunday made it 5-3, the roof caved in on Pineda and the Mariners. Pineda was pulled with two on and one out in the bottom of the fifth, and left-hander Aaron Laffey came on to face slugger David Ortiz with the infield shift employed and the left side vacant.

Ortiz grounded one to the left and Laffey — clearly forgetting the shift — looked up to throw to third but realized no one was covering the bag. By the time Laffey regained his balance, Ortiz was already safe at first with an infield hit that loaded the bases.

Carl Crawford singled to bring two runs home, Josh Reddick doubled in another, and Saltalamacchia singled to score another pair for a 10-3 lead that pretty much ended it.

Now, the Mariners head to New York for three games with the Yankees, hoping not to match or surpass the 17 straight losses by the crosstown Mets in 1962.

"We've got to put it all together in order to win a baseball game against the teams we're playing," Wedge said. "The teams that we're playing are playing very well. We've got to put it all together in one game to get 'er done."