Bayside Bitches: Wake defeats Rays--again

Sox 6, Tampa Bay 0
WP: Wakefield (15-10)
LP: Kazmir (9-8)
HRs: BOS-Lowell (17)

SUMMARY
Once again the knuckleball of Tim Wakefield bedazzled, befuddled and bewildered Tampa Bay as the veteran used the strength of 3 RBIs from Mike Lowell and a pair of ribbies from Manny to earn his 19th career victory against the Rays.

#1 STUNNER Wake 7IP, 4H, 1BB, 5K
His numbers against the Rays are starting to resemble a fantasy geek's wet dream: 19-2, 2.74 ERA, 9-0 at the Trop. When you talk about one player owning one team, this record has got to be right near the top of the list.

PAN's FAUN Scott Kazmir 5.2IP, 7H, 6ER, 4BB, 8K
Normally Kaz is nearly as tough on the Sox as Wake is on his team, but not tonight. Boston hit the young lefty early & often, jumping out to a 5-0 lead after two and spoiling any rhythm the kid had hoped to get to offset Wakefield's dominance.

RECAP
What do you know, I was wrong again.

For some reason I had a sneaking suspicion that the twin Wakefield streaks were going to end tonight here in the Bay area, what with so much attention having been paid over the last week to both his unblemished record at the Trop and him recording a decision in every start this season.

But this is Tampa Bay, USA, where dreams come to life, snow birds come to vacation, and one old knuckleball pitcher comes to kick the local ballclub around like a Mike Vick chew toy.

Wakefield, the 42-year-old wunderkind, not only ran his record to 19-2 against the Rays but with his 15th victory of the season he tied teammate Josh Beckett and the Angels' John Lackey for the major league lead in wins.

I know it's a cliche, but this guy truly is the Energizer Bunnny. With that 60 mph floater and just enough of a fastball to keep hitters guessing, the senior Sox might outlast Buchholz, Lester, Delcarmen and all the other young studs currently in the Sox system.

Another reason I suspected the task might be tougher for Tim and the Sox tonight was the fact that they were facing a mini-assassin as well, Scott Kazmir.

Sure his 5-3 record vs. Boston doesn't sound so impressive, but when you figure in a 2.37 ERA along with 91 strikeouts in 83 innings of work, there's no denying the fact that the youngster enjoys going up against the best in the East.

And for the last month Kaz has been pretty happy to go up against anybody. He's been the hottest pitcher since the break, posting a 4-0 mark and surrendering just 5 earned runs in 44.2 innings for a phenomenal 1.02 earned run average covering seven starts.

Oh and he also struck out 53 batters and walked just 15 during that time.

But tonight the Boston batters had his number, whether it was the joy of playing a team other than the pesky Angels or just being in the cozy confines of Red Sox Nation South, and they quickly went to work on Wakefield's next win.

Dustin Pedroia started the festivities off with a single to left center on the first pitch of the game. Five pitches later Youk worked his obligatory walk, and with Papi getting the night off it was up to new Sox hero Bobby Kielty to get on for Manny.

Kielty reached base, but only by forcing Youk at second, and after Kazmir fanned Ramirez looking at three straight pitches it looked as if the young lefty was going to escape the inning unscathed.

Then Mike Lowell, Professional Hitter, stepped to the plate, and much like he has all season long, delivered just the right hit at just the right time.

Lowell sliced a wicked shot down the third base line that eluded the sprite Akinori Iwamura at the bag and scooted into the corner for a 2-run double, and with Wake owning the Rays you almost got the feeling the game could have ended there and saved everyone the trouble of sitting through 8 more innings.

Wakefield escaped a mini-jam in the bottom of the frame when Iwamura singled and stole second, then went to third when Carl Crawford whiffed but had to be thrown out as new knuckleball catcher Kevin Cash had not yet adapted to the nuances of the flutterball.

As it turned out tricky bounces would not pose much of a problem on the night when Boston tacked on three more runs in the second inning, effectively ending the game and allowing the sparse crowd in attendance to go home and tuck the kiddies into bed before the first day of school.

Coco ignited this rally with an odd ground rule double that looked as if it was a foul ball but glanced off right fielder Delmon Young's glove in fair territory and hopped into the stands.

A groundout by Lugo got Crisp to third, and after Cash watched a couple of nice pitches by Kazmir just miss the mark to earn a free pass, Pedroia (2-4, 2R, BI) slapped his second single to left to score Coco and run the score to 3-0 Sox.

Youk followed with a single to load the bases, and after Kielty struck out, Manny swatted the first pitch from Kazmir to deep center to score Cash and Pedroia to make it 5-0, and even though they couldn't capitalize when Manny made it to second and Lowell was intentionally walked to re-load the bases, the damage was done and this one was all but over..

That's because Wake's knuckler was dancing like Ian Ziering, floating and prancing like a proud ballerina and confounding the Rays, who did manage to get a runner on base in five of the first six innings but could do nothing with them.

By the time Lowell (2-2, R, 3RBI) slammed a solo shot to left with one out in the fifth to make the score 6-0, you could hear the drunk Sox fans cheering on their beloved team as the Tampa Bay fans rushed for the 275 on ramps.

Things were going so good that Manny Delcarmen exorcised the demons of his last appearance here (of which my son & I were unwitting witnesses) by tossing a 1-2-3 8th on 13 pitches, and with Papelbon & Gagne watching side by side from the pen, Mike Timlin set the Rays down in order in the 9th to close out another Wakefield milestone victory.

Once again the magic man of the major leagues continued two impressive streaks and tied for the league lead in wins at the same time.

If he keeps pitching against Tampa Bay he might even get some Cy Yong consideration.