Sox 4, Detroit 2
WP: Donnelly (2-1)
LP: Ledezma (3-1)
SV: Okajima (2)
HRs: BOS-Hinske (1); DET- Inge (7)
SUMMARY:
Curt Schilling was shaky but Eric Hinske was spectacular.
Playing in place of J.D.Drew, Hinske made a terrific diving catch with a man on second to end the 5th, then blasted the game-winning home run in the seventh to propel the Sox to a series victory over the team that had the 2nd best record in the AL coming in.
HERO: Hinske (duh!) 1-4, 2R, 2RBI, HR, 1 great catch
The stat sheet doesn't do his contribution to tonight's win justice; the seldom-used substitute came through with three big plays that basically won the game for the Sox.
GOAT: Wil Ledezma 1.2IP, 3H, 2R, 2BB, HR
After starter Chad Durbin had given the Tigers a decent chance (5.1, 3H 1ER, 5BB, 4K) to win this one, Ledezma came in in the 6th and gave it all away, turning a 2-1 Detroit lead into a 4-2 Sox win.
Thanks, Wil!
RECAP:
It was a game Boston could have lost and probably should have lost due to the large number of scoring chances wasted and the sub-par pitching of Curt Schilling, but an unlikely hero came off the bench for a day and put a perfect capper on this successful series.
Schilling started the game off on a rough note-a leadoff double to Curtis Granderson (2-3, BB) on the first pitch of the game-and didn't get much better from there. The big fella walked a season-high four batters, including two in the second inning, and Detroit loaded the bases twice in the first two innings but could not score.
Did I mention the Tigers wasted a ton of scoring opportunities, too?
In fact both teams left 11 men on base, and in a close, low-scoring game you know those blown chances are gonna come back to bite one of the teams eventually.
Luckily for Boston they bit the Tigers.
Amidst all those early Tiger baserunners, Boston actually took the first lead of the game by once again scoring in the first inning. And once again white-hot Kevin Youkilis was involved in the scoring. Coco led off with a single, stole second, went to third on a groundout by Cora, then scored on a single by Youk (1-5) for an early 1-0 lead.
So Schill had a lead and it was up to him to hold it.
Which he did. Until the third. That's when Detroit tied it up courtesy of back-to-back doubles by Maggs Ordonez and Carlos Guillen. Curiously of Detroit's nine hits, eight went for extra bases, including seven doubles. Wow.
The tie would only last an inning because in the 4th Brandon Inge hit a tracer missile off the top of the Monstah which was initially ruled a single, then rightly changed to a home run (the ball didn't clear the wall but hit above the dividing line at the top). Schill and Francona briefly protested the reversal, but the argument was half-hearted; it was almost as if Schill was thinking "if I'm pitching this poorly that deserved to be a home run." Just a thought. I'll have to check his blog tomorrow to see what he says about it.
The top of the fifth is when things really started to heat up and you sensed that this sloppy game might start to turn in the Sox favor. Guillen hit his second double of the night to start the inning, a ground-rule job that bounced out of Hinske's reach. The next thing to bounce over there was Hinske's face off the warning track dirt.
Marcus Thames' fielder's choice one out later got Guillen thrown out at third as Thames wound up on second, and that's when backup catcher Mike Rabelo, spelling Ivan Rodriguez, hit a slicing liner down the rightfield line that appeared to be too low and curving too fast to be able to reach it.
But Hinske leaped parallel to the turf and grabbed the ball just as it was about to bounce on the ground, slamming his face into the dirt as he skidded into foul territory, bobbling the ball in his glove but ultimately holding on for the miraculous, possibly game-saving grab.
The tide certainly turned on that play, because in the next inning Boston finally got Durbin out of the game and once again ripped into an opponent's bullpen. Ironically Hinske was involved again when he reached base to lead off the sixth thanks to an error by Inge. After walking Willy Mo (0-1, 3BBs), Ledezma relieved Durbin and promptly gave up a walk to Coco and a dribbler to Cora that Polanco couldn't handle as Hinske raced in with the tying run.
The next time Hinske came to bat, he would untie the game with a 2-run blast into the biting wind and over the bullpen wall, Branden Donnely and Hideki Okijima cleaned up for Schill and the Sox had another come-from-behind victory.
And as news came down after the game that Josh Beckett will indeed be placed on the DL, the team can be confident in the fact that every time someone goes down or is slumping, someone else will be there to pick up the slack.
Plus they've got a friggin' 9 1/2 game lead!
NOTES:
-Drew could have played if necessary and was originally in the starting lineup, but with the frigid temps and the big division lead the Sox decided not to risk it. With what Hinske ended up doing, I'd say that was a good decision
-Thanks to the double-dip and injury to Drew, Tito rolled out a rather odd lineup for the nightcap: Manny at DH, Cora, WMP & Hinske starting and with Lugo resting, Coco led off and Cora batted second. Hmmm.
-Schilling threw 118 pitches, a season high, and matched his Red Sox high with the four walks
-Youk now has a 10-game hitting streak in which he is batting a supercharged .442 (19-43) with 10 ribbies, plus he's batting all over the lineup (tonight he hit third)
-Boston only managed six hits, but also had six walks and reached on an error; Manny went 0-4 in his 2007 debut at DH
- Detroit hit seven doubles on the night, two each by Granderson & Polanco and one apiece from Guillen, Ordonez and Rabelo
-Donnelly pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings to earn his second victory of the year, and with Paps on the bench for the nightcap, Okajima picked up his second career save. Javier Lopez also pitched 2/3 of an inning and induced a crucial double play to end the eighth.
QUOTES:
-"When you have a team this deep, you can do some pretty special thing. Today, with Julian in the first game and the bullpen, and tonight with Hinske taking the team by the horns."- Schill, reiterating what I said about confidence in their teammates
-"The most amazing catch I've ever seen."-Rabelo on Hinske's grab
-"In my mind, unless you've got to carry me off on a stretcher [I'll play]. I don't get the chance to play that often."-Tough-as-nails Hinske on his faceplant
RECORD: 28-12
AL EAST: Up 9.5 on NYY
UP NEXT: Fri vs. ATL 7P
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