New York 6, Sox 5
WP: Bruney (2-1)
LP: Papelbon (0-1)
SV: Rivera (5)
HRs: NYY-Rodriguez (20)
SUMMARY:
This one hurts.
Boston overcame a 4-0 deficit with a 5-run fifth, only to see its two best relievers hand the game right back to New York. Hideki Okajima allowed the tying run to score in the 8th, then closer Jonathan Papelbon served up a solo shot to Alex Rodriguez in the top of the 9th to lose the game and the series.
HERO: Dustin Pedroia 2-5, R, 3RBI
The little second sacker continues to get big rips; this time it was a 3-run double in the fifth that put the Sox on the board and gave Boston a chance to win this game. Oh yeah, and the hit extended his hitting streak to 13 games.
What, you thought I was gonna give it to freaking A-Rod?!
GOAT(s): Papelbon & Okajima 1.1IP, 3H, 2ER, 3K, HR
The Sox two best bullpen men looked like a couple of high schoolers when the going got tough tonight. Six outs away from another comback win, these two normally rock-solid specialists couldn't close the deal, and it cost the Sox the game.
RECAP:
Like Michael Richards once famously said, back when he was still known as Kramer: "I'm out."
As in, I'm out of breath, out of words, and out of ways to describe and talk about this series between the Sox and Stankees, one in which there were more comebacks than in the heavyweight division, and more twists and turns than a bad Memento ripoff.
So after three games of back-and-forth baseball, and a couple of nights pounding out roughly 1,500 words attempting to recount what had taken place on the soggy field at Fenway, I'm going to keep this one short and sweet.
Maybe that way it won't sting so much.
Josh Beckett (6.1IP, 8H, 4ER, 3BB, 5K) spotted the Stanks a 4-run lead, with a little help from Mike Lowell. The first run came in the second, when Posada doubled, Matsui singled him to third, and Josh Phelps brought him home with a single to center. New York would plate three more in the fifth after Phelps and Melky Cabrera singled, Abreu walked, and A-Rod hit a shot to third that Lowell tried to play barehanded, like he had the day before.
But the throw bounced in front of Youk and skipped into right field, allowing two runs to score and when Posada (2-5, R, RBI) followed with another single, the score was 4-0 Boston, and things were looking bleak.
Have no fear, because in the bottom of the frame, the Comeback Kids were here.
Tek, Wily Mo and Coco led off the inning with singles off of Andy Pettitte (4.1IP, 7H, 5R, BB, 3Ks); Boston's hottest hitter (sorry, Youk) Dustin Pedroia, then smoked a belt-high Pettitte fastball for a Monster-rattling double that cleared the bases and brought the Sox right back in it, 4-3.
Papi followed one pitch later with a bloop single to right that Bobby The Butcher Abreu misplayed into a three base hit for Ortiz that easily scored Pedroia with the tying run. That play chased Pettitte from the game (thank your rightfielder for that, Andy), and when Luis Vizcaino came in and allowed a sac fly to Youk (1-3), it looked as if Boston would have another comback victory on its resume.
Ah, not so fast my friend.
After Lopez, Donnelly & Okajima combined forces to escape a two-on, one-out jam in the 7th, Matsui singled off his former Japan League teammate Okajima to begin the 8th. Robinson Cano then took Oki's second pitch deep to center that hit high above the Stoppie sign and kicked back to right, and by the time Pena relayed it back in, Cano had a triple and the Stanks had a 5-4 lead.
And the chattering crowd fell silent.
As if that weren't disheartening enough, to go along with the frigid temps and steady rain, what happened in the 9th would assure all members of RSN would go to bed cold & angry tonight.
Papelbon got Jeter to ground out, then fanned Abreu to get the Sox within one out of extra innings. Unfortunately, A-Rod had had enough of the deriding catcalls and plastic girl masks for the weekend, and he didn't want to stick around any longer. Rodriguez unloaded a Papelbon heater into the bully for a deflating home run that silenced the critics and put a capper on a wet, weird, and wasted weekend at Fenway.
And so it's on to a brutal 7-game road trip through Oakland and Arizona for the Sox before they head home to play the Rockies and Giants at Fenway.
Thankfully, we won't have to see the friggin' Pinstripes again until late August.
And thankfully, even by taking 2-0f-3, the Stanks are still 12 1/2 games behind the Sox in the East.
SCOREBOARD!
NOTES:
- Hit parade: every Sox player had a hit, with Pedroia and Manny notching two each
- J.D.Drew sat for the second straight game with hammy problems; Wily Mo took his place in right and went 1-4 with a run scored
- Pedroia batted second for the second consecutive game, with Pena batting 8th and Coco, who had been hitting 2nd for a few games, hitting 9th. It was the fourth time this year Dusty had 2 doubles in a game, the third time in less than a week time in
- More Dusty: Pedroia is batting .489 during his streak (23-47) and has raised his average 85 points, from .253-.338
- Manny's two hits raised his average to a season high .288; he has hit in 11 of the last 12 games at a .435 (20-46) clip
- Twins? in his last 7 innings pitched, Paps has allowed 7 hits and 3 runs, walking 4 while striking out 10; Oki has been just as shaky as his bullpenmate; in his last 7.2 innings, he's allowed 7 hits and 3 runs, with 3 walks and 5 Ks. Freaky, huh?
- Papi nearly took Rivera deep in the 9th, but a combination of the rain drops and Ortiz' "barking" hammys kept the ball in the yard
- Lugo (1-3) was thrown out at the plate by Jeter trying to score on a double by Pedroia in the 6th, although he argued the call, replays showed he was out
QUOTES:
"I heard some, but it's always in good fun. I think the Boston fan always has a lot of fun and I appreciate that. It's not a big deal."--Rodriguez on the series-long ridicule he dealt with this weekend
RECORD: 37-18
STRK: L-1
LST 10: 6-4
AL EAST: Up 10.5
UP NEXT: Mon @ OAK, 10P EST
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