During the HBO show Entourage whenever Jeremy Piven's character Ari Gold wanted to settle something, he'd say "Let's Hug It Out B*tch".

So after his second straight quality start last night that's all Boston Red Sox starter Felix Doubront wanted to do with his batterymate Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Instead, awkwardness ensued.

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Look out folks the Boston Red Sox offense is alive and well right now.

Last night the Red Sox were facing Chicago White Sox starter Philip Humber who by the way threw a perfect game in his last start. After one batter, Humber was no longer perfect as he walked Mike Aviles. Two batters later, the chance of a second straight no-hitter went by the wayside when Dustin Pedroia reached on an infield single.

Then a double by Adrian Gonzalez and a single by the white-hot David Ortiz gave the Red Sox a 2-0 lead, a lead they would never look back on.

Kevin Youkilis started the season off slow at the plate and even with Will Middlebrooks tearing up Triple-A, there were no whispers about a change. And if there was going to be any talk, Youk's made sure to keep it quiet. Over the past few games, Youk has been finding his swing and last night it culminated with a grand slam.

For Jarrod Saltalmacchia, it was a little different. He got off to basically the same start as Youk. But with Bobby Valentine being a Ryan Lavarnway guy and Lavarnway hitting pretty well in Triple-A, there were whispers a change could be made. But ever since Saturday's game against the New York Yankees, Salty has been hitting the cover off the ball. He followed Youk's grand tater with a solo home run.

Youk would finish the night with three hits to see his average go up to .241. Salty's two hits raised his average to .261. With the exception of Lars Anderson, who was making his first MLB start in left field, everyone in the Red Sox starting nine had a hit.

Ryan Sweeney continues to thrive in the second spot in the lineup as he added two more hits and is now hitting a robust .383. Even by going 1-for-3, Big Papi sees his average at .420.

You have to wonder if Felix Doubront was wondering about having a big lead and coming out of the game. He was the pitcher of record on Saturday when the Red Sox held a 9-1 lead over the Yankees. He did his part by limiting the White Sox to just three runs over six innings of work to pick up his second straight quality start. But more importantly, despite it being a meaningless statistic, his first win of 2012.

A high pitch count in the 3rd inning probably cost him another inning. Most of that came from him losing a little bit of his mechanics. He was however able to adjust and settle back down.

Doubront throws a nasty sinking two-seam fastball. It happened to be his best pitch of the night. It also was his worst pitch at times. When he located it, he was on. When he couldn't, like in the 3rd, he was off. But overall, another solid inning from Doubront. If he can just keep his pitch count down and get into the 7th inning, he'll make things easier for Valentine in regards to going to the bullpen.

Speaking of the bullpen, obviously it's been much maligned for the early part of this season. There's been some bright spots at times and obviously some spots where we'd just like to forget what happened.

But what Junichi Tazawa did last night was nothing short of spectacular.

He came in for Doubront and pitched the final three innings of the game, allowing just two hits while striking out four to pick up his first career MLB save. He had great command of his fastball and his secondary pitches were outstanding. Because of that, he was able to keep the White Sox hitters at bay.

Hopefully Tazawa's great outing rubs off on the other members of the bullpen who are struggling.

Things are definitely clicking for the Red Sox. The offense is on fire, the starting pitching has been decent and the bullpen is up and down. But last night, all three things came together and that's what the Red Sox need more of.

The offense isn't going to be able to do the job every night so it'll be up to the starting pitching and bullpen to get the job done.

That's just how baseball is.

We'll be back later with today's lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day. So for now, let's take at look at the overnight links from the media by clicking on the read more button below if you're on the home page.

Apparently I live in a state where the enemy is liked more than the team I like.

For the fourth straight year, the New York Yankees are the preferred team for the residents of the state of Connecticut according to the Quinnipiac Poll. This year the advantage is 43% to 38% over the Boston Red Sox.

As you might expect, the Yankees hold the advantage in Fairfield County, which is closer to New York City. What's odd to me is that even though the New York Mets are closer to Fairfield County, the Red Sox are the second favorite team there.

While there's no results in Litchfield County, the Yankees hold the advantage in Middlesex and New Haven Counties as well.

The Red Sox hold the advantage in Hartford County where I live. Honestly, Hartford County and I-84 corridor usually splits Red Sox fans and Yankees fan as it does for the New England Patriots and New York Giants fans.

The Red Sox dominance comes in the counties closest to Massachusetts and Rhode Island. They hold an almost 2-1 advantage over Yankees fans.

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

Destination Red Sox Nation is our look at how the minor league teams of the Boston Red Sox fare each night. Game story and box score links as well as links to team rosters, team stats and league standings can be found by clicking on the read more button below if you're on the home page.

The Boston Red Sox got some more bad news on Thursday night in regards to Carl Crawford.

Crawford, who is still rehabbing from wrist surgery in the offseason, will now miss the next three months with a UCL sprain in his left elbow.

Here's the release from the Red Sox:

"Carl Crawford was examined by the Red Sox medical staff. He was diagnosed as having a left elbow ulnar collateral ligament sprain. A conservative treatment protocol was recommended. Carl was also examined by Dr. James Andrews who was in agreement with the assessment and plan. Carl received a Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injection and will be shut down from baseball activity during the initial phase of his treatment."

With Jacoby Ellsbury out for at least another 4-6 weeks, this news is not good. Hopefully, they'll be able to use the pieces they have in the outfield and not fall to far out.

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photo credit: Getty Images

After sweeping the Minnesota Twins, the Boston Red Sox head to the south side of the Windy City tonight for the first of a four-game set with the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field.

First pitch is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on NESN in the Red Sox television market. If you live in the White Sox television market, you can catch the game on WGN. If you don't live in either market you're in luck as MLB Network will have coverage of the game outside of the Red Sox and White Sox television markets. If you can't catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to it on the Red Sox radio network.

Felix Doubront looks to pick up his first win in his fourth start of the 2012 season. In his previous three starts, Doubront has no record with a 3.94 ERA (7 ER/16 IP). Tonight will mark his first ever appearance and start against the South Siders. He's never faced any teams from the AL Central in his career either.

After making MLB history by becoming the 21st pitcher to throw a perfect game in his last start, Philip Humber looks to continue that in his third start of 2012. In his previous two starts, Humber is 1-0 with a 0.63 ERA (1 ER/14.1 IP). Both of his career starts came against the Red Sox in 2011. In those two starts, he was 1-1 with a 5.84 ERA (8 ER/12.1 IP). His lone loss came at U.S. Cellular Field where he allowed four runs in 4.2 innings of work.

Click on the read more button below to see today's lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the overnight and day if you're on the home page.

While most of New England's eyes were watching the Boston Bruins eventually fall to the Washington Capitals in overtime last night, the Boston Red Sox were trying to complete a three-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins on the road. And as you might have expected, they definitely made it interesting to say the least.

Clay Buchholz was staked to a 7-1 lead entering the 6th inning but by the end of the inning, Red Sox Nation was once again questioning the bullpen along with Buchholz.

After Buchholz struck out former Little League World Series hero Sean Burroughs, three straight hits by the Twins brought in a run. Then Buchholz would walk the bases loaded and exit the game for Scott Atchison. Unfortunately for Atchison, the hit by Joe Mauer went off of his leg into center and allowed two more runs to score.

Justin Thomas came in for Atchison and promptly gave up a double to Justin Morneau which plated another run cutting the Red Sox lead to 7-5. Thomas then nailed Chris Parmelee in the head with a fastball. Visibily shaken, Bobby Valentine removed Thomas from the game and brought in Matt Albers who gave up a run-scoring single to Trevor Plouffe. But then Albers escaped any further damage as he induced a double play ball by Burroughs to end the inning.

From there, Vicente Padilla and Franklin Morales set down the next six batters providing a little order to things. But then Alfredo Aceves decided that watching the Bruins lose in overtime wasn't exciting enough for fans of both of the Bruins and the Red Sox.

He got the leadoff batter Danny Valencia, who replaced Parmelee, to ground out. He walked Plouffe, then allowed a single to pinch-hitter Ryan Doumit. Then he got Ben Revere to ground out to first base on a questionable fair ball. Upon looking at multiple replays, the ball appeared to be foul. One could say that finally a break went for the Red Sox.

So with two outs, Aceves decides that he's going to hit Alexi Casilla in the thigh with a fastball. No biggie, bases loaded, two outs, up one run. Aceves redeemed himself though and brought relief to a rabid fanbase by striking out Denard Span.

Buchholz still is struggling as evidenced by throwing 107 pitches in just 5 1/3 innings. He needs to figure out things quickly because as good as the Red Sox offense might be, there's no way they can produce anywhere from 5-10 runs a night to support their starters. He basically abandoned his changeup last night but his curveball was better than it had been. Still though, his command is lacking a consistent feel to it and until he straightens that out, it could turn into a long season for the young righty.

It's obvious the bullpen is struggling right now. There is help on the way though.

After throwing two nights in a row with great results, Rich Hill is more than likely ready to contribute to the Red Sox. It won't be tonight though since he has thrown in two straight games. My best guess is that the move happens tomorrow since Thomas probably won't be available to pitch anyways.

Something also tells me that Daniel Bard's final start of the season will come tomorrow night. Of course that might depend on how he pitches and how Felix Doubront does tonight. With Aaron Cook's opt-out date looming large, one of those two is likely headed to the bullpen. Obviously, the one who makes the most sense is Bard.

Offensively, Dustin Pedroia had a nice little night with three hits. Mike Aviles may have gone 1-for-4 but his one hit was a big one, a three-run blast. Adrian Gonzalez knocked in a run with a single while Jarrod Saltalamacchia increased his hitting streak to four games with a two-run single.

Before leaving the game with a sore knee, Cody Ross had a run scoring hit as well.

So with the Red Sox offense coming around, it's time for the pitching, both starting and the bullpen, to do their job. Even with winning those three games, if everything clicks starting tonight, it could go a long ways towards starting a nice long winning streak and getting things back on track.

We'll be back later with today's lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day. So for now, let's take at look at the overnight links from the media by clicking on the read more button below if you're on the home page.

Destination Red Sox Nation is our look at how the minor league teams of the Boston Red Sox fare each night. Game story and box score links as well as links to team rosters, team stats and league standings can be found by clicking on the read more button below if you're on the home page.

Note: Pitching matchups are subject to change

Thursday, April 26 @ 8:10 PM

Felix Doubront, LHP (0-0, 3.94) vs Philip Humber, RHP (1-0, 0.63)

TV: NESN, MLB Network, MLB.tv

Radio: Red Sox Radio Network, MLB Gameday Audio

Friday, April 27 @ 8:10 PM

Daniel Bard, RHP (1-2, 4.63) vs John Danks, LHP (2-2, 5.11)

TV: NESN, MLB.tv

Radio: Red Sox Radio Network, MLB Gameday Audio

Saturday, April 28 @ 7:10 PM

Jon Lester, LHP (0-2, 6.00) vs Jake Peavy, RHP (3-0, 1.88)

TV: NESN, MLB.tv

Radio: Red Sox Radio Network, MLB Gameday Audio

Sunday, April 29 @ 2:10 PM

Josh Beckett, RHP (2-2, 4.56) vs Gavin Floyd, RHP (1-3, 3.60)

TV: NESN, MLB.tv

Radio: Red Sox Radio Network, MLB Gameday Audio

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

After winning for the second straight game last night, the Boston Red Sox go for the sweep of the Minnesota Twins tonight in the finale of a three-game set at Target Field in Minneapolis, MN.

First pitch is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on NESN Plus in the Red Sox television market. If you live in the Twins television market, you can catch the game on Fox Sports North. If you can't catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to it on the Red Sox radio network.

Clay Buchholz looks to rebound from his three terrible starts in his fourth start of 2012. In his previous three starts, Buchholz is 1-1 with a 9.00 ERA (17 ER/17 IP). In his only start of 2011 against the Twins back on May 7th, he picked up the win after throwing five scoreless innings. In his career, Buchholz has made three starts and is 2-1 with a 4.67 ERA. Tonight marks his first start at Target Field. In his only appearance at the Metrodome in 2008, he was tagged with the loss after allowing seven earned runs in 4.1 innings of work.

Rookie Liam Hendriks makes his third start of 2012 for the reeling Twins. In his previous two starts, Hendriks has no record with a 3.86 ERA (5 ER/11.2 IP). He has not faced the Red Sox in his short career.

Click on the read more button below to see today's lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the overnight and day if you're on the home page.