Dice-K Efficient In Sox Win

Daisuke Matsuzaka only needed 99 pitches to make it into the eighth inning last night, a sharp contrast to some of his previous starts. J.D. Drew and Mike Lowell helped power the offense, and the result was a 4-2 Red Sox win in Seattle.

Michael Silverman has the trio above straightening themselves out and getting the Sox the win. Gordon Edes has the Red Sox starting pitching shutting down the Mariners’ offense for the second straight night. Jeff Goldberg has Matsuzaka making amends for his last outing in Seattle. Sean McAdam has Matsuzaka getting deep into the game, making the load lighter for the bullpen once again.

Tony Massarotti wonders if the Red Sox are better off just keeping Jed Lowrie at shortstop even when Julio Lugo is ready to return. Dan Shaughnessy also has a look at Lowrie, who was back home in the Pacific Northwest last night, enjoying the time in front of his family. Lenny Megliola says that the Red Sox position is tenuous right now.

Jon Couture says that the save stat has led to an overvaluation of the closer role, making multimillionaires out of otherwise mediocre performances. This is all thanks to Chicago sportswriter Jerome Holtzman, who invented the save stat. Holtzman passed away earlier this week. Joe Haggerty looks at which relievers the Red Sox might target before the trade deadline. Silverman says that the key for Clay Buchholz tonight is getting a clean first inning. McAdam has more on the first-inning barrier for Buchholz. Massarotti notes that Matsuzaka’s effort was the latest in a series of games in which the starting pitching has been able to go deep into the game.

Dan Hickling reports on David Ortiz’s latest rehab appearance.

Silverman’s notebook has Terry Francona talking about the strict jaywalking laws in Seattle. Edes’ notebook has more on Francona’s reaction. Goldberg’s notebook also says that the key for Buchholz tonight is the first inning. McAdam’s notebook says that the price for bullpen help may be too steep for the Red Sox.

Patriots

The Patriots start training camp tomorrow down in Foxboro. Scott Benson has a quick five questions on the last day of school. Mark Farinella says that it is time for the lies to begin on a daily basis down in Foxboro. Rich Garven says that the Patriots have moved on from the Super Bowl loss.

Mike Reiss has a mini-feature this morning inside the world of Randy Moss, who is in a different, better place this season than he was a year ago. The questions about his skills and work ethic are no longer there, and he’s happy to be able to just focus on football. Jim Donaldson says that it is time for the Patriots to help us put the Super Bowl nightmare behind us.

Christopher L. Gasper has a look at 10 issues and storylines for Patriots camp. Chris Kennedy also has a few issues and topic confronting the Patriots. Farinella previews the offense, a unit with few question marks for the Patriots. Eric McHugh has part 2 of his NFL training camp preview. Shalise Manza Young has a look at the D-line and cornerbacks. Karen Guregian has a look at some of the areas of competition in camp.

Jonathan Saltzman and Andrew Ryan report on Patriots offensive lineman Nick Kaczur taking a plea deal on his drug possession case.

Gasper’s notebook has a look at the signing of Wheatley. Guregian’s notebook also reports on the signing of the second round pick.

Something to keep an eye on is the status of the Herald’s John Tomase and whether he remains on the beat. The Herald has been advertising for a NFL writer to cover the Patriots and with Rob Bradford heading over to WEEI.com at the end of the month, it would be very easy for the Herald to slide Tomase over the Red Sox coverage in Bradford’s slot.