Jays Rally Late, Defeat Sox (4/22/04)

For six innings, it looked like the Boston Red Sox were going to sweep the Toronto Blue Jays on their on turf. Curt Schilling (2-1, 4.18 ERA) had allowed just one through six innings while the Sox took the lead on a David Ortiz two run bomb and Jason Varitek rbi single. Then the Jays tied it in the bottom of the seventh inning but Sox manager Terry Francona sent Curt back out for the eighth. The bases were loaded for Chris Gomez but Terry stuck with Schilling with 120 pitches on his arm. On a 1-1 count Gomez hit a grand slam to effectively end the game. The shell-shocked Sox couldn't provide an answer and Terry Adams slammed the door in the ninth. The Jays had gotten to Schilling and defeated him 7-3 at the Skydome.

                                                              "Dammit, dammit, dammit!"

The Sox wasted no time getting to Jays starter Miguel Batista in the top of the first inning as Johnny Damon grounded out to first to start. Bill Mueller walked but David Ortiz smashed his fourth home run to put the Sox on top. Manny Ramirez ripped a base hit to right but Kevin Millar forced him at second. Jason Varitek drew a walk but Mark Bellhorn struck out swinging to end the inning with Boston up 2-0.

                                                           Home run Big Papi

Schilling got the ball in the bottom of the first and Howie Clark got a base hit to center to start. Frank Catalanotto forced him at second but Vernon Wells struck out swinging. Carlos Delgado grounded out to first to end the inning.

Gabe Kapler grounded back to the mound to begin the top of the second before Cesar Crespo grounded out to second. Damon doubled to left but Mueller grounded out to second to end the inning. Josh Phelps popped up to second to start the bottom of the second before Eric Hinske flied out to right. Kevin Cash also flied out to right to end the inning.

The Sox struck again in the top of the third as Ortiz walked to start. Ramirez singled in the hole at second but Millar grounded into a double play. Varitek grounded a base hit up the middle to score Ortiz with another run. A wild pitch moved Varitek to third but Bellhorn grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox up 3-0.

                                                             RBI for Varitek

The Jays answered in the bottom of the third as Orlando Hudson singled in the hole at short to start. Chris Gomez lined out to third but Hudson stole second. Clark got a base hit to right to score Hudson and Catalanotto got a base hit to left. Frank tried for second and got thrown out trying to stretch a double although Clark moved to third. Wells flied out to center to end the inning with the Jays down 3-1.

                                                   Clark drives in a run

Kapler singled to center to start the top of the fourth but Crespo struck out swinging. Damon flied out to center and Mueller grounded out to second to end the inning. Delgado grounded out to second to open the bottom of the fourth before Phelps lined out to right. Hinske singled to center but Cash forced him at second to end the inning.

Ortiz flied out to left to start the top of the fifth but Ramirez walked. Millar ripped a base hit to left but Varitek flied out to left. Bellhorn forced Millar at second to end the inning. Hudson struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fifth before Gomez grounded out to first. Clark struck out swinging to end the inning.

The Sox blew their best chance to open it up in the top of the sixth as Kapler grounded out to first to start. Crespo tripled to centerfield and Damon walked to put runners at the corners, chasing Batista. Jason Frasor took over on the mound and Mueller struck out swinging before Ortiz lined out to right to end the inning. Catalanotto flied out to center to start the bottom of the sixth before Wells grounded out to second. Delgado doubled to left but Phelps flied out to left to end the inning.

Kerry Ligtenberg came in to pitch the top of the seventh and the Sox blew another rally. Ramirez doubled to center to start but Millar grounded out to short. Varitek was intentionally walked to set up the double play but Bellhorn took strike three. Kapler flied out to right to end the inning. The Jays struck back in the bottom of the seventh as Hinske struck out swinging to start. Cash took strike three and Hudson tripled to right. Gomez got a base hit to right to score Hudson and Clark singled to left to move Chris to third. Catalanotto singled to center to score Gomez to tie the game. Wells flied out to center to end the inning with the game tied 3-3. The Jays did all their damage with two outs.

                                                           Catalanotto ties it up

Terry Adams came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Crespo grounded out to first to start. Damon grounded out to first but Mueller got a base hit to center. A wild pitch moved Mueller to second but Ortiz struck out swinging to end the inning. Things came crashing down in the bottom of the eighth as Delgado singled to right to start. Phelps took strike three but Hinske singled to center. Cash popped up to first but Hudson walked. Sox manager Terry Francona kept Schilling in to face Gomez and Chris hit a grand slam to settle matters. Francona finally lifted Curt who went 7 2/3 innings but allowed 7 runs. Mark Malaska came in and Clark got another base hit to center but Wells flied out to center to end the inning with the Jays up 7-3.

                                                             Schilling gets rocked

Reed Johnson took over for Clark as Adams returned for the top of the ninth. Ramirez walked to start but Millar popped up to first in foul territory. Varitek struck out swinging and Bellhorn flied out to center to end the game. The Jays had won it 7-3.

Jackass of the Night is Curt Schilling. It should be Francona but Schilling was the one who gave up the grand slam and 7 total runs in 7 2/3 innings.

                                                              Schilling The Jackass

The Good:

Manny Ramirez was 3 for 3 with 2 walks.

Jason Varitek was 1 for 3 with 2 walks and an rbi.

Mark Malaska got the final out of the eighth inning.

The Bad:

Mark Bellhorn was 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.

The Ugly:

Johnny Damon was just 1 for 4 but walked.

Bill Mueller was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.

David Ortiz was just 1 for 4 with a walk but the one hit was a 2 run home run.

Kevin Millar was just 1 for 5.

Gabe Kapler was just 1 for 4.

Cesar Crespo was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.

Final Thoughts:

That game was a sucker punch to the gonads. The Sox brought it on themselves by leaving a million men on base even before the Jays tied it in the seventh. Mueller and Ortiz not being able to drive in a run in the sixth most likely led to Francona leaving in Schilling as long as he did. Still, who would ever have thought Gomez would hit a grand slam. Hopefully this is a lesson Francona learned not to leave in your starter too long even if its a work horse like Schilling. Games like this also put a damper on a mood because the Sox won 2 out of 3 against Toronto but the third they didn't was tonight. Schilling himself pitched relatively well and his line would have looked a lot better without the grand slam. Just have to tip your cap to the Jays pitchers for not breaking and for Gomez to hit that ball out. Now the tide turns as the Sox now head to New York with a rematch with the Yankees. Derek Lowe (1-1) takes the hill against Jose Contreras of New York. The game begins at 7:05 PM at Yankee Stadium.