As for the game, the Sox are inventing new ways to lose these days. On a night when somehow Pete Schourek matched O's ace Mike Mussina for 7 innings, the Sox still found a way to blow it. The Sox took the lead in the bottom of the seventh but Derek Lowe gagged in the top of the ninth. Lowe then served up a 2 run bomb in the top of the tenth to Charles Johnson. Bryce Florie came in and allowed 3 runs of his own. The Sox did manage to get a home run by Nomar in the bottom of the tenth but it wasn't enough as the O's stunned the Sox 6-3 in 10 innings at Fenway Park.
Schourek got the ball in the top of the first and old friend Brady Anderson popped up to first to start. Mike Bordick doubled to right and moved to third on the Delino DeShields grounder. Albert Belle struck out swinging to end the inning. Mussina cruised in the bottom of the first as Jose Offerman struck out swinging to start. Jeff Frye grounded out to third and Brian Daubach took strike three to end the inning.
Jeff Conine singled to start the top of the second inning and moved to second on the BJ Surhoff grounder. Cal Ripken Jr popped up to first and Will Clark struck out swinging to end the inning.
Nomar Garciaparra singled to right to start the bottom of the second before Morgan Burkhart made his ML debut with a base hit to right. Mike Stanley whiffed and Scott Hatteberg took strike three before Manny Alexander grounded out to second to end the inning.
Charles Johnson hit a routine grounder to Alexander to start the top of the third and he threw his glove at the ball and stomped on it for an error. Anderson banged into a double play and Bordick struck out swinging to end the inning. Curtis Pride grounded out to first to start the bottom of the third before Offerman grounded out to third. Frye whiffed but the ball got away from the catcher so Frye took first. Daubach flied out to left to end the inning.
DeShields grounded out to short to start the top of the fourth before Belle struck out swinging. Conine walked but was thrown out trying to steal to end the inning. Mussina cruised in the bottom of the fourth as Nomar flied out to right to start. Burkhart flied out to center and Stanley struck out swinging to end the inning.
Schourek got Surhoff to ground out to first to start the top of the fifth before Ripken popped up to short. Clark walked but Johnson grounded out to second to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the fifth as Hatteberg grounded out to third to start. Alexander struck out swinging but Pride got a base hit to center. Offerman grounded out to second to end the inning.
Anderson grounded out to second to start the top of the sixth before Bordick flied out to left. DeShields singled to left but was thrown out trying to steal to end the inning. The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the sixth although Frye took strike three to start. Daubach flied out to center but Nomar singled and Burkhart walked. Stanley whiffed again to earn the hat trick to end the inning.
Schourek came back for one last inning in the top of the seventh and Belle flied out to center to start. Conine grounded out to second but Surhoff singled to right. Ripken Jr grounded out to short to end the inning. That was it for Schourek who pitched one of his best games of the season to shut out the Orioles for 7 innings, he deserved to win this one.
The Sox finally cracked Mussina in the bottom of the seventh as Hatteberg singled to center to start. Scott was bunted over to second by Alexander but Pride struck out. Offerman dumped a base hit to right to score Hatteberg with the go ahead run but was thrown out trying to stretch a double to end the inning with Boston ahead 1-0.
Rich Garces came in to pitch with Izzy Alcantara now in left to start the top of the eighth. Clark singled to right and Luis Matos pinch ran for him. Johnson struck out and Sox manager Jimy Williams wanted the lefty Rheal Cormier to pitch to Anderson. The gamble worked as Anderson hit a liner to Alexander who doubled off Matos at first to end the inning.
Mike Timlin came in for the bottom of the eighth and Frye grounded out to short to start. Alcantara struck out swinging and Nomar grounded out to short to end the inning.
Derek Lowe came in to close out the top of the ninth and crapped his pants. Bordick whiffed but DeShields doubled to left. Belle singled home Delino to tie the game but Conine flied out to center. Surhoff was intentionally walked but Ripken struck out swinging to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
The Sox blew another rally in the bottom of the ninth as Burkhart singled to right to start. Stanley dropped down a bunt to move Morgan to second and Hatteberg was intentionally walked. Jason Varitek pinch hit for Alexander but popped up to short. Chuck McElroy came in to face Pride but Williams countered by pinch hitting Darren Lewis for Curtis. Lewis drew a walk to load the bases and Wilton Veras pinch ran for him. Mike Trombley came in to pitch to Offerman and Jose grounded out to first to end the inning....damn.
The floodgates opened in the top of the tenth as Harold Baines pinch hit for Matos and singled to start. Mark Lewis pinch ran for Baines and Johnson hit a home run all the way to the Cardassian Homeworld to give the O's the lead. Williams finally lifted the incompetent Lowe and Bryce Florie came in to get Anderson to fly out to right. Bordick hit a routine grounder to Nomar who went OLE! for an error. Bordick moved to second on the DeShields grounder and Belle was intentionally walked. Conine singled to load the bases and Surhoff drove in two runs with a base hit, moving Conine to third. Ripken hurt himself on a fielder's choice that scored Conine and Scott Erickson (yes, HIM) ran for him. Lewis grounded into a force to end the inning but the Orioles led 6-1...what a disaster.
Lewis moved to third and Alan Mills came on to pitch the bottom of the tenth and the Sox rallied. Frye earned the hat trick by striking out swinging but Alcantara singled to left. Nomar swatted his 8th home run of the year to cut the lead in half. Burkhart flied out to center but Stanley got a base hit to center. Orioles manager Mike Hargrove brought in the lefty Buddy Groom to pitch to Hatteberg. Hatteberg whiffed to end the game. The Orioles had won it 6-3 in 10 innings.
Jackass of the Night is Derek Lowe. He blew the game in the ninth and took the loss in the 10th inning. It should have never come to Florie giving up unearned runs.
The Good:
Izzy Alcantara was 1 for 2 with a run scored.
Nomar Garciaparra was 3 for 5 with a 2 run homer.
Morgan Burkhart was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Curtis Pride was 1 for 3.
Darren Lewis walked as a pinch hitter.
Rich Garces got the first out of the eighth inning.
Rheal Cormier got the last two outs of the eighth inning.
The Bad:
Jeff Frye was 0 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Brian Daubach was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Manny Alexander was 0 for 2 with a strikeout and an error.
Jason Varitek popped up as a pinch hitter.
Bryce Florie allowed 2 inherited runners to score and three of his own
The Ugly:
Jose Offerman was just 1 for 5 but drove in a run.
Mike Stanley was just 1 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Scott Hatteberg was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored a run.
Honorable Mention:
Wilton Veras ran for Lewis and played third in the top of the tenth.
Final Thoughts:
Another game that was a sucker punch to the gonads for the Red Sox. The Sox had this game won but Lowe blew one of his only saves of the season. Why he came back for the tenth is anyone's guess but its not like Florie did a better job anyway. The Orioles couldn't accomplish anything against Schourek but scored 5 runs in the tenth inning, go figure. Mussina is one of the better pitchers in the AL so getting a run off him is pretty standard. The lack of clutch hitting is killing the Sox whether its Jose Offerman with the bases loaded in the ninth or Hatteberg with a man on in the tenth. Where was Carl Everett to pinch hit tonight? He could have easily pinch hit for Hatteberg hitting on the right side? So many things went wrong tonight and its amazing the Sox were even in first place at all this season the way they've played this month. The loss dropped the Sox to 37-35, 2.5 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox look to bounce back when they send Ramon Martinez to the mound up against Jason Johnson of the O's at 7:05 PM at Fenway Park.
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