Ellsbury And Drew Back In Sox Lineup Tonight

Jacoby Ellsbury and Stephen Drew are back in the Red Sox lineup tonight in their opening tilt with the White Sox on the South Side of Chicago. Jon Lester will try to go 7-0 tonight, while the Pale Hose will send right-hander Dylan Axelrod to the mound. Despite being 3-3 lifetime against Axelrod, Pedro Ciriaco will not be in the lineup tonight. Boston is 5-1 on the current road trip and will look to improve on that mark in the three-game series. Start time is 8:10 PM Eastern.

Tweedledum Steinbrenner: Tickets 'Affordable'

'Tweedledum' And Yankee Fan

I have to admit, I never remember which Steinbrenner offspring is Tweedledum and which is Tweedledee. Frankly, who cares? Anyway, one of them (I think it was Hal Steinbrenner—AKA 'Tweedledum') actually said the following about ridiculously high Yankee ticket prices: "You hear about that in the media. You don’t hear that there are thousands and thousands of affordable seats in the $25 range for every game, not to mention the specials that we do, that we used to do at the old stadium. We have done every year. It is nothing new. We want to make sure that everyone that comes out here to see a Yankee game can get here and see one. There are plenty opportunities." So, get with it, Yankee fans! Go to StubHub and get your butt into a $25-seat—which happens to be in a different Bronx zip code from the one at home plate. This guy makes John Henry look like Bob Kraft.

The 'Thrill' Is Coming Back For Middlebrooks

AP Photo/Genevieve Ross

The success of Will Middlebrooks in the early stages of his MLB career evoked the nickname "Will The Thrill". Then, after pitchers started exploiting some holes in his swing, his performance tailed off. More recently, Middlebrooks is showing his old form again—e.g., now leading the team in home runs with eight. He's raised his average over the Mendoza Line (he's now hitting .213) and has seven doubles in his last ten games. The Red Sox need Middlebrooks to be a legitimate power threat in the middle of the lineup to take pressure off David Ortiz and Mike Napoli. Let's hope this positive trend continues.

Notice To FenwayNation's Mobile App Users

Many of our mobile readers have been asking us about the status of FenwayNation's iPhone and Android apps. Unfortunately, the company that developed FenwayNation's apps is no longer supporting any mobile applications. As we mentioned earlier, FN is seeking a new mobile app partner, but until then we encourage all of our mobile followers to download the free Red Sox News app—which posts every FenwayNation story in its news feed (see pic). By downloading this app, you will also have access to several other Red Sox-related news sources—like MLB.com, Yahoo! Sports, the Boston Herald and Boston.com. We will keep you posted on the launch of our new FenwayNation Mobile Apps. Until then, you can download the Red Sox News app for the iPhone HERE.

Sox Survive 3-Hour 'Chicken Rondelet', Win 5-1

AP Photo/Genevieve Ross

Maybe they're making up for all the time they played in the Metrodome. In any event, the Twins (or more precisely the umpires) subjected us all to a 3-hour rain delay—which stretched the total time of the Red Sox 5-1 win to 6 hours 30 minutes. John Lackey hurled six stellar innings, giving up just one hit and one un-earned run. Andrew Miller, Koji Uehara and Junichi Tazawa continued the torrid bullpen streak by shutting down the Twinkies the rest of the way. Will Middlebrooks hit his team-leading eight HR to start the scoring, and Dustin Pedroia hit a two-run shot to cap the scoring. Boston now heads to Chicago for three against the Pale Hose.

Papi Powers Red Sox Past Twinkies, 12-5

Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

As he circled the bases during his second home run of the day, David Ortiz touched his back to tell his teammates to hop on board. His two round-trippers and another RBI hit produced six of Boston's twelve runs in a weird rout of Minnesota, 12-5. Ryan Dempster was so bad that he failed in two opportunities John Farrell gave him to survive the fifth inning. Once he let the score get to 7-5, he was gone. The bullpen kept the score right there, while Boston added on to the lead. Dustin Pedroia had two more hits, two walks and an RBI, but it was Papi who defined this day.

Tenth Come-From-Behind Win For Sox, 3-2

Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

Did the Red Sox have ten come-from-behind wins all last year? Well, your 2013 edition of the Carmine Hose just reached that milestone tonight, edging out the Twins, 3-2 in 10 innings. It was another terrific start by Clay Buchholz—who gave up just two earned runs and four hits over seven strong innings. After that, the Boston 'pen retired the last 17 Minnesota batters—including a great 1 2/3 inning stint by Andrew Miller. On the offensive side, Boston got  timely hitting by David Ortiz and  Jacoby Ellsbury—along with a sacrifice fly by Jonny Gomes to win it in the 10th. Ortiz continued to punish his old team, going 3 for 4 with an RBI and a walk. The Sox stay just one game out of first in the AL East.

Napoli, Victorino Out Against Twins Tonight

Both Shane Victorino and Mike Napoli are out of tonight's lineup against the Twins. Victorino re-aggravated his back making a sweet grab last night and Napoli is having a "slump day" off (having gone 1-11 against the Rays). Mike Carp will start at first and bat eighth, while Daniel Nava will patrol right field and hit second. Clay Buchholz will attempt to become the MLB's co-leader in wins as he pursues his seventh victory of the year—against no defeats.

It's Official: Hanrahan Has Tommy John (Plus)

Photo By USATSI

The Red Sox announced on Thursday that former closer Joel Hanrahan had season-ending Tommy John surgery. In addition to the Tommy John procedure, Dr. James Andrews repaired Hanrahan's flexor tendon and removed bone spurs. No word yet on whether the Red Sox will get a volume discount. Effectively, the long recovery period means that Hanrhan has pitched his last game in Boston laundry. Not exactly the dominant era we expected.