Four Run Fifth Gives Texas a 5-1 Victory Over Red Sox At Fenway Park

Ian Kinsler's three run fifth inning tater fueled the Texas Rangers to a 5-1 win over the Boston Red Sox at beautiful Fenway Park Friday night. It was a game Julio Lugo would like to forget. I would too...in fact, I'd like to forget HIM. His range at shortstop has drastically shrunk, allowing that big Texas inning when starter Brad Penny gave up that home run by Kinsler. Boston easily could have been out of the inning with a little help from the soon to be benched (for good?) Lugo. Jed Lowrie took a heated batting practice yesterday in preparation for his activation. Expect Nick Green to be manning the six hole tonight when Jon Lester will face Derrick Holland. Big Papi David Ortiz, who will have an eye examination on Monday, had this to say about the often booed at Fenway Julio Lugo...

“Those were always going to be hits,” Ortiz said. “The guy’s diving for the ball and trying to catch it. What else can you do? It’s not like he’s not hustling.”
Asked if Lugo has looked a step slow since returning from surgery, Ortiz said, “I don’t know. But the guy had surgery on his knee. He’s trying. He didn’t miss a ball that anyone else could dive and get, did he? Unless you’re playing where the ball is hit. He’s maybe four steps away from a hard hit ball, there’s not much you can do about it, other than knock it down. When you’re diving for a ball, it’s not your choice.”

I saw it a little differently than our Papi. Julio SHOULD have knocked down that ball, which would have saved a run. It went under his glove instead. Lugo has lost a couple steps of range and that really showed when those two balls inexplicately eluded his glove. Those men scored on Kinsler's stink bomb. The NY Yankees were rained out, so the Sox moved half a game behind them in the race for first place in the AL East.

In other Sox news, as I mentioned earlier, Big Papi will have his requested eye exam this coming Monday. The players all have yearly eye checks and the Sox brass are not concerned. I wish that WAS the problem because these days, it's easy to fix mounting nearsightedness. Boston manager Terry "Tito" Francona thinks it might just be dry eyes but the professionals will have their say, as they should.

Boston takes on Texas again tonight with the first pitch to be hurled at 7:10pm EDT. Jon Lester is looking for another quality start, just like his last one. Let it be. GO SOX.

I hope your Saturday will be terrific. My girlfriend Nadia and I are going strawberry picking in Avon. The Connecticut native strawberrys are so sweet, it's hard to believe. She's excited to go and I'm thrilled to be able to take her.

You can click on this post's title for the latest Sox news from Sports Illustrated and as always, BE WELL. I'll see you tomorrow morning, if not before. I welcome your comments and I'll respond to all of 'em. Thanks for popping in...I appreciate every one of you SO much.