Sox 11, New York 6
WP: Okajima (1-0)
LP: Proctor (0-3)
HRs: BOS- Lowell (11), Tek (6); NYY- Cabrera (3), Posada (7), Jeter (4)
SUMMARY:
The Red Sox "survived" more than won this wild installment of the Rivalry at Fenway.
Boston overcame three separate deficits and three New York homeruns, then rode a five-run seventh to another come-from-behind win, with a little help from Derek Jeter's glove and Mike Lowell's bat (and balls).
HERO: Lowell 3-4, 2R, 4RBI, 2B, HR
The stats don't even take into account the terrific "anything you can do we can do better" body slam of Robinson Cano in the 4th, or the headknocking he gave Ball Stealer while running through the bag at first in the 7th, a play that allowed the eventual game-winning run to score. Oh, and he made a great barehanded play as well.
There's a reason my mom keeps telling me that he's her favorite player, and I guess it's not just because he resembles a Puerto Rican cross between Clark Gable & George Clooney.
GOAT: Jeter 2-5, R, RBI, 2B, HR, 2E
How can a guy who hit a double and a homer, scored a run and knocked in the go-ahead run in the top of the 7th be the goat?
Easy, because his back-to-back errors in the bottom of the 7th opened the floodgates on the Boston comeback that put the game away, not to mention gave the Nation years of fodder for the anti-Jeter cannon.
RECAP:
I think I'll just skip this part.
Seriously, for a guy who had no formal writing training (save for a semester of creative writing at UMass-Boston-baah!) and whose brain gets scrambled when the questions come too fast on "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?", trying to recap this extra-long, extra-crazy edition of the Rivalry could cause serious damage to what few brain cells I have left.
I mean you'd have to be a PhD of Baseballology to follow all the twists & turns, balls & strikes, takedowns & knockouts involved in this one.
As I did with yesterday's frightfest, I'll have to resort to showing some numbers to begin to unravel the mystery of what the hell went on at Fenway today.
3 1/2 hours, plus a 30 minute rain delay. 10 pitchers. 304 pitches. 17 runs. 26 hits. 11 walks. 6 doubles. 5 homeruns. 2 players taken out by Sox third baseman Mike Lowell. 1 hitting streak ended (Youk), 1 extended (Pedroia)...
...and 2 HUGE errors by the Captain of the sinking Stankees ship.
Sure, I just used the same tired trick I used in yesterday's post, so what? I'm running out of ways to explain these fucking things!
But I guess I'd better try before this post turns into a 1600-word opus.
The day started innocently enough, with breezy blue skies and a fairly uneventful first inning. Curt Schilling (5IP, 9H, 4ER, 1BB, 2Ks, 2HRs) worked around a 1-out double by Jeter by fanning A-Rod to end the frame; the Sox quickly got two men on in the bottom half, but the rally was snuffed by a Manny (1-3, 2R) DP.
The first run of the game came when Melky Cabrera, starting in center for Judas Demon, wrapped a Schilling fastball around Pesky's Pole for a 1-0 New York lead. But Boston answered right back, first tying the game on an RBI groundout (again) by Lugo in the bottom of the 3rd, then taking a two-run lead after loading the bases with no outs in the rain-delayed 4th inning.
When the showers came through Boston had Papi (2-4, 2R) on third and Manny, who doubled, on second with no one out. A half hour later the tarp came off and play resumed, and Mike Mussina (5IP, 9H, 5ER, 4BBs, 1K, 2HRs) immediately walked Kevin Youkilis to load the bases.
Lowell ripped a single to left to score Papi with the go-ahead run, and although the Sox would tack on another run on a double-play grounder by Tek, it was yet another possible big inning wasted by the Sox, leaving the door wide open for the adventures to follow.
After Boston wasted another bases loaded opportunity in the bottom of the 5th, New York quickly took the lead back in the 6th when Schilling gave up a single to Matsui, a walk to A-Rod, and then a 3-run bomb to Jorgie Posada that cleared the bullpens in right and gave the Stanks a 4-3 lead.
That blast got Schill out of the game, but things didn't get better as Javier Lopez came in and served up a double to Cabrera (3-4, 2R, RBI) and an RBI single to Ball Stealer that pushed New York's lead to 5-3 and had the Faithful huffing & puffing in their still-drying seats.
Little did everyone know that the best was yet to come.
But they would soon find out when Lowell and Tek went back-to-back to start the 6th, with Mike's shot finding the Monster seats, making the score 5-4, and the Captain's rocketing out to the blacked out seats in straightaway center, a drive that awed the crowd, tied the score, and chased Mussina from the game.
Now the fun had really begun.
Lopez began the 7th by fanning Bobby Abreu, but then Tito brought in Pineiro to face Jeter; bad move, as Jeter deposited a 3-2 offering from Pineiro into the Monster seats, bringing a cascade of boos down from the frustrated fans and giving New York its third lead of the game, 7-6.
Fortunately for RSN, it would also be thier last.
Because the seventh was an inning that appeared to be crafted from the mind of New England's favorite horror-loving son, Steven King himself; in fact, maybe that should be the title of his next Red Sox-related novel: it all went down in...The Seventh Inning...
With Public Enemy #2, Scott Proctor, on the hill, Ortiz got the party started with a shot to the right field corner that at first looked like it was going out, then looked like it would be caught by Abreu until he badly misplayed it and the ball fell next to him for a 2-base hit. Manny was then intentionally walked to set up the DP, except Proctor unintentionally walked his pal Youk to load the bases for Boston-again.
Cue the creepy music, please.
Lowell stepped in and you knew the way his day was going he was going to do some damage in this situation; what we didn't realize was that the damage would be to his buddy Mientkiewicz' head. He chopped Proctor's 2-1 pitch to second, and Cano flipped to Jeter, who came across the bag to get Youk out there, but then he spun around and threw wildly to first.
Mientkiewicz tried to scoop the bad hop throw but couldn't, and his head went back and collidied with Lowell's sizable thigh just as he crossed the bag, jarring the ball, and some of Dougie's brain matter, loose.
By the time the dust had settled Papi and Manny had scampered home with runs # 6 & 7, Lowell ended up at second base, the Ball Stealer had to be carted off the field with a Grade 10 Excedrin headache, and the game was for all intents & purposes over.
To wrap up this epic saga, the Sox would go on to score three more times in the inning on a single by Coco, another RBI groundout by Lugo and Pedroia's third hit of the game, an RBI single that made the score 10-5 Boston. Just for shits & giggles, Lowell added another RBI on a double in the 8th, and Tito had Jonathan Papelbon come in and close out the day and ensure there would be no more comebacks.
There you have it, another typical installment of the Rivarly, and it only took me 722 words to describe it.
And I didn't even mention the winning pitcher once.
NOTES:
- Pedroia, batting second in the lineup, rapped three more hits to raise his aveargae to .333 and extend his hitting streak to 12 games
- Sadly, Youk's 23-gamer came to an end when he walked three times, grounded out and flied out; he was 0-2 with a run scored; ironically, he was the only player for Boston not to get a hit
- J.D. Drew missed the game with his hammy problem,as expected, and the possibility exists that he might go on the DL because of it. Wily Mo replaced him and went 1-5 with 2 runs and 3 Ks
- Schilling continues to alternate good outings with bad; earned runs allowed his last 5 starts: 4, 2, 5, 1, 4
- Okajima came on with two outs in the 7th, got Posada to fly out, tossed a 1-2-3 eigth to earn his first major league victory
- Lugo's two RBI gave him 33 on the year, while Lowell's quartet of ribs shot him to 45
- A-Rod went 0-2 with 2 walks and a run scored and was vociferously booed throughout the game
- Cabrera had 3 hits including a homer and a double and scored twice in place of Demon
QUOTES:
"That was like a football game." --Tito, as succinct as usual
"Our ballclub is in great spirits right now...we're fighting now. We haven't been through this in a while."--Torre, apparently drinking from a rose-colored glass
"It seemed like every time we scored, they scored some runs. And I didn't help them."--Jeter, a.k.a. Captain Obvious
"They taught me how to do it."--Lowell, referring to his four early seasons spent in the Stankees system. Best line of the year.
RECORD: 37-17
AL EAST: Up 11 on BAL
STRK: W-1
LST 10: 7-3
UP NEXT: Sun vs. NYY 8P ESPN HD
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