Sox Rally Past Indians (5/29/99)

For seven innings it looked like the Cleveland Indians had the Boston Red Sox licked. Bartolo Colon had outpitched Pedro Martinez (10-1, 2.01 ERA) and a Roberto Alomar sac fly had given the Indians a 1-0 lead. Then the Sox took advantage of the Indians one weakness, their bullpen. In the top of the eighth, a Jose Offerman rbi off Colon tied the game and a three run blast by Nomar Garciaparra off Paul Shuey gave the Sox a commanding lead. Pedro was chased in the ninth inning and Tom Gordon damn near blew it. Still, Gordon eventually slammed the door and the Sox had stole one from the Indians 4-1 at Jacobs Field.

                                                   Tishara Lee Cousino approves of the win

Colon got the ball in the top of the first and Jose Offerman flied out to left to start. John Valentin grounded out to short but Brian Daubach walked. Nomar Garciaparra grounded out to third to end the inning. The Indians got to Martinez right away in the bottom of the first as Kenny Lofton got a base hit to center to start. Omar Vizquel got a base hit in the hole at short to move Lofton to third and Kenny scored on the sac fly to left by Alomar. Manny Ramirez flied out to right and Jim Thome hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning with the Indians up 1-0.

                                                          Indians strike first

Troy O'Leary grounded out to short to begin the top of the second and Mike Stanley struck out swinging. Jason Varitek grounded out to second to end the inning. Travis Fryman flied out to right to start the bottom of the second and David Justice lined out to short. Richie Sexson grounded out to third to end the inning.

Darren Lewis grounded out to third to start the top of the third and Trot Nixon walked. Offerman forced Trot at second and Valentin flied out to right to end the inning. Einar Diaz struck out swinging to start the bottom of the third but Lofton got a base hit to right. Vizquel popped up to third and Alomar grounded back to the mound to end the inning.

Daubach struck out swinging to open the top of the fourth and Nomar grounded out to third. Sexson tried to field a ball by O'Leary that should have been for Vizquel and Troy beat out the throw for a "single". Stanley forced Troy at second to end the inning. Ramirez took strike three to start the bottom of the fourth and Thome grounded out to first. Fryman struck out swinging to end the inning.

Varitek grounded back to the mound to start the top of the fifth and Lewis ate up Vizquel on a grounder for a "single". Nixon flied out to the centerfield wall and Offerman's bunt attempt was snuffed out by Colon to end the inning. Justice grounded out to third to start the bottom of the fifth and Sexson struck out swinging. Diaz flied out to left to end the inning.

Valentin grounded out to third to start the top of the sixth but Daubach got a base hit to center. Garciaparra grounded into a double play to end the inning. Lofton grounded out to second to start the bottom of the sixth but Vizquel got a base hit to center. Vizquel was thrown out at second trying to steal and Alomar flied out to right to end the inning.

                                                       Yerrrr out!

O'Leary grounded out to second to start the top of the seventh and Stanley struck out swinging. Varitek struck out swinging to end the inning. Pedro turned up the heat in the bottom of the seventh as Ramirez struck out swinging to start. Thome and Fryman both went down hacking to end the inning. 

Somehow the Sox exploded in the top of the eighth as Lewis ripped a base hit to right to start. Nixon doubled to right and Offerman grounded out to second to score Lewis. Valentin was intentionally walked to set up a double play with Nixon at third and Indians manager Mike Hargrove pulled Colon. Ricardo Rincon came in to face Daubach and Brian popped up to third. Paul Shuey was brought in to face Nomar and Garciaparra jacked a three run home run to put the Sox on top. O'Leary singled to right and Stanley walked, but Varitek took strike three to end the inning with the Sox up 4-1.

                                                      Nomah with the homah

Martinez returned for one final inning in the bottom of the eighth and Justice grounded out to second to start. Sexson took strike three and Diaz struck out swinging to end the inning. Pedro was brilliant, tossing 8 innings of 1 run ball allowing 5 hits while striking out 9 so far.

                                                             Martinez was dominant

Dave Stevens came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Lewis got a base hit to left to begin. Lewis swiped second but Nixon took strike three. Offerman flied out to left but Valentin walked. Paul Assenmacher was brought in to face Daubach and Brian grounded out to third to end the inning. Pedro returned to finish off the bottom of the ninth but was chased after a Lofton base hit to center. Tom Gordon came in to close out the game and Vizquel walked. Both runners pulled off a double steal and Alomar walked to load the bases with nobody out. Somehow Ramirez grounded into a double play, scoring Lofton but there were now two outs. Thome walked and Jolbert Cabrera ran for him. Alomar stole third but Fryman watched strike three go by to end the game. The Sox had won it 4-2.

Hero of The Night is Nomar Garciaparra his 3 run bomb in the eighth inning put the Sox up for good.

                                                           Sox salute the Hero

The Good:

Troy O'Leary was 2 for 4.

Darren Lewis was 3 for 4 with a stolen base and a run scored.

Trot Nixon wa 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.

Pedro Martinez held the Indians to 2 runs off 5 hits while striking out 9 in 8 innings.

The Bad:

Jason Varitek was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

The Ugly:

Jose Offerman was 0 for 5 but drove in a run.

John Valentin was 0 for 3 but walked twice and scored a run.

Brian Daubach was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drew a walk

Mike Stanley was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but walked.

Tom Gordon allowed an inherited runner to score but none of his own as he locked up his 9th save.

Final Thoughts:

That was snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, turning a 1-0 game into a 4-1 lead only for the tying runs to be on in the ninth. Martinez and Colon had a great duel but the Sox exposed the Indians one weakness, the bullpen. The Sox bullpen with Derek Lowe, Tom Gordon and Rheal Cormier might be better than Cleveland if these two were to meet come October. Nomar was 0 for 3 before that home run but great hitters find a way to get it done. Kudos to Gordon for having a bases loaded situation and settling things down to get the victory. The New York Yankees are breathing down the necks of the Red Sox and this win holds them off for now. Who would have thought THIS Red Sox team would still be in first place as the calendar heads toward June? Hopefully they can keep the momentum going. The win improved the Sox to 29-19, 0.5 games in front of the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to sweep the Indians tomorrow afternoon when Brian Rose (2-0) takes on Dwight Gooden of Cleveland. The game begins at 2:05 PM eastern time at Jacobs Field.