Phillies ace Curt Schilling got the ball in the top of the first and Darren Lewis grounded out to short to start. Trot Nixon watched strike three go by and Jeff Frye grounded out to second to end the inning. Sox starter Jeff Fassero ran into big trouble in the bottom of the first inning although Doug Glanville grounded out to first to start. Ron Gant caught the Sox asleep with a bunt single down the third base line and Bobby Abreu blooped a single to center. Wilton Veras made a great diving catch to rob Mike Lieberthal of a hit but Pat Burrell walked to load the bases. Kevin Jordan grounded out to short to end the inning.
The Sox accomplished nothing in the top of the second as Brian Daubach flied out to left to begin. Carl Everett popped up to second but Scott Hatteberg doubled. Veras flied out to left to end the inning. Fassero got Mickey Morandini to ground out to second to start the bottom of the second but Desi Relaford singled. Schilling sacrificed Desi to second with a bunt but Glanville grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Sox exploded on Schilling in the top of the third inning. Donnie Sadler singled to left and Fassero somehow beat out what was supposed to be a sacrifice bunt to put two men on. Lewis also dropped down a sac bunt to move the two runners into scoring position and the gamble paid off as Nixon singled to right to score Sadler to give the Sox the lead. Frye singled home Fassero but Daubach flied out to left. Everett put the exclamation point on the inning with a 3 run blast to give the Sox a commanding lead early. Hatteberg flied out to center to end the inning but it was 5-0 Sox.
The Phillies wasted no time clawing back into the game as Gant homered to lead off the bottom of the third. Abreu popped up to short but Lieberthal homered as well. Fassero recovered to get Burrell to ground out to second and Jordan to ground out to short to end the inning but the Phillies were down 5-2.
Schilling settled down in the top of the fourth inning, getting Veras to line out to third to begin. Sadler flied out to left and Fassero whiffed to end the inning. Fassero matched Schilling in the bottom of the fourth, striking out Morandini to start. Relaford walked but Schilling popped up the bunt attempt. Glanville flied out to center to end the inning.
The Sox mustered nothing against Schilling in the top of the fifth as Lewis flied out to right to start. Nixon grounded out to second but Frye walked. Daubach whiffed badly to end the inning. The Phillies struck again in the bottom of the fifth although Gant popped up to short to start. Abreu singled but was erased on the force by Lieberthal. Burrell then blasted a 600,000 foot home run halfway to Georgia to pull the Phillies within a run. Jordan doubled but Morandini grounded out to second to end the inning with the Phillies down 5-4.
Once again the Sox did nothing in the top of the sixth inning. Everett whiffed and Hatteberg flied out to center although Veras reached when Relaford booted a ball. Sadler whiffed to end the inning. Fassero came back out for the bottom of the sixth and got Relaford to fly out to right. Schilling flied out to left and Glanville popped up to third to end the inning. Fassero tossed 6 innings of 4 run ball, not great but it'll do.
Troy O'Leary pinch hit for Fassero and struck out to begin the top of the seventh , hell Fassero could have done that. Lewis grounded out back to the mound but Nixon walked. Frye grounded out to third to end the inning. Schilling managed to go 7 to save the bullpen.
Rich Garces took over in the bottom of the seventh and got Gant to fly out to center to start. Abreu grounded out to first and Lieberthal grounded out to third to end the inning.
Phillies manager Terry Francona got pitching change happy in the top of the eighth inning. Daubach grounded out to start but Everett walked to chase Schilling. Mark Holzemer took over just to strike out Hatteberg and Wayne Gomes was brought in to pitch to Veras. A wild pitch moved Everett to second but Veras grounded out to third to end the inning. Sox manager Jimy Williams pulled a double switch when Jason Varitek came in for Hatteberg and closer Derek Lowe replaced Garces for the six out save in the bottom of the eighth. Burrell got the rally started with a double and Jordan advanced him to third with a groundout. Morandini popped up to center and Lowe was one out away of getting out of it. It didn't happen as Relaford singled to score Burrell to tie the game. Rob Ducey pinch hit for Gomes and flied out to right to end the inning but the Phillies had tied it 5-5
The Sox offense was done for the night in the top of the ninth inning with Jeff Brantley on the mound. Sadler struck out but Varitek walked. Lewis and Nixon flied out to center to end the inning. A pissed off Lowe came back firing in the bottom of the ninth. Glanville, Gant and Abreu all whiffed in short order.
Onto the top of the tenth, Frye walked to start it. Daubach flied out to center and Everett struck out. Nomar Garciaparra pinch hit for Lowe and singled to put the tying run on second base. Veras popped up to first to end the inning. Hipolito Pichardo came in to pitch the bottom of the tenth and Lieberthal hit one up the elevator shaft to start. Burrell grounded out to third but Jordan walked. Morandini grounded out to second to end the inning.
Jason Boyd came in to shut out the Sox in the top of the eleventh inning. Sadler and Varitek struck out but Lewis singled. Nixon then whiffed to end the inning. Pichardo returned for the bottom of the eleventh and got Relaford to ground out to second to begin. Brian Hunter pinch hit for Boyd and popped up to first. Glanville grounded out to short to end the inning.
The Sox had one final chance to do something in the top of the 12th inning with Bryan Ward now on the mound. Frye flied out to center but Daubach walked. Everett flied out to center as Steve Schrenk replaced Ward and Mike Stanley pinch hit for Pichardo. Stanley singled to once again put the tying run at second but Veras flied out to right to end the inning. The end mercifully came in the bottom of the 12th with Rheal Cormier (2-1, 3.91 ERA) on the mound. Gant singled and took second on a wild pitch but Cormier punched out Abreu. Liberthal was intentionally walked and Cormier struck out Burrell. One out away from pushing it to the 13th inning, Jordan ripped a game winning double to end the game 6-5. A brutal loss for the Sox, 5th in a row.
Jackass of the Night is Wilton Veras. He was 0 for 6 and failed repeatedly in the clutch to give the Sox the lead.
The Good:
Nomar Garciaparra singled as a pinch hitter.
Mike Stanley singled as a pinch hitter.
Jason Varitek walked once in two plate appearances.
Rich Garces pitched a scoreless 7th inning.
Hipolito Pichardo tossed 2 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Rheal Cormier took the loss by allowing the winning run to score in the bottom of the 12th.
The Ugly:
Darren Lewis was just 1 for 5.
Trot Nixon was just 1 for 5 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.
Jeff Frye was just 1 for 4 but walked twice, drove in a run and scored.
Brian Daubach was 0 for 5 but walked.
Carl Everett was just 1 for 5 but made the hit count as it was a 3 run bomb.'
Scott Hatteberg was just 1 for 4.
Donnie Sadler was just 1 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but also scored.
Jeff Fassero only went 6 innings and allowed 4 runs, but also scored a run at the plate.
Derek Lowe coughed up the lead in the bottom of the eighth but struck out the side in the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
A sweep by the lowly Philadelphia Phillies puts an end to a garbage week. The Sox fell out of first place and doesn't appear to be coming back with the New York Yankees starting to hit their stride. These are the kind of games the Sox need to win against inferior opponents and instead they got swept. Not only that the offense completely fell asleep after the 3 run bomb by Everett. The Phillies got the timely hits they needed to win the game where the Sox didn't. The loss drops the Sox to 29-23, 1 game behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox travel to Florida with a 3 game interleague set with the Marlins. Pete Schourek takes the mound opposite Reid Cornelius at 7:00 PM at Pro Player Stadium.
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