Butch Huskey led off the top of the second by flying out to the centerfield warning track before Carlos Baerga grounded out to second. Edgardo Alfonso singled to left but Matt Franco struck out swinging to end the inning. Troy O'Leary led off the bottom of the second with a single off the leg of Rey Ordonez but John Valentin just missed a home run off Pesky's Pole by 5 feet. John popped up to second, Scott Hatteberg forced O'Leary at second and Mike Benjamin grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
Ordonez flied out to center to begin the top of the third before Alberto Castillo flied out to center. McRae popped up to short to end the inning. Darren Bragg led off the bottom of the third by grounding out to second and Lewis lined out to left. Jefferson grounded out to first to end the inning.
Gilkey flied out to center to start the top of the fourth but Vaughn went OLE! on a grounder by Olerud for an error. Huskey flied out to the left field warning track and Baerga popped up to third to end the inning. Garciaparra grounded out to third to start the bottom of the fourth before Vaughn drew a walk. O'Leary grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Alfonso grounded out to short to start the top of the fifth before Franco popped up to Vaughn. Benjamin booted a ball from Ordonez for an error but Castillo forced Rey at second to end the inning. Valentin took strike three to start the bottom of the fifth before Hatteberg grounded out to second. Benjamin walked but Bragg struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Mets struck first in the top of the sixth as McRae walked to start. Gilkey struck out swinging but McRae swiped second. Olerud grounded out to second to move McRae to third and he scored on a balk of all things. Sox manager Jimy Williams ran out of the dugout for an explanation to no avail. Huskey grounded out to short to end the inning with the Mets up 1-0.
"That's a balk and you know it!"
The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the sixth as Lewis flied out to center to start. Jefferson grounded out to first and Garciaparra lined out to right to end the inning.
Baerga popped up to Vaughn in foul territory to start the top of the seventh before Alfonso grounded back to the mound. Franco popped up to short to end the inning. Vaughn lined out to left to start the bottom of the seventh before O'Leary grounded out to second. Valentin grounded out to third to end the inning.
Ordonez flied out to center to begin the top of the eighth and Benjamin made a great play to rob Castillo of a hit. Franco popped up to short to end the inning. That was it for Wakefield who allowed just 1 hit and a walk in 8 strong innings, allowing just the balked in run.
Wakefield deserved better
Hatteberg led off the bottom of the eighth by striking out swinging and Midre Cummings pinch hit for Benjamin. Cummings struck out swinging but Bragg walked to put the tying run on. Lewis forced Bragg at second to end the inning.
Lou Merloni came in to play second in the top of the ninth with Tom Gordon now on the mound. Gilkey grounded out to short to start but Olerud singled off the Monster. Huskey grounded into a double play to end the inning. John Franco came in to close out the bottom of the ninth as Damon Buford pinch hit for Jefferson to start. Buford grounded out to third and Garciaparra took a full count strike three on the inside corner for strike three. Vaughn ripped a base hit to center and Jimy Williams sent Steve Avery the pitcher to run for Vaughn. O'Leary struck out swinging to end the game. The Mets had won it 1-0.
Jackass of the Night is Nomar Garciaparra. He was 0 for 4 with a strikeout while hitting into a huge double play in the first, plus taking strike three in the ninth.
The Good:
Reggie Jefferson was 1 for 3.
Mo Vaughn was 1 for 3 with a walk.
One of the rare times the losing pitcher ends up on the good list but Tim Wakefield pitched his best game of the season, allowing just 1 run on 1 hit and a walk in 8 innings of work.
The Bad:
Damon Buford was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
John Valentin was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Darren Lewis was just 1 for 4.
Troy O'Leary was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Scott Hatteberg was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Mike Benjamin was 0 for 1 with an error but walked.
Midre Cummings struck out as a pinch hitter.
Darren Bragg was 0 for 2 with a strikeout but walked.
Honorable Mention:
Lou Merloni played second base in the final two innings.
Steve Avery pinch ran for Vaughn in the ninth inning.
Final Thoughts:
You can't lose a game worse than that, especially after Wakefield utterly dominated that game. John Valentin missed what would have been the game winning home run by five feet and the Sox bats just couldn't get a clutch hit when it counted. Wakefield allowed 1 hit in 8 innings and still lost, that's absolutely disgusting. The Sox quite frankly are a light hitting team after Mo Vaughn and losing a game like this is disheartening. The New York Yankees continue to win and losing two straight to the New York Mets at home is a recipe for disaster. The loss dropped the Sox to 34-25, 10.5 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to avoid the sweep tomorrow when today's pinch runner Steve Avery (2-1) takes on Masato Yoshii of the Mets. The game begins at 8:05 PM at Fenway Park.
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