Lucky 13: Sox beat Baltimore in extra innings

Sox 5, Orioles 2 (13 inn)
WP: Timlin (3-3)
LP: Bradford (2-2)
SV: Papelbon (15)
HRs: BOS-None; BAL-Huff (9)

SUMMARY:
After Boston and Baltimore played to a 2-2 tie in regulation, the teams traded chances in extra innings until Melvin Mora's critical error in the 13th paved the way for Mike Lowell's game winning hit.

SUPERSTAR: Lowell 3-5, R, 2B, 2BI
He knocked in the second run of the game with a sac fly way back in the first inning, then drove home a more important one when he laced a single down the left field line to score Manny from second base with the game winner in the 13th.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Mora 0-6, 3K, 2E
Is it possible to have a worse game than this? I think not.

RECAP:
The Red Sox finally got a win on the road, and they got it the old fashioned way - they earned it.

After a scintillating start from Josh Beckett (6IP, 4H, 2ER, 3BB, 10K, 118P) resulted in a tie ballgame after six innings, it appeared as if the shaky Sox pen would surely hand the game to the Orioles eventually.

But something funny happened on the way to a complete bullpen meltdown - six Sox relievers combined to shut the O's down for seven innings, leaving the Boston batters with plenty of chances to pull out this much needed road win.

Which they did. Eventually.

And thus on the same day Daisuke Matsuzaka went on the disabled list, Manny Ramirez turned 36 years old and the Celtics advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1987, the Red Sox staged another comeback victory over the pesky Orioles thanks to some solid pitching and shoddy defense.

Did I mention the Sox also stole a team record six bases?

Talk about a memorable day in Beantown sports history.

When the game began it looked like it would be a potentially easy win for Boston.

They scored four minutes and five pitches into the contest, when Jacoby Ellsbury (3-7, R, 2 2B) led off with a double, Dustin Pedroia sacrificed him to third and David Ortiz brought him home with a single. They tacked on another run when Manny doubled Ortiz to third and Lowell drove in Papi with a sac fly, and less than 10 minutes into the game it was 2-0 Boston with Beckett yet to pitch.

Who knew it would be over 4 1/2 hours before the sox would score again.

With Matsuzaka on the DL Boston needs Beckett to be the Beckett of last year, and for the most part this evening he was, save for a couple of lapses that let Baltimore right back in the game.

One of those laspes came in the second, although the run Baltimore scored wans't all Beckett's fault.

He did allow back-to-back singles by Kevin Millah and Luke Scott to set up a 1st & 3rd, one out situation, but it was a terrible throw by Jason Varitek that sailed into center field as Scott tried to steal second that let the first Oriole run score.

The tying run was all Beckett's fault, though, when he served up a leadoff homer to Audrey Huff in the 4th inning to tie the game at two. It was Beckett's 11th homer allowed this season, putting him on pace for a 2006-like 33 for the season.

Yikes.

While erratic Baltimore starter Daniel Cabrera (7IP, 6H, 2ER, 2BB, 2K) settled down after the first inning to hold the Sox scoreless through seven, Beckett also settled down a bit and even struck out four straight Oriole batters from the 5th into the 6th innings.

Then things got crazy as Becks walked three straight batters to load the bases with two outs, and you got the feeling you were witnessing some kind of Jekyll/Hyde performance from the former ace.

But Beckett got Adan Jones to strike out to end the threat, and at 118 pitches thrown it was the end of the night for him.

As a lump formed in the Nation's throat over the prospect of the bullpen being responsible for a tie ballgame, the pen men banded together and did something they hadn't been able to do all year - string together multiple shutout innings.

First Hideki Okajima (2IP, 1H, 1K), then Manny Delcarmen (1IP, 1H, 1BB, 1K), then Javier Lopez (1/3IP, 1H) held the Orioles scoreless through the 10th inning, and even Craig Hansen (1.2IPP, 1BB, 2K) and Mike Timlin (1IP, 1H, 2BB, 1K) managed to escape their innings unscathed, although Tired Arm had to work his way out of a bases loaded jam in the 12th.

Following that tightrope act Boston finally cracked the equally impressive corps of Baltimore relievers, but it would take some truly sloppy defense to get this game over with.

Jamie Walker came on to relieve Fat Matt Albers, who did an impressive job (3IP, 1H, 1BB, 2K) for Oriole manager Dave Trembley, and things immediately went downhill from there.

First catcher Ramon Hernandez dropped a foul pop off the bat of Ortiz (2-6, 2B, R, BI) for an error, and although Walker retired Papi anyway the gaffe set the tone for what was to follow.

The costly mistake came two pitches later, when Melvin Mora airmailed a routine grounder by Manny over Millar's head at first, enabling Ramirez to trot to second and opening the floodgates for Boston.

Three pitches later Lowell ripped a single to left that scored the birthday boy Ramirez easily with the go-ahead run, and after an infield hit by Youk, reliever Dennis Sarfate was greeted with a double steal and then a 2-run error by shortstop Freddie Bynum, who threw a mile wide of first on a routine grounder by Coco Crisp to make the score 5-2, effectively ending the long night right there.

Jonathan Papelbon, who hadn't pitched in a few days, tossed a 1-2-3 bottom of the 13th, thanks to a terrific barehanded play by Lowell on a high hopper by Jones, and after he fanned Brian Roberts looking to end the game, he let out his patented primal scene that signalled the end of a long, but satisfying, night in Baltimore.

Now the question is does Jon Lester have it in him to throw another no hitter tomorrow, because the chances that this bullpen can throw another three-four scoreless frames are slim and none.

RECORD: 33-24
AL EAST: 1 GB
STREAK: W1
LAST 10: 5-5
UP NEXT: Sat @ BAL 7:05 Lester vs. Olson