Rogers got the ball in the top of the first inning and Nomar Garciaparra grounded out to short to start. John Valentin grounded out to short but Mo Vaughn walked. Jim Leyritz grounded out to second to end the inning. Wakefield got the ball in the bottom of the first and Rickey Henderson popped up to short to start. Jason McDonald singled to center and Ben Grieve popped up to short. McDonald stole second but Matt Stairs struck out swinging to end the inning.
Rookie Jason Varitek made his season debut in the top of the second with a pop up to first in foul territory. Damon Buford made his Sox debut with a fly out to right but Troy O'Leary drew a walk. Darren Lewis grounded out to first to end the inning. The A's struck first in the bottom of the second as Jason Giambi singled in the hole at second to short. Mike Blowers was hit with a pitch and Giambi took third on the Scott Spiezio fly ball to right. AJ Hinch scored Giambi with a sac fly to give the A's the lead then Rafael Bournigal flied out to left to end the inning with the A's up 1-0.
Donnie Sadler lined out to first to start the top of the third and Garciaparra lined out to right. Valentin also lined out to right to end the inning. Henderson popped up to left to start the bottom of the third before McDonald grounded out to first. Grieve lined out to third to end the inning.
The Sox struck back in the top of the fourth although Vaughn grounded out to first to start. Leyritz walked, Varitek singled to center and Buford walked to load the bases. O'Leary singled to center to score Leyritz to tie the game and Lewis was hit with a pitch to score Varitek. Sadler hit a sac fly to center to score Buford and increase the lead. Garciaparra lined out to left to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-1.
The A's answered in the bottom of the fourth as Stairs singled to right and Giambi doubled him home to cut the lead. Blowers grounded out to third, Spiezio popped up to left and Hinch struck out swinging to end the inning with the A's down 3-2.
Valentin grounded out to short to start the top of the fifth and Vaughn struck out swinging. Leyritz flied out to right to end the inning. Bournigal grounded out to short to begin the bottom of the fifth before Henderson also grounded out to short. McDonald took strike three to end the inning.
The Sox blew a rally in the top of the sixth as Varitek grounded out to third to start. Buford doubled to left, O'Leary walked and Lewis singled to right to load the bases. Billy Taylor came in to pitch and Sox manager Jimy Williams countered by sending Reggie Jefferson in to pinch hit for Sadler. Giambi made a diving catch on a pop up but Buford tried to come home. Giambi fired home and Buford was out by a mile to end the inning, what a waste.
Mike Benjamin came in to play second in the bottom of the sixth and Grieve walked to start. Stairs singled to left but was forced at second by Giambi. Blowers singled to left to score Grieve and tie the game, but Spiezio moved Giambi to third with a fly ball to center. That was it for Wakefield as John Wasdin made his season debut by plunking Hinch to load the bases. Bournigal lined out to left to end the inning with the game tied 3-3.
The Sox went up for good in the top of the seventh as Nomar singled in the hole at short to start before moving to third on the single in the hole at second by Valentin. Lefty Buddy Groom came in to pitch to Vaughn and Mo singled home Garciaparra with a base hit to left. Leyritz singled to center to score Valentin but Varitek flied out to center. Buford took strike three and O'Leary lined out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-3.
Henderson flied out to left to start the bottom of the seventh but McDonald singled to center. McDonald stole second but Grieve watched strike three go by. Steve Avery was brought in to pitch but old buddy Kevin Mitchell came in to pinch hit for Stairs. Mitchell popped up to first in foul territory to end the inning.
The Sox wrapped up the scoring in the top of the eighth as Lewis grounded out to short to start. Aaron Small came in to pitch and Benjamin doubled to left. Benjamin took third on a wild pitch and Garciaparra scored him with a base hit to left. Nomar was thrown out trying to steal and Valentin flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-3.
Jim Corsi came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Giambi walked to start. Blowers struck out swinging but Nomar booted a grounder by Spiezio to put runners at the corners. Dave Magadan pinch hit for Hinch and banged into a double play to end the inning.
Izzy Molina took over behind the plate with former Milwaukee Brewers closer Mike Fetters now on the mound for the top of the ninth. Vaughn struck out swinging but Leyritz singled to left. Midre Cummings made his Red Sox debut by pinch running for Leyritz but Varitek struck out swinging. Cummings stole second but Buford struck out swinging to end the inning.
Tom Gordon came in to close out the bottom of the ninth with old pal Shane Mack pinch hitting for Bournigal to start. Mack lined out to right, Henderson took strike three and McDonald lined out to first to end the game. The Sox had won it 6-3.
Hero of the Night is Mo Vaughn. He drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh inning.
Hero Mo
The Good:
Nomar Garciaparra was 2 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored.
Jim Leyritz was 2 for 4 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.
Midre Cummings stole a base as a pinch runner.
Troy O'Leary was 1 for 2 with 2 walks and an rbi.
Darren Lewis was 1 for 3 with a hit by pitch and an rbi.
Mike Benjamin was 1 for 1 at the plate with a run scored.
John Wasdin got the win with a full scoreless inning.
Steve Avery retired the only man he faced.
Jim Corsi tossed a scoreless eighth inning.
Tom Gordon earned his second save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Reggie Jefferson was 0 for 1 at the plate.
The Ugly:
John Valentin was just 1 for 5 but scored a run.
Jason Varitek was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Damon Buford was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked and scored a run.
Donnie Sadler was 0 for 1 but drove in a run.
Tim Wakefield lasted just 5 2/3 innings and allowed 3 runs for a no-decision.
Final Thoughts:
Never a bad thing to win the first two games of the season. The bullpen saved the day today after Wakefield was gone in the sixth inning, they didn't give an inch. The offense was pretty good and Vaughn is looking for a new contract after the season. If he has a great year, how can you not re-sign him? Garciaparra continues to be the best leadoff hitter in the game and hopefully that can keep up through the season. The advantage of Gordon in the bullpen has already shown as he's looked very good so far. Getting him out of the rotation could be the best decision made by Sox manager Jimy Williams. All in all it was a good win and hopefully the Sox can keep the momentum going as they now travel to Seattle for a three game set with the reigning AL West champion Mariners. Derek Lowe gets the start against his former team against Ken Cloude of the Mariners. The game begins tomorrow night at 10:05 PM Eastern time at the Kingdome.
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