Halama got the ball in the top of the first inning and Chris Stynes struck out looking to start. Jose Offerman singled to left but Carl Everett struck out swinging. Manny Ramirez popped up to short to end the inning. Pedro got the ball in the bottom of the first and Ichiro Suzuki flied out to center to start. Mike Cameron struck out swinging but Edgar Martinez was plunked on a 77 mph curveball. This sparked the home plate umpire to give Pedro a warning. John Olerud lined out to second to end the inning. Pedro was not happy about being issued the warning.
Dante Bichette singled to center to open the top of the second inning but Jason Varitek flied out to center. Shea Hillenbrand flied out to right and Darren Lewis flied out to left to end the inning. Bret Boone took strike three to begin the bottom of the second but Al Martin walked. Tom Lampkin hit a blooper that somehow Lewis caught and doubled Martin off of first to end the inning,
Craig Grebeck struck out swinging to open the top of the third inning before Stynes grounded out to third. Offerman flied out to center to end the inning. David Bell grounded out to third to begin the bottom of the third before Carlos Guillen struck out swinging. Ichiro beat out an infield single to short but Cameron whiffed to end the inning.
Everett took strike three to begin the top of the fourth and Ramirez flied out to right. Bichette flied out to left to end the inning. The Mariners threatened in the bottom of the fourth as Martinez walked to start. Olerud singled to center but Everett bobbled the ball for an error and everyone moved up. Boone popped up to center but Martin walked to load the bases. Lampkin hit a grounder to Offerman who fired home to get Martinez for the force and Bell whiffed to end the inning.
Halama cruised in the top of the fifth as Varitek popped up to first to start. Hillenbrand struck out swinging but Lewis flied out to center to end the inning. Guillen struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fifth and Ichiro grounded out to second. Cameron took strike three to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the sixth as Grebeck grounded out to third to start. Stynes singled to left but Offerman flied out to left. Everett singled to right and Ramirez dumped a base hit to left to score Stynes, putting Boston on top. Bichette hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning but the Sox led 1-0.
Ramirez drives in a run
Pedro turned up the heat in the bottom of the sixth as he struck out Martinez swinging to start. Olerud and Boone both struck out swinging to end the inning.
Varitek lined out to center to open the top of the seventh before Hillenbrand popped up to short. Lewis doubled to left but Grebeck grounded out to second to end the inning. Martin took strike three to begin the bottom of the seventh before Lampkin struck out swinging. Bell popped up to right to end the inning.
The Sox iced the game in the top of the eighth although Stynes flied out to center to start. Offerman hit a routine grounder to short but Guillen threw the ball away for an error. Everett popped up to short but Ramirez made Guillen pay with a double to left to score Offerman. Bichette flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Trot Nixon came in for Bichette for defense in the bottom of the eighth as Mark McLemore pinch hit for Guillen to begin. McLemore singled to center and moved to second on the grounder to third by Ichiro. Cameron lined out to center but Martinez walked. Charles Gipson pinch ran for Martinez but Olerud flied out to left to end the inning. That was it for Pedro who threw 8 shutout innings while striking out 12 batters.
Norm Charlton came in for the top of the ninth and Varitek grounded out to third to start. Hillenbrand and Lewis stroked back to back base hits but Grebeck popped up to first. Stynes flied out to left to end the inning. Rolando Arrojo came in to clsoe out the bottom of the ninth and Boone popped up to first to start. Martin grounded out to first and Lampkin also grounded out to first to end the game. The Sox had won it 2-0.
Hero of the Night is Pedro Martinez. He tossed 8 shutout innings allowing 3 hits and 4 walks while striking out 12 batters.
The Good:
Manny Ramirez was 2 for 4 with 2 rbis.
Darren Lewis was 2 for 4.
The Bad:
Jason Varitek was 0 for 4.
Craig Grebeck was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Chris Stynes was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Jose Offerman was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Carl Everett was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts and an error.
Dante Bichette was just 1 for 4.
Shea Hillenbrand was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Honorable Mention:
Trot Nixon played right field in the final two innings.
Final Thoughts:
Not much went right offensively against Halama but they didn't need much with Pedro on the mound, first inning warning or not. With all the attention Hideo Nomo is getting, Pedro reminded everyone why he's the ace of the staff. The Sox had lost two in a row and needed to bounce back in this one. Ramirez continues to be worth every cent they spent on him and good god almighty can they get rid of Grebeck now? The guy plays good defense but he can't hit the ball off a tee at this point. Lou Merloni may not be able to play short as well but at least he could get on base once in a while. I don't know why they just have Lansing play short and put Grebeck in for defense later because Grebeck is an automatic out at this point. Still, Pedro did well, Manny did well and Arrojo slammed the door pretty good. Not much to complain about in this one. The win improved the Sox to 17-9, tied for first place with the Torotno Blue Jays for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night Hideo Nomo (3-1, 2.40 ERA) takes the mound against old buddy Aaron Sele of the Mariners in the second game of this set. The game begins at 10:05 PM Eastern time at Safeco Field.
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