Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move. Craig Grebeck was reinstated from the Disabled List and Lou Merloni was sent down to Pawtucket to make room for Craig. Grebeck couldn't hit the ball out of his hand the first month of the season but played damn good defense, at this point he can't get any worse at the plate....right?
As for the game, Pedro Martinez (6-0, 1.52 ERA) came to the rescue again. After the Red Sox dropped two of three to the Minnesota Twins, Pedro dominated the Kansas City Royals in tonight's game. Pedro tossed 8 shutout innings allowing just 6 baserunners to keep the Sox ahead all game. Manny Ramirez drove in another 2 runs, Jason Varitek hit a 3 run bomb and Trot Nixon went deep for all the runs Pedro needed. Hipolito Pichardo and Derek Lowe fell apart in the ninth inning but the Sox were ahead far enough to withstand it. The Sox had beaten the Royals 6-3 at Kauffman Stadium.
Stein got the ball in the top of the first inning and Trot Nixon led off with a walk. Jose Offerman flied out to deep right but Carl Everett dropped a base hit to right. Both runners moved over on the Manny Ramirez grounder to third but Troy O'Leary popped up to right to end the inning. Martinez got the ball in the bottom of the first and Carlos Beltran ripped a base hit to center to start. Rey Sanchez beat out a double play ball and Mike Sweeney lined out to Everett. Jermaine Dye took strike three to end the inning.
John Valentin struck out swinging to start the top of the second inning but Brian Daubach walked. Shea Hillenbrand banged into a double play to end the inning. Joe Randa popped up to first to start the bottom of the second before Dee Brown struck out swinging. Old pal Luis Alicea took strike three to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the third although Jason Varitek struck out swinging to start. Nixon whiffed on a high fastball but Offerman singled off the glove of Alicea. Everett hit a routine grounder to Alicea but Luis threw wide, Carl sliding around the tag for an error. Ramirez made the Royals pay with a base hit to left to score Offerman to give the Sox the lead. O'Leary whiffed on a pitch in the dirt to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Raul Ibanez led off the bottom of the third with a grounder to second before AJ Hinch struck out swinging. Beltran took strike three on the inside corner to end the inning.
The Sox iced the game in the top of the fourth as Valentin grounded out to short to start. Daubach walked and Hillenbrand singled to left before Varitek pounded a 3 run home run to right. Nixon then hit a bullet just inside the right field foul pole for back to back home runs. Old friend Cory Bailey replaced Stein and Offerman flied out to center, but Everett golfed a double inside the first base bag. Ramirez hit a line drive to Brown who whiffed on making the catch completely. Ramirez motored around for an rbi "triple" but O'Leary grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-0.
Back to back jacks
Pedro pitches a shutout
Sanchez hit a little roller to Pedro that he beat out for a single to start the bottom of the fourth and Valentin made an awesome play to turn a double play hit by Sweeney. Dye ripped a base hit to left but Randa struck out swinging to end the inning.
Hinch left the game after getting hit with a foul ball and Hector Ortiz took over behind the plate for the top of the fifth. Valentin grounded out to third, Daubach took strike three and Hillenbrand grounded out to first to end the inning. Brown flied out to left to start the bottom of the fifth but Everett didn't make a catch on an Alicea blooper for a "single". Ibanez forced Alicea at second and Ortiz grounded out to short to end the inning.
Varitek lined back to Bailey to start the top of the sixth before Nixon grounded out to third. Offerman grounded out to second to end the inning. Beltran struck out swinging to start the bottom of the sixth and Sanchez grounded out to second. Sweeney grounded out to short to end the inning.
Everett grounded out to first to start the top of the seventh before Ramirez grounded out to short. O'Leary singled to center but Valentin took strike three to end the inning. Pedro dominated the bottom of the seventh as Dye, Randa and Brown all struck out swinging in short order.
Doug Henry came in for the top of the eighth and Daubach struck out swinging to start. Hillenbrand popped up to right but Dye let it drop, throwing out Shea at first. Varitek flied out to center to end the inning. Pedro ran into trouble in his final inning as Alicea walked to start. Ibanez flied out to left and Ortiz went down hacking. Beltran lined a base hit to center to put runners at the corners before Sanchez whiffed to end the inning. That was it for Pedro who struck out 12 batters in 8 dominant innings.
Nixon walked to start the top of the ninth but Offerman struck out swinging. Nixon moved to third on the Everett grounder but Ramirez struck out swinging to end the inning. Hipolito Pichardo came in to crap his pants in the bottom of the ninth as Sweeney singled to left to start. Dye singled up the middle and Randa lashed a base hit to left to chase Pichardo with the bases loaded. Derek Lowe came in and Brown hit a routine grounder to Hillenbrand. Shea threw the ball a hundred feet in the air for an error to score Sweeney and Dye. Alicea doubled down the third base line to score Randa and bring the tying run to the plate. Ibanez hit a bullet but right to Valentin and Wilson Delgado pinch hit for Ortiz. Lowe struck out Delgado swinging and Beltran grounded out to short to end the game. The Sox had won it 6-3.
Hero of the Night is Pedro Martinez. He tossed 8 shutout innings allowing just 5 hits and a walk while striking out 12 batters.
The Good:
Trot Nixon was 1 for 3 with 2 walks, an rbi and a run scored.
Carl Everett was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Manny Ramirez was 2 for 5 with 2 rbis.
Brian Daubach walked twice in four plate appearances with a run scored.
Shea Hillenbrand was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
The Bad:
John Valentin was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Hipolito Pichardo was charged with 3 runs without getting an out.
The Ugly:
Jose Offerman was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Troy O'Leary was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Jason Varitek was just 1 for 4 but the one hit was a 3 run home run.
Derek Lowe allowed 2 inherited runners to score but none of his own in the bottom of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
That got hairy at the end but a win is a win. Pedro once again dominated and its come to be expected when he faces a light hitting team like the Royals. The offense really only scored in one inning but it was enough to win the game. Ramirez, Varitek and Nixon supplied the offense and Daubach & Valentin supplied the defense. If Hillenbrand keeps making errors, Sox manager Jimy Williams may need to use some defense in the later innings. Since Craig Grebeck can't hit for beans, put him at short and Valentin at third late in the game. The Sox look to be in pretty good shape offensively, Nomar Garciaparra can make this team deadly when he comes back. All in all it was a good win to keep in front of the New York Yankees and this could be the start of a nice win streak. The win improved the Sox to 24-17, 1.5 games ahead of the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to keep momentum going tomorrow night against the Royals when Hideo Nomo (4-2) takes on Dan Reichert of the Royals, The game begins at 8:05 PM at Kauffman Stadium.
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