Blue Jays starter Chris Carpenter ran into a buzz-saw against an angry Red Sox team in the top of the first. Homer Bush made no friends by booting the first ball put in play by Jose Offerman. Darren Lewis grounded out but Jose moved to third. Trot Nixon doubled home Offerman to give the Sox a quick 1-0 lead. Brian Daubach grounded out but Nixon moved to third. The returning Carl Everett didn't have to do anything as a passed ball by Blue Jays catcher Darrin Fletcher scored Trot. Everett whiffed to end the inning. Sox took advantage of shoddy defense to lead 2-0. That lead may as well have been 200-0 the way Pedro pitched. Shannon Stewart hit one up the elevator shaft, Jose Cruz grounded out and Raul Mondesi whiffed to end the inning.
Carpenter cruised in the top of the second. Troy O'Leary lined out, Wilton Veras flied out and Scott Hatteberg struck out to end the inning. Pedro ran into one of Toronto's only threats in the bottom of the second. Carlos Delgado doubled and Brad Fullmer was hit with a pitch. Pedro recovered to strike out Tony Batista and get Fletcher to bang into a double play. Not Fletcher's day so far.
The Sox broke the game open early in the top of the third. Donnie Sadler singled but Offerman flied out. Lewis singled and Nixon scored Sadler with a double. Nixon got tagged out on a ground ball by Daubach but Everett singled home Lewis to make it 4-0. O'Leary singled home Daubach and Veras singled home Everett to make it 6-0. Hatteberg whiffed to end the inning, what a show. Unfortunately Darren Lewis left the game, Donnie Sadler took his spot in center while Manny Alexander came in to play short and bat for him. Alex S Gonzalez struck out to open the bottom of the third. Homer Bush was hit with a pitch but Stewart flied out. Cruz watched strike three go by to end the inning.
Carpenter somehow returned for the top of the fourth. Sadler grounded out, Offerman looked at strike three and Alexander popped up to end the inning. Pedro continued to dominate the bottom of the fourth. Mondesi lined out but Delgado walked. Fullmer singled but Batista bounced into a double play to end the inning.
Carpenter came back for the top of the fifth as well. Nixon grounded out but Daubach singled. Everett struck out and O'Leary popped up to end the inning. Pedro struck out Fletcher, got Gonzalez to ground out, then struck out Bush in the bottom of the fifth.
Veras singled to lead off the top of the sixth but Hatteberg grounded into a double play. Sadler doubled but Offerman whiffed to end the inning. Pedro had no such problems in the bottom of the sixth. Stewart singled but was doubled off on a Cruz lineout. Mondesi flied out to end the inning.
Carptenter returned for the top of the seventh. Alexander flied out, Nixon struck out and Daubach popped up to end the inning. The Jays needed Carpenter to go 7 despite giving up 6 runs to save the bullpen and he did, that's a sacrifice most managers aren't willing to make. Pedro returned for one more inning, the bottom of the seventh. Delgado walked again but Fullmer and Batista flied out. Fletcher popped up to end the inning. 7 shutout innings for Pedro, outstanding.
Old friend Eric Gunderson took the mound in the top of the eighth, immediately vomiting up his intestines. Everett singled then O'Leary reached when Gunderson chucked a grounder past Delgado at first. Everett was erased at third on the force by Veras but Hatteberg singled home O'Leary. Sadler singled to load the bases and Offerman singled home Veras to wrap up the scoring at 8-0. Old Sox prospect Peter Munro replaced Gunderson and struck out Alexander, then got Nixon to pop up to end the inning. Poor Gunderson.
Sox manager Jimy Williams for whatever reason decided to bring in starter Brian Rose to pitch the bottom of the eighth. He didn't do too bad, getting Gonzalez and Bush to ground out. Stewart singled but Cruz popped up to end the inning.
Flamethrowing closer Billy Koch came on to pitch the ninth mostly to get some work in. Daubach whiffed but Everett singled. Everett singled and Williams had Andy Sheets pinch run for him to rest his quad muscle. O'Leary struck out and Veras grounded out to end the inning. Hot lefty Tim Young came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth. Mondesi walked but both Delgado and Fullmer struck out. Batista flied out to end the game. The Sox had concluded a 7 game road trip with an 8-0 win.
Hero of the Night is no shock. Pedro Martinez tossed 7 innings of shutout ball allowing just 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 8. He's now 7-1 with a Bob Gibson-esque 0.90 ERA.
The Good:
Darren Lewis was 1 for 2 before leaving the game. Trot Nixon was 2 for 5 with a run scored and 2 rbi's. Carl Everett was 3 for 5 with a run scored and an rbi. Wilton Veras was 2 for 5 with a run scored and an rbi. Donnie Sadler was 3 for 4 with a run scored.
The Bad:
Manny Alexander was 0 for 3 with a strikeout after coming in for Lewis.
The Ugly:
Jose Offerman was just 1 for 5 but walked and drove in a run. Brian Daubach was just 1 for 5 but scored a run. Troy O'Leary was just 1 for 5 but scored a run and drove in one. Scott Hatteberg was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Honorable Mention:
Andy Sheets pinch ran for Everett in the top of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
That was an incredible road trip. Derek Lowe joked "If it wasn't for me, we'd have gone undefeated". While it wasn't entirely Lowe's fault, they damn near did go undefeated on a 7 game road trip that started with Pedro Martinez suspended and John Valentin hurt, then lost Nomar Garciaparra and Carl Everett. They outscored Baltimore and Toronto 57-14 in these 7 games and the pitching ERA was 1.88. They began 3 1/2 back of the New York Yankees and are now 24-13 and in first place in the AL East. Pedro was outstanding again and he has a great shot of winning over 20 games again at this rate. After an off-day, the Red Sox come home to Fenway where Jeff Fassero (4-1) faces the Detroit Tigers and Brian Moehler.
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