Sox 8, Los Angeles 0
WP: Schilling (2-1)
LP: Carrasco (0-1)
HRs: BOS-Papi (3)
Sox box
SUMMARY:
For the second consecutive game the Sox got excellent starting pitching- eight shutout innings from Curt Schilling- and a big night from Big Papi, who had 4 RBIs including a 3-run bomb in the 8th, to post its fourth win in the last 5 games.
HERO: Schilling 8IP, 4H, 0R, 1BB, 4Ks
The ace is determined to erase the memories of Opening Day from everyone's mind as he posted his second terrific outing in a row following that slip up in KC. Although he didn't dominate with his fastball like the days of old, the now-crafty vet worked every pitch and all corners of the plate and baffled the Angels batters all day long.
GOAT: Gary Matthews Jr.
From the "Greatest Catch Ever" to one of the worst errors in recent memory. With the bases loaded and two outs in a scoreless game in the bottom of the 3rd, Tek hit a sinking liner to center that Matthews appeared to have in his sights. But at the last second the ball "handcuffed" the (alleged) HGH user, who dropped the ball for a 2-run error that altered the course of the game.
KEY MOMENT:
See above.
REVIEW:
The first two games of this series have followed a very similar pattern for Boston: excellent starting pitching keeps 'em in the game early, the offense chips away at the L.A. starter after a few slow innings before dropping the hammer on its beleaguered bullpen late.
In winning the first two in the series by a combined 18-1, Boston has scored only 3 of those 18 runs in the first 4 innings of the games. Luckily for the slow-starting bats the pitching has been good enough to offset the delayed power surges. Yesterday Wakefield held the fort until the cavalry arrived, today it was Schill's turn to stave off the enemy until the big boppers could put the game away.
While Schill was setting the first six Angels down without allowing a baserunner, L.A. spot-starter Hector Carrasco was living on the edge with the Boston lineup. The 37-year-old veteran has had to fill in in the rotation due to injuries to Bartotlo Colon, Jered Weaver and Kelvim Escobar, and from the looks of it those guys better get well soon. Carrasco walked five of the first 16 batters he faced and also gave up a single and a triple as Boston had the bases loaded in both the 2nd & 3rd innings.
Yet for all that carnage Carrasco nearly escaped the 3rd unscathed; that is until Matth'roids Jr. couldn't handle Varitek's knuckling liner to straightaway center with two outs and the sacks full. The ball dipped at the last second and went off the heel of Matth'roid's glove, allowing Eric Hinske, who had led the inning off with a triple and was nearly stranded at third, and J.D. Drew (0-3) to score the only runs the Sox would need to secure the victory.
In case the late offensive burst didn't come today Schilling went ahead and stifled the Angels batters anyway, just for shits and giggles. The powerful righty breezed through the first 5 innings, parsing out three singles to frustrated Angels batters, and by the time he faced a bit of trouble in the later innings (a 1-out double in the sixth, a man on with 2nd with 2 outs in the 7th) Boston had already pushed the lead to 5-0.
Not wanting to see Schilling's monster effort go to waste, Big Papi decided to put an end to any potential drama by launching a massive 3-run homer to the tarp-covered seats in straightaway center with no outs in the 8th; it was the big man's first Fenway homer this season and his 3rd of the year, all coming with Curt on the mound.
But the blast also ensured Schill would not get the complete game; with an 8-run lead and not needing to take any chances, Tito brought on the Black Donnelly to finish it off.
Two complete 'team effort' wins like these are going a long way towards obliterating the memories of One-Hit Wonder Wednesday and the early season road struggles. The club is now starting to jell inside the cozy (yet chilly) confines of Fenway, and to no one's surprise it has been solid-to-spectacular starting pitching that has been leading the way.
But as the nasty weather moves into the area tonight and into Sunday, threatening the conclusion of this 4-game set, the question is how long will the team have to wait to keep the good times rolling?
-NOTES & QUOTES:
-Drew was held hitless for the first time this season, ending his streak at 9 games. He did draw a walk, though, so his consecutive games on-base streak is still intact
-After allowing 5 runs in his 4-inning stint in Kansas City, Schilling has now let only 1 runner reach home plate over his last 15 innings of work
-Ortiz is starting to swing a hot stick; he's 4-9 with 7 RBIs in the last two games, and after knocking in just 1 run in the first five games Big Papi has driven in 10 in the last five
-Manny is officially in a slump. Although he did drive in a run with a sharp single in the 6th, he was just 1-5 at the plate and is now batting .194 (7-36) on the season with 4 ribbies. Might as well throw Coco (.111) and Tek (.222) in that pile, too.
-Julio Lugo had another nice game; he reached base twice on a hit and a walk, plus scored a run and stole his 3rd base of the season, but he did swing at ball 4 and flied out to end the bases loaded threat in the 2nd
-Youk got a scheduled day off, and Hinske excelled in his place. The burly backup reached base 4 times (triple, single, 2 walks), scored 3 runs and was a catalyst for the Sox all day. He is now batting a hearty .800 (4-6) in his limited role. If Youk should stumble, don't be surprised to see Hinske take his job at first base.
-"I absolutely thought I was going to finish that game right up through the (28-pitch) seventh inning. Going back out for the ninth would have been me trying to get a shutout as opposed to me trying to make 33 or 34 starts and be as healthy as I can for every one."- a wise old Curt Schilling
RECORD: 6-4
A.L. EAST STANDINGS: Up by 1/2 game
UP NEXT: vs. LA of A, Sun @ 1:00PM
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