June 29, 2008:
Red Sox Complete Sweep of Astros
Boston 3, Houston 1
In managing to sweep the Houston Astros this weekend, the Red Sox relied on their pitching more than their offensive, despite the fact that Houston ranks second to last in the National League with a 4.90 ERA. In three games, Boston managed to score 10 runs on 18 hits.
"We won, that's most important," winning pitcher Tim Wakefield said afterwards. "We came in here, on the road, and took three from a club that put up a fight. Getting through the tough stretches like this takes a balanced attack and we are all pitching in, even if we aren't scoring 10 runs. If it isn't with the bat, it is with the glove."
What Boston has done is win despite an offense that has sputtered this month. Bud Norris, making his second career major league start, held the Red Sox to three runs on one hit over five and one third innings. Contrast that to his last two appearances, one with Round Rock and one with Houston. In each, the right hander failed to make it into the third inning, surrendering eight runs in each. But, against Boston, Norris looked more like Roy Oswalt than he didn't.
In the second inning, Boston scored the first run of the game without a single hit. A pair of lead off walks to Manny Ramirez and J.D. Drew put runners on first and second with no outs. A deep fly ball by Julio Lugo advanced Ramirez to third before a wild pitch by Norris brought home the first run of the game. After a flyout by Brandon Moss, Josh Bard took a four pitch walk to runners on the corners, but Norris got Wakefield to pop out to the short stop Miguel Tejada to end the inning.
The Astros tied the game in the 5th with a RBI single by Humberto Qunitero, but stranded the go ahead runner at third when Wakefield manager to strike out Jose Cruz Jr. and Norris to end the inning.
Norris pitched himself into trouble in the 6th when he walked the bases loaded with one out. With the game tied at 1-1, Houston manager Cecil Cooper turned to Greg Geary to shut down the Sox. A single by Julio Lugo broke the game open, scoring two to put the Sox ahead 3-1. Geary would force Moss and Bard to fly out to end the Sox threat.
Manny Delcarmen and Jonathan Papelbon worked the final three innings for Boston, keeping the Astros off the bases to secure the sweep for the Red Sox.
After the game, the Red Sox announced that Jacoby Ellsbury (.194/.242/.226) was returned to Pawtucket as Coco Crisp has been cleared to return to the lineup. He will meet the team in Tampa Bay and is expected in the starting lineup against the Rays. SS Alex Cora was recalled from the Paw Sox to fill Ellsbury's spot on the roster.
W: Wakefield (10-4) L: Norris (0-2) SV: Papelbon (24)
Player of the Game: Tim Wakefield (6 IP, 4 Hs, 1 R, 0 BBs, 4 Ks, 84 PI)
Around the League:
...Pawtucket's Jed Lowrie (.217, 11 HRs, 42 RBIs) was lost for the season after fracturing his hip in a collision along the bases. He is expected to be out a minimum for 13 months...New York SS Derek Jeter (.329, 4 HRs, 46 RBIs) will miss 8 months after fracturing his arm after being hit by a pitch against the New York Mets...Omaha (PCL, KC) CF Derrick Robinson's 35-game hitting streak came to an end...Detroit SS Edgar Renteria (.249, 3 HRs, 19 RBIs) hit his 2,000 career hit against the Colorado Rockies at Comerica Park...
Parkhurst Ready to Move on
New England defender Michael Parkhurst has told a reporter from a national newspaper that he is starting to get itchy feet at Gillette Stadium and feels the time might have come to leave the club.
The 24 year-old defender feels he can perform on a bigger stage and would like to get the opportunity to prove it.
Upon hearing of Parkhurst's desire to leave Gillette Stadium and move to a bigger club, New England Revolution boss Christian Franklin seemed unsympathetic towards the defender's situation.
Franklin is understood to have told want-away defender Parkhurst that he will not be allowed to leave Gillette Stadium to go a bigger club. According to reports out of Foxboro, Franklin told the 24 year-old that he wanted to hang onto his better players so New England could progress and fulfill Parkhurst's ambitions.
Bruins Acquire Evgeni Nabokov from San Jose
Looking to bolster their defense, the Boston Bruins today announced the acquisition of goaltender
Evgeni Nabokov from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for C
Marc Savard.
"We added some much needed help in goal," General Manager Peter Chiarelli said in announcing the trade. "One of major weaknesses last season was not being able to shut down the opponent when we had a late lead and in picking up [Dan] Boyle and now Evgeni, we are addressing this need."
With the addition of Nabokov, who is signed through 2011, the Bruins are poised to build upon the development of their youngster last season with solid veteran presence in goal. The most beneficial part of the deal will be the continued development of Tuukka Rask. The goaltending prospects was pressed into early duty last year with the Bruins when the goaltending situation proved unstable. With Peter Budaj signed through the end of next season, the Bruins will be able to allow Rask time to develop with Providence with an expected apprenticeship under Nabokov before earning the job full time.
While adding top goaltending was a key priority for the Bruins this offseason, the trade did come at a cost. Losing Savard's offense will be tough to replace, but the Bruins are built with strong depth down the middle, starting with Zack Parise and Chris Drury.
"Losing Marc will be tough", Chiarelli added, "but we have depth and this is what depth allows you to do. We'll look at some options in free agency, with Sammy [Pahlsson] gone, and [Michael] Ryder looking to explore free agency, we have opportunities to look at some of our youngsters."
Of course, the big weight will now be on Chiarelli to see if his moves pay off. After two season at the bottom of the league, the once proud Bruins fans are growing restless as the Celtics, Red Sox and Patriots are building contenders and challenging for championships.
We are looking to make some depth changes and have learned how to teach players new positions. With our depth at center, we are going to be teaching Weiss and Leino to play left wing in order to balance our squad out in case we can't add anyone of value in FA