Happy Mother's Day everyone. After getting embarrassed at Fenway by the Seattle Mariners, the Boston Red Sox needed to make a statement against the Oakland A's and they did just that. The Sox 2 of 3 from the A's including today's dramatic victory. The Sox fell behind 4-1 after Hideo Nomo got knocked out in the fifth inning and Tim Wakefield allowed 2 inherited runners to score. The Sox bullpen didn't allow a run the next 6 innings to keep the A's in check. Trailing 4-1 in the bottom of the eighth, John Valentin drove home Jose Offerman and Manny Ramirez belted his 13th home run of the season to tie the game. Derek Lowe nearly gave away the game twice in extras but wormed his way out of trouble setting the stage for the bottom of the eleventh. Jason Varitek clobbered his first home run of the season off Jeff Tam to win the game. The Sox had won it 5-4 in 11 innings.
Nomo cruised in the top of the first inning as Johnny Damon flied out to right to start. Frank Menechino flied out to right and Jason Giambi struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox struck first against Oakland ace Mark Mulder in the bottom of the first as Trot Nixon grounded out to first to begin. Jose Offerman grounded out to short but John Valentin walked. Manny Ramirez got a base hit to center and Dante Bichette drove home Valentin with a base hit to left to give the Sox the lead. Shea Hillenbrand grounded into a force to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Olmedo Saenz flied out to center to start the top of the second before Terrance Long popped up to third. Miguel Tejada flied out to left to end the inning. Jason Varitek grounded back to the mound to start the bottom of the second and Mike Lansing grounded out to short. Darren Lewis flied out to left to end the inning.
Nomo ran into trouble in the top of the third as Eric Chavez walked to start. Chavez was thrown out at second trying to steal but Mario Valdez walked. Sal Fasano struck out swinging but Damon walked. Menechino took strike three to end the inning. Nixon walked to start the bottom of the third but Offerman struck out swinging. Valentin flied out to right and Ramirez took strike three to end the inning.
Giambi walked to start the top of the fourth but Saenz struck out swinging. Giambi moved to second on the grounder to first by Long but Tejada grounded out to short to end the inning. Bichette was hit with a pitch to start the bottom of the fourth but Hillenbrand forced him at second. Varitek flied out to right and Hillenbrand took off for second. Fasano threw the ball away and Hillenbrand took third on the error. Lansing struck out swinging to end the inning.
All of a sudden Nomo imploded in the top of the fifth as Chavez singled to center to start. Valdez hit a home run all the way to Saturn to give the A's the lead. Fasano and Damon worked back to back walks and that was it for Nomo. After cruising in the first two innings, Nomo walked 6 batters and gave up a home run. Tim Wakefield came in and Menechino singled to center to load the bases before Giambi scored Fasano with a sac fly. Saenz was plunked to load the bases and Damon scored on the grounder to first by Long. Tejada grounded out to third to end the inning to close the book on Nomo. Nomo lasted just 4 plus innings and allowed 4 runs, putting the Sox in a 4-1 hole.
Lewis got a base hit to left to begin the bottom of the fifth but Nixon banged into a double play. Offerman grounded back to the mound to end the inning,
Chavez singled to center to start the top of the sixth but Valdez popped up to short. Fasano forced Chavez at second but Damon walked. Menechino flied out to right to end the inning. Valentin grounded out to short to start the bottom of the sixth before Ramirez struck out swinging. Bichette lined out to second to end the inning.
"El Guapo" Rich Garces came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Giambi grounded out to short to start. Saenz flied out to left and Long grounded out to first to end the inning. Hillenbrand struck out swinging to start the bottom of the seventh but Varitek walked. Lansing singled to center and both runners moved over on the grounder to the mound by Lewis. Nixon popped up to center to end the inning.
Pete Schourek came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Tejada popped up to left to start. Chavez struck out swinging but Valdez walked. Fasano grounded out to third to end the inning. Mulder returned for the bottom of the eighth but Offerman tripled into the centerfield triangle to chase him. A's manager Art Howe brought in Jim Mecir to pitch to Valentin and John singled home Offerman to cut the lead. Ramirez then blasted his 13th home run of the season to tie the game. Bichette grounded out to third and Hillenbrand grounded out to second, but Varitek singled to right. Lansing grounded out to second to end the inning with the game tied 4-4.
Rod Beck came in for the top of the ninth and Damon flied out to center to start. Menechino flied out to left but Giambi singled to right. Saenz flied out to right to end the inning. Carl Everett pinch hit for Lewis to start the bottom of the ninth but struck out swinging. Nixon grounded out to short and Offerman took strike three to end the inning.
Beck returned for the top of the tenth and Long flied out to center to start. Tejada singled to right but Chavez took strike three. Tejada stole second and Valdez was intentionally walked. Derek Lowe came in to pitch and Jeremy Giambi pinch hit for Fasano. Giambi hit a routine grounder to Valentin who dove on the ball and shouted at it for an error to load the bases. Ramon Hernandez pinch ran for Giambi but Damon struck out swinging to end the inning. Jeff Tam came in to pitch the bottom of the tenth and Valentin lined out to short to start. A's manager Art Howe had enough of Ramirez and intentionally walked him, choosing to face Bichette. Bichette took strike three and Hillenbrand popped up to third to end the inning.
Things got hairy for Lowe in the top of the tenth when Menechino doubled to left to start. Giambi was intentionally walked to set up the double play and sure enough, Saenz banged into one. Long was intentionally walked to set up a force and Tejeda grounded out to second to end the inning. This set the stage for the bottom of the eleventh when Tam had Varitek down to a 1-2 count. Varitek then sent the next pitch out of the yard for a game winning walkoff home run to give the Sox the 5-4 victory.
Hero of the Night is Jason Varitek. His 11th inning home run won the game.
The Good:
Manny Ramirez was 2 for 4 with a walk and a 2 run homer.
Darren Lewis was 1 for 3.
Rich Garces pitched a scoreless inning.
Pete Schourek pitched a scoreless inning.
Rod Beck tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
Derek Lowe earned the win with 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Carl Everett was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
Hideo Nomo allowed 4 runs in 4 innings.
The Ugly:
Trot Nixon was 0 for 4 but walked.
Jose Offerman was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.
John Valentin was just 1 for 4 with an error but walked, drove in a run and scored twice.
Dante Bichette was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but was hit with a pitch and drove in a run.
Shea Hillenbrand was 0 for 5 with a strikeout but stole a base.
Mike Lansing was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Tim Wakefield allowed 2 inherited runners to score but none of his own in 2 innings of work.
Final Thoughts:
That was a much needed win to save face on this homestead. Taking 2 out of 3 from the A's after dropping 2 of 3 from Seattle got their momentum back. The problem is their starters have looked like dog poo the past week. Nomo, Paxton Crawford & Tomo Ohka all looked good in April but have faltered in May. The Good news is David Cone is ready so either Ohka or Crawford are gone by tomorrow. It most likely will be Ohka since Crawford outfield Barry Zito last week. As for this game, what a win. They showed a lot of heart and kudos to the bullpen for locking it down after Nomo left. They got out of jams when they had to and it led to the victory. Big props to Manny Ramirez for the 2 run bomb to tie the game to set up Varitek's heroics. Hopefully the Sox can ride this win as momentum for the next series. The win improved the Sox to 22-15, 0.5 games ahead of the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox now travel on the road to Minnesota for a set with the Twins. After an off-day tomorrow, Frank Castillo (3-2) takes on Mark Redman of the Twins on Tuesday night. The game begins at 8:05 PM Eastern time at the Metrodome.
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