That freaking police escort is finally starting to pay off
SUMMARY:
Tim Wakefield turned in another fine performance on the mound and this time he got some run support to boot. After starting out slow Boston's offense busted out late, scoring 6 runs in the 7th to turn a close game (4-1 Sox) into a rout.
HERO(s): Boston lineup
The Sox hitters scored double-digit runs on 14 base hits for the second time in three games. Throw in 5 walks and a hit batter and the Fenway basepaths looked like an extension of the Mass Pike. Six players had at least 2 hits, four had at least 2 RBIs and 8 different Sox scored a run. Nice.
GOAT: John Lackey 5.2IP, 9H, 3R, 1BB, 6K
The Angel hurler had jumped out to a 2-0 record this season and was cruising with a 1-0 lead in the 5th inning in this one. Then Mirabelli took him yard, Papi knocked in the go-ahead run and it was bye bye perfect record & microscopic ERA for Mr. Lackey.
KEY MOMENT: 8th inn, Sox lead 4-1, LA 1st & 3rd w/ 1 out
Believe it or not in a 9-run win there was a late, tense moment, and once again Papelbon nailed the door shut on any comeback thoughts for the opposing team.
The Angles were threatening to make a game of it when Paps came on in relief of Black Donnelly. All he did was get Vlad Guerrero, who had already driven in LA's run, to strike out on a filthy 97-mph heater, then got Anderson to fly out, needing just 6 pitches to squelch the rally,
REVIEW:
Tonight the Sox hitters showed plenty of resiliency and mental toughness by shaking off a bad performance in their last game, a postponement yesterday and a rough start in this one before finally busting the door down and seizing control of the game.
For the second consecutive start Tim Wakefield gave Boston a great chance to win, and for the second consecutive time Boston almost let it go to waste. Already a hard-luck loser when he allowed only 2 runs to Texas yet took the loss when the Sox were shut out by the immortal Robinson Tejada, the veteran knuckleballer had to be feeling a bit of deja vu for the first 4 innings tonight.
The Red Sox batters (with the exception of J.D. Drew) have been ineffective all season, failing to score runs, get on base or drive in runs with any regularity. Tonight was more of the same for the first 4 innings as Lackey held Boston scoreless on 4 singles, but in the 5th everything suddenly changed; all it took was a rare opposite field home run from backup catcher Doug Mirabelli to light the spark that would eventually ignite the blaze in the Boston bats.
Wakefield's personal catcher hadn't done much for Boston since returning to the Sox last June other than outrage the taxpayers who had to foot the bill for his Statie escort to Fenway. But the hard-working fan favorite came up big tonight when he touched Lackey up for a leadoff homerun into the Sox pen (nicely caught by Timlin, BTW) to begin the 5th. After Pedroia flied out, Lugo (3-5, 2R, SB) doubled to right, Youk flied out to left, and then Papi followed with a clutch single through the infield that scored Lugo and gave the Sox the lead it would not relinquish, 2-1.
As if to prove that his first big hit wasn't a fluke, 'Belli came up again in the 6th with Drew (2-3) on 3rd base and drove him home with a single to push the lead to 3-1 and chase Lackey from the game. After Lowell tacked on another run in the 7th with a sac fly, the Sox blew the game open in the 8th when they batted around and scored 6 runs on 2-run hits by Papi, Drew and Lowell, and all of a sudden it was a reprise of Opening Day Tuesday again. Plenty of hits, plenty of runs, plenty of smiles on everyone's faces.
A much better outcome than that depresser on Wednesday should have everyone geared up for the FOX national telecast Saturday afternoon. And they'd better make the most of it; with a possible snowstorm forecast for Sunday & Marathon Monday, it might be a while before the Sox get to put on their hitting shoes again.
NOTES & QUOTES:
-Drew had two more hits plus two walks and has now hit safely in all 9 games. He raised his average to .419 and also added a run and a pair of RBIs to his totals. His 2-run single in the 8th past OC really put the game away at 8-1. Oh, plus he had an outfield assist.
-Lugo had his best game as a Sox; on top of tallying 3 hits (2 singles and a double) he also scored twice, stole a base, and was the catalyst Boston has been craving at the top of the lineup since you-know-who left.
-Manny (0-3) continued his early season doldrums. The grill master is a meager 6-31 with 1 extra base hit, 3 RBIs and 6 Ks so far. Maybe he should've stayed away from the auctions in the offseason
-Wakefield's linescore for the season: 13IP, 8H, 3R, 4BB, 7Ks, 0-wild pitches, 1.38 ERA
-Mike Lowell had a big day at the plate (2-4, 2B, 3RBIs) but made another error in the field; the Gold Glover committed his 4th error of the season in the 8th after making just 6 miscues all last season
-Save king Paps got credit for a rare "Hold" for his brief 8th inning appearance; after the Sox scored 6th in the bottom half of the frame to erase the save situation, Tito brought Timlin in for the 9th (he pitched a perfect inning)
- More Paps: Of the 10 outs he has recorded this season, 6 have come by strikeout
-Due to Thursday's postponement, Tito had to tinker with the rotation. Schill will now go on Saturday, followed by Beckett on Sunday and Gascan, not Dice-K, on Patriot's day (yikes!)
-"He don't impress me no more."- Big Papi, jokingly referring to the brilliance of Papelbon
RECORD: 5-4
GB: -1/2
UP NEXT: vs. LAof A , SAT 3:30 PM FOX
Carrassco (0-1, 1.80) vs. Schilling (1-1, 4.91)
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