Sports of Boston » Top Story

Avery Bradley Injury Status: Out for Rest of Postseason

Nick Bohlen — Sat, 26 May 2012 03:02:53 +0000

When the Boston Celtics embarked on the 2011-2012 season — heck, two months ago — would anyone have imagined that Avery Bradley missing the rest of the postseason would be devastating news?

After suffering innumerable shoulder separations all season, including three during the playoffs, Bradley underwent season-ending surgery on his left shoulder on Friday. According to this article by Greg Payne on ESPN Boston, sources say Bradley will have four months of rehab ahead of him.

Having missed the Celtics’ last two playoff games, Bradley was unlikely to return to play in Game 7 against the Philadelphia 76ers at the TD Banknorth Garden on Saturday night. But Bradley’s presence has been sorely missed, especially when the Celtics were in desperate need of a stop down the stretch in Game 6 but couldn’t keep the Sixers’ guards out of the lane. If (I repeat, if) the Celtics can manage to win Game 7 and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, his absence will be even more notable against Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat.

After a rookie season where Bradley barely saw the light of day between the lines, Bradley has emerged late this season as an integral part of the Celtics’ success. When Ray Allen went down with an ankle injury, Bradley stepped in as the starting shooting guard and didn’t miss a beat, playing so well that he held onto the starter’s job even when the future Hall of Famer returned. While his scoring has declined in the playoffs, he has still remained effective with the occasional corner three and timely backdoor cuts to keep defenses honest.

In fact, according to ESPN Stats & Info, the Celtics’ best lineup was with Bradley on the court. The starters with Bradley at the two-spot have outscored playoff opponents by 53 points; the next-best playoff lineup (Allen, Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, Mickael Pietrus) has outscored the opposition by all of 18 points. In case that doesn’t illustrate his importance clearly enough, Bradley also has the best plus/minus on the Celtics roster (+63) just behind Garnett, who is merely playing at an MVP-type level so far this postseason.

Get well soon, Avery.

Connelly’s Top Ten: Red Sox Crowned Championship Contenders

Michael — Fri, 25 May 2012 11:00:48 +0000

1. Celtics:

* Hate to say it but Doug Collins is out-coaching Doc Rivers
* Would you trade Rajon Rondo and Michael Pietrus for Steve Nash, Marcin Gortat and Jared Dudley?
* You need Moore or Dooling to get knocked out and tell them they are Gary Payton when they wake up
* Take away Garnett and the game is over
* I agree with sentiment I heard on the radio – I’d rather the Celtics lose Game 7 if they can’t beat Miami (which they can’t)

2. Red Sox:

Last year’s Opening Day Lineup:

Ellsbury – CF
Pedroia – 2b
Crawford – LF
Youkilis – 3B
Gonzalez – 1b
Ortiz – DH
Cameron – RF
Salty – C
Scutaro – SS

Wednesday’s team on the field:

Avilies – SS
Pedroia – 2B
Ortiz – DH
Gonzalez – RF
Youkils – 1b
Middlebrooks – 3b
Nava – LF
Posednik – CF
Shoppach – C

3. Patriots:

Some interesting punting averages:

* Adam Vinatieri – 2 punt / 29 yards
* Matt Bahr – 1 punt / 29 yards
* Tom Brady – 1 punt / 36 yards
* Babe Parilli – 5 punts / 36 yards
* Matt Cassell – 1 punt / 57 yards

4. Bruins:

The Bruins got knocked out over a month ago (April 25th) and the Stanley Cup Finals haven’t started.

5. College Baseball:

Teams above the Mason Dixon line ranked in the Top 50:

5. Oregon
15. Purdue
47. Michigan State
48. Indiana State

6. Shaq a GM?

If Shaq could be considered GM of the Orlando Magic who he left high and dry for the Lakers – how about some other suggestions for Front Office jobs:

* Donovan McNabb – GM of the Redskins
* Lebron James – GM of the Cavs
* Pat Sullivan – GM of the Raiders
* Pedro – GM of the Yankees
* Derek Sanderson – GM of the Rangers
* Ron Artest – GM of Detroit Pistons or OKC
* Mickey Rivers – GM of the Red Sox
* Billie Jean King – the GM of Augusta National Course

7. Amazing Stat:

The best season by a goalie since 1930 – Tony Esposito in 1969 had 15 shutouts in 63 games (Hasek had 13 in 1998)

8. Old School:

In the B’s 1973 Stanley Cup season, the following players played at least 76 of the 78 games:

* Phil Esposito – 78
* John Bucyk – 78
* Fred Stanfield – 78
* Carol Vadinais – 78
* Dallas Smith – 78
* Don Awrey – 78
* Nick Beverley – 76
* Wayne Cashman – 76

(Bobby Orr played in 63)

9. Just a Little Bit Outside:

In honor of Memorial Day – how about some real heroes – Medal of Honor winners from Iraq war – Thank you is sufficient – awe and admiration is my emotion:

* Paul Smith – (4/4/03) – Held off Iraq company with grenades, anti-tank weapons and machine gun while organizing a defense. In the end, 50 enemy soldiers were killed and countless Americans saved

* Michael Monsoor (9/29/06) – In the midst of an enemy attack, Monsoor took a grenade off his chest and then jumped on the grenade sacrificing his life and saving his two comrades.

* Ross McGinhis (12/4/06) – When a grenade was thrown in his armored vehicle, he pinned the grenade between himself and the armor causing his death but saving four comrades

* Jason Dunhill – (4/14/04) – When an insurgent attacked on a suicide mission, he wrestled him to the ground and then leaped on a live grenade saving at least two Marines and sacrificing his life.

10. Randomocity:

* Green Acres, Jeffersons, Alice and One Day at a Time all stunk
* Traffic getting bad again during commutes
* Vanderbilt must have been bad for morale on F Troop
* Bee Gees, Donna Summers, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson – somewhere Bill Veeck jinxed them
* Under the theory that Michael Jordan was suspended for a year for gambling – maybe Josh Beckett was healthy but was suspended for five days by the Red Sox
* If I’m Curt Schilling and am concerned about my legacy – I lose 100 pounds and pitch again for incentive contract and make $10mm and give it back to the state and then I do signings, birthday parties, auctions until I give back every cent. Man of honor or a fraud – those are his two choices…

Curt Schilling’s Video Game Company 38 Studios Lays Off All Employees

KC Downey — Thu, 24 May 2012 23:56:50 +0000

Forgive the cliche, but it’s nearly game over for Curt Schilling’s video game company, 38 Studios.

The company laid off all of the employees on Thursday, one week after it was unable to make payroll. The company had nearly 400 workers.

38 Studios was founded six years ago in Maynard, Massachusetts, but later moved its headquarters to Rhode Island, where officials issued the company a $75 million loan guarantee in 2010.

Last week, Rhode Island officials held emergency meetings two weeks after the company was unable to make a $1.1 million loan payment back to the state. The company later bounced a check before actually making the payment.

The company produced one video game called “Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning” and had a new massively multi-player online game on the way for 2013 tentatively titled “Copernicus.” The game, still in development, has already cost the company tens of millions of dollars to produce.

With the online game on the way, 38 Studios has tried hard to find additional investors to keep the company afloat, but has failed so far.

“I have not given up,” Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee told Boston.com. “But I am also a realist. What we’ve learned from (industry) experts is grim news. Very, very grim.”

The state of Rhode Island has already given Schilling’s company $49 million.

Schilling has poured more than $30 million of his personal fortune into the company, but he, too, is tapped.

Sox Rebound in Rubber Match after 4-1 Loss to O’s

Nick Bohlen — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:56:58 +0000

Finally back at .500, the Boston Red Sox squandered their first opportunity at a winning record this season, falling 4-1 Tuesday night to the Baltimore Orioles.

Felix Doubront pitched a solid six innings, striking out nine and giving up just four hits, allowing his only runs on a Steve Tolleson two-run home run in the second inning. Matt Albers gave up another two-run blast to Wilson Betemit in the bottom of the eighth, all but putting the game out of reach with the way the Red Sox were swinging the bats.

The Red Sox bats were silent all game, scoring just one run on a Kevin Youkilis solo shot in his first game back from the disabled list. The only other hit the Red Sox mustered was an Adrian Gonzalez single off Orioles starter Brian Matusz, barely a blip among the 9 Boston batters Matusz sat down with strikeouts. The Red Sox lineup had even worse luck against the suddenly vaunted Baltimore bullpen. Baltimore relievers combined to shut the door for 2.2 hitless innings, including a 1-2-3 top of the ninth on just eight pitches from Orioles closer Jim Johnson.

Thankfully, nearly everything about Wednesday’s game was the polar opposite of the night before, from the Red Sox starter “earning” the win despite a poor performance, to the Red Sox lineup awakening from its slumber to crank out 13 hits. The end result was a 6-5 Red Sox win to rebound from Tuesday night’s disappointing loss and take the rubber match of the three-game series from the first-place Orioles. The Red Sox are now back at .500 with another chance to get on the right side of winning.

Just Good Enough

While neither starting pitcher was sharp enough to make it out of the sixth inning, Daniel Bard managed to (barely) outpitch the Orioles’ Jake Arrieta. Bard only gave up two runs on five hits, but continued his wildness by walking four Orioles batters in just 5.1 innings. He has now walked 19 batters in his five starts during the month of May. Luckily, Arrieta was even worse, surrendering four runs on eight hits and three walks in 5.2 innings. Both starters coughed up a home run.

Same Bullpen, Different Result

Similarly, the Red Sox bullpen managed to simply outlast their Oriole counterparts with one run to spare. The Red Sox finally managed to break through against the Baltimore for a couple of much-needed insurance runs, giving the Boston bullpen a little breathing room for their usual adventurous visits to the mound in the late-innings. Lefty Andrew Miller was tagged for two runs on a Nick Johnson home run (the same Nick Johnson who was out of baseball for a year, and a left-handed hitter, no less), and Padilla gave up a sacrifice fly to Betemit in the eighth inning.

On the brighter side, Rich Hill struck out the only two batters he faced in relief of Miller (at least one lefty specialist was effective), and Alfredo Aceves shut the door with a perfect four-out save, his eleventh of the season.

A Sleeping Lineup Awakened

Thanks to the dearth of healthy outfielders in the Red Sox clubhouse, Gonzalez shifted to right field the past two games to make room at first base for the returning Youkilis, with Will Middlebrooks staying at third base (for the time being, anyway). Even with Youkilis, the Red Sox lineup struggled to score runs yesterday with Ryan Sweeney and Cody Ross on the disabled list.

On Wednesday, the difference on offense came from key contributions from their AAA replacements. With the way Daniel Nava has been hitting since his call-up ((his line now sits at a blistering .350/.491/.600), his home run to put the Red Sox on top 3-2 comes as no surprise.

But the real hero – and the real surprise – was Scott Podsednik. The 36-year-old outfielder was recently acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies and signed to a minor league deal, then brought up from Pawtucket with the injuries to Ross and Sweeney. After pinch-hitting last night for Marlon Byrd (he grounded out), Podsednik got his first start since 2010 on Wednesday and quickly made the most of it. With the Red Sox up 5-4, Podsednik cranked a solo shot over the wall in right that proved to be the winning run. It was just the 42nd home run of his career.

Next Up

After going 5-3 on their road trip, the Red Sox now travel back home to start a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Jon Lester (3-3) will face Alex Cobb (1-0) Friday night at Fenway. First pitch is at 7:10pm.

Philly Writer Calls Boston Sports Fans “Bigoted” and “Racist”

KC Downey — Wed, 23 May 2012 22:25:18 +0000

Are Boston sports fans racist? Bigoted? Why are we asking this question again?

Well, take a moment (that’s all it will take) to read Philly.com sportswriter John Mitchell’s 243-word (wow!) masterpiece of a “column” titled “KG: ‘fair-weathered’ beats bigoted any day.”

West Philadelphia born and raised, as the writer so eloquently describes in his biography, Mitchell did not take kindly to the words Kevin Garnett had about his beloved fanbase.

“You’ve got (Boston) fans and then you’ve got fairweather fans. Take it how you want it,” said Kevin Garnett after Monday’s Game 5 win.

So, Mitchell used KG’s comments as an opportunity to open up a can of worms he didn’t really need to open up.

“You think we’re the fair weather type, do you? Ok, to that I say that it’s better to be fair weather than to be anything remotely akin the cretins that unleashed their racist vitriol via Twitter upon Washington Capitals defenseman Joel Ward, a Black hockey player, last month after he eliminated Boston’s Bruins from the NHL playoffs with an overtime goal,” Mitchell wrote.

You tell him, John! Wait, what does this have to do with basketball? Or Philadelphia? Or Kevin Garnett?!?

Mitchell, of course, is referring to the disgusting tweets made after Ward’s game-winning goal to beat the Bruins in the first round of the NHL playoffs last month.

The tweets ignited a national conversation about race with the microscope again focused on the Boston area, but what Mitchell and several others fail to realize is that a majority of the few dozen people who sent out the tweets were not from Boston. They hailed from Canada, Connecticut, and other parts of the U.S. and world. Some were from Boston, but several weren’t.

So, that makes Boston a racist town? Or, did Mitchell (like several others before him) just paint the city with an unbelievably broad brush? I’ll acknowledge the city has a history of racial conflicts and some race-charged incidents, but if we’re talking about right now (which we are), I’ll go with the latter.

Mitchell then takes his column down a disgusting path with a largely empty threat to Kevin Garnett, who is black, if he cannot win an NBA title this year.

“So my advice to you, KG, is that you’re better off winning this series, the next one and then the next. Because if you let those stalwart fans down, who knows what they’ll unleash on you. We do know what they are capable of. Take that how you want.”

It’s just dangerous to accuse a large group of people (in this case, millions of people) of something so inflammatory. It’s even more dangerous to write an equally inflammatory column threatening an active player.

And it’s downright baffling Mitchell struggled to hit the 250-word mark about a topic he’s clearly passionate about.

(For those counting, I’m at 477 words.)

Patriots Sign 1st Round Pick Chandler Jones

KC Downey — Wed, 23 May 2012 21:29:55 +0000

The Patriots have signed one of their first round picks, defensive end Chandler Jones.

Terms of the deal, of course, aren’t disclosed. But under the new CBA, Jones’s contract is four years in length with an option for a fifth year.

Jones, who comes from Syracuse, is listed at 6’5″ and 266 pounds. He will likely slide in as the team’s starting defensive end in place of Mark Anderson, who signed with the Bills in free agency.

SoB’s Zach Schaphorst wrote up a review of the team’s pick after the draft in April:

“Jones, brother of MMA fighter Jon “Bones” Jones, is an expert at using his hands and can use his long arms to wreck havoc. He is a high motor player, who relies on hustle and rip and swim moves to get pressure rather than around-the-corner speed. Many have compared him to Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul.”

Brandon Bass Scores Playoff-High 27, Boosts Celtics Past Sixers

Nathan — Tue, 22 May 2012 03:34:35 +0000

Brandon Bass set a playoff-high and tied his career-high with 27 points, as the Boston Celtics cruised past the Philadelphia 76ers, 101-85, in Game 5 Monday night at TD Garden. The Celtics now hold a crucial 3-2 over the Sixers in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference Semi-final series.

Rajon Rondo recorded 14 assists and 13 points, scoring seven crucial points in the fourth quarter to push the Celtics’ lead to double-digits. Kevin Garnett scored 20 points, and Paul Pierce added 16.

Pierce struggled from the field but imposed his will on the game by getting to the foul line, going 9-for-9 on free throw attempts. Pierce said that his right knee is at “20 percent.”

Bass Stars in Strong Third Quarter

Bass, who was the certainly star of the Celtics on Monday night, made nine of his 13 field goal attempts, pulled in six rebounds, blocked two shots and grabbed two steals.

The Celtics trailed by three at the half but came out on fire in the third quarter, outscoring the Sixers, 28-16, behind 18 third-quarter points from Bass. Seven Sixers turnovers aided the strong quarter for the Celtics.

Iguodala, Sixers Struggle with Consistency

Elton Brand led the losing effort for the Sixers with 19 points. Evan Turner had 11 points and 10 rebounds but connected on just five of 13 shots. Jrue Holiday recorded 10 points, seven assists and four turnovers in a flawed Sixers effort that saw them shoot over 50 percent in the first half and under 40 percent in the second.

After willing the Sixers to a Game 4 comeback victory, Andre Iguodala struggled to get his game going in Game 5. Iguodala scored just eight points and shot 30 percent.

Stiemsma, Celtics’ Bench Help Put Sixers on the Brink

With Ray Allen starting for the injured Avery Bradley, the Celtics’ bench stepped up and scored 20 points. Greg Stiemsma led the Celtics’ reserve effort with 10 points and three blocks. Bradley sat out for the first time in the postseason because of shoulder soreness. He is listed as day-to-day going forward.

The Celtics face the Sixers in an elimination game Wednesday night in Philadelphia. If the Sixers win, Game 7 will be played back in Boston Friday night. If the Celtics win Wednesday they will await the winner of the Pacers-Heat series to determine who they will face in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Connelly’s Top Ten: Beckett For Mayor (Kidding – Trade Him!)

Michael — Mon, 21 May 2012 11:00:39 +0000

1. Red Sox:

* Josh Beckett should be an option to pinch hit
* See the sign held by a fan behind the Red Sox dugout that read “Fried Chicken”?
* Phillies pitcher Qualls should be fined for walking Nick Punto, who is hitting .135
* Alfredo Aceves is an insane specimen – waste like Twiggy / back like Hagler
* With Mike Aviles now on a pace for 32 HR and 107 RBI and more-than-sufficient range – I would trade him right now and bring up Jose Iglesias, who is now over .280
* Sox are now on pace to win 80 games
* David Ortiz looked more than adequate at first – might want to think about pushing Adrian Gonzalez to the outfield if production is lacking
* Absolute bomb by Salty

2. Celtics:

* They will win the Philly series but cost themselves the next series with their disgraceful performance Friday
* Doc Rivers’s worst coaching job as a Celtic
* Avery Bradley should cover any player other than a center/power forward that hits two straight shots
* Would you trade Rajon Rondo for Pau Gasol and Ramon Sessions?
* Ray Allen is looking like the end is coming (I’d offer him two years, $8mm)
* Worst thing for the Celtics was Rondo hitting a three pointer early in the series – now he thinks he actually has that type of range
* Paul Pierce had a great 20-second dribble

3. The New NFL:

Similar to evaluating the tenuous status of a player with strikes against him because of negative drug tests, teams will have to assess past concussions (ie. Wes Welker)

4. Watched the NFL Network’s show 10 Guttiest Performances:

1. Jack Youngblood – plays in the NFC Championship, Super Bowl and Pro Bowl with broken leg
2. Dan Reeves – coaching two weeks after a heart attack
3. Ronnie Lott – cuts off finger to play

5. Most hits by active players:

* Derek Jeter (38)………..3,147
* Omar Vizquel (45)…….2,843
* A-Rod (36)………………2,815
* Johnny Damon (38)………2,732
* Chipper Jones (40)…….2,646

6. Facebook’s IPO

With Facebook in the news for its IPO, how is WWE’s (World Wrestling Entertainment) stock doing:

$16.31 per share on 4/26/10 — Friday’s closing at $8.75

7. Amazing Stats:

The last triple crown winner Affirmed (1978) was the Great, Great Grandson of Triple Crown winner War Admiral (info from Wikipedia)

8. Old Laments:

Who were we cheated from watching:

* Ted Williams during the war years
* Bobby Orr after knee woes
* Len Bias and what would have been the Celtics second dynasty with at least five championships
* Babe Ruth
* Frank Lahey and Tom Coughlin as coach of Boston College football
* Marvin Barnes and Jimmy Piersall

9. Just a Little Bit Outside:

From two PBS specials (once you turn them on, you can’t turn them off)

* 112 workers died building the Hoover Dam
* Park developer Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed the Emerald Necklace in Boston and Central Park in New York, also designed the grounds at McClain Hospital and then ironically was admitted there at the end of his life.

10. Randomocity:

* I was surprised to read in the Globe that minor league baseballs are different than those in the majors (raised seams)
* Lance Stephenson of the Pacers, who made the choke sign at Lebron, will be released within two weeks of the Pacers’ season end
* From Baseball Tonight – Pirates struck out 41 times in the three game series in Detroit
* Should ESPN have Mark McGwire footage with Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Hank Aaron for their Going, Going, Gone segment? (considering he didn’t hit many of his home runs… some chemist did)
* I love Ozzie Guillen’s comments on what he would do if one of his players talked to him the way Dwyane Wade talked to his coach
* Mike Mussina struck out David Ortiz 27 times in 74 at bats

Aviles, Saltalamacchia Homer in Red Sox Rubber-Match Win

Matt Goisman — Sun, 20 May 2012 21:25:34 +0000

In a typical start by Philadelphia ace Cliff Lee, teams that manage two runs count themselves lucky. The Boston Red Sox scored five against the dominating lefty Sunday afternoon, and they didn’t waste them.

Mike Aviles and Jarrod Saltalamacchia both homered for the second straight day, and Josh Beckett held the Phillies to one run over 7.2 innings, giving the Red Sox a 5-1 rubber-match road victory over the Phillies.

Boston has now won eight of its last 10 games. They haven’t lost a series in three weeks.

Red Sox Go Score Early

Aviles led off his second game in a row with a home run, depositing a 1-1 off-speed pitch into the left field bleachers. He added an RBI single in the top of the second, driving in Marlon Byrd with a grounder between third and shortstop. Aviles finished the game 2-for-5, one of just two Red Sox to finish with two hits.

The Red Sox got to Lee again in the third, with Adrian Gonzalez (2-for-4) singling and Will Middlebrooks doubling with one out. That set the stage for Saltalamacchia, who crushed a 2-0 change-up from Lee into the standing area behind the center field seats for a 5-0 Red Sox lead. At this rate, perhaps Saltalamacchia should intentionally get stitches in his ear before every game.

Lee settled down after Saltalamacchia’s home run, retiring the next 11 Red Sox. Despite several long innings early, three 1-2-3 middle innings allowed Lee to pitch a full seven on a season-high 112 pitches. He gave up nine hits and a walk, suffered his second loss of the season and saw his ERA rise from 1.95 to 2.66.

Lee also struck out six, including the side in the first. His curveball proved especially difficult for Red Sox hitters, dropping out of the strike zone at the last possible moment.

Beckett Runs Scoreless Stretch to 14.1

Beckett followed up a seven-inning shutout with another excellent performance, holding the Phillies scoreless over the first seven innings. He allowed two on base just once during that stretch: the bottom of the third, when second baseman Freddy Galvis led off with an infield single – one of four by the Phillies – and Lee moved him to third with a one-out double.

Beckett exited the third unscathed, however, getting a grounder to third that couldn’t score Galvis and then a liner to David Ortiz at first to end the inning.

The lineout reflected a strong day in the field for Ortiz, who committed no errors and made several fine defensive plays. He dove to corral a Shane Victorino grounder in the fourth, which would’ve resulted in an out had Beckett covered the bag correctly, and he jumped to snag a Hunter Pence liner one batter later. He also finished two double plays.

Beckett only ran into trouble in the eighth, giving up a one-out double to pinch-hitter Pete Orr. Two batters later, Orr scored from third on a sacrifice fly by left fielder Juan Pierre. Beckett walked his next batter, then Vicente Padilla replaced him.

Padilla walked his first batter, then got third baseman Ty Wiggington to ground out with the bases loaded to end the eighth, pushing Padilla’s impressive streak of stranded inherited runners to 13. Alfredo Aceves set the Phillies down 1-2-3 in an efficient, nine-pitch ninth.

Picking up the win, Beckett evened his record at 4-4. He gave up one run on seven hits and two walks. He struck out five thanks to solid off-speed pitches that, while perhaps not quite as sharp as Lee’s, still kept Phillies hitters very off-balance. He threw nearly 70 percent of his pitches for strikes, and started off 21 of his 30 batters faced with strikes.

Only lead-off hitters gave Beckett any trouble, with five Phillies beginning their innings by getting on base. None of them, however, scored.

Due to a scoreless streak of 14.1 innings, Beckett’s ERA has plummeted from 5.97 all the way to 4.38 in just 10 days. If Beckett continues pitching as he did Sunday, that number will only continue to fall.

Red Sox Launch 4 Home Runs, Top Phillies 7-5

KC Downey — Sun, 20 May 2012 04:01:16 +0000

After watching Jonathan Papelbon close out the Red Sox on Friday and do his signature poses in the process, there’s no way the Sox could let that happen again on Saturday.

So, the offense took over, clubbing four home runs to back Jon Lester, who despite a shaky outing, managed to earn the win in a 7-5 final.

Mike Aviles started it all with a leadoff home run, and the Red Sox picked up two more runs in the second on Joe Blanton’s error and Jon Lester’s ground-ball double play with men on first and third and no outs. The Sox led 3-0.

After Philly picked up a run in the third, Will Middlebrooks (2-4) and Jarrod Saltalamacchia (3-4) hit back-to-back home runs in the fourth inning to give the Red Sox a 5-1 lead.

The Phillies picked up three runs off Lester in the bottom of the fourth, making it a 5-4 game.

But, the Red Sox answered right back again, with first baseman (yes…FIRST BASEMAN) David Ortiz hitting a two-run shot to make it a 7-4 game.

It wouldn’t be a Red Sox game without the bullpen allowing at least one run. Lester left the game after six innings, and Vicente Padilla was the first man on to protect the lead. He did his job in the seventh, but could only record one out in the eighth while allowing two hits.

Rich Hill came on and got Juan Pierre to ground out to first, and then Bobby Valentine called on Alfredo Aceves to get out of the eighth. Aceves, of course, allowed a single to Jimmy Rollins, scoring Ty Wigginton (run charged to Padilla), but he got out of it and closed out the Phillies in the ninth to preserve the win.

Lester’s Performance

Lester was coming of a complete-game win over the Indians, but struggled at times Saturday against the Phillies.

He allowed four runs on eight hits and a walk in 6.0 innings. He threw just 90 pitches (59 for strikes) in capturing his third win of the year.

The Red Sox will go for the series win on Sunday afternoon with Josh Beckett on the mound.