Red Sox Notes

Well, a successful homestand it has been. The Red Sox have so far taken 6-of-9 games at Fenway with one more game remaining against the Devil Rays tonight. Tim Wakefield (1-2, 4.34) will face Tampa Bay's Scott Kazmir (1-1, 4.82) at 7:05 on NESN and WEEI. The Sox are being carried by both pitching and defense. Starting pitchers Curt Schilling (4-0, 1.61) and Josh Beckett (3-0, 1.29) have headlined a pitching staff that has a cumulative ERA of 3.76. Defensively, the infield of Kevin Youkilis at first, Mark Loretta at second, Alex Gonzalez at short and Mike Lowell at third has been stellar -- they are making life very easy on the Red Sox pitchers. As for the offense, it still has life in it. David Ortiz is just crushing the ball -- .316 BA, 6 HR, 12 RBI -- and he is getting help from Trot Nixon, Lowell and Youkilis. Even Manny Ramirez, who has started the season in a mild slump, is showing signs of being ready to bust out and start killing the baseball again. Going into tonight's game, the Sox are 11-4, the best record in all of baseball, and lead the AL East by 2.5-games. One other short note, because of my problems updating TheBostonInsider homepage, the Red Sox Minor League Player of the Week will be posted here on the blog for the time being. The first winner of the 2006 season is left handed starting pitcher Abe Alvarez of the Pawtucket Red Sox. Alvarez is 2-0 through three starts with a 2.50 ERA. In 18-innings, the lefty from Long Beach State has allowed only five runs and has struck out 10.