Another Close One; A Former Sox Gets the Boot

David Ortiz totally bunted in the first inning, and he got a single out of it. And it wasn't even his first bunt of the year.

Manny Ramirez hit a solo homerun to put the Sox up 1-0 in the 4th.

The Royals did load the bases in the 6th, but a fly out to center killed their chance of scoring.

A very confusing double play went down in the 8th inning. I guess Youkilis bunted, or tried to bunt, and he got tagged in the head and the Gonz was out at second. Youkilis and the Sox thought the ball was foul. Listening to the game on the radio really doesn't do the game of baseball justice.

Another 1-0 win, another starting pitcher going 8 innings (Beckett), another save by Papelbon. So the KC series turned out to be much more interesting than anticipated.

Les Updates:

- Josh Beckett signed a 3-year contract extension
- Tim Wakefield's strained upper back will keep him from making his next scheduled start Saturday in Seattle. No comment on a report in the Boston Globe that Wakefield has a fractured rib. The Globe reports that Wakefield is expected to miss 3 weeks to a month, and lefthander Kason Gabbard is expected to be called up to replace him.
- Former Red Sox player (and a former favorite of mine) Shea Hillenbrand has been designated for assignment. He was mad about not playing, after returning from a trip to L.A. to adopt a baby. He was also upset that no one from the Toronto front office congratulated him after the adoption went through. He wouldn't even sit with his teammates in the dugout yesterday. "Gibby called a team meeting, and then he stood up and reamed me out in front of my teammates," Hillenbrand said about his (former!) manager. "I'm very disappointed about what he did and I find it very unprofessional." I guess Toronto has little patience for that kind of stuff, because he was gone pretty fast once it all went down.
- Beckett leads the league in both wins and HRs allowed. Papelbon leads the majors in saves, Ortiz leads in homeruns and RBI, Lowell is one behind the leader in doubles, and Mark Bellhorn isn't even in the top 50 for most strikeouts!!