Wang dominates Sox with 2-hit CG gem

New York 4, Sox 1
WP: Wang (3-0)
LP: Timlin (0-1)
SV: None
HRs: BOS-Drew (3); NYY-Giambi (1)

SUMMARY:
The first installment of Sox/Stanks 08 brought one of the best pitched games the series has seen in years. Chien Ming Wang and Clay Buchholz battled through rain drops to a 1-1 draw for 6 innings before Boston went to the beleaguered bullpen and saw the game slip away as a rusty Mike Timlin allowed a go-ahead homer by Jason Giambi, while Wang shut down the Sox with a complete game 2-hitter.

Superstar: Wang 9IP, 2H, 1ER, 0BB, 3K, HR
One of the best pitching performances the series has ever seen and eerily reminiscent of the 1-hitter Mike Mussina pitched on a Sunday night in Fenway in September 2001. Only a homer that should have been caught and a 9th inning bunt single by Coco Crisp kept Wang from achieving Buchholz-like immortality.

The Biggest Loser: Tito Francona
No, I'm not awarding this honor to Timlin - it's not his fault he just came off the DL and was as rusty as an old nail. It's his manager's fault for sticking a guy who is basically still in spring training mode into a tied, pressure-packed rivalry game, no matter how experienced and ready he was.

And don't even get me started on him using Okajima for just 2 batters before turning to Javier Lopez and David Aardsma.

RECAP:
What a difference a day makes.

Less than 24 hours after one of the sloppiest, ugliest, poorly pitched games in recent memory ended at Fenway when the Sox clubbed the Tigers 12-6 in a 386 pitch, 4-hour marathon, we witnessed a pitcher's duel that was shaping up to be an all-time classic.

Until Tito substituted a tiring Clay Buchholz for a soon-to-be-retiring Mike Timlin to start the 7th inning, turning what looked like a possible extra inning affair into a one man highlight reel.

New York starter Chien Ming Wang won the battle of talented young hurlers tonight by outlasting his greener counterpart and by refusing to allow the Sox hitters an inch of wiggle room when it came to maximizing his pitches.

Wang needed just 93 pitches, 61 of them strikes, to spin his 9-inning masterpiece; by contrast Tim Wakefield threw 108 in his 5 innings of work yesterday, while Tiger starter Nate Robertson tossed 107 in 5 1/3 innings.

That's what I call using your pitches effectively.

For a while it looked like neither pitcher was going to allow a run in this one as both teams put zeroes on the board for the first four innings. In fact there were only 2 baserunners through four - a 1-out single by Hideki Matsui in the second, and when Dustin Pedroia reached on a error by Alex Rodriguez in the bottom of the 4th, a play that could just as easily have been ruled a hit (ask Rem Dog.)

But in the 5th both teams broke the scoreless tie. Buchholz (6IP, 4H, 1ER, 3BB, 3K) showed signs of wearing down when he gave up back-to-back walks to Matsui and Georgie Posada to start the inning, then after getting Giambi to strike out, he surrendered an RBI double to Fill-in-the Molina for the first run of the game.

Another walk to Jeter replacement Alberto Gonzalez loaded the bases, and if it weren't for a great defensive play by mayor Casey, who snared a hot liner by Melky Cabrera and then doubled off a clueless Gonzalez to end the inning, the damage could've been a lot worse.

As it turned out the missed opportunity hurt New York when in the bottom of the inning red hot JD Drew (1-3, 8-gm hit streak) blasted a 1-0 offering from Wang over the outstretched glove of right fielder Bobby Abreu and into the Boston bullpen to tie the game at one.

If only Abreu, who had just made two nice grabs on deep drives by Papi and Youk, could have jumped more than 2 inches off the ground, Wang might have been taking a no-hitter into the 9th a-la teammate Mussina in that memorable pre-9/11 game.

Buchholz escaped another jam the next inning when ARod (single) and Matsui (double) put runners on 2nd & 3rd with two outs, but he got Posada to ground out to end the threat, which would also mark the end of his night.

Then Timlin entered to start the 7th, and that would mark the end of the Sox chances to win this game. The veteran reliever, who has been out since late March with a lacerated ring finger, was making his first appearance of the season, and I even remarked to my son "he just came off the DL-this is going to end badly."

Sure enough after working the count to 3-2, Giambi blasted a pitch high and deep over the top of the wall in left center to break the tie, along with the spirits of the rain-drenched Faithful.

Because we knew the way Wang was pitching that if he didn't come out of the game, the Sox weren't going to score again.

He didn't, and they didn't.

A couple of days ago there was a running thread on the excellent baseball blog Bugs & Cranks about whether Wang is a true ace or just an above-average starter on a loaded offensive team.

I think he put an end to that debate tonight.

NOTES:
-Lowell disabled: Boston placed Mike Lowell on the 15 day DL today, and they hope he won't need longer than that to recover from his sprained thumb. Infielder and 2007 Sox minor league player of the year Jed Lowrie was called up to replace Lowell on the roster.

-Corey out of the house: to make room for Timlin on the roster, reliever Bryan Corey (14.54ERA) was released. First Kyle Snyder and now Corey; is this what you call addition by subtraction?

-Ay Papi: Ortiz (0-3) saw his early season slump get even even deeper as his latest 0-fer dropped his average to .077. He has three hits and three RBIs this season, and those game in two games, April 2nd @ Oakland and April 6th in Toronto.

RECORD: 5-6
AL EAST: 1.5 GB
STREAK: L-1
UP NEXT: Sat vs NY, 3:55 FOX Mussina vs. Beckett