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The Boston Red Sox will spend Memorial Day in Canada as the American League East division leaders head to Toronto for a key three-game series with the Blue Jays beginning tonight.
The Red Sox come in fresh of a four-game sweep of Tampa Bay and currently hold a two-game edge on the rival Yankees for first place in the division, with Toronto lurking at 3 1/2 games back.
Boston completed the sweep on Sunday behind eight shutout innings from Tim Wakefield, then survived a four-run rally from the Devil Rays in the ninth inning to hold on for a 5-4 victory.
Wakefield (4-6) gave up five hits while striking out four and walking one. He is now 14-2 with a 2.77 earned run average lifetime against Tampa Bay.
Relievers Rudy Seanez and Julian Tavarez nearly coughed up the 5-0 lead in the ninth, but Red Sox left fielder Willie Harris gunned down Joey Gathright at the plate to prevent the tying run from scoring and record the game's final out.
Mark Loretta finished 2-for-5 with three RBI and extended his hitting streak to 13 games for Boston, while Trot Nixon had a pair of hits and a run batted in.
Red Sox center fielder Coco Crisp went 1-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored in his first game back off the 15-day disabled list. Crisp suffered a non- displaced fracture of his left ring finger April 9 against Baltimore while sliding into third base
Boston's win streak will be put to the test this evening, as the Sox will have to face Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay.
The 2003 AL Cy Young Award winner is putting together another stellar season, bringing an impressive 6-1 record and a 2.77 earned run average into tonight's tilt. Halladay hasn't lost since April 9 and the Blue Jays have won eight of the star right-hander's nine season starts.
Halladay dominated Tampa Bay in his most recent outing, allowing just one run on seven hits without a walk before being lifted with two outs in the ninth inning. Over his last four starts, the 29-year-old is 3-0 with a 1.87 ERA.
He limited Boston to a run over five innings in an 8-1 Toronto win at Rogers Centre on April 22, but Halladay wasn't as good against the Red Sox in Fenway earlier this month. He was touched for five runs and nine hits in six innings and received a no decision in a 7-6 Blue Jays' triumph on May 3.
Halladay owns an 8-6 record and a 4.49 ERA in 25 career appearances (22 starts) against Boston.
The Red Sox counter with erratic righty Matt Clement, who was shelled for eight runs and nine hits over 4 1/3 innings in Wednesday's 8-6 loss to the Yankees. The veteran has alternated wins and losses over his last six starts.
Clement will be facing the Blue Jays for the fourth time this season and is 2-1 with a 5.87 ERA in his three starts against them. One of those wins came at Rogers Centre on April 23, when Clement allowed three runs -- two earned -- in 5 1/3 innings of a 6-3 Boston triumph.
For his career Clement is 2-3 with a gaudy 7.34 ERA in seven starts versus Toronto.
The Jays took two of three from the defending world champion Chicago White Sox over the weekend, but couldn't complete the sweep on Sunday. Jermaine Dye went 3-for-4 with a homer and two runs scored to lead Chicago to a 7-5 win in the finale.
Lyle Overbay had a pair of home runs and Troy Glaus hit his 15th homer of the season for the Blue Jays, who are 4-2 on their current nine-game homestand.
Ty Taubenheim (0-2), making his second major league start, gave up five runs (four earned) on six hits and four walks in 2 1/3 innings to absorb the loss.
Toronto has won five of the eight meetings between the clubs this season and is 16-10 against Boston since the beginning of the 2005 campaign. The Blue Jays took two of three from the Sox at Rogers Centre last month.
Paul Pierce doesn't like the NBA's new dress code after all.
After saying, "Hey, they make the rules; you've got to abide by them," the Celtic captain reversed field the next day, adding that he hadn't fully read the memo when he first commented.
"I'm not rolling with that," he said. "We're not businessmen. We're entertainers, and I think you should be able to dress how you feel. I think that's the beauty of us, that we have that kind of creativity to be able to express ourselves."
Asked if he agrees with Stephen Jackson's take that the directive is unfairly directed at black players, Pierce said, "In a way I think it kind of is. I think when I saw the rule about you can't wear chains (outside of a shirt), you know, I think that's just part of our culture. We wear the chains and the hip-hop gear and the throwback jerseys. That's something that's a part of our culture. I don't know if it's racist or how (Jackson) feels, but, I mean, it's definitely something that's part of the league."
MAIN REASON CELTICS CAN WIN
There is a deep pool of athletes to go with Paul Pierce and Ricky Davis, thus opening the game up for easier baskets than in the old Celtic halfcourt way.
MAIN REASON CELTICS CAN LOSE
Those athletes are young and mistake-prone. There is particular question at the point.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"People break the law and you don't turn your back on them. That's what families and friends are for. That doesn't make what they did right, but you still don't turn your back on them. That's the way I look at it." Coach Doc Rivers on Tony Allen.
Even on a team that assembled 95 wins for the third consecutive season, the untouchables are few. Four everyday players are eligible for free agency, while a fifth (Manny Ramirez) will likely spend the coming weeks in the swirl of trade rumors. Although the pitching staff features more guaranteed contracts, changes will certainly occur after the team finished the season ranked 11th in the American League in ERA.
ARRIVALS
None.
DEPARTURES
LHP Mike Stanton (refused minor league assignment), OF Adam Hyzdu (released), RHP Chad Harville (refused minor league assignment), RHP Jeremi Gonzalez (refused minor league assignment).
FREE AGENTS
1B Kevin Millar, 3B Bill Mueller, OF Johnny Damon.
Millar is almost surely gone after his power went AWOL last season. Mueller, who batted .295 with a .369 OBP last year (numbers that almost mirror his career marks), would be welcomed back at a low price, but 3B Kevin Youkilis seems just as likely to take over. Although Damon wants to come back, the Red Sox will be wary of giving a four-year contract to a 32-year-old who relies on speed.
ARBITRATION ELIGIBLE
RHP Bronson Arroyo, RHP Chad Bradford, RHP Wade Miller.
Miller might not be tendered a contract because his ability to contribute in 2006 remains unknown in the aftermath of surgery on his right shoulder. Both Arroyo and Bradford are expected to be tendered contracts.
IN LIMBO
OF Manny Ramirez will remain the subject of trade speculation although he now has 10/5 rights that allow him to veto any deal. Both Arroyo and Youkilis could be used as trading chips given their youth and affordability. LHP David Wells asked the club for a trade to the West Coast to be closer to home.
MEDICAL WATCH
RHP Wade Miller (shoulder surgery) faces an uncertain immediate future and might not be tendered a contract. RHP Keith Foulke (right knee) had his second arthroscopic knee surgery of the season (on different knees, no less) in September and hopes to enter 2006 with a clean bill of health. The team recommended that RHP Matt Clement (left knee) undergo an arthroscopy, although the pitcher was seeking a second opinion. LHP David Wells (right knee) acknowledged at the end of the season that he will require an arthroscopy to clean his right knee; at times, the achy joint impaired his command. RHP Matt Mantei (left ankle) underwent season-ending surgery in May; the Sox might try to re-sign him to an incentive-driven contract.
OF Trot Nixon (left knee) underwent an arthroscopic procedure in October and is expected to enter spring training at full health. OF Adam Stern (right shoulder) had surgery in September to repair a partial tear of his rotator cuff. OF Gabe Kapler (left Achilles tendon) might not play in 2006 after rupturing his left Achilles.
Copyright (C) 2005 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved
CBS SportsLine.com wire reports
BOSTON -- Outgoing Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein on Wednesday dismissed reports that a power struggle with team president Larry Lucchino led him to walk away from the organization this week.
Epstein, 31, whose career in baseball started when Lucchino hired him as an intern with the Baltimore Orioles 14 years ago, rejected the team's offer of a $4.5 million, three-year extension that would have quadrupled his previous salary.
"Larry and I like each other," Epstein said in his first public comments since he shocked Boston sports fans by walking away from the bargaining table on Monday. "As with any other working relationship there are complexities, there are ups and downs."
The decision to leave, he said, was a personal one.
"This is a job you have to give your whole heart and soul to," he said. "In the end, after a long period of reflection about myself and the program, I decided I could no longer put my whole heart and soul into it."
Under Epstein, the Red Sox made the postseason three years in a row for the first time in franchise history, with the obvious highlight being the team's 2004 World Series win, Boston's first in 86 years.
"It was a time in my life I'll always look back on with fond memories," Epstein said.
The ballclub hasn't commented since Epstein's resignation. Media reports have circulated that he left because leaks about the negotiations convinced him there was a breach of trust with mentor Lucchino. But Epstein said Wednesday that the two remained close and that Lucchino gave him wide discretion over baseball decisions.
"I felt like I had pretty much a free hand to run the baseball operation the way I see fit," he said.
Epstein's deal expired at midnight Tuesday, leaving the team without a GM heading into the offseason. Negotiations with free agents such as center fielder Johnny Damon are on hold, trade talks will have to wait and the business of assembling the 2006 team has been interrupted by the Brookline native's stunning decision to walk away from his dream job with his hometown team.
The Red Sox need to plug holes in the starting rotation and bullpen that led to a first-round playoff sweep by the eventual World Series champion Chicago White Sox. Manny Ramirez and David Wells have reportedly asked to be traded; Epstein's chief assistant, Josh Byrnes, is now the GM in Arizona; the Red Sox trainer was let go; and third-base coach Dale Sveum decamped for Milwaukee.
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