AP PhotoRED SOX- After a lackluster start to their road trip in which they dropped two out of three games to the Rangers earlier this week, the skid looked like it would continue with Boston dropping the opening game of their weekend series against the archrival Yankees in the Bronx thanks to a Curtis Granderson grand slam in the bottom of the 8th inning to put the exclamation point on a 10-3 Yankees win.
Saturday saw the Red Sox get out to 5-run lead against the Yankees only for the Bronx Bombers to again come back in the bottom of the 8th and knot things up at 6-6 on a two run homer from Mark Texiera. However, in the top of the 9th Red Sox got a runner on board with a one out walk to Jacoby Ellbusry. This was followed up by a Pedro Ciriaco triple to deep center to give the Sox the lead before Pedroia hit an RBI sac fly to bring Ciriaco home and make it an 8-6 Red Sox lead. Alredo Aceves then closed out the game with a 1-2-3 bottom of the 9th to give Boston only their second win of the season against the Yankees.
For Sunday night's nationally televised game, Felix Doubront got the start against the Yankee's Hideki Kuroda. The Red Sox got on the board early with a 2-RBI double from Ryan Sweeney in the top of the first. Doubront would go 6 and a third innings, giving up four hits including a solo home run to Yankees catcher Russel Martin to pull the Yankees to within one run.
The bottom of the 8th inning would once again be problematic for the Red Sox, and more specifically Russel Martin who tied the game up with an RBI single off of Aceves to make it 2-2, forcing extra innings.
With nobody out and a runner on first in the top of the 10th, manager Bobby Valentine was ejected after arguing with the home plate over whether or not Will Middlebrooks was hit by a pitch, followed by Josh Beckett who was yelling at an umpire from the Red Sox dugout. After the umpires ruled that the ball Valentine thought had his Middlebrooks was a strike, the third baseman then singled. Sweeney then grounded into a fielder's choice, erasing Middlebrooks at second but advancing Saltalamacchia to third for Pedro Ciriaco, which led to this.
The Red Sox would take a 3-2 lead on a bloop single from SS Ciriaco before the 10th inning came to an end when Ellsbury grounded into a double play.
Still on the mound, Aceves would get the first two batters out before hitting Nick Swisher with a pitch. However, Aceves got pinch hitter Raul Ibanez to strike out and end the ballgame, giving the Red Sox their first series win over the Yankees in their three meetings this season. The win also gives the Red Sox a .500 record and muddies some of the speculation whether or not they'd be buyers or sellers by Tuesday's trade deadline. While the Red Sox are in last place in the AL East, they're only two games behind 2nd place Baltimore and conceivably within striking distance of a postseason berth under MLB's newly-expanded playoff format.
The Red Sox return to Fenway on Monday night to face the Detroit Tigers, who are currently 2nd place in the AL Central. Clay Buchholz [8-3; 4.93 ERA] will get the start against Max Scherzer [10-5; 4.49 ERA]. The game gets underway at 7:10 ET and will be televised on NESN.
OTHER RED SOX NEWS- Yahoo Sports columnist Jeff Passan is reporting that the Red Sox are shopping starting pitcher Josh Beckett around just prior to the trade deadline and have expressed a willingness to eat a portion of his contract as part of any trade. Although the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers have reportedly expressed interest, a trade isn't believed to be imminent.
OTHER MLB NEWS- The Milwaukee Brewers have traded starting pitcher Zach Greinke to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In return, the Brewers will get Angel's pitching prospects Ariel Pena and Johnny Hellweg in addition to shortstop Jean Segura.
Greinke made his first start with the Angles on Sunday afternoon as they hosted Tampa Bay in Orange County. Greinke went 7 complete innings, allowing two earned runs on while striking out 8. However, he was outduelled by the Rays' Jeremy Hellickson who threw 6 shutout innings, allowing just two hits in Tampa's 2-0 win.
OTHER BREWERS NEWS- Back in December 2011, ESPN reported that National League MVP Ryan Braun had tested positive for a banned substance. However, unnamed sources had claimed that while there were no traces of any performance enhancing drugs in a urine sample collected from Braun during the 2011 playoffs, there were elevated levels of testosterone, which were indicative of a banned performance enhancing drugs of growth hormone.
However, during Braun's appeal it was reported that the urine sample was improperly stored prior to testing, potentially rendering the sample useless. A second test of Braun yielded normal testosterone levels. After Braun's appeal, the mandatory 50-game suspension penalty was overturned, the fisrt such instance of that happening since MLB introduced their anti-doping program.
I belatedly bring this up because the sports media has been nowhere near as vocal in announcing the mishandled urine sample and other exculpatory information about Braun as they were when the positive test results were announced.
MINNESOTA TWINS- The Minnesota Twins have traded starting pitcher Francisco Liriano to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for infielder Eduardo Escobar and minor leaguer Pedro Hernandez.
Although it's somewhat unusual to trade within their own division, Liriano is in the last year of his contract with the Twins and was expected to leave a free agent at the end of the season.
Destinee Hooker led the USA with 21 points while South Korea's Kim Yeong Koung had 29 points in the losing effort.
On Monday, the USA will face Brazil in a rematch of the gold medal game during the Beijing olympics.
SUMMER OLYMPICS: WOMEN'S SKEET- American Kimberly Rhode became one of the first Americans to win gold in London this year, making history in the process.
Rhode simply dominated in the gold medal round, hitting 99 out of the 100 targets she faced at the range on the grounds of the Royal Artillery Barracks on Sunday- a new Olympic record.
The California native also made history be becoming the first ever Olympian to medal in five consecutive Olympics, going back to a gold in the women's double trap event during the 1996 Atlanta games.
SUMMER OLYMPICS: SWIMMING- After failing to make the Olympic squad for the 2008 Beijing games, American swimmer Dana Vollmer won the first gold medal for Team USA women's swimming and Vollmer's first gold in an individual event.
The upstate New York native also set a new world record in the 100m butterfly, finishing in 55.98 seconds, a full second ahead of silver medal winner Lu Ying of China.
Vollmer is also expected to take part in the 4 X 200 freestlye relay later on in the Olympics.
OTHER SWIMMING NEWS- Perhaps the most surprising development in Team USA swimming is that favorite Michael Phelps, who had absolutely dominated in Beijing back in 2008, has been shut out of the gold medal count so far.
Teammate Ryan Lochte came away with the gold in the men's 400m individual medley on Sunday, with Brazil's Thiago Pereira taking Silver, Japan's Kosuke Hagino taking Bronze and Phelps finishing 4th in the event.
Phelps and Lochte did take the silver in the 4 X 100M Freestyle relay after France rallied to pull ahead in the event.
SUMMER OLYMPICS- BASKETBALL- Team USA [which is NOT the same as the 1992 'Dream Team' despite Kobe Bryant's insistence] blew by France in their opening game of the Olympics, winning by a final of 98-71. Kevin Durant led the scoring for team USA with 22 points and 9 rebounds on Sunday.
OTHER BASKETBALL NEWS- While it didn't take place in a medal game, this last-second heave by Australia's Belinda Snell should go down as the shot of the tournament.
Snell nailed the shot from half court with Australia down by 3 to France and with less than a second to go in regulation.
However, the Aussies would go on to lose to France by a 74-70 final in the overtime.
NHL- Free agent RW Alexander Semin has agreed to a 1-year $7 million contract with the Carolina Hurricanes. Semin had 21 goals and 33 assists with the Washington Capitols during the 2011-2012 season.
Last month, the Hurricanes traded away Brandon Suter, Brian Dumoulon and their 8th overall draft pick to Pittsburgh for Jordan Staal, younger brother of Hurricanes captain Eric Staal. Jordan had 25 goals and 25 assists with the Penguins last season.
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