Seattle shuts out Sox, ends home win streak at 13

Mariners 8, Sox 0
WP: Hernandez (4-5)
LP: Colon (3-1)
SV: None
HRs: None

SUMMARY:
Felix Hernandez pitched well at Fenway again and got plenty of support from his offense, Bartolo Colon was horrible, from his pitching to his defense, and the Sox were shut out for the first time since...Seattle blanked them 1-0 on May 28th.

#1 STUNNER: Hernandez 6IP, 6H, 0ER, 3BB, 5K, 106P
King Felix continued his reign over the Red Sox as the former phenom racked up his second straight shutout at Fenway dating back to last April's 1-hitter.

According to the wire services his 15 consecutive scoreless innings at Fenway are the longest by an opposing pitcher since 1956. Yikes.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Colon 5IP, 8H, 6R, 3ER, 1BB, 2K, 2E, 79P
Not only did the hefty righty have his worst performance for Boston pitching-wise, but his two inexcusable errors throwing the ball to second base led to three key unearned runs and helped seal the Sox fate. Ugh.

RECAP:
We knew the good times had to end sometime, for Boston and Bartolo Colon, and I don't think anyone was surprised that it all came crashing down tonight.

One night after playing in an exhausting, brawl-filled ballgame that saw three Sox leave the field prematurely and on the same day that three players received suspensions for their actions, Boston's 13 game home winning streak came to a crashing halt at the hands of the slumping Mariners.

On the heels of all that drama the Sox lineup resembled a B squad scrimmage at City of Palms park with Manny Ramirez, Jacoby Ellsbury and of course Big Papi all riding the pine in this one due to injury.

So is it any wonder that the man who nearly pitched a no hitter here last year came to town and shut down the emotionally drained and psychologically stained Sox?

Well yeah, kinda, because after all this Mariner team was in shambles coming in here, losers of four in a row and 12 of 15 and possessors of the worst record in baseball.

So even though a Boston letdown was almost inevitable with all the turmoil swirling around the club, for the measly M's to shut out one of the best offensive teams in the league for the second time in 10 days was a bit surprising.

But I guess we gotta look on the bright side: at least no punches were thrown.

The game was basically over in the first four innings as Seattle jumped out to a 5-0 lead and Boston could do nothing right, including capitalize on an early bases loaded opportunity that could have changed the complexion of the game.

In the top of the first Jose Lopez hit a one-out single to center and Colon responded with a four pitch walk to Raul Ibanez (2-3, 3R, 2BB.) The inning should have ended, though, when the next batter, Adrian Beltre, grounded back to the mound for what looked like a tailor made double play.

Except Colon made the first of many mental blunders on the evening, tossing the ball between Pedroia and Lugo, who were splitting the bag, and the ball sailed into center field as Lopez scored the first run and Ibanez moved to third.

Jose Vidro then hit the next pitch from Colon for an RBI groundout and Seattle had a quick 2-0 lead.

After Colon retired the side in order in the second Boston had a chance to get right back in the game when they loaded the bases off King Felix on a single by Mayor Casey (3-4), a bunt single by Captain Tek and a two-out walk to Lugo.

But in a twisted taste of karma Cock-o Crisp came to the plate with the sacks full and a chance to do some damage with something other than his mouth or fists, and all the sleazy centerfielder could do was strike out.

Granted it was a check swing strike three, and it didn't look like he went around, but what did he think he was going to get a favorable call from the umps after the debacles of the past two nights?

Like Earl always says karma's a bitch.

After dodging that bullet Seattle would tack on another run in third when sloppy plays by Boston led to a gift Seattle score.

Ichiro (1-5, R, 2BI) reached on an error by Mike Lowell to lead off the inning, a call that should have gone to Crazy Kevin Youkilis but the hometown scorer obviously wanted to keep the first baseman's errorrless streak intact.

Lopez followed with a single to set up runners at second and third with no outs, but after Colon got Ibanez to pop out he foolishly tried to pick Ichiro off second, and once again the ball sailed into center field and both runners moved into scoring position.

Two pitches later Beltre blasted a ball to center to easily score Ichiro, and although the score was only 3-0 it strangely felt like 10-0.

Boston squandered a two on, one out opportunity in the bottom of the inning when a single by Drew (2-3, BB) and a walk to Lowell were wasted when Youk flied out and Casey struck out, and then Seattle would put the game away in the fourth with a pair of earned runs (for a change.)

A single by Richie Sexon (3-4, R, 2BI) and a ground rule double by Yunieski 'All Name Team' Betancourt put runners at second and third with one out, and then Ichiro slapped a single to left that scored both runners, although a great throw by Brandon Moss nearly nabbed Yuni at the plate.

That made the score 5- and it was time to go outside and water the lawn, do some yardwork and hang out with the fam as this one was all but over.

Evidently Seattle scored another run when a ball glanced off Colon's glove (talk about losing it all in one game), and for good measure David Aardsma (1IP, 2H, 2ER, 2BB, 1K) surrendered a pair of runs in the seventh to reach the final score of 8-0.

By that time I, along with many in the Nation and in the Sox dugout, had checked out of this one, wishing there was a Celts game on to divert our attention from the messy massacre that was taking place on the field.

But hey, at least there were no punches thrown, right?

RECORD: 38-26
AL EAST: Up 1/2 gm
STREAK: L1
LAST 10: 6-4
UP NEXT: Sat vs. SEA 3:55 FOX Batista vs. Wakefield

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Road Kill: Sox lose pitcher's duel in Seattle

Mariners 1, Sox 0
WP: Bedard (4-3)
LP: Wakefield (3-4)
SV: Putz (6)
HRs: SEA-Betancourt (3)

SUMMARY:
Tim Wakefield and Erik Bedard both pitched brilliantly but Wake made one mistake - he hung a pitch that Yunieski Betancourt hit out of the park in the 3rd inning - and that turned out to be the only run of the ballgame.

And so the Red Sox road woes continue as Boston lost for the fifth time in six games on this latest trip, and just like last night's walk-off loss this was another extremely painful defeat.

SUPERSTAR: Bedard 7IP, 2H, 3BB, 8K, 109P
The only reason he gets the call over Wakefield is because of that one bad pitch. Other than that Wake matched the former Orioles ace. In fact...

Honorable mention: Wake 8IP, 5H, 1ER, 0BB, 8K, HR, 96P
It's too bad the knuckleballer's 2nd best outing of the year had to go to waste

THE BIGGEST LOSER: None
For the first time ever no one was bad enough to take home this dishonor. I mean who could wear this crown when it was a well played ballgame that featured excellent defense and terrific pitching?

RECAP:
Another late night, another disappointing result.

For some reason these losses hurt even more when you stay up past midnight to watch them, although thankfully this one was played in a tidy 2 hours and 11 minutes, sparing us from another post-1:00am dose of depression.

But the depression will be sinking in soon with Sox fans as the realization dawns on us that this team, no matter how well constructed and loaded with All Star-caliber talent, will not be able to go deep in the playoffs if it cannot win on the road.

I mean who do they think they are, the Celts?

Tonight's loss dropped the sox to a horrid 11-19 away from the friendly confines this season, tied for the second most road losses in the majors with three
other teams - Cincy, Colorado and San Diego.

The only club with more losses away from home? These very Seattle Mariners.

Guess they didn't play them at the wrong time, just the wrong place.

The bad thing about this one, well aside from the fact that Boston got shut out for the 4th time this season and 2nd time in five days and managed a meager 2 base hits, is the fact that Tim Wakefield pitched better than he has in almost a month, since his 2 hit, 8 inning shutout at Detroit on May 6th.

In his three starts since then Wake had allowed 21 hits and 17 earned runs over 13 innings, walking nine and serving up five home runs.

Tonight the homer came back to bite him again, but the knuckler was dancing like Kristi Yamaguchi and you would expect the Boston offense to be able to overcome one little mistake.

Unfortunately Bedard was just as good if not better than Wakefield in what was by far the best outing of the lefty's short Mariner career.

Picked up in the offseason from Baltimore in a controversial trade for both sides that sent stud outfield prospect Adam Jones, among others, to the Birds, Bedard had yet to fulfill the expectations that a former 15 game winner and strikeout king brings to a struggling club.

Until tonight.

In his last start against the Stanks Bedard was shellacked to the tune of 8 hits and 9 earned runs allowed in 4 1/2 innings. Tonight against our Sox the effort was the exact opposite.

All Boston could manage off the lanky lefty was a trio of walks and a pair of base hits, which led to just one scoring chance when Manny and Mike Lowell singled in the 4th inning. But Sean Casey, starting his third straight game in place of the still-injured Kevin Youkilis, grounded into a double play, and the Sox only threat of the night off Bedard went by the wayside.

As good as Bedard was Wake was even better, scattering five hits but issuing no free passes as his knuckler baffled the Mariner hitters all evening. Except for the home run, which Betancourt hit on a 1-1 count with one out in the third, Wake was near perfect.

It's just that Bedard was perfect, as far as not allowing any runs to cross the plate.

But manager John McLaren replaced Bedard, who threw a lot of pitches, with hard throwing reliever Brendan Morrow to start the 8th, and Boston nearly had the reliever on the ropes.

A leadoff walk to JD Drew set the table, but Julio Lugo failed to advance the runner when his bunt went right to first baseman Miguel Cairo who nailed Drew at second. Still a groundout by Jacoby Ellsbury got Lugo into scoring position with two outs, but Morrow fanned Dustin Pedroia with a 100 mph missile, and the threat was over.

The Sox would get one more chance to tie the game in the 9th off All Star closer JJ Putz, but once again the cards were not in their favor.

Putz, still rounding into form after an early season trip to the DL, walked Ramirez
with one out, then after Lowell popped out he walked Casey to set up a potential game-losing situation.

But Coco Crisp grounded harmlessly to second, and the Sox had suffered their first 1-0 defeat since last September 10th against the Rays.

Boston will now travel to Baltimore and enjoy an off day in the Inner Harbor before taking on the Os in a four game wraparound series this weekend.

With Dice K back in Boston for tests on his shoulder and his status in doubt, and a 1-5 record already trailing behind them on this 10 game roadie, the Sox need to take 3 of 4 from the Birds or else this season could go south in a hurry.

At least Bedard won't be waiting for them in Baltimore, too.

RECORD: 32-24
AL EAST: 1 1/2 GB
STREAK: L2
LAST 10: 5-5
UP NEXT: Thu-Off; Fri @ BAL 705

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Oh *bleepin* Cano: Stanks sweep Sox

New York 5, Sox 0
WP: Wang (16-6)
LP: Schilling (8-6)
HRs: NYY-Cano, 2 (16)

SUMMARY
The punchless Sox closed out this horrible series in the Bronx with a limp performance in another demoralizing loss. For the second game in a row Boston did not register a hit through the first five innings, and little Robbie Cano provided all the offense New York would need with a pair of solo home runs off Curt Schilling.

#1 STUNNER Cano 2-3, 2R, 2BI, 2HR
The solid second sacker led off the third & fifth innings with near-identical opposite field homers to left center, the first one popping off the top of the wall and the second landing just a few feet further, but each one packed the punch of a blow from Chuck Liddell.

PAN's FAUN the whole Boston ballclub
You can't lay the blame for this putrid performance on just one player--every member of the team had a hand in producing (another) one of the most embarrassing series in Sox/Stanks history.

RECAP
Remember when I stated earlier that things could most definitely get worse for the Sox in this series finale?

Guess what?

They most certainly did.

In a three game series that eerily parallelled the infamous five-game Boston Massacre II of last August, the Red Sox rolled over like Mike Vick's cousin and played three terrible, uninspiring, unemotional baseball games and in the process invited every bit of incisive scrutiny that is sure to come their way in the coming weeks.

That's what happens when a team that had just scored a record amount of runs in a four game series comes into New York for a potential put-away series with the reeling Stanks, manages just 3 runs and 13 hits in three games, and sees all three of its best starting pitchers get tooled by the much-maligned New York staff.

The only real differences between 2006's weekend to forget and this year's mid-week meltdown is the amount of games, both series length (5-3) and in the standings.

In '06 Boston led New York by 3 1/2 games going into that series, then saw that advantage morph into a 1 1/2 game deficit when the dust settled around the Commonwealth.

But this year the Sox sat on an eight-game bulge entering this one, and the short series ensured there would be no changes atop the AL East leader board when it was over, sweep or no.

We'll call it the Mini Massacre, 2007.

An overcast day in the Apple mirrored Boston's play and the mood of its Nation as the players took the field for the first midweek non-holiday day game in the Rivalry since ...(are you ready for it?)...the Bucky Dent Game, Oct 2nd of 1978.

You can thank Michael bleepin Kay for that tasty nugget.

The sweep was nearly a foregone conclusion when the pitching matchups were announced: Boston would send its battle-scarred soldier Curt Schilling, still recovering from a shoulder injury he may never shake, out to compete with the cornerstone of the next generation New York pitching staff, Chien Ming Wang.

Although Schill (7IP, 6H, 2ER, 1BB, 4K, 2HR) certainly pitched admirably, holding the potent New York lineup at bay save for one pesky second baseman, in a game like this, with a big series and personal & team pride on the line, allowing a pair of home runs to a light-hitting middle infielder just isn't gonna cut it.

He almost needed to, say, hold the other team hitless for like six innings, like he did in Oakland so many moons ago and the last two Stankee starters would do in consecutive games.

That's right after racking up 52 hits in four games against the White Sox, or roughly 1 /1/2 hits per inning, Boston batters were held hitless in the fist six frames of each of the last two games, and only managed to record a hit in 10 of the 36 innings played in the series.

Never led. Tied twice. Trailed in 33 of 36 innings.

Much like the last two games the way this one started out had all the earmarks of another heartbreaker.

While Wang (7IP, 1H, 4BB, 5K) set Boston down in order in the first including Papi swinging at strike three to end it, Derek Jeter (4-4, R) signaled the call to arms when he muscled a one-out single to center field in the bottom of the inning.

Schill would get out of the inning by striking out Bobby Abreu and A-Rod, but when Jason Giambi prevented a couple of runners from getting on base by channelling J.T Snow in the second, the proceedings quickly took an ominous turn.

Youk, batting in Manny's four spot, led off the inning with a walk, bringing up Boston's most consistent, clutch hitter this season, Mike Lowell.

But Wang got Mike to ground out sharply to Rodriguez, who flipped to Cano to get Youk at second, then Cano flipped to first to try and turn the twin killing.

Cano's throw went wide of the bag but Giambi laid his body prone to the ground while keeping his foot touching first base and managed to stretch for the out, bringing a rousing ovation from the crowd and gushing praise for Michael someone please hit me in the face with a shovel Kay:

"Jason Giambi, all leather and grace these last two days...his glove is a many splendid thing"

Take that however you will.

Three pitches later Boston's whipping boy J.D. Drew grounded to short, and this time Jete's throw sailed wide right of first, so Giambi snagged it out of midair and applied a swipe tag to Drew as he ran by.

I guess getting let off the hook by Bud Selig after admitting he used 'roids has got him playing like a kid again.

Wang worked around a leadoff walk to Tek in the third, but in the bottom of the inning Schilling would make the first of his two mistakes to Cano on the day, as he hit the first pitch he saw from Schilling off the top of the outfield wall for the first run of the game and the first nail in the Red Sox coffin.

Melky Cabrera and Jeter followed with singles in the inning but Schilling held the fort, and while Boston kept getting men on base via the walk they couldn't get any kind of rally going against the stingy Wang.

In the fifth inning Cano repeated his performance from the third, this time taking Schill's third offering and planting it over the wall in nearly the same exact spot as the first one, and even though the score was only 2-0 in the 5th, it might as well have been 200-0 the way Boston was playing in this one.

A wacky seventh inning brought Boston its first hit of the game but also symbolized the three days of frustration that team has suffered through this week.

Youkilis (0-1, 3BB) led off the inning with a grounder to Jeter who again threw wide right of first, but this time Giambi couldn't make the tag as Youk ducked under his glove, and when Lowell followed with a single to right the Sox had their first real threat of the day and a chance to salvage a game.

Either that or they could fold quicker than a Tarantino double feature and implode faster than the Kingdome.

Drew, who has really taken the J.D. Boo thing to a ho nuva level with his pitiful performance in this series, steeped in against Wang and on a 2-2 count hit a sharp grounder to A-Rod, who fumbled for a moment, lunged for Youk as he ran by and then fired to first to get Drew.

After initially calling Youk safe despite a healthy swerve to avoid old Blue Lips' tag, Torre came out and got the blue shirts to converge and discuss whether or not Youkilis had run out of the baseline during his second dodging move of the inning.

No sooner did I turn to my son and say they're gonna rule him out and Tito is going to come out and get ejected did the ump give the close fisted 'out' signal, Tito ran out on the field, and after a few minutes of warming up, got tossed amid a flurry of "F"-bombs.

Well, I said, there's no way this can get any worse, right?

C'mon, you know better than that.

Joba Chamberlain, a.k.a The Second Coming in New York, came in and pitched a scoreless eighth, although Pedroia did lace a two-out double off him, and then New York piled on the the bottom of the inning as millions of TV sets across the nation flicked off simultaneously.

Hideki Okajima, who hadn't pitched since Game 1 of last Friday's doubleheader in Chicago, got Demon (0-4) to fly out to start the frame, but then Jeter dropped his fourth hit of the day into center, setting up the final bit of embarrassment for Boston before they got out of dodge.

Abreu worked a lengthy at bat around numerous pickoff throws to first, then as jetr took off Abreu drove a double into deep center to score the Stankees' captain all the way from first to make for the ever popular insurance run, but still the worst was yet to come.

Rodrguez was intentionally walked, and with Matsui at the plate Torre got aggressive and had both runners steal. Varitek's throw handcuffed Lowell and trickled down the left field line, and as Abreu and A-Rod raced around to score, I clicked the TV off and went out to pull some weeds and beckon heat exhaustion rather than watch another second of this steaming pile of crap of a series.

Later I learned that Chamberlain indoctrinated himself into the Hall of Hate by throwing two consecutive pitches over Youk's bald dome, earning him an immediate ejection, but what did it matter?

Boston just got punked worse than any Ashton Kutcher D-lister and now must fight to keep its division lead with the entire baseball world waiting for them to cave in.

It's gonna be a long two weeks before the rematch at Fenway.

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Fausto's revenge: Carmona blanks BoSox

Cleveland 1, Sox 0
WP: Carmona (13-4)
LP: Beckett (13-4)
SV: Borowski (29)
HR: Gutierrez (6)

SUMMARY
The Tribe turned the tables on the red-hot Sox, bookending yesterday's 1-0 Boston win with one of their own.

Franklin Gutierrez hit a leadoff home run off Josh Beckett in the third, and that wound up being the only run of the game as Boston had almost as many runners thrown out on the base paths (3) as hits (4)

#1 STUNNER Fausto Carmona 8IP, 4H, 2BB, 6K
With last year's two-game humiliation by Boston still fresh in his mind, the rotten-reliever-turned-stellar-starter avenged his matching meltdowns at Fenway last summer with a magnificent eight inning performance that tied him for the league lead in wins.

PAN's FAUN Beckett 8IP, 4H, 1ER, 0BB, 7K, HR
Tough to hang this dubious honor on a guy with that linescore, but when the only run of the game comes via a moonshot by a mediocre outfielder platoon outfielder with 11 career home runs, well that's a good enough reason for me.

RECAP
So I was wrong.

My pregame prediction that Carmona would flashback to his pair of epic blown saves last July/August at Fenway and collapse under the crushing weight of trying to exorcise those demons couldn't have been more off.

Instead of listening to my whacked logic I should have done what everyone else did tonight and the night before: looked at the incredible seasons both starting pitchers were having and predicted another pitcher's duel.

But it's rare enough one one of those matchups pans out, never mind two in a row.

Only that's exactly what happened tonight as both starting pitchers threw gems, and the end result left Boston's ace tied for the AL lead in wins--with tonight and last night's starters for Cleveland.

To say both Beckett and Carmona were on top of their games would be a major understatement. Beckett went all eight innings and threw 114 pitches, a staggering 80 of which were strikes, while Carmona's 113/71 totals were nearly as spectacular.

Beckett escaped a mini-jam in the second by inducing Ryan Garko to ground into a double play after Travis Hafner had reached on an error, but he made his only mistake of the night in the third inning when Gutierrez grooved a Beckett fastball high and deep into the left field concourse area for a leadoff home run.

One out later Grady Sizemore singled to right but was caught stealing on a strike 'em out/throw 'em out double play that ended the inning, and from that point Beckett would retire 13 consecutive batters until Trot Nixon reached on a single with one out in the eighth.

Pretty dam good, huh?

Unfortunately Fausto was even better. The beefy young righty did not allow a hit until Coco Crisp beat out an infield single with one out in the sixth, and up until that point Boston's only baserunners came on a walks to Manny in the second and Varitek in the fifth and when Carmona nailed Dustin Pedroia with a pitch in the fourth.

The Sox had a chance to put a run on the board after the Pedroia incident when he took second on a wild pitch and the Sox had the Dynamic Duo, Papi & Manny, coming up. But Ortiz, in his first game back after a four game layoff with that balky shoulder, fanned on three straight pitches after getting the count to 0-2, and Manny followed suit when he stared at strike three to end the threat.

After Crisp's single in the sixth the Sox had another golden opportunity to tie the game, but the first of a trio of baserunning blunders by Boston on the night would stall the rally in its tracks.

Pedroia's groundout moved Coco into scoring position with two outs, but once again the big bopppers were due up, and all it would take was a base hit to the right place and the game would be tied.

Good news: Papi got the hit, a hard grounder up the middle of the infield and away from the Papi Shift. Bad news: it wasn't in the right place. After holding the ball because he saw he had no play on Ortiz at first, second baseman Josh Barfield saw Coco breaking for home and chucked the ball in to catcher Victor Martinez.

Martinez deftly blocked the plate...with his ass by sitting on it, leaving Coco no target to slide into or attempt to touch. After Martinez' glove caught him on the knee, Crisp tried in vain to try to elude the tag and grab the plate, but to no avail.

His calculated gamble had not paid off, and I'll bet I wasn't the only member of RSN who thought "that might have been our only chance to score tonight, and he just threw it away."

Boston would get another decent opportunity after Carmona began to tire in the eighth, but that's when the other two baserunning blunders would come back to bite them in the ass.

The Captain started the inning off with another clutch hit, a single to right on Carmona's second pitch of the inning. After Eric Hinske lined out to center, the Sox had to try something to get Tek into scoring position with time running out on their chance to get this game tied.

That's when Tito put the hit & run on for Alex Cora, who was playing for Julio Lugo.

Good news: Tek got the sign, and took off for second base.

Bad news: Cora didn't pick up the signal, and as he half-heartedly swung after the ball was in Martinez' mitt, all the catcher had to do was throw down to second and Tek, who attempted to scramble back to first, was easily tagged out.

Cora tried to make up for his blunder (I guess technically it wasn't a baserunning mistake, but still...) by legging out an infield hit, and Lugo pinch ran for him. Everyone watching the game knew he was going to steal, so Martinez waited and then nailed Lugo trying to steal to end the inning and effectively end the game.

Carmona gave way to closer Joe Borowski for the ninth and the former D-Rays castoff retired Coco (strikeout), Pedroia (strikeout) and Ortiz (lazy pop up to third) to end the game and secure Cleveland's second 1-0 win out of five such contests this season.

Lesson learned: don't ever underestimate a reliever turned starter who was treated like a human doormat by a team earlier in his career.

He might just come back and nearly no-hit your club.

NOTES

• Although he did get that hit to beat the shift, Papi's return to the lineup could hardly be considered a success. He struck out swinging twice and ended the game on that weak pop up, and according to an ESPN chart the former king of walkoffs and clutch hits is batting .200 with no homers or RBI in the seventh inning and later this season.
• After racking up 10+ hits for seven straight games, Boston has 10 in its last two contests combined
• Last night's 1-0 victory snapped a string of seven consecutive 1-run losses for the Sox, who then started a new streak tonight
• J.D. Drew's 0-3 puts him in a 1-16 skid that has dropped his average to .247
• One of Drew's outs was a nice snag of a hard liner to third by Casey Blake, who made two such plays in the game
• Beckett's loss was his first on the road this season; he had been 6-0
• Lowell and Lugo both got the night off; Youk moved to third while Hinske took first base, and Manny was back in left with Papi returning to his DH spot
• Borowski, with his seventh team in 10 years, is now tied for the AL lead in saves with Seattle's JJ Putz

QUOTES

"I had some hard times against them last year. I didn't want that to happen again."--Carmona.

"All the results were good except for one pitch," he said. "It was a fucking fastball down the middle."--Beckett.

RECORD: 61-40
AL EAST: Up 6 1/2 on NYY
STREAK: L-1
LAST 10: 5-5
UP NEXT: Thu @ CLE 705

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Let the good times roll: Sox take pitcher's duel for 5th straight win

Sox 1, Cleveland 0
WP: Matsuzaka (12-7)
LP: Sabathia (13-5)
SV: Papelbon (23)
HRs: None

SUMMARY
Everyone was expecting a pitcher's duel between two of the top hurlers in the AL, and like a gift from the Baseball Gods, the two did not disappoint.

Daisuke Matsuzaka bested AL wins co-leader C.C. Sabathia thanks to Mike Lowell's 4th inning blooper, and after he threw eight solid innings, Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon closed out the Sox fifth straight win.

#1 STUNNER Dice-K 7IP, 4H, 3BB, 5K
Matsuzaka shook of a couple of recent bouts of wildness in his best outing since a July 3rd blanking of the D-Rays as the rookie shut down one of the most potent and patient lineups in the league.

PAN'S FAUN J.D. Drew 0-3, 3Ks
This Silver Sombrero performance comes as the once revitalized but now reviled right fielder is in the midst of a 7-41 (.171) stretch that has dropped his average from .262 to .249 in his last 10 games.

For $70 million bucks.

RECAP
Ask and ye shall receive.

Before this game I, and every other semi-intelligent baseball fan out there, predicted a low-scoring pitcher's duel tonight when two of the top starters in the American League hooked up for a midsummer night's showdown at the Jake by the lake.

But how often does something that looks like a no-brainer on paper actually come to fruition?

In sports very rarely. Which as the old saying goes, is why they play the games.

Tonight was the exception to the rule, or maybe it was the rule, or...oh what the fuck, the game went according to plan as the two teams combined for a mere 10 hits and a single run, and the way the run scored was not exactly a work of offensive art.

And of course holding that slim lead for a the rest of the game was no easy task.

Since when do the Red Sox do anything the easy way?

The way the game started it certainly didn't look like the Tribe was going to be shut out for the fourth time this season when Cleveland put five runners on base in the first inning but didn't score.

Grady Sizemore began the odd inning with a single to center and then stole second four pitches later. But the Tribe would make the first of many mistakes on the evening when Sizemore inexplicably tried to take third on a grounder by Casey Blake to Lugo at short and Julio flipped to Lowell at third to easily nail the Cleveland center fielder.

Victor Martinez then drew a walk, and after Dice-K snatched a hot shot by Travis Hafner and turned it into a fielder's choice grounder that forced Martinez at second, Matsuzaka hit first baseman Ryan Garko to load the bases with two outs.

That's when Dice-K buckled down and fanned Jhonny Peralta to escape the inning unscathed.

The two teams traded uneventful 2nd and 3rd innings, then the fourth inning brought more action than the rest of the game combined.

Well, if you want to call a bunch of bloops, bleeders and miscues action.

The inning started innocently enough when Dustin Pedroia tapped a harmless grounder to second base for the first out. Things got decidedly unconventional from there.

Youk (2-4, R) skied a shot to shallow right field that brought former Dirt Dog Trot Nixon racing in from his position, but despite a great effort and an apparent shoestring catch, Trotman had actually trapped the ball, and Youk was on board with a bloop base hit.

I should say the first one of the inning.

Three pitches later Manny lined a solid single to left off Sabathia (7IP, 5H, 1ER, 0BB, 7K), and Coco Crisp, the club's hottest hitter who was starting in the five spot for the first time all year, stepped up with a chance to put some runs on the board.

Unfortunately Crisp could not get it done when he struck out on a questionable check swing, but following him was the leading RBI man on the team, Mike Lowell, and if anyone could drive home a big two-out run, Mike is the guy.

Only this time Lowell didn't club one of his monster homers, or even one of his patented doubles off that tall Jacobs Field leftfield wall. Instead he skied a routine pop up to left field that hung up long enough to get a scenic view of the Cavs' Quicken Loans Arena and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame before it came down.

Trouble was Ben Francisco, Cleveland's rookie left fielder, got a late jump on the ball, and by the time he recovered the ball landed inches in front of his outstretched glove for another apparent catch that wasn't, and Youk hustled around from second with what turned out to be the only run of the game.

I know, it looked like he was doing his best Whiffy Mo imitation.

In the bottom half of the inning it looked as if Cleveland would tie the game right up when they got two men on with one out, but once again Dice-K buckled down and got Francisco and Josh Barfield to strike out on just eight pitches, throwing high fastballs by both baffled batters.

By the latter stages of the game the only question became 'would Dice-K be allowed to complete his near-masterpiece?'

The answer was obviously 'no' when fellow countryman Hideki Okajima came out for the eighth, but with a 1-2 combo like Oki & Paps, Tito would be foolish not to use them when the situation was warranted.

And a 1-0 game against an explosive offense like Cleveland's is that type of situation.

After a lengthy 8-pitch at bat by Martinez, Oki needed just six more to dispatch Hafner and Garko, and then it was time for the close to earn his salary.

Following his last rocky outing (2 hits and a walk against the White Sox on Sunday), RSN had to be a little unsure whether or not the tough-as-nails Paps would show up for this one.

Those doubts were quickly laid to rest when he mowed down three Tribe hitters, including Trot swinging and Francisco looking to end the game out with a flourish, and the surging Sox had their fifth consecutive win and eighth shutout of the season.

I love it when a good plan comes together.

NOTES

• Papi missed his fourth straight game with his shoulder injury but is expected to return tomorrow night.
• Julio Lugo returned to the leadoff spot and extended his hitting streak to a career-high 14 games with an eighth inning double high off the leftfield wall; he has raised his average from .189 to .226 during the streak
• Boston's string of seven straight games with at least 10 hits came to an end as Sabathia and reliever Rafael Betancourt held the sox to six hits including two each by Manny & Youk
• Whiffy Mo got the start in left field (perhaps as a trade showcase) and went 0-3 with another K, although he did make a nice running catch of a deep drive by Blake in the fifth. He is now 2 for 25 in July with 14 strikeouts
• In addition to Pena's catch, Pedroia made an excellent play on a grounder to shallow right by Hafner to nail the DH at first to end the fifth
• Coco (0-4) had his seven game streak come to an end, as did Pedroia with his 0-4

QUOTES

"I thought it would be a tight game. In a game like that one run can beat you. It turns out we couldn't push a run across."--Sabathia

RECORD: 61-39
AL EAST: Up 7 1/2 gms on NYY
STREAK: W-5
LAST 10: 6-4
UP NEXT: Wed @ CLE 705

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