The bullpen has been excellent
all year long so they were due for an implosion sooner or later. It happened last night as the Red Sox held a
7-2 lead in the 7th inning but the Yankees scored 6 runs to take the
lead.
The good thing is that the Sox
didn’t let it get hem down. They
prevailed Thursday night, in the first game against their rivals, with a 9-8
victory in 10 innings. It proved once
again how resilient this team has been.
After the Yankees stormed back
and took an 8-7 lead all hope looked lost as Mariano Rivera had 2 outs and
there were no men on base. Mike Napoli,
down to his last strike, singled to right center to start the improbable
comeback.
Qunitin Berry, who’s proving very
valuable, came on as a pinch runner and stole second, then moved to 3rd
on Yankee’s catcher Austin Romine’s throwing error. In 22 career stolen-base attempts in the
Major Leagues, Berry has never been thrown out.
He is like this year’s version of 2004 Dave Roberts.
Stephen Drew was next up and he
got just enough of a cutter to deposit a hit into right-center field to plate
the tying run. It was the 6th
blown save of the season for Mariano Rivera.
In the 10th, Jacoby
Ellsbury belted a one out single to right against Joba Chamberlain and then
promptly stole 2nd. Shane
Victorino then came up with the big go ahead RBI single to right to give the
Red Sox the lead.
There was a bit of controversy as
Chamberlain and Joe Girardi though Victorino had gone around enough on a
previous pitch to get the strikeout but first-base umpire Joe West ruled that
Victorino checked his swing. The replays
showed it incredibly close. If I had to
say if he swung or not, I believe he did but sometimes you get the benefit of
the call and Victorino took advantage of it and made the Yankees pay.
Koji Uehara came on in the bottom
of the 10th to nail the door shut as we’re accustomed to. He retired all 3 batters he faced striking
out 2 of them for his 18th save of the season. When he enters the game, I have full
confidence that he’s going to dominate the opposing team.
Jake Peavy looked good at the
beginning but he fell apart in the 7th as he walked Ichiro and then
gave up a single to Vernon Wells. He was
at 117 pitches and he couldn’t go anymore.
His final line got ugly because of the bullpen but he didn’t pitch all
that bad. He went 6 innings, giving up 4
runs on 6 hits while walking 3 and striking out 4. Peavy has never beaten the Yankees in 5
career starts against them. It really
looked like last night was going to be the night but he bullpen came in and just
stunk up the place.
I shouldn’t say the whole
bullpen, just Matt Thornton and Junichi Tazawa.
Thornton went 1/3 of an inning and gave up 2 runs on 1 hit while walking
one. Tazawa then came on and threw
gasoline on the fire giving up 2 runs on 3 hits in just 2/3 of an inning. He did strike out 2 and ultimately get out of
the inning but man that was a tough inning for the bullpen.
Luckily, Craig Breslow came on
for 2 innings and looked brilliant. He
let up only a walk while striking out 2 and most importantly gave up no
runs. Then Koji came on to finish them
off.
The bats were hot again as the
Sox pounded out 9 runs on 16 hits while walking 5 times. They were 5 for 15 with runners in scoring
position and did leave 11 men on base but that’s expected with this team.
Will Middlebrooks went 2 for 5
with 2 runs scored, an RBI and his 13th homer of the year. An absolute blast that reached the upper deck
in LEFT field. That’s a bomb. Shane Victorino went 2 for 6 with a run
scored, 3 RBI and his 13th homer of the year. Shane’s been red hot the whole second half.
Jacoby Ellsbury went 3 for 6 out
of the lead-off spot with a run scored, an RBI and his 52nd stolen
base of the year. David Ortiz went 2 for
4 with 2 walks (both intentional) and Mike Napoli went 2 for 4 with an RBI and
a walk. Ryan Lavarnway has quietly been
hitting and was 2 for 4 with a run and 2 RBI.
He needs to be the primary back-up for Salty. I love David Ross but the guy just can’t hit.
Every Red Sox starter had a hit,
Dustin Pedroia went 1 for 6, Daniel Nava went 1 for 3 with 2 walks and Stephen
Drew went 1 for 5 with an RBI and 3 strikeouts.
The Sox have now won 10 of their
last 12 and opened their lead in the AL East to 6 and ½ games, their largest of
the season. The magic number to clinch
is at 16.
They’ll go at it again tonight
with Felix Doubront (10-6, 3.89) taking the hill for the Sox. He’s been pretty good against the Yanks this
year, throwing gems in 2 of his 3 outings against them. The Yanks will counter with crafty veteran
Andy Pettitte (10-9, 4.01). Pettitte has
been up and down this year but has been really good as of late.
SHAVING CREAM PIE TO THE FACE –
GAME MVP
Shane Victorino. Victorino continues to impress me. When the Sox picked him up, I thought, nice,
he’s a decent pickup. A little past his
prime but he’ll be alright. He’s been
more than alright; he’s been the team MVP next to Koji Uehara. He continued his hot hitting but homering and
driving in 3 on the night. He also stole
his 20th base of the year.
ELBOW TO THE FACE – GAME LVP
Stephen Drew. Drew got the big hit off of Mo but that was
his only hit of the night and he struck out 3 times and looked lost most of the
game.
PLAY OF THE GAME
Berry’s steal of second in the
bottom of the 9th to start the rally that would eventually tie the
game.
NEXT
Friday, September 6th, in New
York vs. the Yankees.
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