Red Sox vs. Twins (May 7, 2011)

Minnesota Twins (11-19) @ Red Sox (14-18)

SP - Clay Buchholz (2-3, 4.81) vs. Brian Duensing (2-1, 2.91)

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
4. Kevin Youkilis, DH
5. Jed Lowrie, 3B
6. Mike Cameron, RF
7. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
8. Carl Crawford, LF
9. Marco Scutaro, SS

Three Strikes:

1. After a disappointing and injury plagued 2010 season, Jacoby Ellsbury did not get off to a good start in 2011 but a move to the leadoff spot seems to have flipped a switch in the 27-year-old centerfielder.

Ellsbury is in the midst of 15-game hitting streak and has brought his batting average up to .277 while getting on base at a .338 clip.

With Dustin Pedroia, Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Youkilis, and David Ortiz lined up behind him, Ellsbury's ability to get on base will make it much easier for the Red Sox to score.  His speed allows him to steal a ton of bases (he led the American League in base thefts in 2008 and 2009) and to score on plays when most players would be held up at third base.  For a team that is struggling to score consistenly (they are 9th in the AL in average runs per game with 4.09), Ellsbury is the key to the Sox turning things around at the plate.

2. If Ellsbury is the key to improving the offense, Clay Buchholz has the ability to make the same impact for the pitching staff.  The Red Sox starting rotation is being carried by Jon Lester (4-1, 2.33) and Josh Beckett (2-1, 2.35) but to get this team on a roll, they need a dominant third starter and Buchholz can fill that role.  So far he has been a below average pitcher but thanks to Peter Abraham's excellent pregame notes blog, he was in a similar position last year after six starts (3-3, 3.82).  We all know that Buchholz took off after that point, finishing with a 17-7 record and 2.33 ERA.

Hopefully he will make a similar turnaround in 2011.  If he does, this team has an exciting summer ahead.

3. From the "I can't believe that I am writing this sentence" department comes this statement: I am excited to see Carl Crawford is finally hitting .200.

For all the preseason hype and expectations, Crawford has obviously been a disappointment in Boston in his first month but he is showing signs of getting comfortable at the plate.  Over his last six games he is hitting .391 and has an OPS of .895.  It's obviously a small sample size but after watching him terrorize the Red Sox for years when he was in Tampa Bay, we all know this is the player we expected to see when he signed with Boston this winter.  Expect more of that to come.