Portugal got hammered immediately to start the top of the first as Luis Polonia hit a routine pop up that Nomar dropped for a "double" to start. Brad Ausmus grounded out to second but Damion Easley was plunked. Bobby Higginson got a base hit to left to score Polonia and Palmer hit a sac fly to left to score Easley with another run. Higginson was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning with the Tigers up 2-0.
The Sox answered against Florie in the bottom of the first as Jose Offerman got a base hit to left to start. John Valentin took strike three but Florie threw a pickoff throw away allowing Jose to reach second. Brian Daubach took strike three but Nomar Garciaparra drilled a base hit to center to score Jose. Nomar swiped second but Troy O'Leary grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox down 2-1.
The Tigers exploded in the top of the second as Gape Kapler hit a home run all the way to Saturn to start. Juan Encarnacion flied out to left but Frank Catalanotto singled to right. Deivi Cruz singled in the hole at short and Polonia doubled to right to score Catalanotto. Ausmus forced Polonia but Cruz scored to increase the lead. Easley hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning with the Tigers up 5-1.
Mike Stanley grounded out to third to start the bottom of the second and Creighton Gubanich did the same. Darren Lewis got a base hit to left, Trot Nixon walked and Offerman singled in the hole at short to load the bases. Valentin lined out to left to end the inning.
The Tigers finished off Portugal in the top of the third as Higginson hit a home run all the way to Cuba to start. Palmer grounded out to short but Kapler popped up to second. Encarnacion flied out to center to end the inning and that was it for Portugal. He was rocked for 6 runs in just 3 innings.
Daubach grounded out to second to start the bottom of the third and Nomar grounded out to short. O'Leary flied out to center to end the inning.
The Sox got a spark in the top of the fourth with Pat Rapp now on the mound. Catalanotto grounded out to second to start. Cruz grounded out to short and Offerman made an unbelievable play to rob Polonia of a hit to end the inning.
Stanley popped up to second to start the bottom of the fourth and Grubanich grounded out to short. Lewis grounded out to short to end the inning.
Ausmus flied out to right to start the top of the fifth but Easley was hit with a pitch. Higginson lined out to second and Palmer flied out to center to end the inning. The Sox rallied in the bottom of the fifth as Nixon grounded out to first to start. Offerman doubled to right but Valentin grounded out to third. Daubach smashed his fourth home run of the season to cut the lead in half but Nomar grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Sox down 6-3.
Kapler flied out to right to start the top of the sixth but Encarnacion beat out a roller to third. Encarnacion was thrown out at second trying to steal and Catalanotto hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning. The Sox got another run in the bottom of the sixth as O'Leary doubled to right to start. Stanley flied out to right to move Troy to third and O'Leary scored on a Gubanich single to right. Lewis dropped down a bunt to move Gubanich to second but Nixon grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox down 6-4.
John Wasdin came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Cruz popped up to third to start. Polonia caught the Sox asleep with a bunt single down the third base line but Ausmus struck out swinging. Polonia stole second but Easley struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox took command in the bottom of the seventh with CJ Nitkowski on the mound. Offerman walked but Valentin flied out to center. Tigers manager Larry Parrish brought in Matt Anderson to face Daubach. Sox manager Jimy Williams countered by bringing in Jason Varitek to pinch hit. The gamble worked as Varitek launched his 6th home run to tie the game. Nomar got a base hit to left and O'Leary belted his ninth home run of the season to suddenly give the Sox the lead.
Sox take the lead
Tempers flared when Anderson then hit Stanley on a 3-2 pitch and was immediately ejected by home plate umpire Chuck Meriwether. Brad Ausmus shouted that it was a 3-2 count and he wasn't trying to hit him and he got tossed as well. Larry Parrish sprinted out and got in Meriwether's face, he too was ejected. Old pal Bill Haselman came in to catch and Masao Kida came in to pitch. Gubanich hit into a double play to end the inning with the Sox up 8-6.
The Tigers countered in the top of the eighth although Mark Guthrie was brought in just to strike out Higginson swinging. Derek Lowe came in....and Palmer hit a home run all the way to Texas to cut the lead. Kapler grounded out to short but Encarnacion beat out a roller to third. Encarnacion stole second but Catalanotto grounded out to second to end the inning with the Tigers down 8-7.
Lewis got a base hit to right to start the top of the ninth but Nixon flied out to center. Offerman walked but Valentin grounded into a double play to end the inning. Tom Gordon came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Gregg Jefferies pinch hit for Cruz. Jefferies lined out to second but Polonia singled in the hole at second. Polonia stole second but Haselman struck out swinging. Easley got plunked but Higginson flied out to center to end the game. The Sox had won it 8-7.
Sox win
Hero of The Night is Troy O'Leary. His two run home run in the seventh inning put the Sox up for good.
Troy O'Hero
The Good:
Jose Offerman was 3 for 3 with 2 walks and 3 runs scored.
Brian Daubach was 1 for 3 with a 2 run home run.
Jason Varitek hit a pinch hit 2 run home run.
Nomar Garciaparra was 2 for 4 a stolen base, rbi and a run scored.
Darren Lewis was 2 for 4.
Pat Rapp tossed 3 scoreless innings.
Josh Wasdin got the win with a scoreless seventh inning.
Mark Guthrie struck out the only man he faced.
Tom Gordon earned his 11th save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
John Valentin was 0 for 5 with a strikeout.
Mike Stanley was 0 for 3.
Mark Portugal got hammered for 6 runs in just 3 innings off 7 hits.
Derek Lowe allowed a run in 2/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Creighton Gubanich was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Trot Nixon was 0 for 3 but walked.
Final Thoughts:
The Red Sox keep rolling and this was a hell of a comeback win. Down 6 to 1 most teams would have given up but they kept chipping away. Kudos to Jimy Williams for having a hunch Varitek was due and O'Leary getting the two run homer was the icing on the cake. Portugal sucks but give credit to the bullpen for surrendering one run in 6 innings of work. The bats have picked it up lately and they're in first place as long as the pitching holds up. Expecting Brian Rose and Juan Pena to carry the load is unfair but if they keep up this pace, the Sox might be AL East champs and headed to a rematch with Cleveland when all is said and done. Obviously there's four months left in the season but the Sox are in good shape. The longer the win streak, the better. The win improved the Sox to 31-19, 1.5 games in front of the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it five consecutive wins and two in a row against the Tigers tomorrow night when Bret Saberhagen takes on Jeff Weaver of Detroit. The game begins at 7:05 PM at Fenway Park.
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