Baseball

From Our Press Services

Jonathan Papelbon can do his Irish jig on Broad Street.

A person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Friday that the Philadelphia Phillies and Papelbon have agreed to a $50 million, four-year contract that’s the largest ever for a reliever.

Papelbon, who turns 30 on Nov. 23, had 219 saves over seven seasons with the Boston Red Sox, including 31 this year, when he made $12 million. The former Mississippi State standout will replace Ryan Madson, who also is a free agent.

B.J. Ryan’s $47 million, five-year contract with Toronto signed before the 2006 season had been the largest for a reliever.

Madson’s agent, Scott Boras, and Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. were close to a $44 million, four-year deal Monday. But Amaro told Boras the following day that team president Dave Montgomery wouldn’t approve the deal.

The right-handed Papelbon, a four-time All-Star, helped the Red Sox to the 2004 and 2007 World Series titles. He donned a kilt and danced his trademark Irish jig at both championship celebrations.

Papelbon has converted 88.3 percent of his save opportunities to go with a 23-19 record and a 2.33 ERA in 396 career appearances.

Other developments

Pujols visits Marlins, receives offer: A surprising visit by star first baseman Albert Pujols is sending the message: The Miami Marlins will be a much different franchise than the Florida Marlins.

Pujols, who spent his first 11 seasons with St. Louis, began his free-agent tour Friday when he was courted in Miami by the Marlins, only hours before they officially changed their name during a ceremony at their new ballpark. Pujols had lunch with team officials, checked out the stadium and received a contract offer.

The notoriously thrifty franchise, suddenly in the mood for a spending spree, declined to disclose details of the proposal. Free agents Jose Reyes and left-hander Mark Buehrle also received offers after taking ballpark tours earlier this week.

Ramos found: Venezuelan police rescued Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos on Friday, two days after he was kidnapped, officials announced.

Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami said on state television that Ramos was “safe and sound” and that he was rescued by police. He said the circumstances weren’t immediately clear.

Armed men seized Ramos at gunpoint Wednesday night outside his home in a working-class neighborhood in the city of Valencia. Authorities said Thursday that they had found a stolen SUV used by the kidnappers abandoned in a nearby town.

Security has increasingly become a concern for Venezuelan players and their families as a wave of kidnappings has hit the wealthy as well as the middle class.

Major League Baseball officials said it was the first kidnapping of a major leaguer that they could recall.

Cubs, Red Sox search for managers: Both the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox continued their interviews Friday for new managers.

Cleveland Indians first-base coach Sandy Alomar Jr. interviewed with the Cubs, who already have interviewed Phillies bench coach Pete Mackanin, Brewers hitting coach Dale Sveum and Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux as possible replacements for the fired Mike Quade.

Toronto first-base coach Torey Lovullo became the fourth to interview with Boston. Lovullo has managed in the minor leagues, including the Red Sox Triple-A affiliate in Pawtucket, R.I.

Alomar, Brewers hitting coach Dale Sveum and Phillies bench coach Pete Mackanin have already been interviewed. Former Pirates and White Sox manager Gene Lamont is scheduled for today.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Boston Red Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis, who has had hip problems off and on all season, returned to Boston and underwent an MRI on Friday, manager Terry Francona said.

Youkilis just returned Sept. 1 from a 15-day stint on the DL with a lower back strain. He has just five hits in 27 at-bats since his return, and was noticeably limping the past couple of nights, Francona said. The left hip has never fully healed since Youkilis first injured it with a slide during a game in Baltimore back in late April, but he has tried to play through the discomfort all season.

Youkilis got off to a slow start this season, batting just .218 in April, but had lifted his average to as high as .288 on July 16, with his on-base percentage (.410) and slugging percentage (.513) similar to his career norms (.394, .497). But in 32 games since then, Youkilis is batting just .192/.302/.358, and there is little question that his physical ailments have contributed to his slide.

“We were going to give him the day off, but he was really limping the last couple of days and his hip was bothering him, so we decided to get him back to Boston,” Francona said. “Hopefully, we’ll get some answers.”

Pitcher Erik Erik Bedard, whose start here Friday was skipped because of lingering soreness in his left knee, also went to Boston from Toronto and was diagnosed with a mild lat strain, Francona said, the manager asserting that Bedard strained the muscle while compensating for his knee in his last start. Bedard was scheduled to rejoin the team later Friday night.

Gordon Edes covers the Red Sox for ESPNBoston.com.

Follow Gordon Edes on Twitter: @GordonEdes

(Sports Network) – One reason the Boston Red Sox are immune to prolonged slumps at the plate is because of the depth in their lineup. They showed that while Adrian Gonzalez went through his first rough patch in a Boston uniform.

While the rest of the Red Sox have been there to pick up their first baseman, the whole lineup will need to be at its sharpest on Friday night when the club returns home to begin a three-game series against Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park.

Boston is the top run-producing club in baseball and Gonzalez has been a big part of that. The prized offseason pickup is hitting .343 with 17 homers and 78 runs batted in over 95 games, but has just one homer this month and two in his past 26 games.

Gonzalez went 0-for-4 in Tuesday’s 6-2 setback at Baltimore, putting him in a 2-for-24 skid.

“I’m just getting ready late and not recognizing pitches and swinging at pitches I don’t normally swing at,” Gonzalez said after the defeat.

The All-Star first baseman did return to form in Wednesday’s finale with the Orioles, contributing four hits in a 4-0 victory. He failed to drive in a run for the seventh time in eight games, but Jacoby Ellsbury picked up the slack with his second career multi-homer game. The speedy outfielder has four homers since last Friday and has already surpassed his career-high total of nine set in 2008 with 15 this season.

“He kind of put us on his shoulders today,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said of Ellsbury. “He has a way of doing that from time to time.”

Dustin Pedroia had an infield single in the fifth inning to extend his career- high hitting streak to 18 games. He has also reached base in a personal-best 30 games in a row and is batting .367 over his hit streak with seven homers and 16 RBI.

While Gonzalez has a good chance of contributing to the offense in Friday’s opener given he is 9-for-30 in his career against Hernandez with a homer and four RBI, things are less certain for Ellsbury and Pedroia.

Boston’s second baseman and 2008 AL MVP has six hits in 22 career at-bats versus the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, while Ellsbury is just 2-for-14 when facing Hernandez.

Those three won’t be alone in facing Hernandez as designated hitter David Ortiz is eligible to return from his three-game suspension earned for his role in a July 8 melee versus Baltimore. He has one homer in 19 career at-bats versus Seattle’s ace.

While Boston is slated to throw its ace Josh Beckett in Saturday’s game, the Mariners will give the Red Sox the best they have to offer in Friday’s opener. Hernandez is an excellent 4-1 with a 2.87 earned run average in nine career starts versus the Red Sox, including a perfect 3-0 with a 1.49 ERA in five games at Fenway Park.

The right-hander got a no-decision in Boston on May 1 despite allowing two runs on six hits over seven innings with 10 strikeouts. The Red Sox won that game, 3-2, but it was the lone win over the M’s in that three-game set.

Hernandez (8-8, 3.26) is winless in his past four starts, going 0-2 in that span. The 25-year-old lost to the Rangers on Saturday, yielding four runs on nine hits and two homers. He has yielded four home runs over his drought, including the first leadoff long ball of his career last time out, but remains among the leaders in the AL with 146 strikeouts.

Boston enters this series ahead of the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East and winners in 14 of its past 17. It hopes John Lackey (7-8, 6.70) can continue that success as he comes in having won two straight starts since a personal three-game losing streak.

The righty got on track with 6 2/3 scoreless innings to beat the Orioles on July 9, then picked up a victory over the Rays on Saturday. Lackey allowed four runs — three earned — on 10 hits over 5 2/3 innings while striking out seven for a second straight start.

Lackey, who is pitching to a horrid 7.68 ERA in eight home starts, lost to the Mariners on April 30, but gave up only two runs over six innings. The 32-year- old long-time Angel is 13-10 with a 3.62 ERA versus the club lifetime.

He won’t exactly be facing a club playing its best baseball right now after the Mariners lost their 12th straight game on Thursday. The season-high losing streak is their longest since a 12-game slide in 2008.

Seattle failed to win a game in its three-game set with Toronto, losing the finale by a 7-5 margin. Miguel Olivo had tied the game for the M’s with a grand slam in the eighth inning, but the Blue Jays’ Rajai Davis came through with a two-out double in the home half of the inning that brought home two runs.

The Mariners have lost 16 of their last 20 overall.

The Sports Network

By Gethin Coolbaugh

– Regional Editor

Follow , and

Like SB Nation Boston on Facebook.

Jul 14, 2011 – Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz has been suspended four games by Major League Baseball for his role in an altercation with Baltimore Orioles pitcher Kevin Gregg, who was also suspended four games, during a game between the two clubs last Friday. Here’s how it went down.

Ortiz had alleged that Gregg had tried to hit him during an eighth-inning at-bat, causing the benches to clear before cooler heads briefly prevailed. Then when Ortiz ultimately flied out on a 3-0 count in a 10-3 game, Gregg began yelling at Ortiz, and the DH charged the mound, fists flying, while players from both sides emptied the benches and bullpens to meet again along the first-base line. (via WEEI)

Ortiz’ suspension will begin on Friday when the Red Sox face the Tampa Bay Rays while Gregg’s suspension begins on Thursday night, barring appeals from either player.

In addition, Orioles reliever Mike Gonzalez was suspended three games after allegedly attempting to retaliate by throwing at Ortiz in their game last Sunday. O’s manager Buck Showalter was also suspended one game for the stunt.

John Lackey and Jarrod Saltalamacchia were both fined – Lackey for throwing at Derek Lee on Saturday and Saltalamacchia for participating in the Friday brawl.

For more Boston Red Sox coverage, visit our team page and blog, Over The Monster.

Read More: David Ortiz (DH – BOS), Kevin Gregg (P – BAL), Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox have placed outfielder Darnell McDonald on the disabled list with a left quadriceps injury.

Boston called up outfielder Josh Reddick from AAA Pawtucket and put him in right field against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday.

McDonald is hitting .143 in 21 at-bats over 19 games this season. Reddick played a total of 56 games with a .182 batting average the previous two seasons for Boston.

Red Sox manager Terry Francona says Bobby Jenks will pitch an inning for Pawtucket on Friday and Sunday. The right-hander has been on the DL since May 5 with strained biceps.

Francona says John Lackey will have a bullpen session Friday before Tuesday’s rehab outing for Pawtucket. The right-hander went on the DL May 16 with a strained elbow.

The Boston Red Sox trounced the Chicago Cubs 15-5 in what might have been a historic Cubs’ return to Fenway Park.

Coming fresh off a win in Miami, the Chicago Cubs were somehow not able to pull it together as they commited four errors and walked six. In addition, the Red Sox’s Kevin Youkilis and Jarrod Saltalamacchia took two massive home runs off rookie reliever Scott Maine. In all, the Red Sox had a season-high 19 hits against the Chicago Cubs on Friday, of which Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits.

Other Cubs’ pitchers didn’t fare too well either. Starter Doug Davis (0-2) had eight hits and seven runs scored off him.

This was the Chicago Cubs’ first game in the historic Fenway Park in 93 years after the 1918 World Series. In that series, the Boston Red Sox beat the Chicago Cubs in six games, with Babe Ruth as the winning pitcher for the Red Sox. And what ended up happening this Friday night was that the game dashed what might have been another memorable historic event—the winning of three consecutive games.

It was also revenge time for the Boston Red Sox, who lost two of three games to the Chicago Cubs the last time they met in Wrigley Field in 2005.

In the meantime, the Boston Red Sox have, with this game, won seven games in a row. Their first game ended in such a loss that it had their fans in panic.