Red Sox v. Athletics (May 1, 2012)

Boston Red Sox (11-11) v. Oakland A's (11-13)

SP - Felix Doubront (1-0, 4.09) v. Jarrod Parker (0-0, 1.42)

1. Mike Aviles, SS
2. Ryan Sweeney, RF
3. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
4. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
5. David Ortiz, DH
6. Cody Ross, LF
7. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
8. Marlon Byrd, CF
9. Nick Punto, 3B

Three Strikes:

1. Clay Buchholz was having a nice outing against the A's last night (some nitwit even Tweeted something about liking that version of Buchholz) until disaster struck in the seventh inning when he was charged with five earned runs.  The Red Sox got the victory despite another bad start from Buchholz (3-1, 8.69) because their offense pounded the A's for 11 runs.

With Aaron Cook ready to exercise his option, the Sox would be wise to call Cook up to Boston and either use a six-man starting rotation for a short while or put Buchholz on the disabled list and let him sort his problems out during a rehab assignment although it looks like Cook's likely landing place will be be the bullpen.

2. Kevin Youkilis was once again a late scratch from the lineup and Nick Punto - who made a nice play at third base early in the game - had to make another emergency start.

This back injury could lead to a trip to the disabled list for Youk and a potential call-up for top prospect Willie Middlebrooks from Pawtucket.

3. The favorites for MVP in each league after a month are David Ortiz and Matt Kemp.