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Red Sox Vs. Rays Lineups: Sox Stick With Usual Nine Against Hellickson

2012-05-16T20:48:55Z

The Red Sox will take on the Tampa Bay Rays in the first game of their short two-game series Wednesday afternoon. First pitch is at 7:00 p.m. EST, with broadcasts on NESN, ESPN, and WEEI.

The Sox come into the game on a five-game winning streak that has them just two games shy of .500. They'll need to pick up their second straight sweep if they're to leave Tampa with an even record.

The Sox will have what is fast becoming their standard lineup on the field against Tampa Bay.

Boston Red Sox (17-19)

Ryan Sweeney, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Will Middlebrooks, 3B
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Cody Ross, RF
Daniel Nava, LF
Mike Aviles, SS

Tampa Bay Rays (23-14)

Ben Zobrist, RF
B.J. Upton, CF
Matt Joyce, LF
Carlos Pena, 1B
Luke Scott, DH
Sean Rodriguez, 3B
Will Rhymes, 2B
Jose Molina, C
Elliot Johnson, SS

Next Game

Boston Red Sox
@ Tampa Bay Rays

Wednesday, May 16, 2012, 7:10 PM EDT
Tropicana Field

Clay Buchholz vs Jeremy Hellickson

. Game time temperature around .

Complete Coverage >

Red Sox Vs. Rays: Streaking Sox Head To Tampa Bay

2012-05-16T20:30:15Z

The Red Sox will take on the Rays in a short two-game series down in Tampa Bay. Clay Buchholz will get the start Wednesday, hoping to build on an encouraging performance last time out.

The Red Sox are on a roll, winners of five straight behind all-around impressive performances in the field, on the mound, and at the plate against the Indians and Mariners. Now they'll head to Tampa Bay, hoping to stay hot as they take on the division rival Rays.

Though they are locked in a tie with the Orioles atop the division, the Rays have been struggling a bit of late, dropping six of their last ten games before a short sweep of Toronto righted the ship. They've been doing things their usual way, keeping runs off the board with pitching and defense.

Now the Sox will try to score some runs off of them like they did a month ago, when they put together 31 runs in four games against Tampa in April, taking three much-needed wins off the Rays.

Boston Red Sox (17-19) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (23-14)

Wednesday, May 16, 7:00 p.m. EST
NESN/ESPN, WEEI
Clay Buchholz (4-1, 8.31 ERA) vs. Jeremy Hellickson (3-0, 2.95 ERA)

When last they met, the Sox did a number on Jeremy Hellickson, showing him why it is that low-strikeout, high-walk pitchers don't often thrive in the MLB. Still, Hellickson has been seeing the same success as he did last year despite once again having peripherals that suggest much worse. Perhaps staying out of Fenway is all that Hellickson needs. Or maybe it's more about staying away from strong offensive teams like the Sox.

Clay Buchholz finally had his first decent start of the season in his last outing, though it still involved a late-inning fade, three earned runs, and bad peripherals. While it's definitely a sight better than all of his other starts, it's questionable whether or not this is the sort of start he can take as a positive sign and build on. If Clay can't keep runs off tonight, then it's right back to the drawing board for him.

Thursday, May 17, 7:10 p.m. EST
NESN/MLBN, WEEI
Felix Doubront (3-1, 4.46 ERA) vs. Matt Moore (1-3, 5.31 ERA)

Felix Doubront turned in arguably his most impressive start of the season last time out, throwing six innings of one-run ball, striking out five and walking two. The southpaw starter is still struggling to go deep into games, but has some of the best peripherals on the team and was doing well in his first start against the Rays until the defense failed him in the fifth.

Matt Moore has had difficulty converting his preseason hype into regular season success. Despite getting ahead in plenty of at bats and finding the zone with some regularity, Moore has struggled to avoid the walk, surrendering five per nine innings so far this year. Combine that with a terribly high fly ball rate, and opposing teams aren't having too much trouble scoring off of young Moore.

Wes Welker Signs Contract Tender, Puts Ball In Patriots' Court

2012-05-16T18:07:40Z

Wes Welker signed a franchise tender Tuesday that guarantees he will keep him in New England at least for the 2012 NFL season. But in a tweet following the signing, Welker acknowledged that the ball is now in the Patriots' court.

"I think in essence the Patriots understood, and he understands, he can't really live without football. He's an addict, he needs football, and he understands the 9.5 (million dollars) is about half of what he made over the length of (his previous) contract," said CSNNE analyst Tom E. Curran. "He gave up the leverage, but that tweet made a nice passive-aggressive stand that says, 'Look, I'm doing it. Meet me halfway here, Patriots. Meet me halfway here, Kraft. Put your money where your mouth is. You said you were going to renegotiate and do the right thing. Let's see if you do.'"

Could the Patriots find a replacement for Welker if they don't lock him up with a long-term contract?

"Going into last year, I thought someone could replicate but not duplicate what Wes Welker did. And then he came out and he was the best receiver in the National Football League for the first half of the season, hands down -- outside, inside, whatever, hands down the most productive guy. And I actually went up to him and I said, 'I got it wrong. Nobody can do what you exactly can do. Nobody in the NFL can do it, certainly nobody on the Patriots can do it,'" said Curran. "I don't know if he was at the height of his powers last year and he can come back and be as good as he was last year for that eight- to 10-game stretch. But no, I haven't seen anybody play that position as well as him."

For more of Curran's comments on the Welker signing, view the video below:

For more on the Patriots please be sure to check out our blog, Pats Pulpit and SB Nation Boston for all the latest news and updates.

NBA Playoffs 2012, Celtics Vs. Sixers, Game 3: Game Time, TV Schedule And More

2012-05-16T18:00:35Z

Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics continue their pursuit of an 18th championship against the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs on Wednesday.

Event: Celtics (5-3) vs. 76ers (5-3) - NBA Playoffs 2012, Second Round, Game 3.

Date/Time: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 - 7:00 p.m. EST.

Location: Wells Fargo Center (Capacity: 20,318), Philadelphia, PA.

Broadcast Info: Wednesday's game between the Celtics and 76ers will be televised nationally on TNT. In addition, the game will be broadcast on the radio on WEEI 93.7 FM.

Celtics Roster 2011-2012: Ray Allen, Brandon Bass, Avery Bradley, Marquis Daniels, Keyon Dooling, Kevin Garnett, Ryan Hollins, JaJuan Johnson, E'Twaun Moore, Sasha Pavlovic, Paul Pierce, Mickael Pietrus, Rajon Rondo, Greg Stiemsma, Sean Williams. Head Coach: Doc Rivers.

76ers Roster 2011-2012: Lavoy Allen, Tony Battie, Craig Brackins, Elton Brand, Spencer Hawes, Jrue Holiday, Andre Iguodala, Jodie Meeks, Xavier Silas, Evan Turner, Nikola Vucevic, Louis Williams, Sam Young, Thaddeus Young. Head Coach: Doug Collins.

Injury Report: Boston - Paul Pierce (knee), Ray Allen (ankle), Avery Bradley (shoulder).

Regular Season Series: Boston and Philadelphia met three times in the regular season, with the Sixers winning twice. Philly won by a combined 45 points in its two victories. On March 7, the Celtics were blown away, 103-71, thanks to a career game from Evan Turner (26 points). Philly also beat Boston, 99-86, in the next meeting on March 23. Boston won the season series finale, 103-79, on April 8 behind a 20 point game from Kevin Garnett.

Celtics-76ers In First Round: Both the No. 4 seeded Celtics and No. 8 seeded 76ers won their Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series. Boston defeated the No. 5 seeded Atlanta Hawks, 4-2, and Philadelphia defeated the No. 1 seeded Chicago Bulls, 4-2.

First Round Playoff Stats: Paul Pierce is the Celtics' leading postseason scorer, averaging 21.2 points. Kevin Garnett is the team's leading rebounder (10.5 RPG) and shot blocker (1.8 BPG) and Rajon Rondo is averaging a team-high 11.8 assists and 3.4 steals in six games. Jrue Holiday is the Sixers' leading scorer, averaging 18.2 points, and leads the team, averaging 4.7 assists. Spencer Hawes is averaging 8.0 rebounds, Andre Iguodala averages 1.8 steals and Elton Brand is averaging 2.5 blocks through the opening round.

Celtics Vs. 76ers, Game 1: Boston rode Kevin Garnett (29 points, 11 rebounds) and Rajon Rondo (13 points, 12 rebounds, 17 assits) to a comeback 92-91 win over Philadelphia in Game 1 of the series on Saturday night at TD Garden. Paul Pierce scored 14 and Ray Allen scored 12. Andre Iguodala finished with 19 points, six rebounds and six assists for Philly.

Celtics Vs. 76ers, Game 2: Boston again struggled through parts of the first three quarters, but got hot at the right time in the fourth. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough as the Sixers fended off the green team to even the series at 1-1. Jrue Holiday scored a game-high 18 while Kevin Garnett scored 11 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter and had 12 rebounds.

Storyline: Philly's not so tough, right? That's what you're probably thinking if you've been listening to 98.5 The Sports Hub's Mike Felger on weekday afternoons, but then again, you'd be wrong. The Sixers practically beat the Celtics twice -- Boston just happened to win one game, said C's head coach Doc Rivers -- in the first two games in Boston. Now, with the series transitioning to the Wells Fargo Center, the Celtics face an even tougher test against a team that can clearly beat them. Just as in the first two games, the health of Boston's stars -- Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Avery Bradley -- will be in question, and an unhealthy Celtics squad isn't helpful to the cause. Pierce said after Game 2 that the Celtics need to do a better job of defending individually, a thought that point guard Rajon Rondo also echoed. That's a tall order, though, as Philly has a handful of athletic players that can beat Boston at almost any time. In order for Boston to stay in this series, it desperately needs to win one, if not both, of the next two games in Philadelphia before coming home.

Players To Watch: Jrue Holiday entered the series as the Sixers' leading scorer, regular season and postseason, and he hasn't failed to live up to the billing so far. Holiday has been a pest for Boston in the first two games, so there's no reason to believe he won't be on Wednesday. Lou Williams, Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner also pose their own problems for Boston. Lavoy Allen has also developed into a sort of "X-factor" in the series for Philly. On the Celtics' side, it will be tough, if not impossible, to win without strong games from Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo. Ray Allen and Mickael Pietrus will also need to provide scoring and energy off the Celtics' bench in order to keep them afloat.

Prediction: It's still reasonable to think that the Celtics could win the series in five or six games, but in order to do so, they'll need to pick up at least one win in Philadelphia. In my opinion, that win won't come on Wednesday evening. Final Score: Sixers 86, Celtics 80.

Next Game

Boston Celtics
@ Philadelphia 76ers

Wednesday, May 16, 2012, 7:00 PM EDT
Wells Fargo Center

Complete Coverage >

For 2012 NBA Playoffs news, follow our stream. For Celtics coverage, visit our team page and CelticsBlog. Visit Liberty Ballers and SB Nation Philly for additional 76ers coverage.

Mike Stone Plays Big Role with 2012 Cannons

2012-05-16T16:29:14Z

When you think of the Boston Cannons, you think of Paul Rabil, Matt Poskay, Ryan Boyle, Jordan Burke, and other cogs in the lineup for the championship season. Who you don’t think of is Mike Stone.

Stone has seven goals in three games this season, including a hat trick against the Hamilton Nationals this past week. Last season he had five goals overall in six games. “I’m having a blast playing this year.” said Stone. “I came into the season motivated to contribute, and I decided that more than anything I was going to play as hard as I can and enjoy the experience. The camaraderie on our team is great, and it is a ton of fun getting together each week and competing.”

Behind the efforts of Stone and others, the Cannons are 3-0, and tied for the best record in Major League Lacrosse with the Denver Outlaws, who the Cannons hit the road to play this week. “Denver has a very talented team and is going to be a difficult test for us.” Stone explained. "I think the best thing that we can do is continue to play as we have the first 3 games this season.

“It has been important for us to get this season off to a strong start. We have been focused on not allowing last year’s success get in the way of our success this year, and we have been able to do that so far despite missing some valuable pieces of our roster.”

One thing that has helped Stone and the Cannons is the entire offensive unit being back. “I think we have put together a strong offensive group each week, even while some of our guys were out with NLL/coaching commitments. We had some young guys step up and do very well. With all of our offensive players back on the roster, we’re going to continue to play the way we have so far this year.”

What do the Cannons need to do to win in Denver this week? “Take care of the ball, be unselfish, and play together.”

2012 NBA Playoffs, Celtics Vs. Sixers Game 2: All Boston Celtics Expected To Play

2012-05-16T16:13:31Z

Avery Bradley and the rest of the bang-up Boston Celtics are all expected to be available for Wednesday night's Game 3 against the Philadelphia 76ers, Doc Rivers said Wednesday at the team's shootaround.

Bradley's shoulder popped out of its socket during Game 2, forcing him to leave the game temporarily. After missing more than a quarter, he returned in the final frame to hit a clutch three and slam home a dunk as the Celtics built a fourth-quarter surge that was ultimately futile. The shoulder is a concern moving forward, as it has now popped out several times in the past few weeks.

Ray Allen (bone spurs in his ankle), Paul Pierce (sprained MCL) and Mickael Pietrus (swollen knee) are all battling injury issues of their own, but shouldn't be kept out of the lineup.

For more on the Celtics, please be sure to visit our pages Celtics Blog and SB Nation Boston for all the latest news and updates.

Celtics Vs. Sixers, Game 3: Boston Looks For Revenge In Philadelphia

2012-05-16T12:01:15Z

Basketball is a game of runs, and in the end, one team makes more plays than the other.

Sorry -- went all Rajon Rondo on you -- but seriously, the first two games of the Eastern Conference Semifinals between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers came down to a few plays that could have gone either way. After a narrow 92-91 Celtics win in Game 1 on Saturday, the Sixers hung on for an 82-81 win in Game 2 Monday, evening the series, 1-1.

"We don't go for splits," C's coach Doc Rivers said on WEEI. "We've got to play better. In my opinion, Philly has outplayed us in both games. We just happened to win one of them."

Rivers has it right, as usual. Philly has outplayed Boston for the majority of the series (roughly five of the eight quarters played), and even though the Celts have stepped up their game in the fourth quarters of both games, the Sixers answered the call, at least in Game 2.

Kevin Garnett, the Celtics' leading scorer in the series, scored 11 of his 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the final period of Game 2, and Boston outscored Philly, 32-25, but the Sixers made shots when it counted, making their final five jumpers and last six free throws.

"They have players that are capable of making big shots, they have players who are capable of carrying their team scoring," said Ray Allen, who scored 14 in Monday's loss.

On Wednesday, the Celtics will need to turn the tables on those players as they face the Sixers in Game 3 of the series at the Wells Fargo Center at 7 p.m. EST (TNT/WEEI).

How will Boston go about that? For starters, they must step up their individual defense.

"They were running, they were setting picks, getting to the point where they get their guys in isolation so it's up to us to be able to play great individual defense," said Paul Pierce.

Evan Turner and Jrue Holiday are two of the players who burned Boston in Game 2, scoring six and five in the fourth quarter to finish with 10 and 18 points, respectively. Holiday is the Sixers' leading postseason scorer, averaging 16.9 points in eight games.

"He's playing with a lot of confidence," Sixers forward Andre Iguodala (13 points in Game 2) said about Holiday. "It has a lot to do with a player's progression in this league, it shows how confident they are when they go out and play. Not being afraid to step up and make big shots when you need them. I've always said Jrue has that Cali coolness about him. It can be a gift and a curse. In pressure moments that's definitely a plus for us because he's always even keel out there and he doesn't let himself get too high or low emotional."

Boston lost home court advantage, for now, with the Game 2 loss, but where the Celtics play isn't as important as how they do perform once the ball is tipped off, according to Allen.

"I don't really worry about where we play," said Allen. "Being in there building down there really isn't going to affect us. It's all about how we play them when we get out there, how we take care and work together better than what we did [Monday]."

While the Celtics will deny that playing in Philly bothers them, it's exciting for the Sixers.

"It's going to be really crazy," said Turner. "It's a great game, our fans are definitely excited and it's going to be great to be in front of them to compete."

Rivers will have to have injuries on the mind prior to Game 3, with Avery Bradley re-aggravating his left shoulder injury in Game 2 and both Pierce and Allen still feeling the effects of their injuries. Bradley left Game 2 in the second quarter after his left shoulder popped out, an ailment he has dealt with all season long. Pierce suffered a sprained MCL in his left knee during the first round and Allen continues to battle bone spurs in his right ankle.

Ask all three, and they'll likely tell you they are ready to play (maybe not Allen, who has been the most honest about his injury). But there is no doubting that they are hobbled.

But as we've learned already, healthy or not, the Celtics have their work cut out for them.

Next Game

Boston Celtics
@ Philadelphia 76ers

Wednesday, May 16, 2012, 7:00 PM EDT
Wells Fargo Center

Complete Coverage >

For 2012 NBA Playoffs news, follow our stream. For Celtics coverage, visit our team page and CelticsBlog. Visit Liberty Ballers and SB Nation Philly for additional 76ers coverage.

Red Sox Extras: Josh Beckett Dominant, Sox Extend Winning Streak

2012-05-16T11:00:20Z

Red Sox Extras is a postgame feature providing analysis for each game. Boston defeated the Seattle Mariners, 5-0, on Tuesday afternoon at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts.

Earlier this season, the Sox took what should have been a day of note--the celebrations for Fenway Park's 100th birthday--and turned it into a sad occasion by losing to the Yankees.

On Tuesday, they took another deserving day, with Tim Wakefield returning to Fenway Park and throwing out the ceremonial first pitch to none other than Doug Mirabelli, and provided an on-field product that lived up to the pre-game ceremonies.

It was just the latest in a line of impressive games by the Sox that suddenly has them looking like a legitimate baseball team again, not one struggling beneath the weight of a failed 2011 campaign.

Josh Beckett was about as good as he could possibly be on an afternoon where he needed to be at his absolute best to put his debacle against the Indians behind him. The golf jokes and calls for his head will certainly be quieter, if perhaps not gone entirely, after a seven inning domination of the Mariners, including three perfect innings to start the game and an impressive nine strikeouts. That Beckett should return at this level is perhaps not so terrible surprising--though his ERA is large, he's either been very good, or very bad this year. Never in-between.

The offense, while not explosive, did what it needed to do. They worked strong at bats, building Blake Beavan's pitch count early, and then scored early enough to give Beckett first an early lead, and then a comfortable one. Especially impressive was David Ortiz, who hit his eighth homer of the year to give the Sox their first run and then actually bunted his way to first and scored later on.

It bears mentioning that even Bobby Valentine had a good day, not making the mistake of waiting too long to start looking towards the bullpen. With Beckett tiring in the seventh, losing some velocity and getting hit harder than he had all day, Valentine had someone warming in the pen so that he wouldn't be left high-and-dry with a crisis underway. It's a good sign for a manager who has too often been guilty of a slow hook.

The Sox will start a two-game series Wednesday, as they face the Rays in Tampa Bay.

Final - 5.15.2012	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Seattle Mariners	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
Boston Red Sox	0	0	1	2	1	0	0	1	X	5	9	0
WP: Josh Beckett (3 - 4) LP: Blake Beavan (1 - 4)

Complete Coverage >

For more Boston Red Sox coverage, visit our team page and blog, Over The Monster.