Sox 9, Jays 4
WP: Matsuzaka (11-6)
LP: McGowan (5-5)
HRs: BOS-Ortiz (15), Hinske (4), Tek (9); TOR-Glaus (12), Hill (10)
SUMMARY
Boston jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, but suddenly struggling Daisuke Matsuzaka couldn't hold it.
But have no fear, RSN, because Captain Tek was there to provide a clutch two-run homer that broke the tie, and the Sox went on to put five runs up in the bottom of the sixth and won going away.
#1 STUNNER Varitek 1-4, R, 2BI, HR
I don't believe the Captain has won this coveted prize yet this season, but he certainly deserved it tonight as he saved not only Dice-K's bacon, but also rescued his team from what was shaping up to be a gut-wrenching loss.
PAN's FAUN Alex Rios 0-3, BB, GIDP, K
After torching Boston in the first two games of the series, one of the hottest batters in the league went cold when his team needed him most.
Not only did he fly out with a man on second in the first and ground into a double play in the fifth, he badly misplayed a shot by Ortiz that went for a ground rule double in the 3rd that allowed Coco to score the Sox third run of the game.
RECAP
Whew, that was close.
The Sox salvaged a victory from what was heading towards the "crushing defeat" category when the offense exploded for five runs in the sixth, but just minutes earlier the Faithful had been in a state of despair after Matsuzaka coughed up a three-run lead in the top of the inning.
But on a night when David Ortiz hit his first homer at Fenway in more than two months and Julio Lugo had his second three-hit game this week, Boston was not going to be denied, especially after what started out to be an easy win.
For the third straight game the Sox scored in the first inning, and for the second straight night it was a home run by one half of the Dynamic Duo that got Boston on the board first.
After Jays starter Dustin McGowan (5IP, 8H, 6ER, 2BB, 4K, 3HRs) quickly got the first two batters out, Papi worked the count to a favorable 3-0, and then uncoiled his patented, upper cut swing, crushing the next pitch into the Toronto bullpen and breaking a lengthy longball drought in the process.
Unbelievably, the shot was Ortiz' first at home since April 21st against the Stanks, a span of 129 at bats and 32 games. Even more incredible, it was only Papi's fourth Fenway homer all season, after hitting 22 of his 54 last year at home.
While the Boston hitters were busy trying to build Matsuzaka (6IP, 9H, 4ER, 2BB, 2K, 2HRs) a comfortable lead, Dice was busy fending off Toronto baserunners, since he was letting the Jays batters play wall-ball off of him all night.
In the top of the second Troy Glaus (3-4, 2R, 2BI, 2B, HR), who had a huge game, smashed a high, arcing drive off the top of the Monster that nearly went over, but as the beefy third baseman raced around first, a near-perfect relay throw from Manny to Pedroia appeared to nail Glaus at second base.
He was called out, but upon further review although the ball did beat him to the bag, Glaus cleverly raised his sliding hand over Pedroia's glove, then touched the bag on the other side, thus eluding the tag and getting robbed of an extra base hit.
The play turned out to be a big one because the next two Jays batters reached base, but when Dice retired the next two batters on a pop out and a ground out, the Sox had escaped the inning unscathed and Toronto saw an opportunity to turn the tide of the game go by the wayside.
Thanks, ump.
After Toronto got a batter to second base for the third straight inning but couldn't score in the third, Boston padded its lead with a nicely executed two-run inning in the bottom of the frame.
After Eric Hinske, playing for J.D. Drew, popped out to begin the inning, Lugo lined a single to left center to extend his hitting streak to four games, which is DiMaggio-esque for him.
Two pitches later Coco (2-3, 2R, 2BB, BI) launched a deep drive to center that rolled past Vernon Wells, and by the time he caught up to it, Lugo had scored Boston's second run on Crisp's fourth triple of the season.
Dustin Pedroia failed to get the run in with his groundout, but Big Papi lifted his team again when Rios couldn't corral his blast to deep right that bounced next to the right fielder and into the stands for an RBI ground rule double and a 3-0 Boston lead.
Sweet. All Dice had to do was hold the ship steady and he could bring home a nice, easy win.
But Toronto finally got a runner past first base in the fourth when Glaus got revenge for the bad call by crushing a Matsuzaka fastball high over the Monster and off the Volvo sign for a towering, "take that" homer, and when Aaron Hill (3-4, R, 2BI) followed will a wall scraper double one out later, flags were raised that Dice might not be able to hold the lead.
Matsuzaka once again escaped further damage by getting the last two batters out, and when Big Hit Hinske ripped a two-out homer off McGowan in the bottom of the fourth, the three-run lead was restored and RSN could start to relax a little.
Surely Dice wouldn't blow this lead now, would he?
You already know the answer to that one, and it was a resounding YES, because for the second consecutive start Matsuzaka had problems with his control, leading to problems with the other team scoring.
Frank Thomas and Glaus hit back-to-back doubles to open the sixth to cut the lead to 4-2, and before you could even begin to worry about what would happen next, Dice allowed a mammoth homer to Hill that erased the lead--and the crowd's enthusiasm--with one swing of the bat.
Again Matsuzaka got the next two batters out, but this time he didn't limit the damage, he got hammered, and everyone watching knew he was out of the game after that horrible inning ran his pitch count to a whopping 110.
Luckily for him he's got some thoughtful teammates, and they didn't want to see their snubbed All Star teammate go out like that.
Professional Hitter Mike Lowell got the go-ahead rally started when he singled to lead off the bottom of the sixth, and after fouling off the first pitch, Varitek took a McGowan offering and obliterated it, sending into the seats above the wall in straightaway center for a titanic two-run blast that brought the crowd to its feet and probably had Dice doing one of his little bows in the dugout.
McGowan hit the showers after that one, but the Sox didn't stop hitting. After Hinske struck out against Brain Tallet, Lugo caught Glaus napping and reached on a bunt single, Coco followed with a walk, and Pedroia lofted a single to shallow center that scored Lugo with run #7.
Manny (sac fly) and Youk (single) would drive the last two runs in off another Jays reliever, but for all intents & purposes the game was over after Tek's blast. Toronto had driven the Diceman out of the game and had more than its share of chances to steal this one, but after the Captain left the building with another clutch hit, the Jays had to concede this victory to Boston.
So Matsuzaka pitched pretty poorly again, but unlike his disaster in Detroit, this time he was bailed out by his teammates' blazing bats.
Come to think of it, I think he owes Varitek a nice steak dinner. Make it Kobe beef.
NOTES
- The teams combined for 23 hits, with three batters (Lugo, Glaus, Hill) netting three hits apiece, and three others (Crisp, Papi, Wells) notching a pair each
- Despite being held hitless, Manny racked up his 7th RBI of the series with his sac fly in the sixth
- The 9-1 hitters, Coco & Lugo, were on base seven times and scored four runs
- Lugo has more hits in his last nine games (12) than he had in the whole month of June (7); his recent streak (12-30, .400) has raised his average from .190 to .209
- Manny Delcarmen relieved Matsuzaka in the seventh and nearly got his head taken off on a single up the middle by Lyle Overbay in the eigth; he hasn't allowed a run in his last 7 apps
- Hideki Okajima handled the ninth and allowed a two-out single to Wells before ending the game
- Before his homer Tek was having a rough night; he got hit in the throat by a foul ball in the second, then he took a pitch square off his left wrist when he & Matsuzaka got their signals crossed in the third. Adding insult, he was charged with a passed ball on the play
- After allowing just four homers in his previous seven starts, Dice K has allowed five homers in his last two, surrendering 10 runs and 19 hits in 11 innings over that stretch
- As expected, Drew was given the night off, and probably tomorrow, too, with the hammy acting up again
- Hinske's homer may have snapped an 0-13 streak, but it should be no surprise the hit was a big one; he's got just 18 hits on the season, but 11 are for extra bases (5-doubles, 2-triples, 4-homers) Freaking amazing!
- Glaus and Hill each had a single, double and homer off Matsuzaka. Yikes.
"I was disappointed from beginning to end."--Dice
"They come back to tie it, Daisuke's coming out of the game, and 'Tek takes a gorgeous swing." --Tito, who once again displays a knack for summimg up the game perfectly
"That's why he is a superstar. I'm sure he is hurt, but he is out there every day and one swing can burn you in a hurry."--Toronto mgr John Gibbons on Ortiz
RECORD: 55-35
AL EAST: Up 10 on NYY
STREAK: W-1
LAST 10: 6-4
UP NEXT: Sun vs. TOR 2:05
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