5/11 at Minnesota Twins (9-8 L)
The Sox put up a valiant effort late, posting 2 runs in the ninth to bring the deficit to just a single run, but our Gold Glove worthy left fielder (at least in his own mind) Manny Ramirez ended the game on a ground out to shortstop. It was a tough game for Wakey, who lasted just 2.2 innings and gave up 6 earned runs on 7 hits and 2 walks. Coco continues to up his trade value, finishing with a homer, 3 RBIs and his 6th stolen base of the year. Craig Monroe had a huge game for the Twinkies with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs thanks to a 2-for-4 day at the plate.

5/12 at Minnesota Twins (7-3 L)
Another game, another Sox starter that fails to make it past the fifth inning. Clay Buchholz allowed all 7 earned runs in just 4.1 innings with Monroe and Delmon Young providing 2 RBIs apiece. Walks continue to plague Buchholz as he allowed 5 on the day. The Sox scored all 3 of their runs in the first inning and on the positive side, Manny belted long ball number 498 in the first inning. Livan Hernandez picked up his 6th win of the season in spite of giving up 10 hits in 6 innings of work.

5/13 at Baltimore Orioles (5-4 L)
With 3 runs on the board for the Sox after the first inning, Beckett (5.2 innings, 5 ER, 5 K) appeared to be cruising until the third. After allowing singles to Brian Roberts and Freddie Bynum, Beckett K'ed Nick Markakis and Aubrey Huff in back-to-back at-bats. Old pal Kevin Millar proceeded to single to left and then the wheels fell off; former Houston Astro Luke Scott took Becks deep for another 3 runs and sealed the victory for Baltimore. Manny notched a 2 hit performance, but home run number 499 eluded him.

5/14 at Baltimore Orioles (6-3 L)
The Sox called on Jon Lester to stop the bleeding and that he did... at least until the bullpen came in and allowed the Orioles to wash away his admirable 6 inning, 4 K, 2 ER performance. Javier Lopez allowed a run in the sixth and when called on to bail out the lefty, Craig Hansen gave up 2 earned runs and failed to record a single out. Meanwhile, the Erik Bedard trade continues to pay dividends for the Orioles. While Bedard has been struggling to regain his form after coming off the shelf, Adam Jones and George Sherrill, who picked up his 15th save of the season, continue to make an impact for this surprising Baltimore team.

5/17 vs. Milwaukee Brewers (5-3 W)
Youk made an error! Youk made an error! Relax, it was at third base - his 1B streak is still intact. In their first game of interleague play, Daisuke (6.2 innings, 6 K, 0 ER) went above and beyond in order to snap that ugly road skid and pick up his 7th victory of 2008. Delcarmen and Papelbon combined to finish the seventh, eighth and ninth, with Paps picking up his 12th save. Ellsbury, Pedroia, Casey and 'Tek all had 2 hits for the good guys. A win's a win, but after such a rough stretch, this one was particularly nice to see.

5/17 vs. Milwaukee Brewers (7-6 W)
In the second game of the double dip with the Brewers, the Sox pulled off the rare 2-0 single day sweep. Youk continued his offensive onslaught with 2 hits and an RBI and Ellsbury swiped his 16th bag of the year. With Paps having picked up the save in the first game, veteran righty Mike Timlin was called on to close out the second game. His struggles this year have been well documented, but Timlin looked great out there this night, keeping all 3 batters he faced in the infield (2 pop ups, 1 ground out).

We'll be back next week with another recap of all the Sox action; tune in to see if the boys could complete the sweep of the Brew Crew.