It looks like the old Dice-K is back for the Red Sox as he had another good start in his second game back after being on the DL for three months.  Matsuzaka didn’t have his best stuff, but he battled through and got the victory after giving up three runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings against the Baltimore Orioles.  He had six strikeouts and only one walk in the Red Sox 9-3 win over the Orioles.  This is a great sign for the Red Sox, as they are going to need Dice-K in the playoffs if they want to make a run at the World Series.

The Red Sox have signed Michael Tejera and Jon Switzer to compete for the job of second lefty out of the bullpen for the Sox. Tejera hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2005 with the Texas Rangers. The 31-year old has pitched in 111 games (27 starts) in his major league career and he is 11-13 with 3 saves, a 5.14 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. He is the bigger long shot of these two guys to stick with the Red Sox. The 28-year old Switzer worked in 21 games (0 starts) last season for the Devil Rays and he was 0-2 with a 8.05 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP. Switzer has now pitched in 68 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 2-4 with a 6.11 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP. Both of these pitchers should thank God that they are left-handed or they would have to get real jobs.

The Arizona Diamondbacks were so upset at Durbin’s first performance for them that they released him.  In that game, Durbin threw 2/3 of an inning and gave up 7 hits and 7 earned runs for an ERA of 94.50!  The Red Sox like his arm and will try to stash him in the minor leagues if they can get away with it.