"Junkball" Jeff Fassero took the mound in the top of the first inning. Shannon Stewart led off with a groundout while both Craig Grebeck and Raul Mondesi struck out to end the inning. The Sox wasted no time scoring against Jays starter Kelvim Escobar. Jose Offerman struck out to begin the bottom of the first but John Valentin, Trot Nixon and Brian Daubach all walked to load the bases. Carl Everett damn near hit into a double play, but he beat it out to score Valentin with the game's first run. Troy O'Leary flied out to end the inning but it was 1-0 Sox.
Fassero was perfect in the top of the second inning. Carlos Delgado and Tony Batista both grounded out and Marty Cordova flied out to end the inning. The Sox had a chance to do some damage in the bottom of the second but failed again. Jeff Frye grounded out but Jason Varitek and Donnie Sadler hit back to back singles. Offerman almost hit into a double play but a hard slide by Sadler broke it up. With runners on the corners...Valentin popped up to end the inning.
Jose Cruz singled to lead off the top of the third inning but Alex Gonzalez banged into a double play. Alberto Castillo flied out to end the inning. The Sox finally got a clutch hit in the bottom of the third inning. Nixon and Daubach both whiffed but Everett and O'Leary walked. Frye singled home Everett as O'Leary moved to third. The Sox were 0 for 19 with runners in scoring position to that point.Varitek singled home O'Leary to make it 3-0. Sadler hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning but the Sox had a three run lead.
Fassero kept the lead in the top of the fifth inning. Batista singled but was picked off. The Sox caught a scare when Cordova nearly hit one off the Pesky Pole and Nixon almost hurt himself diving into the stands to catch the ball. Luckily Nixon was okay and the ball was foul. Cordova, then Cruz, grounded out to end the inning. Somehow Escobar settled down in the bottom of the fifth. Everett lined out, O'Leary grounded out and Frye looked at strike three to end the inning.
Fassero had an easy top of the sixth by getting Gonzalez, Castillo and Stewart all to ground out in short order. This was arguably Jeff's best start since the Baltimore matchup with Jason Johnson. The Sox had a chance to ice the game in the bottom of the sixth. Varitek singled and Sadler sacrifice bunted him to second. Offerman walked but Valentin bounced into a double play to end the inning.
Suddenly everything fell apart in the top of the seventh. Grebeck and Mondesi led off with back to back singles and Delgado doubled home Grebeck to chase Fassero. Rich Garces came in and Batista hit a sac fly to score Mondesi to cut the lead 3-2. Brad Fullmer pinch hit for Cordova and flied out. Needing just one more out to escape with the lead....Cruz singled home Delgado to tie the game, wasting yet another solid Fassero start. Gonzalez watched strike three go by to end the inning.
Could the Sox respond in the bottom of the seventh inning against Pedro Borbon Jr? NO! Nixon grounded out and Daubach looked at strike three, but Everett was hit with a pitch. Carl swiped second but O'Leary whiffed to end the inning.
Derek Lowe replaced Garces in the top of the eighth. Darrin Fletcher pinch hit for Castillo and grounded out. Stewart doubled but was erased at third on a ground ball by Grebeck. Mondesi struck out to end the inning. Old friend Paul Quantrill was brought in to pitch the bottom of the eighth. Frye lined out, Varitek flied out and Sadler grounded out to end the inning.
Rheal Cormier (2-0, 4.22 ERA) came on to pitch the top of the ninth. Delgado grounded out and Batista popped up, but Fullmer walked. Cruz singled but Gonzalez popped up to end the inning. Quantrill remained on the mound for the bottom of the ninth. Offerman struck out looking and Valentin grounded out, but Nixon singled. With the winning run on first....Daubach flied out to end the inning.
Cormier returned for the top of the tenth inning. Fletcher and Stewart grounded out but Grebeck singled. Mondesi grounded out to end the inning. John Frascatore took the ball in the bottom of the tenth inning and got Everett to pop up. O'Leary singled to put the winning run on but Frye popped up. Varitek flied out to end the inning.
Cormier shockingly returned for one more inning. Delgado led off the top of the eleventh inning with a ground out. Sadler then booted a ball hit by Batista, allowing him to reach. Fullmer popped up and Cruz grounded out to end the inning. That was Cormier's best performance yet. Things finally ended in the bottom of the eleventh. Sadler struck out but Offerman walked. Valentin popped up and THEN Sox manager Jimy Williams pinch ran Manny Alexander for Offerman. Nixon singled and Daubach ended the game with a 3 run blast over the Green Monster to win it 6-3.
We have Co-Heroes of the night for this one. Hero of the night is the obvious choice. Brian Daubach's 3 run blast won the game for the Red Sox.
Hero number 2 is Rheal Cormier. His 3 innings of relief kept the Sox in the game long enough for Daubach to end it with the home run.
The Good:
Manny Alexander pinch ran for Offerman and scored a run. Trot Nixon was 2 for 5 with a walk and a run scored. Jason Varitek was 3 for 5 with an rbi. Derek Lowe pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
The Bad:
None...shocking.
The Ugly:
Jose Offerman was 0 for 4 but walked twice. John Valentin was 0 for 4 but walked twice and scored a run. Carl Everett was 0 for 3 but walked, scored a run and drove in one. Troy O'Leary was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored a run. Jeff Frye was just 1 for 5 but drove in a run. Donnie Sadler was just 1 for 4 with an error. Jeff Fassero was solid through 6 innings but fell apart in the seventh, getting charged for 3 runs off 6 hits while striking out three. Rich Garcess got through the 7th inning but allowed both inherited runners to score.
Final Thoughts:
Walkoff wins are always fun if you're the home team and they were on the right side of it tonight. Their offense has a lot of holes in it that may or may not be correctable but for one night, things worked out in their favor. Once again Fassero fell apart in the 7th inning, he may have to be designated 6 innings per start or something. Forget pitching coach Joe Kerrigan's pitch counts, this guy may need an inning limit. Great work by Lowe and Cormier to keep the Sox in the game until Daubach could end it. Tomorrow night the Sox look to keep the momentum going by starting Pete Schourek (2-3, 2.68 ERA) against Blue Jays ace David Wells (7-2, 3.60 ERA) at 7:05 PM.
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