Towers got the ball in the top of the first inning and Johnny Damon immediately socked his first home run of the year to put the Sox up for good one batter into the game. Jose Offerman lined out to right but Nomar Garciaparra smashed his first home run of the season to increase the lead. Manny Ramirez flied out to left and Tony Clark took strike three to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Damon and Garciaparra hit homers
Lowe got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jerry Hairston struck out swinging to start. Chris Singleton flied out to left and David Segui grounded out to first to end the inning.
Trot Nixon lined out to short to begin the top of the second but Shea Hillenbrand lined out to right. Jason Varitek grounded out to second to end the inning. Jeff Conine grounded out to short to start the bottom of the second before Jay Gibbons grounded out to second. Tony Batista flied out to left to end the inning.
Rey Sanchez led off the top of the third with a pop up to short but Damon singled to left. Offerman popped up to short and Nomar flied out to center to end the inning. The O's beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the third inning as Melvin Mora grounded out to third to start. Brook Fordyce also grounded out to third and Mike Bordick grounded out to short to end the inning.
Ramirez grounded out to short to start the top of the fourth but Clark ripped a base hit to center. Nixon forced Clark at second and Hillenbrand grounded back to the mound to end the inning. The O's beat the ball in the dirt again in the bottom of the fourth as Jerry Hairston grounded out to short to start. Singleton and Segui both grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the fifth as Varitek flied out to center to begin. Sanchez popped up to Towers but Damon singled to left. Damon stole second, Offerman walked and Nomar lashed a base hit to center to score Damon. Offerman got picked off second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-0.
The O's got their first baserunner when Hillenbrand threw a ground ball by Conine all the way to the Everglades for an error to begin the bottom of the fifth. Lowe recovered to get Gibbons to bang into a double play and Batista to ground out to third to end the inning.
Ramirez grounded out to short to start the top of the sixth but Clark popped up to third in foul territory. Nixon stroked a single to left and Hillenbrand pounded a ground rule double down the left field line, but Varitek grounded out to short to end the inning. Lowe got in trouble for the first time all night when he walked Mora and Fordyce back to back to start the bottom of the sixth. Bordick hit one up the elevator shaft and Hairston grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Rick Bauer came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Sanchez grounded back to the mound to begin. Damon also grounded back to the mound and Offerman took strike three to end the inning. Lowe got Singleton to pop up to second to begin the bottom of the seventh. Segui popped up to short and Conine flied out to left to end the inning. Lowe was 6 outs away from repeating Hideo Nomo in the same venue a year later.
Nomar grounded out to second to start the top of the eighth but Ramirez singled to center. Clark hit into a double play to end the inning. There would be no repeat as Gibbons walked to start the bottom of the eighth and Batista beat out a roller to third to break up the no-hitter. Sox manager Grady Little came to get Lowe and that was a hell of an effort by Derek to hold the O's to just one hit and 3 walks in 7 plus innings. "El Guapo" Rich Garces came in to pitch and Mora lined out to center before Gary Matthews pinch hit for Fordyce. Matthews popped up to third but Bordick walked to load the bases. Hairston forced Bordick at second to end the inning.
Fernando Lunar took over behind the plate for the top of the ninth and Nixon grounded out to second to start. Hillenbrand grounded out to third but Varitek singled to center. Sanchez hit a seeing eye single into left but Damon forced Sanchez at second to end the inning. Ugueth Urbina took the mound to close out the bottom of the ninth and Singleton led off with a double to right. Segui flied out to right and Singleton took third on the fly out to center by Conine. Gibbons lined out to Nomar to end the game. The Sox had won it 3-0.
The Good:
Johnny Damon was 3 for 5 with a home run, stolen base and 2 total runs scored.
Nomar Garciaparra was 2 for 4 with a home run and two total rbis.
Rich Garces pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Ugueth Urbina earned his first save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
None
The Ugly:
Jose Offerman was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.
Manny Ramirez was just 1 for 4.
Tony Clark was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Trot Nixon was just 1 for 4.
Shea Hillenbrand was just 1 for 4 with an error.
Jason Varitek was just 1 for 4.
Rey Sanchez was just 1 for 4.
Final Thoughts:
That was a nice bounceback win considering Pedro Martinez' disaster on Opening Day. Its a shame they lost Dustin Hermanson on Wednesday night but Lowe looked great tonight. Obviously expecting Lowe to go from closer to starter may not work but it did for one night anyway. He had the O's in fits all night and only the walks came back to bite him. Nomar and Damon were a nice 1-2 punch and once Manny Ramirez and Tony Clark get cooking, this is going to be a tough lineup to beat. The big thing when it comes to Lowe is his defense. If Nomar, Hillenbrand and Sanchez can field ground balls, that's going to do wonders for Lowe. Urbina and Garces slammed the door pretty good and if Urbina can pitch as well as Lowe did in 2000, this could be a tough bullpen this year too. All in all it was a good win and hopefully more wins are on the way. Tomorrow afternoon Frank Castillo makes his first start of the year for Boston against Scott Erickson of the Orioles. The game begins at 2:05 PM at Camden Yards.
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