SB Nation Boston - Red Sox 5, Royals 1: Boston Finally Grabs Series Win Behind Daisuke Matsuzaka

Red Sox Reportedly Place Daisuke Matsuzaka On Waivers, Looking For Trade

2012-08-28T14:44:22Z

Add Daisuke Matsuzaka to the list of players the Red Sox have added to waivers as they try to burn salary with their disastrous season wrapping up. Buster Olney has reported that the pitcher is now on the trading block.

With the non-waiver trade deadline in the rear-view mirror, Boston has put a huge chunk of players on waivers, including Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett, and all the other players included in the blockbuster Boston-Los Angeles trade. Matsuzaka, who still has $2 million left in the last few months on his enormous $52 million contract signed six years ago, is another player who could be more useful somewhere else than on the stumbling Sox.

It seems like just yesterday that the Red Sox put up a $51 million posting fee just to talk to Matsuzaka, but it seems like long ago that the Japanese pitcher was the ace that had a 2.90 ERA and 18-3 record in 2008. While Matsuzaka was great in his return from the disabled list Monday, tossing a 7-run, 0-ER performance in a win, he had been shaky at best in the five starts before getting injured and still has a 5.10 ERA on the year. The Red Sox are hoping that someone out there was convinced by his most recent outing and might potentially give up something in order to take on Matsuzaka's last few months in return for a few key late-season starts.

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Red Sox Vs. Royals Final Score: Boston Finally Gets Series Win With 5-1 Win Behind Daisuke Matsuzaka

2012-08-27T20:16:44Z

The Boston Red Sox took their first series win in the month of August Monday afternoon, putting up five runs on Luke Hochevar while Daisuke Matsuzaka held the Royals to one run over seven innings in his return to the rotation.

For an outing that would end up being one of his best in years, Matsuzaka started the game off looking like the same old disappointing Daisuke. Jarrod Dyson drew an entirely predictable leadoff walk, stole second, and advanced to third on the errant throw down from Jarrod Saltalamacchia, eventually scoring on a sacrifice fly stung to right field by Alex Gordon.

The Sox would immediately respond in the bottom of the first thanks to Jacoby Ellsbury. After showing signs of returning to his 2009 self with a long string of multi-hit games, Ellsbury showed the first glimpse of 2011 Ellsbury we've seen in a long time, launching a solo shot into the right field stands off of a high fastball from Hochevar.

While Daisuke would settle down tremendously after the first, Hochevar continued to hit bumps in the road. A scoreless second interrupted only by a two-out walk from Mauro Gomez was followed by a two-run second, as Cody Ross singled home a pair before making the third out trying to stretch it into a double. Then again in the sixth, it was Cody Ross driving in Jacoby Ellsbury before scoring on a James Loney single to make it 5-1.

The closest the Dodgers would ever get to scoring was a pair of two-on, one-out situations in the sixth and eighth. Daisuke would work out of danger in the sixth with a fly ball from Salvador Perez and stike out of Mike Moustakas, however, while Vicente Padilla came in to finish the eighth with a double play. Andrew Bailey came in to handle a quick ninth, and the Red Sox left series winners.

Final - 8.27.2012	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R
Kansas City Royals	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Boston Red Sox	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	X	5

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Red Sox Vs. Royals Live Blog: Inning By Inning Updates For Game 4

2012-08-27T18:00:47Z

The Red Sox are out for a series win against the Kansas City Royals as they send Daisuke Matsuzaka to the mound to take on Luke Hochevar. We'll keep you up to date on the action as it goes down in Fenway Park.

Red Sox 5, Royals 1, Mid 8th -- Clayton Mortensen gets into a bit of trouble by allowing a pair of one-out singles on back-to-back pitches to Alex Gordon and Billy Butler. Vicente Padilla comes in, however, and saves him from trouble by quickly inducing an inning-ending double play to bring the Royals to their last three outs.

Red Sox 5, Royals 1, End 7th -- Scott Podsednik's single is the only even of note in an otherwise quiet seventh inning. This game doesn't seem to be headed for a dramatic finish, but we'll see.

Red Sox 5, Royals 1, Mid 7th -- Daisuke Matsuzaka comes back out for the seventh, and handles it with aplomb, once again surrendering just the one baserunner in a scoreless frame of work.

Red Sox 5, Royals 1, End 6th -- Once again it's Jacoby Ellsbury and Cody Ross getting the job done for the Red Sox. Ellsbury shows power to the opposite field this time, planting a double off the wall to start the attack with one out. Cody Ross follows suit with a wall ball double of his own to drive Ellsbury in, and James Loney finds the outfield grass with a single to bring Ross in and make it 5-1, Red Sox.

Red Sox 3, Royals 1, Mid 6th -- Gotta hand it to Daisuke, he's having a very good day. After putting two men on, Matsuzaka battles back to get Salvador Perez and Mike Moustakas out, the latter with an inning-ending strikeout.

Red Sox 3, Royals 1, End 5th -- Luke Hochevar breaks his on-off pattern with a very strong fifth, striking out two batters in a 1-2-3 inning.

Red Sox 3, Royals 1, Mid 5th -- Daisuke gives up a double in the fifth, but it only comes after he strikes out the first two batters he faces, and a Jarrod Dyson ground ball gets him out of the inning unharmed.

Red Sox 3, Royals 1, End 4th -- One inning off, one on for Luke Hochevar, who enjoys a 1-2-3 fourth after surrendering two in the third.

Red Sox 3, Royals 1, Mid 4th -- Daisuke is leading some kind of charmed life right now. Despite having his hit surrounded by a line drive and a ground ball that seemed perfectly placed to third, the sharply hit ball goes straight to Dustin Pedroia for the out, and Pedro Ciriaco makes the tough play to get Mike Moustakas at first for the third out of the inning.

Red Sox 3, Royals 1, End 3rd -- The Red Sox strike again against Luke Hochevar in the third. A pair of one-out singles sets up Jacoby Ellsbury at the plate, but the center fielder can't come through like he did in the first. Instead, the task falls to Cody Ross, who just barely misses an opportunity for a bat flip. His rocket shot catches the very top of the Green Monster, which in this case does not give, but takes. It even takes Ross off the basepaths as he's caught at second for the final out of the inning, but with both runners making it home, the Red Sox won't mind that tradeoff too much.

Red Sox 1, Royals 1, Mid 3rd -- A bloop single to right is all the Royals get in the third, as Daisuke Matsuzaka works on his best "not Daisuke Matsuzaka" impression.

Red Sox 1, Royals 1, End 2nd -- Mauro Gomez draws a walk, but that's all the Sox get in the second inning against Hochevar.

Red Sox 1, Royals 1, Mid 2nd -- Daisuke Matsuzaka gets a 1-2-3 second with some help from Jacoby Ellsbury, who makes a nice grab up against the Monster to rob Lorenzo Cain of extra bases.

Red Sox 1, Royals 1, End 1st -- Hard contact for the Red Sox gives Boston a run in about the most encouraging fashion possible. After a long fly ball from Dustin Pedroia is turned into a spectacular leaping grab at the wall by none other than Jarrod Dyson, Jacoby Ellsbury gets a high fastball over the plate and turns on it, launching a solo shot into the right field stands. He's been on a roll the last few days--if the power starts coming back, the Sox will be very happy going into 2013.

Royals 1, Red Sox 0, Mid 1st -- The most predictable of starts to the day for Daisuke Matsuzaka leads to an early run for the Royals. A leadoff walk puts Jarrod Dyson at first, and lets him start running freely against Matsuzaka. Taking off on the first pitch, Dyson reached second, and then moved to third when Dustin Pedroia couldn't grab the too-high throw from Jarrod Saltalamacchia (Pedroia was for some reason given the error). A ground ball to third kept Dyson on the bag, but hard contact to right from Alex Gordon gives Dyson enough room to tag up and head home on a sacrifice fly.

David Ortiz Reportedly Headed To Disabled List

2012-08-27T16:25:36Z

Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz will be placed on the disabled list due to continued issues with his right Achilles, according to Tom Caron of NESN.com.

The 36-year-old slugger will receive an injection in addition to undergoing a week of treatment on his Achilles in the hopes of potentially returning prior to the conclusion of the 2012 season. Ryan Kalish, a 24-year-old, left-handed hitting outfielder, has been recalled to fill the open roster spot.

Ortiz returned to action on Friday night after missing 35 games because of the injury. He went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI in his return. However, he continued to feel discomfort and was removed from the lineup for the remainder of the series.

Via Boston.com:

"It bothered him. It wasn't as pain-free as he was hoping,'' [Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said.]

For more on the Red Sox, please be sure to check out our blog Over The Monster and SB Nation Boston for all the latest news and updates.

Red Sox Vs. Royals Lineups: Daisuke Matsuzaka Returns

2012-08-27T14:49:04Z

The Red Sox will have Daisuke Matsuzaka back on the mound Monday afternoon as they try to take a series victory over the Kansas City Royals. First pitch is at 1:35 p.m. EST with broadcasts on NESN and WEEI.

The return of Daisuke is an event few were looking forward to. Ever since his charmed season in 2008, Matsuzaka has been more-or-less useless to the Red Sox, providing them with just 270 innings of 5.17 ERA ball over four seasons worth of games. Most fans would just as soon be done with him, but at this point the Red Sox have little to lose, so he'll make at least a few more appearances before finally departing from the team.

Otherwise, it's pretty standard fare from the Red Sox today, complete with the constantly switching Scott Podsednik and Pedro Ciriaco at one and nine, respectively this time.

Boston Red Sox (61-67)

Scott Podsednik, LF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Cody Ross, RF
James Loney, 1B
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Mauro Gomez, DH
Mike Aviles, SS
Pedro Ciriaco, 3B

Kansas City Royals (56-70)

Jarrod Dyson, CF
Alcides Escobar, SS
Alex Gordon, LF
Billy Butler, DH
Salvador Perez, C
Mike Moustakas, 3B
Lorenzo Cain, RF
Eric Hosmer, 1B
Johnny Giavotella, 2B

Next Game

Kansas City Royals
@ Boston Red Sox

Monday, Aug 27, 2012, 1:35 PM EDT
Fenway Park

Luke Hochevar vs Daisuke Matsuzaka

Mostly sunny. Winds blowing from right to left field at 5-15 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 80.

Complete Coverage >

Read more on the Red Sox at Over the Monster and SB Nation Boston. Baseball Nation is your source for news and analysis around Major League Baseball.

Red Sox Vs. Royals: TV Time, Game Info And More

2012-08-27T13:40:59Z

Daisuke Matsuzaka will return to the mound Monday afternoon as the Red Sox look to cement their first series win since the beginning of August against the Royals.

Matsuzaka has only started five games on the season, and only one of them was halfway decent, a 5.2 inning, one-run no decision on June 26. His next start saw him give up five runs and two homers in only an inning of work, he's been on the DL ever since. Facing Matsuzaka will be Luke Hochevar.

Current Series

Red Sox lead the series 2-1

Fri 08/24	WP: Jon Lester (8 - 10) SV: Andrew Bailey LP: Kelvin Herrera (1 - 2)	4 - 3 win
Sat 08/25	WP: Francisley Bueno (1 - 0) SV: Greg Holland LP: Junichi Tazawa (0 - 1)	9 - 10 loss
Sun 08/26	WP: Pedro Beato (1 - 0) SV: Mark Melancon LP: Will Smith (4 - 6)	8 - 6 win
Kansas City Royals Royals Review @ Boston Red Sox Over the Monster Monday, Aug 27, 2012, 1:35 PM EDT Fenway Park Luke Hochevar vs Daisuke Matsuzaka Mostly sunny. Winds blowing from right to left field at 5-15 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 80. Complete Coverage >

Boston has already guaranteed they won't lose their fourth consecutive series - at the worst, this four-game set will be a tie - but they haven't won a series since taking two out of three from Detroit in a series that ended August 1.

For more on the Red Sox, check out Over The Monster and continue to read SB Nation Boston.

MLB Standings: The Red Sox Slump Continues

2012-08-27T13:19:34Z

With another week in the 2012 Major League Baseball season becoming history, the final stretch run to October is starting more and more to take shape.

The Boston Red Sox have essentially said it's time to wait-til-next-year with their mega-trade of Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Who can blame them with a 61-67 record? The Red Sox are 13.5 games out of the AL East lead and nine games behind the Baltimore Orioles and Oakland Athletics for the final wild-card spot.

In other news, the Los Angeles Angels continue to disappoint. After sweeping Boston, the Angels lost two-of-three against the Detroit Tigers. With just 34 games remaining, L.A. is four games (five in the loss column) behind Oakland.

Speaking of Oakland, the A's incredible story continued with a series win against the red-hot Tampa Bay Rays, on the road no less.

In the National League, it's the San Francisco Giants who have surged into first in the tight NL West with a three-game sweep of their free-wheeling rivals in Chavez Ravine.

For a full look at the MLB Standings, please click here.

For more on the Red Sox, please be sure to check out our blog Over The Monster and SB Nation Boston for all the latest news and updates.

Red Sox Vs. Royals Final Score: Boston Gets To Will Smith In 8-6 Victory

2012-08-26T21:18:20Z

The Red Sox secured a series split against the Royals with an 8-6 victory Sunday afternoon.

Felix Doubront started off sharp, looking rejuvinated by the two weeks off. He recorded three scoreless innings out of the gate, striking out four. The only real negative was that the Royals were making him work, building up his pitch count early. With the Red Sox on a short bullpen and Doubront having just come off the DL for fatigue-related issues, it was a concerning development.

Still, the offense had given him a lead to work with. One run came across in the first on a Cody Ross single, and another in the second on a Mike Aviles wall ball double. Only a double play in the first and line out in the second kept the Sox from scoring more than the two.

In the third, however, Will Smith kept the Red Sox off the basepaths, sending the game to the top of the fourth where Felix just seemed to wear down. After recording two quick outs, Doubront lost the bite on his offerings, and was punished for it with three straight singles to cut Boston's lead in half. What was left of it would evaporate immediately thereafter, when Lorenzo Cain put a 92 MPH fastball into the Monster seats on a line for a 4-2 Royals lead.

The Sox waited only one inning to battle back. With one out in the fifth inning, Pedro Ciriaco did what Cain did but a good few yards higher, if with nobody on base. The solo shot bounced halfway up the AAA sign over the Monster seats to bring the Sox within one before a single and walk set up the newly-arrived James Loney for a game-tying base hit. The inning could have been worth more were it not for a terrible call at first that cost Dustin Pedroia an infield single and led to Bobby Valentine's ejection.

Boston would keep their foot on the pedal from there. The sixth inning saw the Sox take the lead on an error and two singles, and another error along with three base hits and a walk made it 7-4 by the end of the seventh.

The Mets would produce a rally in the eighth, as Pedro Beato faltered in the third inning of his debut, loading the bases with zero outs. Craig Breslow was able to limit the damage to just the two runs, however, striking out two batters around a sacrifice fly and ground ball single to keep the Sox in the lead. Dustin Pedroia doubled that lead with a leadoff homer in the eighth, and Mark Melancon picked up the save, securing at least a series split for the Red Sox.

FINAL	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R
Kansas City Royals	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	6
Boston Red Sox	1	1	0	0	0	2	3	1		8

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