Sox Beat: Despite injuries, Red Sox come to rest in first

BOSTON – MISSION (halfway) accomplished.

The Red Sox have a stated goal of winning 95 games every season, believing that the team will secure entry into the playoffs if it clears that bar. With their 2-1 win over the Orioles yesterday, the team arrives at the All-Star break with a 57-40 record, on pace for exactly 95 wins.

With the Tampa Bay Rays losing their seventh straight game, the Sox slipped past them and into first place entering a four-day layoff. In a first half when the Sox were almost constantly short-handed due to injuries, the team took some satisfaction in its surge atop the American League East.

►Red Sox prospect Lin leads World team

Third baseman Mike Lowell missed 18 games with a sprained thumb. David Ortiz has been out for the last six weeks. Curt Schilling has been out all year. Josh Beckett missed a couple of starts at the beginning of the year with a back strain. Daisuke Matsuzaka was out for three weeks with a shoulder injury. And yet...

"I think despite all the injuries this first half we've played pretty good baseball," said Lowell. "Hopefully we can get guys back and get on a really good streak."

In fact, it would be difficult for the team to improve significantly on its performance since Ortiz went down with a wrist injury on the final day of May. On that day, the Sox were one game behind the Rays in the standings.

In 39 games without their three-hole hitter, the Sox leapfrogged Tampa by going 23-16, with seven of their losses coming by just one run. Over that stretch, the team outscored opponents by 60 runs, easily the largest margin in baseball, thanks to a productive offense (5.26 runs per game, fourth best in baseball) and pitching staff (3.72 runs allowed per game, third best).

"It's been somebody different every day," said closer Jonathan Papelbon, who yesterday withstood a shaky inning to record the 100th save of his career. "It's not that one guy. It's not Manny or David every day. It's everyone in this clubhouse. That's what allowed us to stay afloat and get back into first place."

Now, the trick will be staying there. On the one hand, the Sox believe they will get a boost from within, both with the likely return of Ortiz to the lineup in less than two weeks and with the addition of Justin Masterson to a sometimes-leaky bullpen.

At the same time, the team acknowledges that the second half presents unique challenges. Defending a championship is invariably more difficult than winning a first one.

Jonathan Papelbon pitches the ninth inning to close out the Baltimore Orioles yesterday at Fenway Park. The Sox won 2-1. (AP)

"The grind this year is totally different. It's always tough to go out there and win a championship back to back," said Papelbon. "To grind (last season) out longer than anyone else, you're going to feel the after-effects the next go-round ... We went through a long season last year. Hopefully, we can stay healthy. If we stay healthy, we should be able to get back (to October)."

As the baseball world pauses to catch its breath, the goal of repeating remains realistic. As such, the Sox can offer little quibble with their position.

"We've kind of been fighting ourselves to see how good we can play," said Sox manager Terry Francona. "If we do that, we'll take where we end up."

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Red Sox prospect Che-Hsuan Lin was named MVP of the All-Star Futures Game in New York after going 2-for-2 with a two-run homer for the World team in a 3-0 win. The 19-year-old from Taiwan is currently with the Single-A Greenville Drive.

Lin is viewed as an excellent defensive centerfielder with one of the strongest arms in the organization. Farm director Mike Hazen recently saw him uncork a throw from center that went halfway up the backstop on a line.

The right-handed hitter demonstrates a mature plate approach for his age, hitting .251 with a .346 OBP and .373 slugging mark for the Drive. The Sox believe that he will grow into more power. The former track star leads all Sox minor leaguers with 26 steals.

"He's got a lot of tools," said Sox minor-league field coordinator Rob Leary. "He does have that special athleticism, speed and power combination. We're looking for big things out of him, and he wants it."

Lin, who played for the Taiwanese National Team during an Olympic qualifying tournament in March, is almost certain to play in the Beijing Olympics. He was scouted in Taiwan by Vice President/International Scouting Craig Shipley, Pacific Rim scouting coordinator Jon Deeble and area scout Niko Lin and signed last year for a $390,000 bonus ...

Matsuzaka slipped out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fifth inning by striking out Aubrey Huff and getting Melvin Mora to hit a comebacker. Opposing hitters are now 0-for-11 with the bases loaded against Matsuzaka this year.

"He creates some jams for himself," said Francona. "The good news is he gets out of it."...

For the second time in as many games, Sean Casey was thrown out at second base after hitting a ball off a fence. "We're going to have our first-base coach use a rope when Casey goes by," mused Ortiz.

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Alex Speier covers the Red Sox for the New Hampshire Union Leader and New Hampshire Sunday News.