The retiring Roger Clemens took the ball in the top of the first inning and Johnny Damon grounded out to short to start. Todd Walker sliced a single to center before moving to second on the fly out by Nomar Garciaparra. Manny Ramirez flied out to right to end the inning. Martinez took the mound to a chorus of boo's and blew away Alfonso Soriano to start. Nick Johnson drew a walk but Derek Jeter popped up to Kevin Millar in foul territory. Bernie Williams lined a base hit to left before Hideki Matsui popped up nto center to end the inning.
The Sx struck first in the top of the second inning although David Ortiz lined out to center to begin. Millar lined a single to right and Trot Nixon continued to haunt Clemen by pounding a 2 run home run to right center to put the Sox on top. Bill Mueller whiffed on a pitch in the dirt but Jason Varitek doubled into the right field corner. Damon hit a routine grounder to Enrique Wilson but he threw the ball away, allowing Varitek to score another run. Walker grounded out to first to end the inning but it was 3-0 Sox.
Could Pedro pitch with a 3 run lead in the bottom of the second? YES! Jorge Posada popped up to center, Jason Giambi whiffed on a high fastball and Wilson popped up to left to end the inning.
Clemens settled down in the top of the third as Nomar popped up to first to start. Manny flied out to right and Ortiz grounded out to first to end the inning. Pedro matched Clemens in the bottom of the third as Karim Garcia popped up to center to start before Soriano whiffed. Johnson popped up to center to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the fourth when Millar swatted a solo home run just over the fence in right to increase the lead. Nixon walked and Mueller singled him to third to chase Clemens. In what could be Rocket Roger's final game before retiring, he was knocked out after 3 innings. Mike Mussina came on for his first relief appearance ever and in what turned out to be the turning point, Mussina got Varitek to strike out and Damon to bang into a double play to end the inning. The Sox had a 4-0 lead but their only chance to blow it open was lost.
Pedro kept the Yankees out of sorts in the bottom of the fourth as Jeter grounded out to third to begin. Williams whiffed but Matsui doubled over the head of Damon in center. Posada grounded out to first to end the inning.
The Sox blew another chance in the top of the fifth although Walker popped up to left to start. Nomar and Ramirez stroked back to back singles but Ortiz whiffed. Millar grounded out to short to end the inning. The Yankees began their comeback in the bottom of the fifth as Giambi crushed a solo home run to dead center to put them on the board. Wilson flied out to left, Garcia whiffed and Soriano looked at strike three to end the inning but it was 4-1 Sox.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the sixth as Nixon was rung up for strike three to start. Mueller grounded out to third before Varitek grounded out to second to end the inning. Pedro kept up the pace in the bottom of the sixth as Johnson grounded out to first to start. Jeter whiffed and Williams flied out to right to end the inning.
Felix Heredia came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Damon whiffed to start. Walker popped up to third and that was it for Heredia. Jeff Nelson came in to get Garciaparra to strike out to end the inning. Pedro got tagged again in the bottom of the seventh although Matsui grounded out to second to begin. Posada lined out to center but Giambi blasted his second homer of the night to wake the crowd up. Wilson and Garcia stroked back to back singles as Pedro looked like he was running out of gas. Pedro turned up the velocity thinking it was his last batter to blow away Soriano on his 100th pitch to end the inning with the Sox still ahead 4-2.
Nelson returned briefly in the top of the eighth to get Ramirez to ground out to third. The Yankees turned to David Wells, the hero of Game 5, to keep the Sox at bay but Ortiz had other plans. David launched the first pitch he saw over the right field wall for a home run to once again quiet the crowd. Millar grounded out to short and Nixon popped up to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-2.
The trio of Mike Timlin, Alan Embree and Scott Williamson had given up a combined 1 run in 20 innings through 12 playoff games but Grady Little defied all logic by bringing back Pedro to pitch the top of the eighth when everyone knows he's out of gas out of 100 pitches. Pedro did manage to get Johnson to pop up to short to put the Sox 5 outs away from the pennant but Jeter lined an 0-2 high fastball over the head of Nixon for a double. Timlin and Embree were ready in the bullpen when Williams lined Pedro's 115th pitch into center to score Jeter to cut the lead. Finally Grady Little bounded out of the dugout and Sox fans exhaled thinking help was on the way to pitch to Matsui. In what proved to be one of the most monumental mistakes, all Little did was ask if Pedro could get Matsui. Pedro said yes and Little went back to the dugout. Matsui lined an 0-2 fastball down the right field line for a ground rule double to put the tying runs into scoring position. With Embree and Timlin standing in the bullpen and Sox owner John Henry staring a hole at him, Little never budged. Posada made Little pay by lining a blooper into center out of the reach of both Nomar and Walker. Williams and Jeter scored and with nobody covering second, Posada took second on the double to tie the game. Yankee Stadium went absolutely nuts in one of the loudest ovations in Stadium history. FINALLY Little took Pedro out but the damage was done. Little had been a decent manager the past two years but this one decision to leave in Pedro despite all scouting reports saying he was done after 100 pitches will haunt him forever. As for Pedro, what should have been 7 innings of 2 run ball turned into a nightmare no-decision.
Alan Embree came in to face the lefty Giambi and got him to line out to center, begging the question why didn't he come in to face Matsui two batters earlier? Little bounded out of the dugout again and a clearly pissed off Embree didn't move. It was clear Embree didn't want to come out and logic indicated now you've lost him for the rest of the game if you take him out. Since logic and Little weren't friends that night, in came Timlin to face the pinch hitter Ruben Sierra for Wilson. Sierra was intentionally walked and Aaron Boone came in to run for him. Timlin walked Garcia to load the bases but Soriano lined a ball off the second base bag right to Walker for the force to end the inning with the game tied 5-5.
Mariano Rivera came in to pitch the top of the ninth and the Sox were deflated. Mueller grounded out to second but Varitek singled to right to put the go-ahead run at first. Damien Jackson ran for Varitek and Damon grounded out to third, adavancing Damien to second. Soriano made a jumping stab on a Walker liner to end the inning. Timlin returned for the bottom of the ninth with Doug Mirabelli now bhind the plate and got Johnson to pop up to start. Jeter whiffed which made Grady Gump look even worse for leaving in Pedro to face him. Not known for his defense, Walker made a great stab to get Williams to end the inning. On to extra innings we went.
Rivera returned for the top of the tenth and whiffed Nomar to start. Manny grounded out to second but Ortiz lined a double into the left field corner to put the go-ahead run at second. Grady Gump then made another idiotic decision to pinch run Ortiz with Gabe Kapler. Millar popped up to short to end the inning and now Ortiz' bat was out of the lineup. Tim Wakefield was summoned to pitch the bottom of the 10th and got Matsui to ground out to first to start. Posada popped up to center and Giambi popped up to left to end the inning. At this point both candidates for MVP were going mano e mano.
Rivera returned for the top of the eleventh and froze Nixon for strike three to start. Mueller grounded out to second and Mirabelli whiffed to end the inning. As the bottom of the eleventh began, Jeff Weaver began warming up in the Yankees bullpen. If only Wakefield could get through the inning the Sox would have the advantage with Scott Williamson still available. Turns out he couldn't as Boone sent the first pitch Wakefield through into the left field stands to win the game and the pennant for the Yankees. After 19 regular season games, Pedro throwing down Zimmer, the fight in the bullpen, the Game 6 comeback and the Game 7 comeback for New York....Aaron Boone was the one who ended it for the Sox.
Jackass of the Night is Grady Little. I refuse to blame Tim Wakefield for a game he should never have been in or Pedro Martinez for being left to rot by Grady Gump. He ignored scouting reports all year and cost the Sox Game 1 of the Division Series.....but this one takes the cake.
The Good:
David Ortiz was 2 for 5 with a solo home run.
Kevin Millar was 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored and a home run.
Jason Varitek was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Alan Embree retired the only man he faced.
Mike Timlin tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Johnny Damon was 0 for 5 with a strikeout.
Doug Mirabelli was 0 for 1 at the plate.
Tim Wakefield took the loss by allowing the walkoff home run by Boone.
The Ugly:
Todd Walker was just 1 for 5.
Nomar Garciaparra was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
Manny Ramirez was just 1 for 5.
Trot Nixon was just 1 for 4 with a walk but the one hit was a 2 run home run.
Bill Mueller was just 1 for 5.
Pedro Martinez was left in too long and he left with a no decision, allowing 5 runs in 7 1/3 innings.
Honorable Mention:
Damien Jackson pinch ran for Varitek in the 9th.
Gabe Kapler pinch ran for Ortiz in the 10th.
Final Thoughts:
How do you come back from this? How do you get this close to the World Series only for an astronomically bad managerial decision to occur to take it all away? Its been 25 years since Bucky Dent's home run and this generation now has its own Bucky...named Boone. A whole new generation of fans have their own heartbreaking misery. There was no shame in losing to the Yankees in 99 because they were simply better, but this was far worse because they had the game won. They had a 3 run lead with 5 outs to go and nobody on base and lost. This was a choke for the ages and now the question is, what the hell do they do now? They just had one of the most prolific offenses in ML history an it'll be hard to duplicate that. Pedro Martinez will be a year older as will Derek Lowe. The one component they were inferior to the Yankees in was their starting pitching. Quite frankly at the rate they are going, Clemens, Wells, Pettite and Mussina will all be in the HoF someday so the Sox are gonna need another ace to compete with that. Obviously Clemens is retiring but the others should still be there and so will Rivera. This was one of the weaker Yankee lineups in the bottom of the order and they still beat the Sox with clutch hits. Maybe the Sox will need better bench strength as well. Either way the Cowboy Up 2003 Red Sox season is over but what a ride it was. How do you come back though? Hopefully with a new manager, a new ace and a better bench. Here's to 2004!
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