Oki blows another game against Baltimore as Sox lose at home

Orioles 10, Sox 6
WP: Sarfate (4-1)
LP: Okajima (1-2)
SV: None
HRs: BOS- Drew (9), Manny (15); BAL-None

SUMMARY:
Despite back-to-back home runs by the team's two hottest hitters and a gritty effort from Josh Beckett Boston dropped its second straight game to Baltimore when Hideki Okajima allowed three runs in the 7th inning, leading to the Sox sixth home loss of the year.

#1 STUNNER: Audrey Huff 4-5, 1R, 2BI
The guy may be an aggravating, arrogant, overrated and overpaid douchebag but he was the difference tonight as it was his 7th inning single that drove in two runs to tie the game and propel the O's to the win.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Okajima 1/3IP, 2H, 3ER, 2BB, 1K, 26P
In his last two outings against the Birds Oki has allowed 6 hits, 3 walks and 7 earned runs in one full inning of work for an ERA of 63.00 and a WHIP of 9.00. Wow.

RECAP:
Maybe it's these damn 6:00 starts that are throwing everything out of whack for the Sox.

Last time it happened a benches-clearing brawl erupted, resulting in the suspension of eight players, and a couple of Boston teammates got into a slap fight on the bench.

Tonight the Sox and O's played "I want the lead, no you take it" for six innings before Baltimore pulled away for good with a pair of three run innings late.

The funniest thing, and by funny I mean absolutely asinine, is that the start times have been moved up an hour to accommodate Celtics fans who don't want to miss any of the NBA Finals games, yet the two six o'clock contests have had run times of 3 hours, 40 minutes and 3 hours, 27 minutes.

So much for that theory.

After the debacle of the first game and the meltdown of the second I say to hell with this experiment. Start the games at the normal time and just put the Sox on the PIP until its over.

And if a brawl breaks out flip it back, or if a Boston reliever melts down flick it off.

Things started out bad for Boston tonight, got worse, then cleared up for a while before a black cloud covered the park in the form of another blown save for Hideki Okajima.

To make matters worse the Celts tantalized us with a potential upset win in Game 4, only to have King Kobe and Co. hag on for a series-saving win.

Talk about a double whammy of doom.

The way the game started it looked like the Sox would cruise to another easy home win. Boston loaded the bases in the first inning before Daniel Cabrera had recorded an out on a single by Jacoby Ellsbury, a double by Dustin Pedroia and a walk to red-hot J.D. Drew.

But Cabrera (5IP, 7H, 6ER, 4BB, 3K, 2HR, 94P) escaped a potential devastating inning when he got Manny Ramirez to ground into a double play, and even though Ellsbury came in to score the damage could have - and should have - been much worse.

The missed opportunity came back to bite Boston in the ass shortly thereafter when Josh Beckett (6IP, 8H, 4ER, 1BB, 3K, 114P) gave up a four-spot to the Birds in the second inning.

After retiring Audrey Huff for the first out (and the only time on the night) Becks allowed a Monster double to original idiot Kevin Millah and then walked new nemesis Luke Scott.

As if that weren't bad enough Beckett then plunked .200-hitting catcher Ramon Hernandez (1-4, R, 2BI) to load the bases, but it appeared he would escape the inning unscathed when he got Adam Jones, the hero of Baltimore's last win over Boston, to pop out to first for the second out of the inning.

Ah, no.

Fellow Mendoza dweller Freddie Bynum promptly stroked an 0-1 offering from Beckett
off the Monster for a shocking 2-out, 2-run double, but unfortunately the hurt didn't end there. Five pitches later Brian Roberts launched another Wall-scraper to score Hernandez and Bynum, and Baltimore had a 4-1 lead on three doubles, a walk and a HBP.

Ugh.

The bottom of the second was eerily similar to the first as Boston got the first two batters on base before a double play killed what could have been a potential rally, but things turned around in the third when the Sox plated a pair of runs to climb right back in it.

Pedroia (2-3, 2R, HBP), who had been mired in a horrid 4-37 slump, started it off with a single to left for his second hit in two at bats, and after Cabrera wild pitched him to second JD drew his second walk of the game. After a single to center by Manny loaded the bases RBI groundouts by Mike Lowell and Kevin Youkilis cut the Orioles lead to 4-3.

Then the fireworks came in the fifth inning.

Once again Pedroia started the rally when Cabrera hit him with a pitch on the elbow on a 3-2 count, and on the very next pitch Drew (1-2, 2R, 2BI, 2BB) exacted some payback for his teammate when he crushed a fastball over the bullpens for a 2-run homer that gave the Sox a 5-4 lead.

Before the celebrating over Drew's 5th homer in his last nine games had ended Manny Ramirez, who clubbed three longballs in three games against the O's in Baltimore last series, obliterated a another fastball from Cabrera for home run #15 on the season and 505 of his career, and just like that Boston had a 6-4 lead despite Beckett's troubles and their own missed chances.

Ironically, on a night when Manny was honored for joining the 500 club by guys such as Eddie Murray, who joined Rem Dog and Don O in the booth in the previous inning, Manny passed the former Oriole great on the all-time home run list.

Pretty cool.

Unfortunately that would be the end of the good times for Boston; Beckett tossed one more inning before he was replaced in the 7th by Okajima after throwing 113 pitches on the night.

And it quickly became hide the women and children time.

A one-out walk by Roberts (1-4, 1R, 2BI) seemed harmless enough at the time, but that was followed by another Wall double, this time by Nick Markakis, and when Melvin Mora walked on a 3-1 count to load the bases it was lump in the throat time for the Faithful.

The lump came up when Huff slapped a single into right to score Roberts and Markakis and tie the game at six, and then the horrible horrible sense of deja vu was complete going back to the last time Oki pitched against the Os.

And we all remember that game.

Manny Delcarmen came in to relive a discouraged Oki and immediately allowed a sac fly to Millar (1-4, R, BI) to give Baltimore the lead back aat 7-6, and even though Manny D got out of the inning the damage was done, both to the score and Oki's psyche.

My question is why bring him in in the 7th when that inning has been the domain of Lopez, Delcarmen and Hansen in the first place, something I'm sure Tito will be second-guessed about for a few days to come?

Boston had a chance to tie the game up in the 8th but yet another double play quelled that chance, and then Hansen crushed all hopes of a comeback when he allowed three runs in the 9th, although an error by Pedroia on a potential double play grounder was a key factor in the late uprising.

No matter because this one was lost as soon as Oki stepped on the field, and my guess is Tito will throw him right back out there tomorrow so so he can get this orange and black monkey off his back.

Thank god there's no Celtics game tomorrow.

RECORD: 40-27
AL EAST: Up 1 gm
STREAK: L1
LAST 10: 7-3
UP NEXT: Wed vs. BAL 7:05 Olson vs. Colon