Blue Jays starter Lance Painter took the mound in the top of the first inning. Jose Offerman and Darren Lewis both grounded out and Trot Nixon struck out to end the inning. Sox starter Tim Wakefield was up to the challenge at first. Shannon Stewart popped up and Jose Cruz lined out, but Raul Mondesi singled. Raul swiped second and took third on a passed ball but Carlos Delgado flied out to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the second inning. Mike Stanley struck out but Jeff Frye and Wilton Veras hit back to back singles. Manny Alexander grounded out but managed to move both runners into scoring position. Scott Hatteberg made it 2-0 with a ground ball passed second base but Donnie Sadler grounded out to end the inning. Wakefield managed to keep the lead in the bottom of the second. Brad Fullmer grounded out and Tony Batista popped up, but Darrin Fletcher singled. Alex S Gonzalez struck out to end the inning.
The Sox struck again quickly in the top of the third when Offerman singled and the red hot Lewis doubled him home to make it 3-0. Nixon laid down the picture perfect bunt and Lewis ran all the way to third. The Sox were up 3-0 and had Painter on the run.....but Stanley whiffed and Frye flied out to end the inning. The failure by Stanley was huge as the came went on.
Wakefield cruised in the bottom of the third. Homer Bush popped up, Stewart flied out and Cruz struck out to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the fourth. Veras singled and Alexander singled him to third. Hatteberg got the run in with a ground out to short and Alexander moved to second. If only Stanley didn't strike out it would be 5-0 and not 4-0. Sadler grounded out but Offerman walked and Lewis singled to load the bases. With a chance to break the game wide open....Nixon lined out to first.
Wakefield didn't seem to mind the failures, he was dominating in the bottom of the fourth inning. Mondesi, Delgado and Fullmer all flied out in short order.
That was it for Painter as John Frascatore took over in the top of the fifth. Stanley grounded out but Frye took a hit by pitch. Veras popped up and Alexander grounded into a force to end the inning. Missed chances came back to bite the Sox as the Jays rallied in the bottom of the fifth. Batista popped up but Fletcher blasted a solo shot to cut the lead 4-1. Gonzalez nearly cranked one out but Lewis caught it in deep center. Bush singled and Stewart doubled him to third. Cruz caught the Sox asleep with a bunt basehit to load the bases, but Wakefield escaped the jam by getting Mondesi to pop up.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the sixth. Hatteberg, Sadler and Offerman all grounded out in short order. The bullpen begain their horrid day by giving up the lead in the bottom of the frame. First out of the gate was Rheal Cormier. Delgado greeted him with a double before moving to third on the Fullmer ground out. Batista singled home Delgado before Fletcher singled. Gonzalez walked and that was it for Cormier. Sox manager Jimy Williams then made the peculiar decision to bring in John "Way Back" Wasdin. Bush greeted him with a single to score Batista and re-load the bases to cut the lead 4-3. Wasdin did manage to strike out Stewart....but the ball got away from Hatteberg and Fletcher scored the tying run. Unbelievable. Cruz walked to reload the bases but Mondesi grounded out to end the inning. Can't blame Wasdin too much, he had Stewart struck out. Thanks a lot Hatteberg.
Could the Sox rally in the top of the seventh off old pal Paul Quantrill? YES! Lewis doubled and used his speed to score on the Nixon single to re-take the lead 5-4. Nixon took second on the throw but Stanley flied out. Frye walked and Veras was hit with a pitch to load the bases. Jays manager Jim Fregosi brought in Pedro Borbon Jr to pitch to Manny Alexander, but Sox manager Jimy Williams countered with pinch hitter Brian Daubach. A base hit would have put the game pretty much out of reach but Daubach just hit a sac fly, which did score Nixon to make it 6-4. Hatteberg walked to load the bases. Once again a base hit would have pretty much broke the game open....instead Sadler popped up to end the inning.
Wasdin returned for the bottom of the seventh as Andy Sheets took over at shortstop. Delgado whiffed, Fullmer flied out and Batista grounded out. Good work by Wasdin, if it wasn't for Hatteberg the game would be 6-3 right now.
The Sox had another chance in the top of the eighth. Offerman grounded out but the Sox new superstar Lewis worked a walk. Nixon flied out but Lewis swiped second. With yet another runner in scoring position, Stanley flied out to end the inning. For whatever reason, Sox manager Jimy Williams decided to bypass Rich Garces in favor of Derek Lowe (2-1, 1.88 ERA) for a 6 out save. Lowe got the job done though by getting Fletcher to fly out. Gonzalez grounded out and Bush struck out to end the inning.
Former Sox prospect Peter Munro (traded for Mike Stanley) got the ball in the top of the ninth. Frye popped up and Veras struck out, but somehow Sheets got a base hit. This sent Hatteberg into a state of shock that was so bad he grounded out to end the inning. The Sheets base hit must have shocked Lowe too because he lost it in the bottom of the ninth. Stewart singled and Cruz doubled him to third. After doing nothing all game, Mondesi ripped a double to tie the game. Thanks a lot Jimy Williams. Delgado was intentionally walked but Mondesi swiped third. Lowe managed to strike out Fullmer but Batista singled home Mondesi to end the game. The Jays had pulled off a stunning comeback to win 7-6.
Jackass of the Night is Derek Lowe. Yes Hatteberg's passed ball was huge, the repeated failures with men on base sucked and Williams shouldn't be using his closer for 6 out saves...but you have to get the outs you're asked to. He blew his first save of the year and took the loss.
The Good:
Darren Lewis would have been tonight's hero had the Sox won. He was 3 for 4 with a walk, run scored, rbi and a stolen base. Jeff Frye was 1 for 3 with a walk, hit by pitch and a run scored. Wilton Veras was 2 for 4 with a hit by pitch and 2 runs scored. Manny Alexander was 1 for 3. Brian Daubach pinch hit for Alexander and drove in a run with a sac fly. Andy Sheets singled in his only at bat. Tim Wakefield pitched great and should have went longer if it wasn't for pitching coach Joe Kerrigan's stupid pitch counts. He threw only 82 pitches in 5 innings but only allowed 1 run on 6 hits while striking out 2. John Wasdin would have been the winning pitcher with 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief and would have kept the lead for Wakefield intact if it wasn't for Hatteberg.
The Bad:
Mike Stanley was 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts and was seriously in consideration for Jackass had the game ended 5-4, not 7-6. Donnie Sadler was 0 for 4 including failing with the bases loaded. Rheal Cormier craped himself by allowing 3 runs in just 1/3 of an inning to cost Wakefield a win.
The Ugly:
Jose Offerman was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored a run. Trot Nixon was just 1 for 4 but scored a run and drove in one. Scott Hatteberg's passed ball led the tying run to score and he was just 1 for 4, but he walked and drove in 3 runs.
Final Thoughts:
That was a devastating way to blow a 6 game winning streak. The Sox had their closer who hadn't been scored upon yet and a 2 run lead in the ninth....and it all went down the toilet. Its too bad because this team is gelling right now and should have won 7 in a row. Its like the Sox don't even miss Carl Everett the way Lewis has been playing or John Valentin the way Veras is playing. Still, both should be on their way back soon which means we'll get the good kind of competition. The loss dropped the Sox to 23-13, still in first place in the AL East. Even better news is tomorrow night's starter is Pedro Martinez (6-1) opposite Chris Carpenter. Sox have a chance to win that one for sure.
No comments:
Post a Comment