Red Sox Are Winners At Fenway...Again. Boston 9 Baltimore 2

The Boston Red Sox continued their torrid play at Fenway Park Thursday night with a 9-2 thumping of the Baltimore Orioles. Their home record is an MLB- best 28-7 and they've won 17 of their last 19 and 18 of the last 21 games at their home, sweet home. But their road record, 14-20, is uncharacteristically mediocre. Why the huge difference? That's something manager Tito Francona would like to analyze with his team as they head for Cincinnati on a charter flight. He said this before their departure last night...

“We’re going to try and figure that on the flight because we haven’t figured it out very well to this point,” manager Terry Francona said. “I know our guys love playing here (at Fenway); you’d be crazy not to - the atmosphere’s maybe the best in baseball. But there needs to be more of an explanation than that, and hopefully we’ll figure it out. Because, ultimately, if we want to get to where we want to go, we’re going to have to play better on the road - but it sure has been fun at home."

Peter here, and yes, Tito, the Sox have been a ton of fun to watch when playing at the Fens. Take last night, for example. Jon Lester again looked sharp, sharp as a tack. Who needs Johan Santana anyways? He was able to go seven full innings, giving up the two lonely runs while allowing seven hits and walking only one. He had three K's and only had to make 101 pitches in those seven strong frames. The bullpen deftly took charge from there, with Delcarmen throwing a sixteen pitch eighth and Mike Timlin wrapping up the procedings with a quick seven pitch ninth. GAME OVER...Sox win!

Home runs brought in eight of the nine Boston runs, with two run bombs from Kevin Youkilis and the still white-hot JD Drew and a grand slam from the always clutch Mike Lowell. Baltimore opted to walk Manny Ramirez with men on second and third, which loaded the bases and gave Mikey a chance to put the game out of reach. He did JUST that with a tater into the Green Monster seats. When asked what HE would do with Manny up and first base open, he said "I'd walk him, too." In all, Boston collected only nine hits, but they made them count, that's for sure. Each and every one.

Like it or not (and Francona does NOT, even with the excellent record the Sox have when playing NL teams), interleague play starts tonight in Ohio, where the Sox will play the Reds. Here are the pitching matchups for the three game series...

Justin Masterson (3-0, 2.59 ERA) vs. Aaron Harang (2-9, 4.31) tonight*
Tim Wakefield (4-4, 4.33) vs. Edinson Volquez (9-2, 1.56) Saturday
Josh Beckett (6-4, 4.22) vs. Homer Bailey (0-2, 6.30) Sunday*

I like the matchups in game one and three, but I'm not familiar with Edinson Volques. I hope his won/lost record is better than his upcoming perfomance, because 9-2 ain't bad. But Timmy has shown signs of going on a hot streak, so we shall see. Masterson has been a steady and consistant guy, and we're all waiting for Beckett to spin a "Josh gem." HE IS OVERDUE, to say the least.

Have a wonderful Friday and a great weekend. Congratulations go out to the green team, the Boston Celtics, who last night came back from a 24 point deficit to take a commanding 3-1 series lead with a 97-91 victory in Los Angeles. The Laker's goose might be cooked, but a game five is coming up in LA on Father's Day. That will be a real treat to watch, and you'll find it on ABC and ABC HD. That game, along with round four of golf's US Open and the final Sox/Reds game, will fill our Father's Day plates while most of you will be with family and friends while grilling in the beautiful (I hope) summer outdoors. So make the most of it, thank your Dad for being there for you every day in every way, and just be happy. And as always, BE WELL. Click on the link for full coverage of getaway night at Fenway Park. Thanks for being here, and your comments are always welcomed and will be answered.