I'm not sure, but I think Manny knew it was gone
SUMMARY:
In another wild one at the Fens, the Sox survived a myriad of crazy plays, another rocky outing by Daisuke Matsuzaka, and the absence of its best two relievers to pull out a key victory in a rescheduled makeup game just before heading off on a 6-game roadie.
HERO: ManRam 2-5, 2R, 3RBI, 2HRs
The real Manny Ramirez has finally shown up.
GOAT: Dice-K 5IP, 5H, 7ER, 5BB, 1K
Forget the fact that Matsuzaka walked the first three batters he faced and gave up five runs in the first inning while only allowing 1 hit, but after the Sox hitters returned the favor by hanging 7 on the Ms, he allowed Seattle to tie the game again, and suddenly the $103 million dollar man is looking very Five & Dime.
RECAP:
To say last night's game was a bit on the wild & crazy side would be a massive understatement. There were so many bloopers, errors, miscues and gaffes I was waiting for Pauly Shore to jump on the field and scream "you got got" to all the fans of quality baseball.
What kind of Ripley's-type stuff was happening? Here's a small sample:
- Seattle scored 5 runs in the 1st courtesy of one hit, 3 walks, a HBP, an error and a fielder's choice
- Boston scored 5 runs in the 2nd on 4 singles, 2 BBs and a 2B, then scored the last 3 runs on Manny's 2 homers
- Julio Lugo committed one error, originally had two, should have had three, and could have had four on the game; not a good night for Julio
- Carlos Guillen knocked a WMP fly ball into the stands for a weird ground-rule double
- Guillen stopped in front of Lugo on a grounder that prevented him from getting to the ball in the 5th which allowed the tying run to score
- After being erased on a groundout to end the 6th inning, Papi embraced shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt as he applied the tag to him
Those are just a few of the strange goings-on at Fenway lasty night in a getaway makeup game that looked like something out of the Twilight Zone. It started out rough for Boston when once again Daisuke Matsuzaka looked clueless and control-less as he allowed the first three Mariners to reach via bases on balls. For a guy with such alleged great control, Dice has now walked 15 batters on the season in 38 innings, and 8 of those free riders have scored. Before the crowd had settled in, it was 5-0 Seattle and the seeds of doubt about Matsuzaka's abilities were starting to sprout.
But what's the best part about Dice-K giving up five in the first? The Sox batters had 9 innings to mount a patented comeback, although it would take all of one inning to catch them.
In the 2nd Boston rapped Seattle starter Horacio Ramirez (4IP, 11H, 7ER, 3BB, 4K) for five of their own, starting the rally with a Youk walk and Lowell single. Cap'n Tek singled in the first run, Pena (4-4) singled to re-load 'em, Pedroia walked with the bases loaded to force in another, and then Lugo hit a ball to deep center that Ichiro (0-3, R, SB) and Guillen kind of half-heartedly chased which bounced into the bully for a 2-run ground rule double. Papi then knocked in Pedroia for the tying run, and even though Manny grounded into a DP to end it, the game was tied and he would do his part later.
Handed a new game Dice settled down and started to pitch according to plan. He retired 9 out of the next 10 batters, and that allowed Boston to take its first lead of the night courtesy of Manny's first homer of the night. In the 5th Coco walked with 1 out, stole second, moved to third on a groundout, then walked home thanks to Manny's Monster blast, his 4th of the season, that put the Sox up 7-5.
Now staked to a lead and pitching well, no one had any reason to believe that Matsuzaka would blow the second chance he had been handed.
Alas things are not going to plan with Boston's $103 million man, and the rattled righty gave the lead up when he allowed another walk and three consecutive singles, 2 on misplays by Lugo. The first one wasn't really the shortstop's fault- Guillen (that asshole is always involved in these things) skied a ball into short center, and as Lugo, Coco and Pedroia raced to the spot Lugo nearly collided with Coco as the ball dropped in between the trio and the 6th run crossed the plate.
I guess the next misplay wasn't technically Lugo's fault either, but with the kind of night he was having he deserved the blame anyway. A Kenji Johjima (is anyone in the league not Japanese now?) groundout moved the runners to 2nd & 3rd, and then Dice induced Betancourt to ground into what should have been an inning-ending play. Except Guillen paused in front of Lugo as the ball was reaching him, hopped over the slow roller, and by the time Lugo threw high to first the runner was safe and the tying run had scored. That kinda night.
Luckily for Boston the phenomenon known as MannyBeingManny can trump all oddities of science & nature with just a mere flick of his powerful wrists. In the 8th inning the game was still knotted at 7, the starters were long gone, and with Papelbon & Okajima unavailable, the prospect of extra innings was looming like a dark cloud overhead.
Have no fear, ManRam is here, and when the no-longer slumping slugger got a hold of a Chris Reitsma pitch and launched it into the chilly Boston night over the Sox bullpen, all was right with the Nation again.
Well, except for the fact that Timlin is on the DL, Papelbon has had to sit two games in a row after blowing the save the other night, and Dice-K (5.45 ERA) is a shell of what we though he was going to be so far.
Either way the Sox got a win in what hopefully was one of the strangest games they will play all year.
Around the bottom of the 7th inning, I found out what was causing all the wackiness, and when NESN showed this shot...
...and I said to myself, "oh, that explains everything"
NOTES:
-Black Donnelly picked up the win two days after taking the loss and J.C. Romero got his first save as a Sox with a 1-2-3 9th
-J.D. Drew, still not fully recovered from his stomach virus, was scratched again
-I mentioned yesterday that Maddog Timlin's arm had to be ready to fall off, and sure enough he was placed on the DL with shoulder tendinitis just 2 weeks after coming off the DL; color his career done
-In Drew's place, Willy Mo Pena had a 4-4 game and raised his average 100 pts, .172-.273
-Manny is now in the midst of an 8-17 tear that has raised his average from .202 to .235; he's had 2 hits in each of the last 4 games, along with 3 homers and 6 RBI
-Boston rapped 15 hits and every batter had a hit except Coco, who walked & scored; 4 players had a least 2 hits, and two had at least 3 knocks
-Ichiro/Dice-K II was a dud. The Mariner's centerfielder walked twice and flied out in 3 ABs against his countryman
QUOTES:
-"He absolutely leaned on it. He hit that ball like a power left-hand hitter. I can see why he probably admired it."-Tito on Manny's reaction to his 8th inning homer
-"I definitely know that I need to change something."-Matsuzaka, who despite the language barrier has no trouble stating the obvious
-"This has been a very strange game tonight here at Fenway Park"-Rem Dog
RECORD: 18-9
AL EAST: Up by 5.5 gms on TOR, NYY, & TB
UP NEXT: @ MIN Fri 8P EST
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