Amtrak train (probably NOT carrying the Red Sox) crossing trestle at Perryville, MD on the Northeast corridor between Philadelphia and Baltimore. Mitch Goldman photoRED SOX- After taking two out of three from the Philadelphia Phillies in the first interleague series of the 2012 campaign, the Red Sox hopped a train from Philadelphia to Baltimore to resume play against an American League East opponent on Monday.
After getting swept at Fenway the last time they met- including a 17 inning loss that had position players from both teams as pitchers of record- the Red Sox headed to Camden Yards in a game that pitted Boston's Clay Buchholz against the O's Tommy Hunter. Although the Red Sox would get out to a 2-0 lead on an RBI single by Mike Aviles and a Dustin Pedroia sac-fly that plated Marlon Byrd, the O's would take the lead in the bottom of the 3rd after loading the bases with nobody out after Buchholz walked in a pair of runs and gave up a single before ending the inning on a double play followed by a groundout to make it a 4-2 Baltimore lead.
It would be a 5-2 O's lead after 1st baseman Chris Davis belted a solo homer in the bottom of the 4th, but the Red Sox would come right back in the top of the 5th to tie the contest up at 5-5 thanks to a solo homer by Big Papi, a sacrifice fly from Daniel Nava that plated Adrian Gonzalez and moved Will Middlebrooks to 3rd before coming home on a Tommy Hunter balk to tie the contest up at 5-5.
In the top of the 7th, the Red Sox broke the 5-5 deadlock thanks to an Adrian Gonzalez sac-fly with the bases loaded and a Middlebrooks RBI single that plated Dustin Pedroia to make it 7-5. In the 8th, recently called up outfielder Che Hsuan Lin got his first MLB hit with two away with a single. This was followed up by Mike Aviles striking out on a wild pitch but reaching first base nonetheless after the ball got by O's catcher Matt Weiters. This brought up Dustin Pedroia, who drove in Lin from 2nd with an RBI single
As it turned out, Boston would need some of that insurance after Baltimore got a run back in the bottom of the 8th on a Weiters RBI single to make it 8-6. However, Vincente Padilla managed to pith out of a jam and Aceves came on in the bottom of the 9th for a 1-2-3 save opportunity to preserve the 8-6 win.
The win is Boston's first of the season against current AL East division leading Baltimore Orioles. Although the Red Sox have gone 8-2 in their last 10 games, they remain tied with the Yankees for last place in the AL East. However, as of Tuesday, both the Red Sox and Yankees are at .500 and only 5 and a half games out of first place.
For Tuesday night, the Sox will send Felix Doubront [4-1; 4.09 ERA] to the mound against the O's Brian Matusz [3-4; 5.36 ERA]. The game is scheduled to get underway from Camden Yards at 7:05 PM ET and will be televised on NESN.
OTHER RED SOX NEWS- Fenway Park PA Announcer Carl Beane suffered a fatal heart attack earlier this month while driving home from appearing on a morning radio show in Palmer, MA. The 59 year old's booming baritone had been announcing lineups and batters at Fenway since the 2003 season- including two games each during their 2004 and 2007 World Series championships. Beane also lent his voice to the Baseball hall of Fame's The Baseball Experience in Cooperstown, NY as well as a number of audiobooks.
Born in Agawam, MA, Beane's had lent his voice to sports broadcasting since 1972 after graduating from the Career Academy School of Broadcasting and briefly served as an instructor at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting. A diabetic himself, Beane was also a spokesman for the American Diabetes Association.
Beane is survived by his wife Lorraine, his daughter Nicole and grandaughters Maddie and Genna.
EVEN MORE RED SOX NEWS- With 3B Will Middlebrooks tearing the cover off the ball for the Red Sox in the 18 games he's appeared in, Boston faces something of a dilleman when Youkilis is expected to return off the DL soon. In his 18 games for the Red Sox so far, Middlebrooks has been batting .297 with 5 homers and 16 RBI. However, the Red Sox are expected to activate Youkilis shortly, leaving the corners crowded between Youkilis, Middlebrooks and Gonzalez over at first. NESN is reporting that the Red Sox are considering the idea of moving Gonzalez into the outfield to make room for Youkilis at first.
NBA PLAYOFFS- Although trailing early in Monday night's game to the 76ers, the Celtics hung around long enough to open up a lead against Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference semifinals- outscoring Philly 28-16 in the 3rd period alone and really starting to pull away in the 4th quarter.
Brandon Bass led the scoring for Boston with 27 points as well as 6 rebounds and an assist while going 9-10 from the free throw line. Kevin Garnett had 20 points and 6 rebounds in Tuesday night's 101-85 win over Philly as they really began to pull away in the 4th quarter.
Boston currently leads the series 3 games to 2 with Game 6 scheduled for Wednesday night at 8:00 ET on ESPN from Philadelhpia. Boston can close out the series with a win.
OTHER NBA NEWS- The LA Lakers season is over after their 106-91 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night. Less than a month after Ron Artest's elbow to the head of Oklahoma City's James Hardin, Oklahoma City got the last laugh by finishing off the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals 4 games to 1 and will advance to take on the San Antonio Spurs in the Conference finals.
PATRIOTS- Offensive Lineman Matt Light has announced his retirement at the age of 33 earlier this month. Light, along with Tom Brady, are among only five players to have started in five Super Bowls in NFL history.
Light said although he felt he could still play, he felt as though he was taking a little longer to recover and thought he should leave the game while he was still 'upright and feeling good'.
A three time Super Bowl champion and Pro Bowl selection, Light was one of the few remaining active players from new England's 2001-02 Super Bowl Championship.
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