Oakland 3, Sox 2
WP: Kennedy (2-4)
LP: Wakefield (5-7)
SV: Casilla (1)
HRs: None
SUMMARY:
And the beat goes on.
For the second straight game Boston fell victim to a mediocre pitcher who got hot at just the right time and was hampered offensively by another rash of rally-killing double plays, sending the Sox to its fourth straight defeat and sixth in the last seventh games.
At least the game was over before 1:00 am.
HERO: Joe Kennedy 7IP, 7H, 2ER, 2BB, 7K
Joe freakin Kennedy very nearly threw a shutout against Boston. I still can't believe it.
GOAT(s): 9-1-2 hitters 0-11
The guys who need to get on base in order to be driven in-Coco, Lugo, and Pedroia, went a combined 0-11 with no runs, no walks and one K.
Not gonna get it done.
RECAP:
I got good news and bad news regarding tonight's loss.
The good news: the game was played in an NL-like 2 hours and 25 minutes.
The bad news was the rest of the game, as the Sox continued to make a loud statement to the rest of the league that says 'YES, WE ARE IN A FRIGGING SLUMP, SO IF ANY TEAM IS GONNA MAKE A RACE OF THIS THING IN THE EAST, YOU'D BETTER TAKE YOUR SHOT NOW!'
You know things are going bad for your team when the manager getting tossed and arguing with an umpire is the highlight of the game.
Well, unless you're the Cubs, where that actually is the only highlight for their fans on any given night.
But the mocking tone of that sentence starter, 'you know things are going bad when', felt like a perfect way to mix up my misery-wallowing posts and to describe how tonight's game unfolded/ how bad things have been for the Sox this last week.
So without further adieu, here are the
TOP 10 WAYS YOU KNOW THINGS ARE GOING BAD FOR THE SOX:
10.) The manager getting ejected is the highlight of the game
When home plate umpire Dan Iassogna called Dustin Pedroia out on strikes on a high breaking ball with one out in the 8th, Tito's exasperation & frustration with the losing streak and a few other missed calls caused him to have an epic meltdown.
It wasn't Piniella-esque, no child-like dirt kicking or base-throwing antics, just an up close & personal, profanity filled tirade that you can bet will be all over YouTube tomorrow.
It was a great way for a manager to try and fire up his moribund team.
9.) Batters have more double plays than hits and/or runs
Last night it was both (5 DPs, 3hits, 0runs), tonight it was the latter (3 DPs, 2 runs). Boston once again had quite a few opportunities to get runs home and put some pressure on the opponent, but soul-crushing double plays killed three such chances.
8.) Big-league scrubs turn into Cy Young candidates
First Lenny DiNardo, now Joe Kennedy. Tampa Bay let Joe Blow go the year after he was named their opening day starter in 2003; he lost that game to (ironically) Boston, then went on to post a 3-12 record with a 6.13 ERA for the season and was shipped to Colorado that winter.
His career record is 40-56 with an ERA of 4.68, and he's 1-2 with a 4.59 against the Sox.
And tonight he was two bad pitches from shutting them out for seven innings. Kooky, huh?
7.) The starting pitcher pitches well but still loses
The Sox have hit the trifecta on this one in Oaktown, as first Tavarez, then Dice-K and now Wakefield (6.2IP, 7H, 3ER, 2BB, 8Ks) have all pitched well enough to win but were done in by the sputtering offense.
Wake handed in his best outing in a month but one bad inning- he allowed two doubles, a single and a walk and all three runs in the fourth- cost him a shot at the win.
6.) Freaky plays don't go their way
One of those doubles in the fourth was by suddenly scorching Eric Chavez, who lined a shot off the first base bag that skipped over Youk's head and into right field for an unconventional two-bagger.
5.) Slumping players suddenly get hot
As I mentioned, Chavez was batting .230 coming into the series but has raised his average 12 points on 5-13 hitting; Jack Cust was in a staggering 3-30 slump, but is 3-7 in two games with a run and a big RBI tonight; Bobby Crosby had two ribbies in his last 16 games-until he notched two tonight
4.) An opposing pitcher gets his first career win and save against you in one series
Meet Santiago Casilla-the newest Sox killer
3.) The team must resort to celebrating merely scoring a run
When the Sox finally got on the board in the 7th inning tonight, thanks to a double by Manny followed by triple by Youk, it marked the first time a Boston player had crossed home plate in 17 innings.
The mighty mighty BoSox are averaging 2 RPG in this series so far.
2.) They cannot beat a certain opponent, especially in their yard
With the loss Boston has now dropped seven straight games at a football stadium named after an anti-virus software company and 8 of 9 to the A's overall.
More irony, please: the last time Boston lost at least this many in a row was last August when it dropped six straight, the last three coming in Oakland.
1.) A team that runs like Maurice Clarett swipes bags off you like Rickey Henderson
Oakland was second to last in the league in steals yet somehow managed to nail four thefts against Wake & 'Belli, tying the most it has had in a game since a game in 2001 against...
...you guessed it, the Sox.
I got nothing left.
Right now it looks like the Sox don't either.
But they'd better get it figured out quick, because there's a day game tomorrow before the first trip to an NL park this weekend in Arizona.
NOTES:
- Of Boston's eight hits, Manny (2), Youk (2) and Mirabelli (2) had six of them; Papi & Wily Mo had the others
- In a turnaround from the other night, J.D. Drew, who didn't start for the second straight game, came in to pinch hit for Pena and drew a walk in the 9th
- Coco made another spectacular catch, robbing Shannon Stewart of extra bases with a Willie Mays over-the-shoulder special in the 8th
- Kennedy walked two of the first four batters, then didn't allow another one all night
- Leadoff liability Lugo turned in another 0-4 effort and is now batting .221
"We're playing well but it's just not here. We don't have the intensity we had."--Papi
"Things aren't going our way. That's the kind of stuff that happens."--Youk on the base bounce double
"You're a fucking piece of fucking shit and I hope you fucking rot in hell you blind, clueless piece of dog feces..."--Tito to Iassogna (reproduced via lip reading)
RECORD: 37-21
STREAK: L-4
LST 10: 4-6
AL EAST: Up 9
UP NEXT: Thu @ OAK 3:30
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