The Sox wasted no time getting to Zito in the top of the first inning and Chris Stynes struck out looking to start. Jose Offerman walked and Carl Everett singled to right, but Manny Ramirez popped up to short. Dante Bichette lashed a base hit to right to score Offerman to put the Sox on the board. Jason Varitek struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Crawford showed some balls to get out of a first inning jam in the bottom of the first although Johnny Damon flied out to center to start. Frank Menechino singled to right and Jason Giambi doubled him to third. Terrance Long struck out swinging but Olmedo Saenz was plunked to load the bases. Crawford got a big out when he got Jeremy Giambi to strike out swinging to end the inning.
Shea Hillenbrand grounded out to second to start the top of the second before Mike Lansing grounded out to third. Darren Lewis popped up to short to end the inning. Miguel Tejada grounded out to third to begin the bottom of the second before Eric Chavez grounded out to second. Ramon Hernandez grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the third when Stynes struck his first home run of the season to increase the lead. Offerman flied out to center and Everett struck out swinging but Ramirez got a single to center. Bichette lined out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Damon flied out to left to begin the bottom of the third before Menechino lined out to left. Giambi flied out to center to end the inning.
The Sox broke the game open in the top of the fourth although Varitek hit one up the elevator shaft to start. Hillenbrand tripled into the right field corner but Lansing grounded out to third. Lewis doubled home Hillenbrand and Stynes doubled home Hillenbrand to increase the lead. Offerman got a base hit to left to score Stynes and Everett flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-0.
Long grounded out to third to begin the bottom of the fourth and Saenz popped up to first in foul territory. Jeremy Giambi singled to right but Tejada flied out to center to end the inning.
The submarine pitcher Chad Bradford came in for Zito in the top of the fifth and Ramirez got a base hit to center to begin. Bradford then struck out Bichette, Varitek and Hillenbrand all swinging to end the inning. Crawford struck out Chavez swinging to start the bottom of the fifth and Hernandez flied out to center. Damon singled to left but Menechino grounded out to short to end the inning.
Lansing took strike three to start the top of the sixth and Lewis grounded out to third. Stynes went down hacking to end the inning. The A's finally got to Crawford in the bottom of the sixth although Jason Giambi grounded out to short to start. Long grounded out to second but Saenz walked. Jeremy Giambi singled to left and Tejada singled to center to score Saenz. Crawford managed to get Chavez to pop up to Hillenbrand in foul territory to end the inning. Crawford had allowed just 1 run on 105 pitches in 6 innings of work, leaving with the Sox ahead 5-1.
The Sox added to the lead in the top of the seventh when Offerman drilled his second home run of the season to start. Everett grounded out to second but Ramirez singled to right. Bichette struck out swinging but Varitek walked to chase Bradford. TJ Mathews came in and Hillenbrand grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-1.
Offerman hits one out
Tim Wakefield came in for the bottom of the seventh with Trot Nixon in for defense for Bichette. Hernandez grounded out to short to start before Damon struck out swinging. Menechino also went down hacking to end the inning.
Lansing doubled to left to begin the top of the eighth and moved to third on the Lewis grounder to short. Stynes hit a routine grounder to short but Tejada threw the ball away, allowing Stynes to score. Old pal Mark Guthrie came in to pitch and struck out both Offerman and Everett swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 7-1.
Jason Giambi flied out to center to start the bottom of the eighth and Long struck out swinging. Saenz took strike three to end the inning.
Ramirez singled to left to start the top of the ninth but was forced at second by Nixon. Varitek singled to right but Hillenbrand banged into a double play to end the inning. Rolando Arrojo came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Jeremy Giambi grounded out to first to start. Tejada flied out to right and Chavez struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had won it 7-1.
Hero of the Night is Paxton Crawford. He outdueled Zito to toss 6 innings of 1 run ball to earn the win.
The Good:
Chris Stynes was 2 for 5 a home run, 2 total rbis and 2 runs scored.
Jose Offerman was 2 for 4 with a walk, solo home run, 2 total rbis and 2 total runs scored.
Manny Ramirez was 4 for 5.
Tim Wakefield tossed 2 scoreless innings.
Rolando Arrojo pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Trot Nixon was 0 for 1 at the plate.
The Ugly:
Carl Everett was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
Dante Bichette was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but drove in a run.
Jason Varitek was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked.
Shea Hillenbrand was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Mike Lansing was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout with a run scored.
Darren Lewis was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run and scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
That was one of the more impressive wins of the season considering who was pitching. Crawford and Zito are highly touted young pitchers and Crawford was the better man on this day. The Boston bats didn't particularly have a good day individually but they got the hits when they needed, especially with men on base. Stynes and Offerman stepped up with home runs and the A's couldn't get Ramirez out. There is trouble brewing as Everett and Sox manager Jimy Williams had another spat and still aren't getting along. I don't know what Everett's problem is since the Sox are winning and they've been hitting, unlike last year. This feud is overshadowing the fact the Sox are playing well without Nomar Garciaparra and can only get better when he comes back. Arrojo has been pitching well out of the bullpen and the Sox are gonna need that with Derek Lowe and Rod Beck struggling. All in all it was a good win against a good team even if the A's are scuffling right now. The win improved the Sox to 18-12, tied for first place in the AL East with the Toronto Blue Jays. Tomorrow night Pedro Martinez (3-0) looks to keep the momentum going against Cory Lidle of the A's. The game begins at 8:05 PM Eastern time at Oakland Coliseum.
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