Lopez got the ball in the top of the first and Trot Nixon grounded out to third to start. Jose Offerman singled to left and Carl Everett struck out swinging to end the inning. Crawford got the ball in the bottom of the first and Gerald Williams singled to left to start. Williams stole second and took third on a Russ Johnson grounder but Greg Vaughn popped up to third. Fred McGriff grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
Dante Bichette walked to start the top of the second but Scott Hatteberg struck out swinging. Bichette moved to second on a Shea Hillenbrand grounder but Brian Daubach struck out swinging to end the inning. The Devil Rays struck first in the bottom of the second as Ben Grieve singled to right to begin. Jose Guillen singled to left and a wild pitch moved both runners over. Vinny Castilla struck out swinging but John Flaherty hit a sac fly to score Grieve to give the Rays the lead. Felix Martinez popped up to second to end the inning with the Rays up 1-0.
Mike Lansing flied out to right to start the top of the third and Nixon grounded out to short. Offerman lined a base hit to left but Everett struck out swinging to end the inning. Crawford recovered in the bottom of the third as Williams singled to center to start but Johnson struck out swinging. Williams swiped second but Vaughn struck out swinging. McGriff popped up to short to end the inning.
Ramirez walked to start the top of the fourth but Bichette popped up to right in foul territory. Hatteberg struck out swinging but Hillenbrand singled to right. Daubach flied out to center to end the inning. Grieve whiffed to open the bottom of the fourth and Guillen grounded out to third. Castilla flied out to center to end the inning.
Lansing struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth but McGriff booted a grounder by Nixon for an error. Offerman took strike three but Everett singled to left. Ramirez flied out to left to end the inning. Flaherty popped up to first to start the bottom of the fifth but Martinez grounded out to second. Williams grounded out to first to end the inning.
Bichette doubled to left to start the top of the sixth and moved to third on the Hatteberg grounder to second. Hillenbrand hit a fly ball to right and Bichette made a mad dash home.....OUT! The tag beat Bichette to end the inning. Johnson lined a base hit to center to start the bottom of the sixth then swiped second. Vaughn struck out swinging but McGriff moved Johnson to third with a grounder back to the mound. Grieve was hit with a pitch but was forced at second by Guillen to end the inning.
Daubach took strike three to begin the top of the seventh and Lansing grounded back to the mound. Nixon singled to left but Offerman flied out to center to end the inning. Crawford came back for the bottom of the seventh and Castilla struck out swinging to start. Flaherty grounded back to the mound but Martinez walked. All of Boston groaned when Sox manager Jimy Williams came out to get Paxton after just 94 pitches. Still, Crawford pitched very well, allowing just 1 run in 6 2/3 innings. Rolando Arrojo came in and Martinez was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning.
Suddenly everything changed in the top of the eighth inning. Everett and Ramirez worked back to back walks to chase Lopez from the game. Darren Lewis came in to run for Ramirez and Tanyon Sturtze was brought in to face Bichette. Dante banged into a double play but Hatteberg tied the game with a base hit to center. Hillenbrand singled to right and Daubach silenced the Tampa fans with a 3 run blast to ice the game. Lansing and Nixon stroked back to back singles and a wild pitch moved both runners over. Offerman doubled to left to score both runners and chase Sturtze from the game. Ken Hill came in to pitch and Everett tripled to center to score Offerman and Lewis put the exclamation point on the inning with a 2 run home run. Bichette lined out to center to end the inning but it was now 9-1 Red Sox. They scored 9 runs with 2 outs in the inning.
Troy O'Leary came in for Bichette with Craig Grebeck taking over at short for the bottom of the eighth. Williams flied out to left to start before Johnson popped up to first. Vaughn took strike three to end the inning.
Dan Wheeler came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Hatteberg took strike three to start. Hillenbrand singled to center but Daubach popped up to short. Lansing popped up to first in foul territory to end the inning. Arrojo came back to finish the job in the bottom of the ninth as McGriff grounded out to first to start. Grieve doubled to left but Guillen struck out swinging. Castilla grounded out to short to end the game. The Sox had won it 9-1.
Hero of the Night is Brian Daubach. His 3 run home run put the Sox up for good in the eighth inning.
The Good:
Trot Nixon was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Jose Offerman was 3 for 5 with 2 rbis and a run scored.
Carl Everett was 2 for 4 with a walk, rbi and 2 runs scored.
Manny Ramirez walked twice in four plate appearances.
Darren Lewis hit a 2 run home run in his only plate appearance.
Shea Hillenbrand was 3 for 5 with a run scored.
Paxton Crawford tossed 6 2/3 innings of 1 run ball. He allowed 5 hits and a walk.
Rolando Arrojo got the win with 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
None
The Ugly:
Dante Bichette was just 1 for 4 but walked.
Scott Hatteberg was just 1 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but drove in the tying run and scored a run.
Mike Lansing was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Honorable Mention:
Craig Grebeck played shortstop in the final two innings.
Troy O'Leary played left field in the final two innings.
Final Thoughts:
Its only April but these are the kind of wins you need to have a successful season. The Sox trailed 1-0 with 2 outs in the eighth and won it 9-1. That's just complete incompetence by the Devil Rays and a lot of heart by the Red Sox. Crawford and Arrojo pitched a hell of a game and if the tag team of Crawford and Tomo Ohka continue the run they've had going back to last year, they could be a modern day Al Nipper and Oil Can Boyd complimentary pieces to Pedro Martinez and Hideo Nomo. If either one of them falters, there's always David Cone or Bret Saberhagen coming back to take their places. The offense woke up in the eighth inning and it was a good thing too because they sleptwalked most of the game. It'll be interesting to see how the rest of the month plays out. If you're the Devil Rays, you're dreading tomorrow night's game. If Tomo Ohka and Paxton Crawford can hold you to 1 run in 13 2/3 innings, what are they going to do tomorrow when Pedro Martinez (1-0) goes for the Sox up against Paul Wilson of the Devil Rays? The game begins at 7:15 PM at Tropicana Field.
No comments:
Post a Comment