Gerald Williams opened the top of the first by lining the first pitch to left off of Pedro. Dave Martinez and Greg Vaughn struck out swinging and Jose Canseco looked at strike three to end the inning. Traschel also struck out the side in the bottom of the first. Jose Offerman, Trot Nixon and Brian Daubach all whiffed in short order.
Pedro struck out both Fred McGriff and Vinny Castilla to start the top of the second. Old pal John Flaherty singled off the Monster but Kevin Stocker whiffed to end the inning. The Sox mounted one of their only threats in the bottom of the second. Carl Everett grounded out to first but Troy O'Leary singled into the right field corner. Mike Stanley watched strike three go by but Jason Varitek walked. With two men on, Manny Alexander hit a broken bat grounder to short to end the inning.
Miguel Cairo whiffed to lead off the top of the third for Pedro's seventh consecutive strikeout but Williams popped up to second to end the streak. Martinez flied out to left to end the inning. The Sox tried to rally in the bottom of the third but Andy Sheets struck out looking to start. Offerman grounded out to second but Nixon walked. Daubach singled Trot over to third and with the go-ahead run at third, Everett grounded out to second to end the inning. Big help Carl. The Sox had 2 hits and 2 walks to this point....they would have just 1 of each the rest of the way.
Vaughn whiffed to open the top of the fourth. Canseco flied out to shallow left but McGriff singled to right. Castilla was frozen for strike three to give Pedro 9 strikeouts through four to end the inning.
Traschel then found a groove in the bottom of the fourth. O'Leary grounded out to first but Stanley walked. Varitek struck out swinging but Alexander popped up to Cairo in foul territory to end the inning.
Flaherty and Stocker both struck out swinging to begin the top of the fifth but Cairo singled in the hole at short. Cairo stole second but Williams whiffed as Pedro had punched out 12 through 5 innings. Unfortunately the Sox offense could not pick up Pedro in the bottom of the fifth. Sheets grounded out to short and Offerman grounded back to the mound. Nixon hit a 400 foot fly out to the centerfield warning track to end the inning in short order.
Pedro showed no signs of tiring in the top of the sixth. Martinez popped up to short and Vaughn whiffed on a nasty changeup. Canseco popped up to center to end the inning. Pedro was 7 strikeouts away from 20 and had 9 outs to do it. Meanwhile the Sox tried to rally in the bottom of the sixth. Daubach singled over the head of Stocker but Everett struck out looking. O'Leary singled under the glove of McGriff to put runners at the corners. All the Sox needed was a fly ball but Stanley struck out swinging and Varitek grounded out to short to end the inning.
McGriff grounded out to first to open the top of the seventh and Castilla struck out swinging. Flaherty walked but Stocker struck out swinging to end the inning. 15 strikeouts for Pedro and no runs, yet no lead. Traschel remained red hot in the bottom of the seventh. Alexander hit one up the elevator shaft, Sheets grounded out to short and Offerman grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Rays ended up striking first in the top of the eighth. Cairo whiffed to become Pedro's 16th strikeout victim. Williams grounded out to short but Martinez singled and stole second. Vaughn then singled home Martinez to give the Rays the lead. What would have been one of the best starts of Pedro's career now looked like a loss. Canseco popped up to left to end the inning with the Rays up 1-0.
Could the Sox rally against Traschel? NO! Nixon popped up to shallow center and Daubach took strike three. Everett struck out swinging to end the inning.
Pedro returned for the top of the ninth and got McGriff to fly out to right to start. Castilla struck out swinging and Flaherty grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Pedro had tossed 9 innings, struck out 17 and allowed 1 run. That was good enough to beat the world champion New York Yankees last September but he was in danger of losing tonight.
The Sox had one last chance in the bottom of the ninth against Traschel but couldn't cash in. O'Leary flied out to center, Stanley whiffed again and Varitek flied out to center to end the game. The Rays had taken the game 1-0.
Jackass of the night is a tough one as the entire offense scored zero runs. I'll go with Carl Everett. He was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts when a home run would have given the Sox the lead or tie it.
The Good:
Brian Daubach was 2 for 4.
Rarely does the losing pitcher end up on the good list but Pedro Martinez deserved better. He tossed a complete game, 9 inning gem, allowing just 1 run while striking out 17.
The Bad:
Jose Offerman was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Manny Alexander was 0 for 3.
Andy Sheets was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Trot Nixon was 0 for 3 with a walk.
Trot Nixon was 0 for 3 with a walk.
Troy O'Leary was just 1 for 4.
Mike Stanley was 0 for 3 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but walked.
Jason Varitek was 0 for 3 with a walk.
Final Thoughts:
What a shame. Pedro pitched an absolute gem and the Sox had their chances, but just couldn't get the one clutch hit. Traschel is a career .500 pitcher so he'll never pitch like that again most likely. This is the same guy that lost 18 games last year. The lack of offense is concerning without Nomar Garciaparra but hopefully this was a one time thing. Traschel pitched the game of his life and sometimes you just have to tip your cap and admit he was the better man. It was a good game and a wonderful pitcher's duel, too bad the Sox came out on the wrong end of it. The loss dropped the Sox to 15-11, 4 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to rebound tomorrow against the Rays as Jeff Fassero goes up against Bryan Rekar. The game begins at 1:00 PM at Fenway Park.
What a shame. Pedro pitched an absolute gem and the Sox had their chances, but just couldn't get the one clutch hit. Traschel is a career .500 pitcher so he'll never pitch like that again most likely. This is the same guy that lost 18 games last year. The lack of offense is concerning without Nomar Garciaparra but hopefully this was a one time thing. Traschel pitched the game of his life and sometimes you just have to tip your cap and admit he was the better man. It was a good game and a wonderful pitcher's duel, too bad the Sox came out on the wrong end of it. The loss dropped the Sox to 15-11, 4 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to rebound tomorrow against the Rays as Jeff Fassero goes up against Bryan Rekar. The game begins at 1:00 PM at Fenway Park.
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