The Jays struck first against Schourek in the top of the first inning although Shannon Stewart flied out to right to start. Homer Bush walked and Raul Mondesi crushed a 500,000 foot home run halfway to Providence to give the Jays the lead. Carlos Delgado singled to center but Tony Batista flied out to left. Jose Cruz Jr singled but Brad Fullmer grounded out to second to end the inning with the Jays up 2-0.
The Sox exploded on Escobar in the bottom of the first inning. Jose Offerman flied out to left but Jeff Frye singled to center. Trot Nixon doubled to left and Nomar Garciaparra singled home Frye and Nixon. Carl Everett lit up the crowd with his 22nd home run of the year before Brian Daubach launched his 11th homer of the year for back to back jacks. Troy O'Leary walked and Wilton Veras singled but Scott Hatteberg flied out to right. O'Leary was picked off to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-2.
Somehow Schourek got out of the top of the second inning as Alex Gonzalez flied out to center to start. Alberto Castillo grounded out to third but Stewart walked. Bush grounded into a force to end the inning. Escobar settled down in the bottom of the second as Offerman grounded out to second to begin. Frye flied out to center and Nixon took strike three to end the inning.
The Jays struck again in the top of the third as Mondesi and Delgado stroked back to back singles to start. Batista doubled home Mondesi to cut the lead and Cruz Jr scored Delgado with a groundout. Batista moved to third on a groundout by Fullmer but Gonzalez whiffed to end the inning with the Jays down 5-4.
Escobar cruised in the bottom of the third as Nomar flied out to center to start. Everett took strike three and Daubach whiffed to end the inning.
The Jays knocked out Schourek in the top of the fourth inning as Castillo singled to center to begin. Stewart forced Castillo at second before swiping second. Bush popped up to short but Mondesi walked. Delgado singled to load the bases and that was it for Pete. Schourek got hammered for 4 runs, 8 hits and 3 walks in just 3 2/3 innings. Hipolito Pichardo came in and struck out Batista to end the inning.
The Sox tried to rally in the bottom of the fourth as O'Leary lined out to left to start. Veras whiffed but Hatteberg and Offerman stroked back to back singles. Frye flied out to right to end the inning.
Pichardo got Cruz Jr to ground out to second to open the top of the fifth before Fullmer singled to left. Gonzalez whiffed and Castillo lined out to short to end the inning. Nixon hit one up the elevator shaft to begin the bottom of the fifth before Nomar grounded out to short. Everett doubled down the right field line but Daubach whiffed again to end the inning.
The Jays threatened in the top of the sixth although Stewart grounded out to second to begin. Bush popped up to short but Mondesi singled to center. Mondesi swiped second and third and Delgado was intentionally walked to put runners at the corners. Pichardo got a huge out by punching out Batista to end the inning.
The Sox failed to score in the bottom of the sixth as O'Leary whiffed to begin. Veras popped up to second and Hatteberg lined out to center to end the inning. Give credit to Escobar for tossing zeroes after the lousy first inning.
Rich Garces came on for the top of the seventh and Cruz Jr grounded out to second to start. Fullmer lined out to second but Gonzalez doubled to left. Gonzalez took third on a wild pitch and Castillo walked to put runners at the corners. Stewart popped up to right to end the inning. The Sox added some needed insurance in the bottom of the seventh although Offerman popped up to short to begin. Frye walked to chase Escobar who hung in there after the first. Lance Painter came in and Nixon singled to left. One and done for Painter as John Frascatore came in only for Nomar to single home Frye. Everett flied out to center and that was it for Frascatore. Pedro Borbon Jr came in and Mike Stanley pinch hit for Daubach. Stanley singled home Nixon but Nomar was thrown out at third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 7-4.
Garces cruised in the top of the eighth inning as Bush whiffed to start. Mondesi grounded out to short and Delgado flied out to left to end the inning. O'Leary flied out to left to start the bottom of the eighth before Veras hit one up the elevator shaft. Hatteberg flied out to left to end the inning.
Derek Lowe came on for the save in the top of the ninth and cruised. Batista grounded out to third to start before Cruz Jr whiffed. Fullmer flied out to center to end the game. The Sox were back in first with a 7-4 win.
Hero of the Night is Hipolito Pichardo. He put the fire out in the fourth inning and kept the Sox in front for 2 1/3 total innings to earn the win.
The Good:
Jeff Frye was 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored.
Nomar Garciaparra was 2 for 4 with 3 rbis and a run scored.
Carl Everett was 2 for 4 with a 2 run home run.
Brian Daubach was 1 for 3 with a home run.
Mike Stanley singled and drove in a run as a pinch hitter.
Rich Garces tossed 2 scoreless innings.
Derek Lowe earned his 16th save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Pete Schourek got lit up for 4 runs in just 3 2/3 innings, allowing 8 hits and 3 walks.
The Ugly:
Jose Offerman was just 1 for 4.
Troy O'Leary was 0 for 3 but walked.
Wilton Veras was just 1 for 4.
Scott Hatteberg was just 1 for 4.
Final Thoughts:
The Blue Jays offense is for real this season but the Sox were up to the task today. Schourek crapped the bed but the bullpen came through to slam the door against the tough offense. The Sox can't afford to get into shootouts like that too often against the Jays so at some point someone other than Pedro Martinez has to deliver a quality start. The New York Yankees aren't going to go away so if the Sox have any hope of staying in first, they're going to need better starting pitching. Also what the hell is wrong with Troy O'Leary? His career has completely evaporated this season after being an integral part of the offense last year. Is he hurt like Offerman? The Sox better do something about him because he's a virtual black hole so far. All squawking aside, a win is a win and this one improved the Sox to 35-27, 0.5 games ahead of the Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow afternoon the Sox look to make it two in a row over the Jays but they'll have to earn it when they send Ramon Martinez (5-3) up against Toronto's ace David Wells at 5:05 PM at Fenway Park.
No comments:
Post a Comment