Happy B-Day, Tim: Wake joins AL wins leaders

Sox 7, Baltimore 3
WP: Wakefield (13-9)
LP: R. Bell (3-2)
HRs: BOS-Hinske (5), Mirabelli (4)

SUMMARY
In a game that featured to a number of wacky plays Tim Wakefield earned his 13th victory on his 41st birthday, Doug Mirabelli nearly blew the game then won it, and Eric Gange made his Sox debut as Boston took 2-of-3 from the Birds.

#1 STUNNER Belli 3-3, 2R, 2BI, BB, HR
His base running gaffe nearly doomed the Sox in the sixth, but the veteran catcher made up for it with an RBI single in the seventh that gave him his first 3-hit game in nearly three years.

PAN's FAUN Rob Bell 2/3IP, 4H, 4ER, BB
What do you expect from a former Devil Ray castoff with a career ERA of 5.61? The 30-year-old righty was plain awful in the 7th, turning a tie game into a Red Sox rout.

RECAP
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Timmy, happy birthday to you."

I'm sure that's the tune that Tim Wakefield's teammates serenaded him with in the locker room following this game, along with the mandatory beer shower of course.

On the day the knuckleballer turned a robust 41 years old the 15-year vet showed the rest of the league that he's still got what it takes to be a top pitcher in the major leagues, and he's got the record to prove it.

By tossing seven solid innings and lasting just long enough to benefit from another Sox uprising, Wake (7IP, 6H, 3ER, BB, 5K) joined teammate Josh Beckett as well as four other hurlers atop the AL leader board in wins, one behind ML leader Carlos Zambrano's 14.

Not bad for a guy who broke into the league when fellow starter John Lester was 8 years old.

But for a while it looked as if Wake would not join the 13-win club, and he had no one to blame but himself for the missed opportunity.

Well himself and his personal caddy, Doug Mirabelli.

After blowing a bases loaded situation in the second, the Sox jumped out to a lead in the third courtesy of a couple of strange plays by left fielder Jay Payton.

The disgruntled former Sox sub misplayed a high fly from David Ortiz (1-5, R) that landed on the warning track in front of the Monster for a sun-aided double, and three pitches later Manny lined a Jeremy Guthrie offering directly over Payton's head for a sharp single that scored Papi and put the Sox on the board first for the first time in the series.

Boston then put on a nice little power display in the 4th, and the wattage came from two unlikely sources.

Eric Hinske, starting in place of J.D. Drew who was still dealing with his son's illness, launched a 2-0 pitch from Guthrie (5.1IP, 9H, 3ER, 4BB, 3K) over the bullpens and into the bleachers for a quick 2-0 lead, then on the very next pitch Belli blasted a bomb into the first row of the Monster seats to give his buddy Wake a comfy 3-0 advantage.

But faster than you can say "where's my Geritol?" Wake blew the early b-day present, surrendering a three-spot to the Os in the 5th on a triple, a sac fly, two singles and a double and all of a sudden the game was back to square one.

Showing his age, I guess you could say.

Boston wasted a leadoff single by Manny (2-5, BI) in the bottom of the inning when Lowell grounded into a double play, then they really screwed the pooch when Belli had a major brain fart in the last half of the sixth.

The catcher culminated a 7-pitch at bat with a solid single to center to lead off the frame, then advanced to second on a sac bunt by Alex Cora. After Pedroia (2-3, 2BI, 2BB) walked on four pitches, Youk lofted a lazy fly ball to right that tricked Nick Markakis, who dropped the popup for an error that loaded the bases with one out.

Guthrie was replaced by Jamie Walker, and when he allowed a DEEP drive to center field by Big Papi, it looked like the Sox would regain the lead and hand the game over to its awesome bully.

Except Belli messed up the timing of his tag, and by the time he went back and re-touched third, the Orioles had enough time to get the ball in to infield and Doug was gunned down by a good 10 feet for a head-scratching inning ending double play.

Needless to say Papi wasn't happy, and neither was anyone watching the game who had no idea how a guy could get thrown out on a ball that traveled nearly 400 feet.

Luckily for Mirabelli, Wake and all of RSN, he would get a chance to redeem himself in the next inning.

Enter Rob Bell.

Bell got Manny to ground out to begin the 7th, then Lowell (1-4) followed with a single off the Wall, and after Coco forced Mike at second base and stole second, Bell walked Hinske to set up a double play with crappy feet coming to the plate.

After his horrendous miscue the inning before, Belli wasn't about to blow his best buddy's birthday, and he took the first pitch he saw from Bell and dropped it into center to score Coco and atone for his blunder and put the Sox back on top, 4-3.

Cora and Pedroia tacked on RBI hits after that, and all that was left was for the newest member of the Sox pen to make his Red Sox debut.

Hideki Okajima pitched a 1-2-DP 8th, and then it was time for one of the best closers in the history of the game to take the mound for the first time in a Boston uni.

After fanning Millar & Tejada to start the 9th, things didn't exactly follow the Disney script for Gagne when Lowell lost a wind-blown popup by Audrey Huff for a double and Payton followed with an RBI single to right, but he shrugged it off and retired Jay Gibbons on a lazy fly to left, and the birthday boy got his present, hand delivered by his batterymate.

The rate he's going, we might see Wake pitching when he's 50.

NOTES

• Doug's day: this was Mirabelli's first three hit game since Aug. 25th, 2004
• Decision '07: Wake extended his incredible streak to 22 consecutive games with a decision
• Drew didn't make it for the start of the game, but he did pinch run for Hinske in the seventh and stayed in the game
• The Sox celebrated the career of legendary second baseman Bobby Doer before the game
• Markakis' error was his first this season and first in 148 games dating back to last Aug 15th
• The sun wreaked havoc on numerous plays in the outfield, but didn't affect Coco, who made a spectacular leaping catch against the wall to rob Gibbons of extra bases in the 7th
• Cora started in place of Lugo sporting a freshly shaved dome
• Big Hit Hinske strikes again: of Hinske's 24 hits this season, 14 have been for extra bases-- 6 doubles, 3 triples and 5 homers
• 7th heaven: Boston scored four runs in the seventh for the second consecutive game

QUOTES

"To go back and tag and try to come home like that was the second mistake and it's embarrassing."--Mirabelli

"It was awesome. I was a little nervous. But the adrenaline kicked in and the fans really got me going."--Gagne. Welcome to Beantown.

RECORD: 66-42
AL EAST: Up 8 on NYY
STREAK: W-2
LAST 10: 7-3
UP NEXT: Fri @ SEA, 10EST

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Three homeruns and a wicked knuckler spark Sox to victory

Sox 4, Toronto 1

WP: Wakefield (2-1)
LP: Ohka (0-2)
SV: Papelbon (3)
HRs: BOS- Papi (5), 'Belli (2), Lowell (1)
Sox box

SUMMARY:
This one's real simple to summarize: Wakefield shut down the red-hot Blue Jay batters for 7 innings, as Tomo Okha did to the Sox for 5 innings. But after not registering a hit through 4 2/3, Boston exploded with three home runs in 3 consecutive innings, then Donnelly & Paps closed the door on a nice bounceback win for the Bosox.

HERO(s): Wake & 'Belli
Boston's new Dynamic Duo had their second consecutive great joint outing together. Wake has only allowed 1 run in 7 innings in each of his last two starts, and in those games Mirabelli is 4-8 with 2 big HRs and 3 RBIs.

Not bad for a 40-year old knuckleballer and a guy who only plays once a week

GOAT: Tomo Ohka 6.1IP, 4H, 4ER, 1BB, 3K, 3HRs
Glancing at his linescore it appears the Japanese journeyman righthander (include Boston in one of his journeys) had a decent, if not great, game. Then you get to the end, and those three longballs stick out like Avril Lavigne at a debutante ball.

RECAP:
For nearly 5 innings Tomo Ohka looked like the second coming of Felix Hernandez. Then the Sox batters realized they were being no hit by a guy who has played for 6 teams in 8 years, including his 1st three with Boston, and whose career record is 48-59.

Mike Lowell finally got the team going, hitting a solo shot with two out in the 5th to give the Sox a 1-0 lead on its first hit of the game. It must have been contagious because Doug Mirabelli matched him to open the 6th, and then Big Papi followed suit leading off the 7th, nailing an opposite-field blast to push the lead to 3-0; it was the big fella's 2nd hit the opposite way on the night.

For good measure Mirabelli knocked in another run in the 7th, singling home J.D.Drew who had reached on a single and moved to third on a fielder's choice. That made the score 4-0, and it would be plenty for the veteran Wakefield, who had his knuckler dancing all over SkyDome.

With his money pitch working its magic Wake had no trouble dispensing with what had been a torrid Toronto lineup. Coming into the game the Jays were batting .280 as a team, but after allowing a one-out single to Matt Methuselah Stairs in the 1st he set down 10 in a row before running into trouble in the 4th.

That's when Wake got into his only real trouble of the game; he allowed all three of his free passes in the frame to load the bases with two outs, but after a visit from pitching coach John Farrell, Wake got catcher Jason Philips to strike out swinging on a nasty knuckler and the Sox escaped the inning unscathed.

The Jays did get to Wakefield for a run on back-to-back doubles by the artist formerly known as Royce Clayton and John McDonald in the bottom of the 7th, but for all intents & purposes the game was already over, so the effect was minimal. Wakefield's night was done after that, and Black Donnely pitched a quick, perfect 8th to get the ball in the hands of Papelbon for the 9th.

Things got a bit interesting when Paps allowed a 1-out single to Aaron Hill and then a walk to pinch-walker Greg Zaun, but pinch-hitters Jason Smith and Adam Lind both fanned on Papelbon fastballs, and the Sox had a sweet victory to offset the sour taste of last night's bitter defeat.

NOTES:

-Wakefield has only allowed 3 earned runs in his 20 innings of work over three starts this season; he lowered his ERA to 1.35, good for 3rd in the American League

-Drew finally got back on the hitting track after consecutive hitless games halted his 9-game streak

-Papi is hotter than that little blonde on Dancing with the Stars; he has hit all five of his homeruns and had 12 RBIs in the last 8 games while batting .367 (11-30) in that span

-On the other hand Manny (0-3, .191), Coco (0-4, .136) and Pedroia (0-3, .188) are icier than a Simon Cowell putdown. Fellow sub-Mendoza member Cap'n Tek (mercifully) had the night off with Wake on the mound, and the way 'Belli's hitting you have to wonder if he shouldn't get a chance to play more, at least in late-inning pinch-hitting situations

-Although he ran into a spot of trouble in the 9th, Papelbon recovered to strike out the side and he continues to post some staggering early numbers: 4.1IP, 1H, 0R, 1BB, 9Ks. (All I can say is thank you tiny baby Jesus for allowing Mr. Papelbon to have the sense to return to the 'pen)

QUOTES:

-"I'm not going to lie to you, I tried to hit that way before and it never worked."-Papi on going to the opposite field

-"I've always loved pitching here. The mound is probably the best mound in the American League, and pitching inside is always a big plus for me."- Wake explaining his success at SkyDome

-"I don't care about Matsuzaka. So what?"-a testy Ohka bristling at a reporter's suggestion that he was trying to match fellow countryman Dice-K's performance

RECORD: 8-5

AL EAST: Up 1/2 gm

UP NEXT: Thu @ TOR, 12:35

Tavarez (0-1, 9.00) vs. Halladay (2-0, 2.35)

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Sox bounce back from near-no hitter

Sox 10, Los Angeles 1

WP: Wakefield (1-1)
LP: Lackey (2-1)
HRs: BOS-'Belli (1)

Sox box

That freaking police escort is finally starting to pay off

SUMMARY:
Tim Wakefield turned in another fine performance on the mound and this time he got some run support to boot. After starting out slow Boston's offense busted out late, scoring 6 runs in the 7th to turn a close game (4-1 Sox) into a rout.

HERO(s): Boston lineup
The Sox hitters scored double-digit runs on 14 base hits for the second time in three games. Throw in 5 walks and a hit batter and the Fenway basepaths looked like an extension of the Mass Pike. Six players had at least 2 hits, four had at least 2 RBIs and 8 different Sox scored a run. Nice.

GOAT: John Lackey 5.2IP, 9H, 3R, 1BB, 6K
The Angel hurler had jumped out to a 2-0 record this season and was cruising with a 1-0 lead in the 5th inning in this one. Then Mirabelli took him yard, Papi knocked in the go-ahead run and it was bye bye perfect record & microscopic ERA for Mr. Lackey.

KEY MOMENT: 8th inn, Sox lead 4-1, LA 1st & 3rd w/ 1 out
Believe it or not in a 9-run win there was a late, tense moment, and once again Papelbon nailed the door shut on any comeback thoughts for the opposing team.

The Angles were threatening to make a game of it when Paps came on in relief of Black Donnelly. All he did was get Vlad Guerrero, who had already driven in LA's run, to strike out on a filthy 97-mph heater, then got Anderson to fly out, needing just 6 pitches to squelch the rally,

REVIEW:
Tonight the Sox hitters showed plenty of resiliency and mental toughness by shaking off a bad performance in their last game, a postponement yesterday and a rough start in this one before finally busting the door down and seizing control of the game.

For the second consecutive start Tim Wakefield gave Boston a great chance to win, and for the second consecutive time Boston almost let it go to waste. Already a hard-luck loser when he allowed only 2 runs to Texas yet took the loss when the Sox were shut out by the immortal Robinson Tejada, the veteran knuckleballer had to be feeling a bit of deja vu for the first 4 innings tonight.

The Red Sox batters (with the exception of J.D. Drew) have been ineffective all season, failing to score runs, get on base or drive in runs with any regularity. Tonight was more of the same for the first 4 innings as Lackey held Boston scoreless on 4 singles, but in the 5th everything suddenly changed; all it took was a rare opposite field home run from backup catcher Doug Mirabelli to light the spark that would eventually ignite the blaze in the Boston bats.

Wakefield's personal catcher hadn't done much for Boston since returning to the Sox last June other than outrage the taxpayers who had to foot the bill for his Statie escort to Fenway. But the hard-working fan favorite came up big tonight when he touched Lackey up for a leadoff homerun into the Sox pen (nicely caught by Timlin, BTW) to begin the 5th. After Pedroia flied out, Lugo (3-5, 2R, SB) doubled to right, Youk flied out to left, and then Papi followed with a clutch single through the infield that scored Lugo and gave the Sox the lead it would not relinquish, 2-1.

As if to prove that his first big hit wasn't a fluke, 'Belli came up again in the 6th with Drew (2-3) on 3rd base and drove him home with a single to push the lead to 3-1 and chase Lackey from the game. After Lowell tacked on another run in the 7th with a sac fly, the Sox blew the game open in the 8th when they batted around and scored 6 runs on 2-run hits by Papi, Drew and Lowell, and all of a sudden it was a reprise of Opening Day Tuesday again. Plenty of hits, plenty of runs, plenty of smiles on everyone's faces.

A much better outcome than that depresser on Wednesday should have everyone geared up for the FOX national telecast Saturday afternoon. And they'd better make the most of it; with a possible snowstorm forecast for Sunday & Marathon Monday, it might be a while before the Sox get to put on their hitting shoes again.

NOTES & QUOTES:

-Drew had two more hits plus two walks and has now hit safely in all 9 games. He raised his average to .419 and also added a run and a pair of RBIs to his totals. His 2-run single in the 8th past OC really put the game away at 8-1. Oh, plus he had an outfield assist.

-Lugo had his best game as a Sox; on top of tallying 3 hits (2 singles and a double) he also scored twice, stole a base, and was the catalyst Boston has been craving at the top of the lineup since you-know-who left.

-Manny (0-3) continued his early season doldrums. The grill master is a meager 6-31 with 1 extra base hit, 3 RBIs and 6 Ks so far. Maybe he should've stayed away from the auctions in the offseason

-Wakefield's linescore for the season: 13IP, 8H, 3R, 4BB, 7Ks, 0-wild pitches, 1.38 ERA

-Mike Lowell had a big day at the plate (2-4, 2B, 3RBIs) but made another error in the field; the Gold Glover committed his 4th error of the season in the 8th after making just 6 miscues all last season

-Save king Paps got credit for a rare "Hold" for his brief 8th inning appearance; after the Sox scored 6th in the bottom half of the frame to erase the save situation, Tito brought Timlin in for the 9th (he pitched a perfect inning)

- More Paps: Of the 10 outs he has recorded this season, 6 have come by strikeout

-Due to Thursday's postponement, Tito had to tinker with the rotation. Schill will now go on Saturday, followed by Beckett on Sunday and Gascan, not Dice-K, on Patriot's day (yikes!)

-"He don't impress me no more."- Big Papi, jokingly referring to the brilliance of Papelbon

RECORD: 5-4
GB: -1/2

UP NEXT: vs. LAof A , SAT 3:30 PM FOX

Carrassco (0-1, 1.80) vs. Schilling (1-1, 4.91)

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