The Red Sox seem to be the
walk-off specialists of 2013. For the 10th
time this year, the Red Sox walk-off for the win and get back into 1st
place in the AL East.
This time it was Stephen Drew who
was the hero. He belted a bases loaded
RBI single in the bottom of the 15th inning to cap a 5-4 win over
the Mariners at Fenway Park.
Dustin Pedroia started the bottom
of the 15th with a walk then moved to second base on a David Ortiz
ground out to first base. After an
intentional walk to Mike Napoli, Lucas Luetge struck out Jarrod Saltalamacchia
for the 2nd out of the inning and it looked like the rally was
over. Jonny Gomes then walked to load
the bases and Stephen Drew delivered the game winning single to right field.
In the bottom of the 14th,
the Red Sox nearly ended it but came up just short when Brandon Snyder was
thrown out at the plate on a Shane Victorino fly ball to center field. Michael Saunders threw an absolute seed to
home plate to nail Snyder by two or three steps. It was an impressive throw.
The top of the 15th
also had some dramatic moments as the Mariners had two on and one out against
Drake Britton. Michael Saunders hit a
sinking liner to left that Johnny Gomes made a nice sliding catch on. Raul Ibanez didn’t think the ball would be
caught and was doubled off of 2nd to end the inning. Gomes actually tagged 2nd himself
for the unassisted double play, an unlikely double play.
John Lackey put in a solid effort
on the mound as he went 7 innings giving up 3 runs on 8 hits while striking out
6 and walking only 1. He pitched well
again and was in line for the win but Junichi Tazawa gave up a homer in the 8th
to Kyle Seager to tie the game. Tazawa
has been off in his last 5 or so outings.
Koji Uehara pitched 2 perfect
frames striking out 3. Matt Thornton got
himself out of a jam as he gave up 2 hits but stranded the runners to blank
them in the 11th. Craig
Breslow pitched 2 innings and gave up a hit and 2 walks but didn’t allow a
run. Drake Britton, who I continue to be
impressed with, pitched 2 innings giving up 3 hits and 0 runs while striking out
2 to get his first major league win.
Offensively the Sox had 12 hits
on the game but were just 2 for 12 with runners in scoring position. They left a total of 13 men on base and
truthfully the game shouldn’t have been this close.
Dustin Pedroia went 2 for 6 with
2 runs scored and 3 RBI and hit his 8th homer of the year and 2nd
in as many nights. Shane Victorino went
2 for 6 with a walk, Jarrod Saltalamacchia went 2 for 7 and Stephen Drew went 2
for 6 with the game winning RBI.
Jacoby Ellsbury, David Ortiz,
Brock Holt and Brandon Snyder each had a hit for the Sox. Jonny Gomes who came in late for Mike Carp
and Daniel Nava was on base twice with 2 walks.
Gomes seems to be a walk machine this year. Mike Napoli went 0 for 5 but was also on base
twice with 2 walks.
The win assures the Sox yet
another series win and they’ll go for the sweep tonight at Fenway Park. It will be a tough game as they’ll face arguably
the best pitcher in the American League, Felix Hernandez (11-4, 2.34). The King, as they call him, got a win back on
July 8th in Seattle vs. the Sox.
He went 7 innings giving up only 2 runs on 6 hits while striking out
6. With King on the mound the Sox will
need their pitcher to be perfect.
That will come down to Ryan
Dempster (6-8, 4.24) who will take the hill for the Sox. Dempster’s been down a bit as of late. He’s been throwing a lot of pitches and only
going about 5 innings a start. He’ll
have to be on tonight to have a chance against Seattle’s ace. His last time out against Seattle didn’t go
too well as he let up 4 runs on 9 hits in only 3 and 1/3 innings.
SHAVING CREAM PIE TO THE FACE –
GAME MVP
Dustin Pedroia. Pedroia again was the catalyst for the Sox
offense as he went 2 for 6, scoring 2 runs and knocking in 3 more while hitting
his 8th homer of the year.
ELBOW TO THE FACE – GAME LVP
Junichi Tazawa. Tazawa gave up the game tying homer in the top
of the 8th to cost Lackey his win.
Tazawa hasn’t been sharp as of late and the Sox need him to find it
again.
PLAY OF THE GAME
Stephen Drew’s walk-off single to
win it in the bottom of the 15th.
NEXT
Thursday, August 1st, at home vs.
the Seattle Mariners.
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