# 2009 Boston Red Sox season

The 2009 Boston Red Sox season was the 109th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished second in the American League East with a record of 95–67, eight games behind the New York Yankees, who went on to win the 2009 World Series. The Red Sox qualified for the postseason as the AL wild card but were swept by the American League West champion Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ALDS.

## Regular season

The team introduced blue alternate jerseys, worn on some road games in place of their traditional gray tops.
The Red Sox opened the season with a postponement due to rain. However, on April 7, the season began at Fenway with the first pitch being thrown by Edward Kennedy, who later died in August. The Red Sox got off to a slow start, going 2–6 in the first eight games. However, the Sox won 11 straight games beginning on April 15. The win streak was Boston's longest since 2006 when they had a 12-game win streak. A highlight of the streak was Jacoby Ellsbury's steal of home on April 26 to cap off a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees. They finished April with a record of 14–8 and tied with the Toronto Blue Jays for the division lead. Also, Jerry Remy, NESN color commentator, had surgery to remove a small area of cancer on his lung. While recovering he also got pneumonia. He also was suffering from fatigue and depression. These are the people who filled in for him: Dennis Eckersley, Dave Roberts, Buck Martinez, Tony Massarotti, Rance Mulliniks, Rex Hudler, Ron Coomer, Ken Rosenthal, Kevin Kennedy, Dwight Evans, Sean Casey, Jim Kaat, Gordon Edes, Bob Montgomery, Frank Viola, Sean McAdam, Brian Daubach, and Rick Dempsey.
The team flattened out in May, going 15–14 in the month and falling to third in the division behind the Yankees and the Blue Jays. Through the first two months of the season, slugger David Ortiz struggled, batting .185 with one home run. Additionally, pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka was placed on the disabled list after just two starts with an injury that manager Terry Francona attributed to his participation in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. Off the field, announcer Jerry Remy, of NESN television, was replaced by Dennis Eckersley beginning on May 6 as Remy began undergoing cancer treatment. Despite these struggles, the Red Sox set an American League record, tying the Major League record, on May 7 by scoring 12 runs without recording an out during the 6th inning of a game against the Cleveland Indians.
The Red Sox took the division lead, and improved to the second-best record in MLB, during June. Through the first half of the month, the Sox played four division leaders, the Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, and Philadelphia Phillies, winning three of the four series and sweeping both the Tigers and Yankees. By sweeping the Yankees, the Sox improved to 8–0 against the team, the best record against them since sweeping the 14-game season series against them in 1912. At the All-Star break, the Red Sox had the second best record in Major League Baseball and held a three-game lead in the division.
The Red Sox faltered after the All-Star break, losing five of six on the road to the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers and batting .192 and scoring 13 runs. In response to the poor offensive performance and to make room for Jed Lowrie's return from injury, Julio Lugo was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for cash and two minor-league players were traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Adam LaRoche on July 22, and on July 25 Mark Kotsay was designated for assignment. The Red Sox made a move at the trade deadline, July 31, to acquire catcher Victor Martinez from the Cleveland Indians for pitchers Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone, and Bryan Price. They also traded Adam LaRoche to the Atlanta Braves for Casey Kotchman. After winning the first eight games of the season against their rival Yankees in the first half of the season, the Red Sox lost nine of the next ten to finish the season 9–9 against them.
One of the stranger victories for the Sox came on August 14 against the Texas Rangers. Going into the top of the 9th inning, the home Rangers were leading 4–2. Jacoby Ellsbury drove in David Ortiz to pull within one run and Jason Varitek was left on second base with no outs. Pitcher, Clay Buchholz came in to pinch run for Varitek with no outs. Dustin Pedroia doubled, but the inexperienced, and potentially tying run, Buchholz, was thrown out at the plate as he hesitated between second and third before attempting to score. All was shortly forgotten when the team scored five more runs to win 8–4. On August 21, Jacoby Ellsbury tied the record for the Red Sox single season record for stolen bases (54), in a game against the New York Yankees, a record previously held by Tommy Harper. Ellsbury then broke the record with his 55th steal on August 25, against the Chicago White Sox.

### Opening Day lineup

| 46 | Jacoby Ellsbury | CF |
| 15 | Dustin Pedroia | 2B |
| 34 | David Ortiz | DH |
| 20 | Kevin Youkilis | 1B |
| 7 | J. D. Drew | RF |
| 44 | Jason Bay | LF |
| 25 | Mike Lowell | 3B |
| 12 | Jed Lowrie | SS |
| 33 | Jason Varitek | C |
| 19 | Josh Beckett | P |

### Season standings

vteAL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| New York Yankees | 103 | 59 | .636 | — | 57‍–‍24 | 46‍–‍35 |
| Boston Red Sox | 95 | 67 | .586 | 8 | 56‍–‍25 | 39‍–‍42 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 84 | 78 | .519 | 19 | 52‍–‍29 | 32‍–‍49 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 75 | 87 | .463 | 28 | 44‍–‍37 | 31‍–‍50 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 64 | 98 | .395 | 39 | 39‍–‍42 | 25‍–‍56 |
| vteAL Wild Card | W | L | Pct. | GB | Strk. | E# |
| Boston Red Sox | 95 | 67 | .586 | — | W4 | — |
| Texas Rangers | 87 | 75 | .537 | 8 | L2 | E |

### Record vs. opponents

| Team | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | LAA | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TB | TEX | TOR | NL |
| Baltimore | – | 2–16 | 5–4 | 2–5 | 3–5 | 4–4 | 2–8 | 3–2 | 5–13 | 1–5 | 4–5 | 8–10 | 5–5 | 9–9 | 11–7 |
| Boston | 16–2 | – | 4–4 | 7–2 | 6–1 | 5–3 | 4–5 | 4–2 | 9–9 | 5–5 | 2–4 | 9–9 | 2–7 | 11–7 | 11–7 |
| Chicago | 4–5 | 4−4 | – | 10–8 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 5–4 | 6−12 | 3–4 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 6–2 | 2–4 | 1–6 | 12–6 |
| Cleveland | 5–2 | 2–7 | 8–10 | – | 4–14 | 10–8 | 2–4 | 8–10 | 3–5 | 2–5 | 6–4 | 5–3 | 1–8 | 4–4 | 5–13 |
| Detroit | 5–3 | 1–6 | 9–9 | 14–4 | – | 9–9 | 5–4 | 7–12 | 1–5 | 5–4 | 5–4 | 5–2 | 7–2 | 3–5 | 10–8 |
| Kansas City | 4–4 | 3–5 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 9–9 | – | 1–9 | 6–12 | 2–4 | 2–6 | 5–4 | 1–9 | 3–3 | 4–3 | 8–10 |
| Los Angeles | 8–2 | 5–4 | 4–5 | 4–2 | 4–5 | 9–1 | – | 6–4 | 5–5 | 12–7 | 10–9 | 4–2 | 8–11 | 4–4 | 14–4 |
| Minnesota | 2–3 | 2–4 | 12–6 | 10–8 | 12–7 | 12–6 | 4–6 | – | 0–7 | 4–6 | 5–5 | 3–3 | 6–4 | 3–5 | 12–6 |
| New York | 13–5 | 9–9 | 4–3 | 5–3 | 5–1 | 4–2 | 5–5 | 7–0 | – | 7–2 | 6–4 | 11–7 | 5–4 | 12–6 | 10–8 |
| Oakland | 5–1 | 5–5 | 5–4 | 5–2 | 4–5 | 6–2 | 7–12 | 6–4 | 2–7 | – | 5–14 | 6–4 | 11–8 | 3–6 | 5–13 |
| Seattle | 5–4 | 4–2 | 5–4 | 4–6 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 9–10 | 5–5 | 4–6 | 14–5 | – | 5–3 | 8–11 | 3–4 | 11–7 |
| Tampa Bay | 10–8 | 9–9 | 2–6 | 3–5 | 2–5 | 9–1 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 7–11 | 4–6 | 3–5 | – | 3–6 | 14–4 | 13–5 |
| Texas | 5–5 | 7–2 | 4–2 | 8–1 | 2–7 | 3–3 | 11–8 | 4–6 | 4–5 | 8–11 | 11–8 | 6–3 | – | 5–5 | 9–9 |
| Toronto | 9–9 | 7–11 | 6–1 | 4–4 | 5–3 | 3–4 | 4–4 | 5–3 | 6–12 | 6–3 | 4–3 | 4–14 | 5–5 | – | 7–11 |
* view
* talk
* Source: MLB Standings Grid – 2009
Red Sox vs. National League East :
| Team | ATL | FLA | NYM | PHI | WSH |
| Boston | 4–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 |

### Notable transactions

* November 19, 2008: Ramón Ramírez was acquired by the Red Sox from the Royals in exchange for Coco Crisp.
* December 28, 2008: Brad Penny signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.
* January 5, 2009: Nick Green signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.
* January 8, 2009: Rocco Baldelli signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.
* January 9, 2009: Mark Kotsay signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.
* January 10, 2009: Takashi Saito signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.
* January 12, 2009: John Smoltz signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.
* July 8, 2009: Jonathan Van Every was released by the Red Sox.
* July 22, 2009: Adam LaRoche was acquired by the Red Sox from the Pirates in exchange for Argenis Díaz and Hunter Strickland. In a separate trade, Chris Duncan was acquired by the Red Sox from the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Julio Lugo.
* July 28, 2009: Brian Anderson was acquired by the Red Sox from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for Mark Kotsay.
* July 31, 2009: Casey Kotchman was acquired by the Red Sox from the Braves in exchange for Adam LaRoche. In a separate trade, Víctor Martínez was acquired by the Red Sox from the Indians in exchange for Nick Hagadone, Justin Masterson, and Bryan Price.
* August 5, 2009: Paul Byrd signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.
* August 7, 2009: Chris Woodward was selected off waivers by the Red Sox from the Mariners.
* August 14, 2009: Álex González was acquired by the Red Sox from the Reds in exchange for Kristopher Negrón.
* August 17, 2009: John Smoltz was released by the Red Sox.
* August 21, 2009: Chris Duncan was released by the Red Sox.
* August 25, 2009: Billy Wagner was acquired by the Red Sox from the Mets in exchange players to be named later.
* August 27, 2009: Brad Penny was released by the Red Sox.
* August 29, 2009: Joey Gathright was purchased by the Red Sox from the Orioles.

### Detailed record

| Team | Home | Away | Total | Pct. | Gms Left |
| AL East ||||||
| Baltimore Orioles | 8–1 | 8–1 | 16–2 | 0.889 | – |
| New York Yankees | 7–2 | 2–7 | 9–9 | 0.500 | – |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 6–3 | 3–6 | 9–9 | 0.500 | – |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 6–3 | 5–4 | 11–7 | 0.611 | – |
| | 26–9 | 18–18 | 44–27 | 0.620 | – |
| AL Central ||||||
| Chicago White Sox | 3–1 | 1–3 | 4–4 | 0.500 | – |
| Cleveland Indians | 5–1 | 2–1 | 7–2 | 0.750 | – |
| Detroit Tigers | 3–1 | 3–0 | 6–1 | 0.857 | – |
| Kansas City Royals | 3–1 | 2–2 | 5–3 | 0.625 | – |
| Minnesota Twins | 2–0 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 0.667 | – |
| | 16–4 | 10–8 | 26–12 | 0.684 | – |
| AL West ||||||
| Los Angeles Angels | 2–1 | 2–4 | 4–5 | 0.444 | – |
| Oakland Athletics | 4–3 | 1–2 | 5–5 | 0.500 | – |
| Seattle Mariners | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–4 | 0.333 | – |
| Texas Rangers | 1–2 | 1–5 | 2–7 | 0.222 | – |
| | 8–8 | 5–13 | 13–21 | 0.382 | – |
| National League ||||||
| Atlanta Braves | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 0.667 | – |
| Florida Marlins | 2–1 | N/A | 2–1 | 0.667 | – |
| New York Mets | 1–2 | N/A | 1–2 | 0.333 | – |
| Philadelphia Phillies | N/A | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0.667 | - |
| Washington Nationals | N/A | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0.667 | - |
| | 5–4 | 6–3 | 11–7 | 0.611 | – |
| Month | Games | Won | Lost | Pct. |
| April | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0.636 |
| May | 29 | 15 | 14 | 0.517 |
| June | 26 | 18 | 8 | 0.692 |
| July | 25 | 13 | 12 | 0.520 |
| August | 28 | 16 | 12 | 0.571 |
| September | 28 | 15 | 13 | 0.536 |
| October | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1.000 |
| | 162 | 95 | 67 | 0.586 |

## Game log

Legend :
| Red Sox win | Red Sox loss | Game postponed |
2009 game log :
April (14–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
April 6RaysPostponed
1April 7Rays5–3Beckett (1–0)Shields (0–1)Papelbon (1)37,0571–0
2April 8Rays7–2Kazmir (1–0)Lester (0–1)Balfour (1)37,5521–1
3April 9Rays4–3Garza (1–0)Matsuzaka (0–1)Percival (1)37,7841–2
4April 10@ Angels6–3Weaver (1–0)Wakefield (0–1)Shields (1)41,3851–3
5April 11@ Angels5–4Penny (1–0)Saunders (1–1)Papelbon (2)40,1632–3
6April 12@ Angels5–4Moseley (1–0)Beckett (1–1)Fuentes (2)38,0762–4
7April 13@ Athletics8–2Braden (1–1)Lester (0–2)21,3312–5
8April 14@ Athletics6–5 (12)Gallagher (1–0)López (0–1)22,1322–6
9April 15@ Athletics8–2Wakefield (1–1)Anderson (0–2)35,0673–6
10April 17Orioles10–8Ramírez (1–0)Báez (0–1)Papelbon (3)38,2664–6
11April 18Orioles6–4Beckett (2–1)Eaton (0–2)Papelbon (4)37,5595–6
12April 19Orioles2–1Lester (1–2)Uehara (2–1)Saito (1)37,8696–6
13April 20Orioles12–1Masterson (1–0)Hendrickson (1–2)37,8657–6
April 21TwinsPostponed
14April 22Twins10–1 (8)Wakefield (2–1)Baker (0–2)8–6
15April 22Twins7–3Penny (2–0)Liriano (0–4)37,4949–6
16April 24Yankees5–4 (11)Ramírez (2–0)Marte (0–1)38,16310–6
17April 25Yankees16–11Okajima (1–0)Albaladejo (1–1)37,69911–6
18April 26Yankees4–1Masterson (2–0)Pettitte (2–1)Saito (2)38,15412–6
19April 27@ Indians3–1Delcarmen (1–0)Wood (0–1)Papelbon (5)18,65213–6
20April 28@ Indians9–8Wood (1–1)López (0–2)19,61313–7
21April 29@ Indians6–5 (10)Okajima (2–0)Lewis (2–3)Papelbon (6)19,13714–7
22April 30@ Rays13–0Garza (2–2)Beckett (2–2)20,34114–8 :
May (15–14)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
23May 1@ Rays6–2Sonnanstine (1–3)Masterson (2–1)27,04514–9
24May 2@ Rays10–6Wakefield (3–1)Niemann (2–3)34,91015–9
25May 3@ Rays5–3Shields (3–2)Penny (2–1)Percival (3)32,33215–10
26May 4@ Yankees6–4Lester (2–2)Hughes (1–1)Papelbon (7)46,42616–10
27May 5@ Yankees7–3Beckett (3–2)Chamberlain (1–1)46,81017–10
28May 6Indians9–2Pavano (2–3)Masterson (2–2)Laffey (1)37,88817–11
29May 7Indians13–3Wakefield (4–1)Sowers (0–1)37,54118–11
30May 8Rays7–3Penny (3–1)Shields (3–3)37,74519–11
31May 9Rays14–5Kazmir (4–3)Lester (2–3)Cormier (1)37,77319–12
32May 10Rays4–3Ramírez (3–0)Shouse (1–1)Papelbon (8)37,75920–12
33May 12@ Angels4–3Ramírez (4–0)Shields (1–3)Papelbon (9)33,41121–12
34May 13@ Angels8–4Palmer (4–0)Wakefield (4–2)35,66621–13
35May 14@ Angels5–4 (12)Bulger (1–1)Delcarmen (1–1)35,12421–14
36May 15@ Mariners5–4Jakubauskas (2–4)Lester (2–4)Aardsma (4)34,95221–15
37May 16@ Mariners5–3Beckett (4–2)Olson (0–1)Papelbon (10)42,58922–15
38May 17@ Mariners3–2Aardsma (1–1)Ramírez (4–1)40,83322–16
39May 19Blue Jays2–1Wakefield (5–2)Tallet (2–2)Papelbon (11)37,83023–16
40May 20Blue Jays8–3Penny (4–1)Cecil (2–1)38,09924–16
41May 21Blue Jays5–1Lester (3–4)Ray (1–2)38,34725–16
42May 22Mets5–3Santana (6–2)Matsuzaka (0–2)Rodríguez (12)38,09225–17
43May 23Mets3–2Feliciano (1–1)Papelbon (0–1)Putz (2)37,87125–18
44May 24Mets12–5Wakefield (6–2)Redding (0–1)37,44626–18
45May 25@ Twins6–5Penny (5–1)Liriano (2–6)Papelbon (12)27,63627–18
46May 26@ Twins5–2Blackburn (4–2)Lester (3–5)Nathan (7)20,01927–19
47May 27@ Twins4–2Slowey (7–1)Matsuzaka (0–3)Nathan (8)28,22127–20
48May 28@ Twins3–1Beckett (5–2)Swarzak (1–1)Papelbon (13)23,95828–20
49May 29@ Blue Jays6–3Janssen (1–1)Wakefield (6–3)Downs (6)32,02628–21
50May 30@ Blue Jays5–3Tallet (3–3)Ramírez (4–2)Downs (7)35,48428–22
51May 31@ Blue Jays8–2Lester (4–5)Romero (2–2)30,49629–22 :
June (18–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
52June 2@ Tigers5–1Matsuzaka (1–3)Porcello (6–4)25,91430–22
53June 3@ Tigers10–5Beckett (6–2)Galarraga (3–6)29,24031–22
54June 4@ Tigers6–3Wakefield (7–3)Willis (1–3)Papelbon (14)31,35332–22
55June 5Rangers5–1Millwood (5–4)Penny (5–2)37,51932–23
56June 6Rangers8–1Lester (5–5)Holland (1–3)37,82833–23
57June 7Rangers6–3Padilla (4–3)Matsuzaka (1–4)Wilson (5)37,53733–24
58June 9Yankees7–0Beckett (7–2)Burnett (4–3)37,88334–24
59June 10Yankees6–5Wakefield (8–3)Wang (0–4)Papelbon (15)38,12135–24
60June 11Yankees4–3Saito (1–0)Sabathia (5–4)Papelbon (16)38,15336–24
61June 12@ Phillies5–2 (13)Saito (2–0)Kendrick (0–1)Bard (1)45,32137–24
62June 13@ Phillies11–6Okajima (3–0)Bastardo (2–1)45,20238–24
63June 14@ Phillies11–6Park (3–1)Beckett (7–3)45,14138–25
64June 16Marlins8–2Wakefield (9–3)Volstad (4–7)38,14939–25
65June 17Marlins6–1Penny (6–2)Miller (2–3)38,19640–25
66June 18Marlins2–1 (6)Nolasco (3–6)Lester (5–6)37,57740–26
67June 19Braves8–2Kawakami (4–6)Matsuzaka (1–5)37,70340–27
68June 20Braves3–0Beckett (8–3)Lowe (7–5)38,02941–27
69June 21Braves6–5Papelbon (1–1)Bennett (2–4)37,24342–27
70June 23@ Nationals11–3Delcarmen (2–1)Tavárez (3–5)41,51743–27
71June 24@ Nationals6–4Lester (6–6)Stammen (1–3)Papelbon (17)41,53044–27
72June 25@ Nationals9–3Zimmermann (3–3)Smoltz (0–1)41,98544–28
73June 26@ Braves4–1Beckett (9–3)Jurrjens (5–6)48,41845–28
74June 27@ Braves1–0Wakefield (10–3)Vázquez (5–7)Papelbon (18)48,15146–28
75June 28@ Braves2–1Hanson (4–0)Penny (6–3)González (9)41,46346–29
76June 29@ Orioles4–0Lester (7–6)Berken (1–5)Papelbon (19)36,54847–29
77June 30@ Orioles11–10Hendrickson (3–4)Saito (2–1)Sherrill (17)31,96947–30 :
July (13–12)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
78July 1@ Orioles6–5 (11)Ramírez (5–2)Báez (4–2)Papelbon (20)29,39148–30
79July 3Mariners7–6 (11)Jakubauskas (5–5)Ramírez (5–3)Lowe (1)38,07848–31
80July 4Mariners3–2Corcoran (2–0)Saito (2–2)Aardsma (17)37,65648–32
81July 5Mariners8–4Masterson (3–2)Batista (5–3)37,69149–32
82July 6Athletics6–0Anderson (5–7)Smoltz (0–2)38,29449–33
83July 7Athletics5–2Beckett (10–3)Eveland (1–3)Papelbon (21)37,67650–33
84July 8Athletics5–4Wakefield (11–3)Cahill (5–8)Papelbon (22)37,98151–33
85July 9Royals8–6Hochevar (5–3)Masterson (3–3)Soria (14)38,18951–34
86July 10Royals1–0Lester (8–6)Bannister (6–7)Papelbon (23)38,11652–34
87July 11Royals15–9Smoltz (1–2)Meche (4–9)37,82553–34
88July 12Royals6–0Beckett (11–3)Chen (0–4)37,61254–34
All-Star Break: AL def. NL at Busch Stadium, 4–3
89July 17@ Blue Jays4–1Buchholz (1–0)Romero (7–4)Papelbon (24)32,92855–34
90July 18@ Blue Jays6–2Rzepczynski (1–1)Penny (6–4)36,92655–35
91July 19@ Blue Jays3–1Halladay (11–3)Lester (8–7)36,53455–36
92July 20@ Rangers6–3Millwood (9–7)Smoltz (1–3)Wilson (8)28,91655–37
93July 21@ Rangers4–2Hunter (9–7)Beckett (11–4)Wilson (9)28,55555–38
94July 22@ Rangers3–1Nippert (2–0)Buchholz (1–1)Mathis (1)39,77855–39
95July 24Orioles3–1Penny (7–4)Bergesen (6–5)Papelbon (25)38,05856–39
96July 25Orioles7–2Lester (9–7)Guthrie (7–9)38,06357–39
97July 26Orioles6–2Hernandez (3–2)Smoltz (1–4)37,60657–40
98July 27Athletics8–2Beckett (12–4)Cahill (6–9)37,95558–40
99July 28Athletics9–8 (11)Berslow (4–4)Delcarmen (2–2)Bailey (12)38,08458–41
100July 29Athletics8–6Anderson (6–8)Penny (7–5)Bailey (13)38,19358–42
101July 30Athletics8–5Delcarmen (3–2)Breslow (4–5)Papelbon (26)37,91959–42
102July 31@ Orioles6–5Smoltz (2–4)Guthrie (7–10)Papelbon (27)44,09160–42 :
August (16–12)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
103August 1@ Orioles4–0Beckett (13–4)Hernandez (3–3)49,38461–42
104August 2@ Orioles18–10Delcarmen (4–2)Berken (1–9)43,11562–42
105August 4@ Rays4–2 (13)Cormier (2–1)Saito (2–3)29,87362–43
106August 5@ Rays6–4Price (5–4)Penny (7–6)Howell (12)31,51762–44
107August 6@ Yankees13–6Chamberlain (8–2)Smoltz (2–5)49,00562–45
108August 7@ Yankees2–0 (15)Coke (3–3)Tazawa (0–1)48,26262–46
109August 8@ Yankees5–0Sabathia (12–7)Buchholz (1–2)48,79662–47
110August 9@ Yankees5–2Coke (4–3)Bard (0–1)Rivera (32)48,19062–48
111August 10Tigers6–5Ramírez (6–3)Miner (5–2)Papelbon (28)37,96063–48
112August 11Tigers7–5Tazawa (1–1)Lambert (0–1)38,01364–48
113August 12Tigers8–2Beckett (14–4)Miner (5–3)38,12465–48
114August 13Tigers2–0Verlander (13–6)Buchholz (1–3)Rodney (24)37,55665–49
115August 14@ Rangers8–4Saito (3–3)Francisco (2–2)40,31166–49
116August 15@ Rangers7–2Holland (6–7)Penny (7–7)Feliz (1)48,20166–50
117August 16@ Rangers4–3Nippert (4–1)Tazawa (1–2)Francisco (17)27,15566–51
118August 18@ Blue Jays10–9Okajima (4–0)Janssen (2–4)Papelbon (29)25,47267–51
119August 19@ Blue Jays6–1Buchholz (2–3)Halladay (13–6)25,92568–51
120August 20@ Blue Jays8–1Lester (10–7)Cecil (5–2)22,81769–51
121August 21Yankees20–11Pettitte (10–6)Penny (7–8)37,86969–52
122August 22Yankees14–1Tazawa (2–2)Burnett (10–7)37,27770–52
123August 23Yankees8–4Sabathia (15–7)Beckett (14–5)38,00870–53
124August 24White Sox12–8Ramírez (6–3)Contreras (5–7)37,81271–53
125August 25White Sox6–3Delcarmen (5–2)Linebrink (3–6)Papelbon (30)38,05972–53
126August 26White Sox3–2Bard (1–1)Peña (6–5)37,83973–53
127August 27White Sox9–5Danks (12–8)Tazawa (2–3)38,00373–54
128August 28Blue Jays6–5Okajima (5–0)Tallet (5–8)Papelbon (31)37,84474–54
129August 29Blue Jays3–2Buchholz (3–3)Romero (11–6)Papelbon (32)37,45275–54
130August 30Blue Jays7–0Byrd (1–0)Halladay (13–8)37,56076–54 :
September (15–13)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
131September 1@ Rays8–4Lester (11–7)Sonnanstine (6–8)Papelbon (33)17,69277–54
132September 2@ Rays8–5Howell (7–4)Ramírez (7–4)Wheeler (2)19,14877–55
133September 3@ Rays6–3Buchholz (4–3)Price (7–7)Papelbon (34)20,82378–55
134September 4@ White Sox12–2García (1–2)Byrd (1–1)28,83978–56
135September 5@ White Sox5–1Floyd (11–9)Wakefield (11–4)33,23976–57
136September 6@ White Sox6–1Lester (12–7)Danks (12–9)32,13479–57
137September 7@ White Sox5–1Buehrle (12–7)Beckett (14–6)22,51179–58
138September 8Orioles10–0Buchholz (5–3)Hernandez (4–7)37,64780–58
139September 9Orioles7–5Wagner (1–0)Albers (2–5)Papelbon (35)37,71281–58
September 11RaysPostponed
140September 12Rays9–1 (6)Beckett (15–6)Davis (0–1)37,75582–58
141September 13Rays3–1Okajima (6–0)Garza (7–10)Papelbon (36)38,22883–58
142September 13Rays4–0Lester (13–7)Shields (9–11)37,27184–58
143September 15Angels4–1Matsuzaka (2–5)Lackey (10–8)37,94285–58
144September 16Angels9–8Bard (2–1)Fuentes (1–5)37,70686–58
145September 17Angels4–3Jepsen (6–3)Wagner (1–1)Fuentes (42)38,15786–59
146September 18@ Orioles3–1Buchholz (6–3)Guthrie (10–15)Papelbon (37)26,81287–59
147September 19@ Orioles11–5Lester (14–7)Albers (2–6)39,28588–59
148September 20@ Orioles9–3Matsuzaka (3–5)Berken (5–12)27,54689–59
149September 21@ Royals12–9Yabuta (2–1)Bard (2–2)Soria (27)16,77089–60
150September 22@ Royals5–1Greinke (15–8)Byrd (1–2)Soria (28)21,22889–61
151September 23@ Royals9–2Beckett (16–6)Hochevar (7–11)18,98990–61
152September 24@ Royals10–3Buchholz (7–3)Lerew (0–1)20,80791–61
153September 25@ Yankees9–5Chamberlain (9–6)Lester (14–8)48,44991–62
154September 26@ Yankees3–0Sabathia (19–7)Matsuzaka (3–6)Rivera (43)48,80991–63
155September 27@ Yankees4–2Pettitte (14–7)Byrd (1–3)Rivera (44)47,57691–64
156September 28Blue Jays11–5 (7)Richmond (8–10)Bowden (0–1)37,59191–65
157September 29Blue Jays8–7Romero (13–9)Buchholz (7–4)Frasor (11)37,61891–66
158September 30Blue Jays12–0Halladay (17–10)Wakefield (11–5)37,24691–67 :
October (4–0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
159October 1Indians3–0Lester (15–8)Carrasco (0–4)Papelbon (38)37,45992–67
160October 2Indians6–2Matsuzaka (4–6)Sowers (6–11)37,78793–67
161October 3Indians11–6Beckett (17–6)Laffey (7–9)37,56294–67
162October 4Indians12–7Bowden (1–1)Ohka (1–5)37,24795–67 :
2009 postseason game log :
ALDS vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (0–3)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordBox
1October 8@ Angels5–0Lackey (1–0)Lester (0–1)Angel Stadium of Anaheim45,0700–1
2October 9@ Angels4–1Weaver (1–0)Beckett (0–1)Fuentes (1)Angel Stadium of Anaheim45,2230–2
3October 11Angels7–6Oliver (1–0)Papelbon (0–1)Fuentes (2)Fenway Park38,7040–3 :

## Player stats
### Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | AVG | SB |
| Brian Anderson | 21 | 17 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | .294 | 0 |
| Jeff Bailey | 26 | 77 | 14 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 9 | .208 | 0 |
| Rocco Baldelli | 62 | 150 | 23 | 38 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 23 | .253 | 1 |
| Daniel Bard | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .--- | 0 |
| Aaron Bates | 5 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .364 | 0 |
| Jason Bay | 151 | 531 | 103 | 142 | 29 | 3 | 36 | 119 | .267 | 13 |
| Josh Beckett | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .200 | 0 |
| Dusty Brown | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .333 | 0 |
| Clay Buchholz | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .--- | 0 |
| Chris Carter | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 |
| Manny Delcarmen | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .--- | 0 |
| J. D. Drew | 137 | 452 | 84 | 126 | 30 | 4 | 24 | 68 | .279 | 2 |
| Jacoby Ellsbury | 153 | 624 | 94 | 188 | 27 | 10 | 8 | 60 | .301 | 70 |
| Joey Gathright | 17 | 16 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .313 | 1 |
| Álex González | 44 | 148 | 26 | 42 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 15 | .284 | 2 |
| Nick Green | 103 | 276 | 35 | 65 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 35 | .236 | 1 |
| Casey Kotchman | 39 | 87 | 9 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | .218 | 1 |
| Mark Kotsay | 27 | 74 | 4 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .257 | 1 |
| George Kottaras | 45 | 93 | 15 | 22 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 10 | .237 | 0 |
| Adam LaRoche | 6 | 19 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .263 | 0 |
| Jon Lester | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Javier López | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .--- | 0 |
| Mike Lowell | 119 | 445 | 54 | 129 | 29 | 1 | 17 | 75 | .290 | 2 |
| Jed Lowrie | 32 | 68 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | .147 | 0 |
| Julio Lugo | 37 | 109 | 16 | 31 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 | .284 | 3 |
| Víctor Martínez | 56 | 211 | 32 | 71 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 41 | .336 | 1 |
| Justin Masterson | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .--- | 0 |
| Daisuke Matsuzaka | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Hideki Okajima | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| David Ortiz | 150 | 541 | 77 | 129 | 35 | 1 | 28 | 99 | .238 | 0 |
| Jonathan Papelbon | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .--- | 0 |
| Dustin Pedroia | 154 | 626 | 115 | 185 | 48 | 1 | 15 | 72 | .298 | 20 |
| Brad Penny | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Ramón Ramírez | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Josh Reddick | 27 | 59 | 5 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 4 | .169 | 0 |
| Takashi Saito | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .--- | 0 |
| John Smoltz | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Jonathan Van Every | 7 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .364 | 0 |
| Jason Varitek | 109 | 364 | 41 | 76 | 24 | 0 | 14 | 51 | .209 | 0 |
| Gil Velazquez | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Tim Wakefield | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | 0 |
| Chris Woodward | 13 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .083 | 0 |
| Kevin Youkilis | 136 | 491 | 99 | 150 | 36 | 1 | 27 | 94 | .305 | 7 |
| Team Totals | 162 | 5543 | 872 | 1495 | 335 | 25 | 212 | 822 | .270 | 126 |
* Source: Boston Red Sox batting stats

### Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; HR = Home Run Allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts
| Player | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | R | ER | HR | BB | K |
| Daniel Bard | 2 | 2 | 3.65 | 49 | 0 | 1 | 49.1 | 24 | 20 | 5 | 22 | 63 |
| Josh Beckett | 17 | 6 | 3.86 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 212.1 | 99 | 91 | 25 | 55 | 199 |
| Michael Bowden | 1 | 1 | 9.56 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 16.0 | 17 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 12 |
| Dusty Brown | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Clay Buchholz | 7 | 4 | 4.21 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 92.0 | 44 | 43 | 13 | 36 | 68 |
| Paul Byrd | 1 | 3 | 5.82 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 34.0 | 22 | 22 | 4 | 11 | 11 |
| Fernando Cabrera | 0 | 0 | 8.44 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 5.1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| Manny Delcarmen | 5 | 2 | 4.53 | 64 | 0 | 0 | 59.2 | 34 | 30 | 5 | 34 | 44 |
| Enrique González | 0 | 0 | 4.91 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3.2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Nick Green | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Hunter Jones | 0 | 0 | 9.24 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 12.2 | 13 | 13 | 3 | 7 | 9 |
| Jon Lester | 15 | 8 | 3.41 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 203.1 | 80 | 77 | 20 | 64 | 225 |
| Javier López | 0 | 2 | 9.26 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 11.2 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 5 |
| Justin Masterson | 3 | 3 | 4.50 | 31 | 6 | 0 | 72.0 | 38 | 36 | 7 | 25 | 67 |
| Daisuke Matsuzaka | 4 | 6 | 5.76 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 59.1 | 38 | 38 | 10 | 30 | 54 |
| Hideki Okajima | 6 | 0 | 3.39 | 68 | 0 | 0 | 61.1 | 23 | 23 | 8 | 21 | 53 |
| Jonathan Papelbon | 1 | 1 | 1.85 | 66 | 0 | 38 | 68.0 | 15 | 14 | 5 | 24 | 76 |
| Brad Penny | 7 | 8 | 5.61 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 131.2 | 89 | 82 | 17 | 42 | 89 |
| Ramón Ramírez | 7 | 4 | 2.84 | 70 | 0 | 0 | 69.2 | 26 | 22 | 7 | 32 | 52 |
| Dustin Richardson | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Takashi Saito | 3 | 3 | 2.43 | 56 | 0 | 2 | 55.2 | 16 | 15 | 6 | 25 | 52 |
| John Smoltz | 2 | 5 | 8.33 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 40.0 | 37 | 37 | 8 | 9 | 33 |
| Junichi Tazawa | 2 | 3 | 7.46 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 25.1 | 23 | 21 | 4 | 9 | 13 |
| Billy Traber | 0 | 0 | 12.27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.2 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Jonathan Van Every | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Billy Wagner | 1 | 1 | 1.98 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 13.2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 22 |
| Tim Wakefield | 11 | 5 | 4.58 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 129.2 | 67 | 66 | 12 | 50 | 72 |
| Team Totals | 95 | 67 | 4.35 | 162 | 162 | 41 | 1436.2 | 736 | 695 | 167 | 530 | 1230 |
* Source: Boston Red Sox pitching stats

## Awards and honors
### Awards

* Jason Bay – Silver Slugger Award (OF)
* Josh Beckett – AL Player of the Week (July 6–12)
* Mike Lowell – AL Player of the Week (April 20–26)

### All-Star Game

| Starters Dustin Pedroia 2B (did not attend) Jason Bay OF | Reserves Josh Beckett SP Jonathan Papelbon RP Tim Wakefield SP Kevin Youkilis 1B Other Victor Martinez C/1B (acquired after all-star break) |

### Recognition

* On December 22, 2009, Sports Illustrated named general manager Theo Epstein as No. 3 on its list of the Top 10 GMs/Executives of the Decade. The list's only other MLB general managers were Seattle and Philadelphia's Pat Gillick (at No. 7) and Oakland's Billy Beane (at No. 10).

## Farm system

The Class A-Advanced affiliate changed from the Lancaster JetHawks to the Salem Red Sox.
| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Pawtucket Red Sox | International League | Ron Johnson |
| AA | Portland Sea Dogs | Eastern League | Arnie Beyeler |
| A-Advanced | Salem Red Sox | Carolina League | Chad Epperson |
| A | Greenville Drive | South Atlantic League | Kevin Boles |
| A-Short Season | Lowell Spinners | New York–Penn League | Gary DiSarcina |
| Rookie | GCL Red Sox | Gulf Coast League | Dave Tomlin |
| Rookie | DSL Red Sox | Dominican Summer League | José Zapata |
Source: