The comeback kings return, just in the nick of time

Sox 5, D-Backs 4
WP: Smith (1-0)
LP: Qualls (1-6)
SV: Papelbon (22)
HRs: BOS-Pedroia (7); ARI-Tracy (4)

SUMMARY:
The Red Sox snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat tonight when they plated four runs in the eighth inning to overcome a 4-1 deficit and eke out a one-run win. Mike Lowell tied the game with a 2-run double and Jason Varitek won it with an RBI single, giving rookie reliever Chris Smith his first major league victory.

#1 STUNNER: Smith 2IP, 0H, 0R, 1BB, 1K, 28P
Lowell and Tek both had clutch two-out hits that allowed the Sox to pull out the win, but they're supposed to do that shit. Smith bouncing back from allowing a grand slam to his second major league batter on Saturday to pitch two no-hit innings and earn his first ML win - that deserves star of the game honors.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Chad Qualls 2/3IP, 4H, 2ER, 0BB, 1K, 24P
With a line score like this he might want to go back to being a DJ.

RECAP:
Let me start off by saying I missed most of this game due to technical difficulties with my Extra Innings package.

The picture would flash on and off in spurts, freeze at some points, and go black at other times.

It got so bad that I was frustrated to the point of watching the premiere of "Wipeout", that Americanized/ESPN-ized version of "MXC" that ABC shoved down our throats throughout the entire NBA Finals, which wasn't so bad because from what I could gather from GameCast the Sox were getting wiped out as well.

In between blank screens I found out that Dustin Pedroia put the Sox ahead 1-0 in the first inning with a titanic blast off Arizona starter Doug Davis, but the 'Backs tied it right up in the top of the second inning on an RBI single by Chad Tracy off Justin Masterson (6IP, 7H, 4ER, 4BB, 4K, HR, 101P).

While I was watching a bunch of effeminate dudes and one pretty hot chick getting covered in mud, blasted in the package and bouncing face first off giant balls (teehee, get it?), Arizona was busy taking the lead when light-hitting Tracy (3-4, 1R, 4BI) launched an 0-1 pitch from Masterson over the Red Sox bullpen for a three run homer and a 4-1 Diamondbacks lead.

Speaking of a blast in the package.

Luckily the score stayed that way for a while because I missed all the action in between, like Masterson working out of two on, two out situations in the fourth and fifth innings and Boston doing absolutely nothing off Davis (7IP, 3H, 3ER, 1BB, 6K, HR, 98P) after the first inning and prior to the eighth.

By the time my reception got back to 21st century standards it was the bottom of the eighth inning and Jacoby Ellsbury had just singled to right to put runners at first and second (evidently Julio Lugo had just singled as well) with nobody out.

That development got Davis, who has now tossed three straight quality starts and has nothing to show for it, removed from the game in favor of Chad Qualls, a move that backfired on Arizona manager Bob Melvin worse than New Coke.

Pedroia (2-4, 2R, 2BI) worked the count by fouling off four consecutive pitches before driving a single into center field to score Lugo and cut the deficit to 4-2, and with two on, no one out and JD Drew and Manny Ramirez coming up it looked like the Sox were going to break this one wide open.

But then Qualls got the suddenly slumping Drew (0-4, 2 for his last 19) to strike out, and one pitch later Manny grounded out to third, although he did advance the runners up a base.

That little piece of fundamental baseball proved to be mighty advantageous for Boston
because Mike Lowell (2-3, 1R, 2BI) took a 2-0 pitch from Qualls and popped it off the Monster for a clutch-as-hell two run double that tied the game at four and brought the Faithful back to life.

But the heroics didn't end there.

Up stepped captain Tek, who just snapped a career-worst 0-24 skid last night with a double off of Dan Haren and was mired in a brutal 1-30 stretch entering this at bat.

After looking at strike one from Qualls, the captain said "what fucking slump?" as he dropped a single into right field that scored Lowell with what wound up being the game winning run, provided Papelbon could brush off a couple of recent blown saves and nail down the win in the ninth.

Eric Byrnes (1-4) made things interesting when he worked Paps for a 9-pitch at bat that resulted in a base on balls with one out, but the steely closer buckled down and got Stephen Drew to strike out and Orlando Hudson to ground out to end the game, and Boston had a much needed come from behind victory to stay one game ahead of the Rays in the East.

The crisis may have been averted tonight but the Sox are still an extra inning home run and a couple of clutch two out hits away from an 0-5 record on this home stand, and if they don't start getting it together soon those effing Rays will overtake them for first place.

And that would be a HUGE blast to the package.

NOTES:
-Yoooouuuuk!: Kevin Youkilis, still recovering from the shiner he received courtesy of an errant warm up toss from Lowell last night, came on in the 9th inning as a defensive replacement for Brandon Moss and fielded the last out of the game, ironically a semi-low throw from Lowell

-Rem Dog honored: it was Jerry Remy day at the ballpark as the club honored the likable Sox second baseman turned analyst turned president of Red Sox Nation with a lengthy pregame ceremony. The cool thing was Extra Innings decided to carry the event live as a bonus for subscribers. The bad news was between the pregame rain and my shitty reception, I barely got to see any of it

-Speaking of rain: for the third straight game the start was delayed by showers, this time for 36 minutes. The two previous contests saw 32 and 50 minute interruptions

RECORD: 48-32
AL EAST: Up 1 gm
STREAK: W1
LAST 10: 6-4
UP NEXT: Wed vs. ARI 7:05 ESPN2 Johnson vs. Wakefield