Starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka was placed on the 15-day disabled list today by the Red Sox, who opted to take a cautious approach after an MRI exam revealed a mild strain of his right rotator cuff.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Daisuke to DL
Starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka was placed on the 15-day disabled list today by the Red Sox, who opted to take a cautious approach after an MRI exam revealed a mild strain of his right rotator cuff.Tigers in No Easy Spot
After Watching the USM UNO game last night I was struck with the impression that Golden Eagles from Hattiesburg, Mississippi are not a team to be toyed with. Their pitching was effective, their fielding was stellar and their offense compelling. They seemed to be able to play small ball early when the game was close and then power baseball late when the UNO pitchers faltered, carding 4 home runs in the process.
LSU is on a roll, no doubt, but any game against a really goo team can be lost with a blunder hear or a lack of timely hitting. I expect the Tigers to win, that and a chance to spend the day with Bubba and Travis is the reason I'm going to the game.But USM is the real thing.
On the other hand, UNO stumbled their way through their game with Southern Mississippi, with 3 errors and giving up 6 unearned runs. They should right themselves against Texas Southern and then face the loser of the game tonight between LSU and USM. Should the Tigers lose tonight playing UNO again will be no picnic as the Privateers hold a 2-1 record over LSU this season.
If LSU advances out of this region to the Super Regional, they will have to earn it.
Duke
LSU is on a roll, no doubt, but any game against a really goo team can be lost with a blunder hear or a lack of timely hitting. I expect the Tigers to win, that and a chance to spend the day with Bubba and Travis is the reason I'm going to the game.But USM is the real thing.
On the other hand, UNO stumbled their way through their game with Southern Mississippi, with 3 errors and giving up 6 unearned runs. They should right themselves against Texas Southern and then face the loser of the game tonight between LSU and USM. Should the Tigers lose tonight playing UNO again will be no picnic as the Privateers hold a 2-1 record over LSU this season.
If LSU advances out of this region to the Super Regional, they will have to earn it.
Duke
Sox Win in 13th Over Baltimore
If Manny Ramirez was looking for home run No. 500 to celebrate his 36th birthday, he got another type of gift entirely. In the 13th inning of Friday night's game with the Orioles, Ramirez hit a routine grounder to third base, only to have Melvin Mora airmail the throw to first. The two-base error set in motion Boston's winning rally.
Mike Lowell immediately followed by belting a one-out RBI single to left field that scored Ramirez to snap the tie and propel the Red Sox to a much-needed 5-2 win over the Orioles. Lowell's hit came against former Boston righty Chad Bradford.
"Just looking to get my hands out extended," said Lowell. "Bradford is a real uncomfortable at-bat. He doesn't throw hard velocity-wise, but you don't pick up the ball until real late. It gets on you quick. I can't say I had a special formula or anything. Just looking to put a good swing, make him elevate a little. It worked out well. I think we were able to capitalize on some of their mistakes late in the game."
Another Baltimore throwing error later in the inning -- this time by shortstop Freddie Bynum -- allowed two more insurance runs to score.
As road-weary as they were -- losers in five of six games on the West Coast -- the Red Sox were more than happy to steal a win any way they could get it.
"Oh yeah, it was awesome," said Ramirez.
The game had been tied since the bottom of the fourth.
Mike Timlin earned the victory and Jonathan Papelbon, the seventh pitcher used by manager Terry Francona, came on for the save in the bottom of the 13th.
"It's tough," said Lowell. "Holding a team for two runs for 13 innings is a pretty good job."
Aside from pulling out the late-night victory, the Red Sox also set a club record with six stolen bases. Jacoby Ellsbury had three of them, falling one shy of Jerry Remy's team record. Kevin Youkilis, Coco Crisp and Lowell added the other three thefts.
Lowell was in the middle of everything, making plays on defense, stealing a base and delivering that game-winning hit.
"We needed a hit at some point," said Francona. "We had to score. We were getting thin."
Hideki Okajima (two innings), Manny Delcarmen (one inning), Javy Lopez (one out), Craig Hansen (five outs), Timlin (one inning) and Papelbon (one inning) all fired zeroes.
Timlin, who was the recipient of a walk-off loss on Tuesday night in Seattle, got into the most danger. Nick Markakis led off the 12th with a double. Timlin then walked Aubrey Huff intentionally and got Kevin Millar to hit what might have been an inning-ending double play. But shortstop Julio Lugo, who has 12 errors on the season, bobbled the ball. It didn't turn disastrous, though. Lugo stuck with it and fired to first, just in time to get Millar. After another intentional walk loaded the bases, Timlin got Ramon Hernandez on a deep flyout to left that birthday boy Ramirez tracked down just in front of the track.
"We put up a lot of zeroes," Francona said. "You go to your bullpen in the sixth and you end up playing 13, that's a lot of zeroes. We had to bob and weave a little bit and dodge a few, but we did. That's a lot of zeroes put up by your bullpen. They all did a good job."
Beckett did a good job of his own. The ace struck out 10 and allowed just two runs over six innings, keeping pace with Orioles righty Daniel Cabrera.
"That was last night," quipped Beckett during an interview session that took place after midnight. "I felt fine. Battled through some innings."
The Red Sox got off to a quick start offensively. Ellsbury led off the game with a double to left and moved to third on a groundout by Dustin Pedroia. David Ortiz took advantage of the opportunity, lining an RBI single to right. Ramirez followed by belting a double into the corner in left to move Ortiz to third. Lowell made it 2-0 with a sacrifice fly to left.
Crisp nearly generated a rally by himself in the second. He walked and sped to second when ball four was wild. Crisp then stole third. But it all went for naught when Alex Cora couldn't get a squeeze bunt down. Crisp got hung up and was out in what was ruled an attempted steal of home.
The Orioles struck for a run against Beckett in the bottom of the second. Millar and Luke Scott hit back-to-back singles. When Scott stole second, Jason Varitek's throw went into center field, allowing Millar to score from third. Aubrey Huff led off the fourth with a solo homer to right, tying the game at 2.
The one thing the Orioles did effectively against Beckett was work his pitch count. They drew three walks in the sixth, loading the bases with two outs. However, Beckett blew a 96-mph fastball by Adam Jones to end the threat. That was pitch No. 118 for Beckett, forcing him out of the game after six innings.
"Other than the home run and the other run, he kept them at bay," Francona said. "Good thing, because after we scored those two, it took us about 4 1/2 hours to get another one."
But the Red Sox weren't in a rush. They just needed to win.
"Big win," said Lugo. "We needed that. Definitely, we needed that."
Mike Lowell immediately followed by belting a one-out RBI single to left field that scored Ramirez to snap the tie and propel the Red Sox to a much-needed 5-2 win over the Orioles. Lowell's hit came against former Boston righty Chad Bradford.
"Just looking to get my hands out extended," said Lowell. "Bradford is a real uncomfortable at-bat. He doesn't throw hard velocity-wise, but you don't pick up the ball until real late. It gets on you quick. I can't say I had a special formula or anything. Just looking to put a good swing, make him elevate a little. It worked out well. I think we were able to capitalize on some of their mistakes late in the game."
Another Baltimore throwing error later in the inning -- this time by shortstop Freddie Bynum -- allowed two more insurance runs to score.
As road-weary as they were -- losers in five of six games on the West Coast -- the Red Sox were more than happy to steal a win any way they could get it.
"Oh yeah, it was awesome," said Ramirez.
The game had been tied since the bottom of the fourth.
Mike Timlin earned the victory and Jonathan Papelbon, the seventh pitcher used by manager Terry Francona, came on for the save in the bottom of the 13th.
"It's tough," said Lowell. "Holding a team for two runs for 13 innings is a pretty good job."
Aside from pulling out the late-night victory, the Red Sox also set a club record with six stolen bases. Jacoby Ellsbury had three of them, falling one shy of Jerry Remy's team record. Kevin Youkilis, Coco Crisp and Lowell added the other three thefts.
Lowell was in the middle of everything, making plays on defense, stealing a base and delivering that game-winning hit.
"We needed a hit at some point," said Francona. "We had to score. We were getting thin."
Hideki Okajima (two innings), Manny Delcarmen (one inning), Javy Lopez (one out), Craig Hansen (five outs), Timlin (one inning) and Papelbon (one inning) all fired zeroes.
Timlin, who was the recipient of a walk-off loss on Tuesday night in Seattle, got into the most danger. Nick Markakis led off the 12th with a double. Timlin then walked Aubrey Huff intentionally and got Kevin Millar to hit what might have been an inning-ending double play. But shortstop Julio Lugo, who has 12 errors on the season, bobbled the ball. It didn't turn disastrous, though. Lugo stuck with it and fired to first, just in time to get Millar. After another intentional walk loaded the bases, Timlin got Ramon Hernandez on a deep flyout to left that birthday boy Ramirez tracked down just in front of the track.
"We put up a lot of zeroes," Francona said. "You go to your bullpen in the sixth and you end up playing 13, that's a lot of zeroes. We had to bob and weave a little bit and dodge a few, but we did. That's a lot of zeroes put up by your bullpen. They all did a good job."
Beckett did a good job of his own. The ace struck out 10 and allowed just two runs over six innings, keeping pace with Orioles righty Daniel Cabrera.
"That was last night," quipped Beckett during an interview session that took place after midnight. "I felt fine. Battled through some innings."
The Red Sox got off to a quick start offensively. Ellsbury led off the game with a double to left and moved to third on a groundout by Dustin Pedroia. David Ortiz took advantage of the opportunity, lining an RBI single to right. Ramirez followed by belting a double into the corner in left to move Ortiz to third. Lowell made it 2-0 with a sacrifice fly to left.
Crisp nearly generated a rally by himself in the second. He walked and sped to second when ball four was wild. Crisp then stole third. But it all went for naught when Alex Cora couldn't get a squeeze bunt down. Crisp got hung up and was out in what was ruled an attempted steal of home.
The Orioles struck for a run against Beckett in the bottom of the second. Millar and Luke Scott hit back-to-back singles. When Scott stole second, Jason Varitek's throw went into center field, allowing Millar to score from third. Aubrey Huff led off the fourth with a solo homer to right, tying the game at 2.
The one thing the Orioles did effectively against Beckett was work his pitch count. They drew three walks in the sixth, loading the bases with two outs. However, Beckett blew a 96-mph fastball by Adam Jones to end the threat. That was pitch No. 118 for Beckett, forcing him out of the game after six innings.
"Other than the home run and the other run, he kept them at bay," Francona said. "Good thing, because after we scored those two, it took us about 4 1/2 hours to get another one."
But the Red Sox weren't in a rush. They just needed to win.
"Big win," said Lugo. "We needed that. Definitely, we needed that."
Dean Homers Twice to Stiffle TSU
LSU sophomore designated hitter Blake Dean homered twice and drove in four runs to lead the top-seeded Tigers to their 21st straight win with a 12-1 victory over Texas Southern in the opening game of the 2008 NCAA Baton Rouge Regional in front of 6,536 fans on Friday afternoon at Alex Box Stadium. The Tigers, champions of the Southeastern Conference Tournament, improved to 44-16-1 on the year and 19-0 in NCAA regional opening games. LSU set the single-season school record for consecutive victories in its last outing and has not lost a contest since April 19. Texas Southern dropped to 16-33 on the season. LSU advances to play at 6 p.m. Saturday against Southern Miss, a 13-6 winner of Friday evening's contest versus UNO. Texas Southern takes on New Orleans at 1 p.m. Saturday. “It wasn't our best game of the year, but I thought it was like a business man's job,” LSU head coach Paul Mainieri said. “We did what we had to do. I have to say the highlight of the day was looking at the crowd and seeing all the gold in the stands. I just have to say how much I appreciate the support the fans give this team. I just think it's awesome that they came in and helped us by wearing the gold, being vocal and packing the place. It was exciting to be out there today. “Now, we have to be able to be able to play a really good ball club tomorrow night. I'm not sure which one it will be at this point, but it will be a challenge for us. We will have to be at the top of our game for sure." Dean, who entered the game batting .420 (34-for-81) during the streak, finished the game 2-for-4 and has accounted for five homers in his last five games. Sophomore centerfielder Jared Mitchell went 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored. Junior first baseman Matt Clark added three hits and homered for the third consecutive game.
LSU junior right-hander Jordan Brown (4-0) maintained his perfect record, allowing only one run – a solo homer in the sixth -- on five hits in five innings while striking out four and walking two. He picked up his first win since March 19 versus Tulane.
Twenty-eight of LSU’s 44 wins have been from come-behind fashion, but the Tigers needed no late inning heroics on Friday. Despite the absence of gold jerseys for the first time in 15 games, LSU plated four runs in the first inning to rattle TSU left-handed starter Ehern Moreno.
Senior shortstop Michael Hollander drew a leadoff walk, and two batters later, junior right fielder Derek Helenihi provided a one-out single to left field. Dean then lifted a three-run homer – the first of his two blasts – that carried over the right-centerfield wall. Clark connected for a solo shot just over the left field wall for his team-leading 23rd homer of the year. “I thought the kids had good focus,” Mainieri said. “They came out and played the game the right way. We had a good first inning obviously with Blake [Dean's] three-run homer and [Matt] Clark's homerun.”
LSU increased the advantage to 6-0 in the fourth frame. Freshman shortstop DJ LaMahieu beat out an infield single deep in the hole, and he later scored on sophomore second baseman Ryan Schimpf’s single to right field. Hollander then accounted for a run-scoring hit with a slapped single through the left side.
Meanwhile, Brown faced little trouble through the first three innings as he faced the minimum in the second and pitched around a leadoff single in the third. The junior silenced a one-out, two-on threat in the fourth and finally surrendered a run in the sixth when TSU first baseman Earnest Rhone launched a leadoff, line-drive homer to left field.
Texas Southern put together its most prominent threat of the game when catcher Justin Holloway immediately tagged a single to centerfield, and shortstop Jordan Bush was hit by a pitch that ended Brown’s outing.
With runners at first and second and no outs, Mainieri summoned freshman Austin Ross from the bullpen for his first outing since May 17 at Auburn. Ross induced a 1-6-3 double play groundball and retired the side with another groundout. The Tigers put the game away in the sixth with four runs, two of which were unearned after a critical dropped fly ball by centerfielder Deshaun Dilworth. Mitchell capitalized on the error with a two-run single to right field that scored Schimpf and Hollander. Mitchell was later awarded home on a wild throw by shortstop Jordan Bush on a grounder by Helenihi. Pinch hitter Sean Ochinko accounted for the other run on a single through the middle.
Moreno (2-5) was charged with loss, surrendering 11 runs – seven earned – on 12 hits in 5.2 innings of work. He walked two and struck out five.
Ross notched his third save with four scoreless innings of relief, allowing only three hits while striking out three and walking none.
LSU junior right-hander Jordan Brown (4-0) maintained his perfect record, allowing only one run – a solo homer in the sixth -- on five hits in five innings while striking out four and walking two. He picked up his first win since March 19 versus Tulane.
Twenty-eight of LSU’s 44 wins have been from come-behind fashion, but the Tigers needed no late inning heroics on Friday. Despite the absence of gold jerseys for the first time in 15 games, LSU plated four runs in the first inning to rattle TSU left-handed starter Ehern Moreno.
Senior shortstop Michael Hollander drew a leadoff walk, and two batters later, junior right fielder Derek Helenihi provided a one-out single to left field. Dean then lifted a three-run homer – the first of his two blasts – that carried over the right-centerfield wall. Clark connected for a solo shot just over the left field wall for his team-leading 23rd homer of the year. “I thought the kids had good focus,” Mainieri said. “They came out and played the game the right way. We had a good first inning obviously with Blake [Dean's] three-run homer and [Matt] Clark's homerun.”
LSU increased the advantage to 6-0 in the fourth frame. Freshman shortstop DJ LaMahieu beat out an infield single deep in the hole, and he later scored on sophomore second baseman Ryan Schimpf’s single to right field. Hollander then accounted for a run-scoring hit with a slapped single through the left side.
Meanwhile, Brown faced little trouble through the first three innings as he faced the minimum in the second and pitched around a leadoff single in the third. The junior silenced a one-out, two-on threat in the fourth and finally surrendered a run in the sixth when TSU first baseman Earnest Rhone launched a leadoff, line-drive homer to left field.
Texas Southern put together its most prominent threat of the game when catcher Justin Holloway immediately tagged a single to centerfield, and shortstop Jordan Bush was hit by a pitch that ended Brown’s outing.
With runners at first and second and no outs, Mainieri summoned freshman Austin Ross from the bullpen for his first outing since May 17 at Auburn. Ross induced a 1-6-3 double play groundball and retired the side with another groundout. The Tigers put the game away in the sixth with four runs, two of which were unearned after a critical dropped fly ball by centerfielder Deshaun Dilworth. Mitchell capitalized on the error with a two-run single to right field that scored Schimpf and Hollander. Mitchell was later awarded home on a wild throw by shortstop Jordan Bush on a grounder by Helenihi. Pinch hitter Sean Ochinko accounted for the other run on a single through the middle.
Moreno (2-5) was charged with loss, surrendering 11 runs – seven earned – on 12 hits in 5.2 innings of work. He walked two and struck out five.
Ross notched his third save with four scoreless innings of relief, allowing only three hits while striking out three and walking none.
Rebs Shut Out in First Round
The Rebel bats were never able to get things going against Tiger ace Aaron Crow as Ole Miss (37-25) fell to No. 12 Missouri (39-19) by a score of 7-0 in the opening round of the NCAA Coral Gables Regional on Friday.With the loss, the Rebels fall into the loser’s bracket and will play Saturday at 11 a.m. CDT in an elimination game against Bethune-Cookman, who fell to overall top-seeded Miami Friday 7-4.Lance Lynn (7-4) suffered the loss as he worked 6.1 innings and allowed six runs on nine hits with two walks and seven strikeouts.Aaron Crow (13-0) picked up the win for the Tigers as he tossed a complete game shutout, striking out 10 batters and holding the Rebels to three hits. He walked three on the afternoon. It was his fourth complete-game shutout of the season.Brett Basham caught two runners stealing on the afternoon, pushing SEC leading total to 26 runners caught stealing this season. It is the most runners caught stealing by a catcher under Mike Bianco.“Aaron Crow had a great reputation coming into the game today and he was every bit of that reputation,” said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. “I thought Lance got us out of a tough spot in the first inning only allowing one run, but one run might have been all it took today. Crow was just too good.”Missouri got off to a quick start, as the Tigers put three on to open the game with a walk, a single and a hit by pitch. An RBI fielder’s choice from Jacob Priday pushed the first run across as Ole Miss erased Aaron Senne from the basepath at second on the grounder to short. Lynn then hit the next batter to load the bases again but Lynn notched a strikeout and a groundout to get the Rebels out of the inning with Missouri only holding a 1-0 lead.The Tigers added to the lead in the fifth when Senne came up with a two RBI double to center field to push the Tigers out in front by two. Priday then singled to right field to score Senne and give Missouri a 4-0 advantage before the Rebels would get out of the inning as Basham threw out a runner stealing and Lynn struck out the final batter of the inning.Missouri added to the lead in the seventh inning when Trevor Coleman came up with a three-run home run with two outs off Rory McKean to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead. McKean entered to relieve Lynn with a runner on and a 3-1 count on Senne. McKean’s first pitch was a ball, putting Senne on base but Lynn was responsible for him. Priday then reached on a fielder’s choice as the Rebels got the second out of the inning on a force play at third before Coleman hit his home run.The Rebels would not give up another run, but couldn’t get on the board in the final two frames as Missouri claimed the win and advanced to play the winner of Miami and Bethune-Cookman in the winner’s bracket tomorrow.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Bolster Leads Red Sox
Rookie first baseman Travis Bolster lead the Red Sox to their first undefeated season and a tie for the league Championship in Dixie Youth T-ball. Despite his inexperience, Bolter managed to avoid being put out throughout his inaugural season. Although some of his on base appearances were due to infield errors, his on base percentage was 1.000.
Asked about his early success, Travis credited his skills to batting prectice with his father and playing catch with his grandad.
Bolster's next appearance will be at summer camp where he will tackle the sports of golf, tennis and swimming.
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