The bad news was the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Boston Bruins in Game 3 of their first round NHL playoff series but the good news was the Boston Red Sox defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in 12 innings. The Sox broke out to a 2-0 lead but the Jays tied it in the top of the fourth. Toronto got another two runs in the sixth and things looked bleak going into the bottom of the eighth. Kevin Millar drove in a big run to cut the lead but the Jays still led going into the ninth. Mark Bellhorn did the honors with an rbi single to tie the game. Three innings later it was Big Papi himself, David Ortiz, that hit the walkoff home run to win the game. The Sox had beaten the Jays 6-4 on Easter Sunday at Fenway Park
Schilling got the ball in the top of the first inning and Reed Johnson led off with a fly out to Gabe Kapler to start. Frank Catalanotto lined a ball off Schilling into center for a base hit and Vernon Wells lined one past Mark Bellhorn lined one past Mark Bellhorn for a single. Carlos Delgado struck out swinging and Josh Phelps struck out swinging on a pitch in the dirt to end the inning. The Sox wasted no time getting to Jays starter Miguel Batista in the bottom of the first as Mark Bellhorn led off with a walk. Bill Mueller lined out to short but David Ortiz also drew a walk. Manny Ramirez doubled into the right field corner to score Bellhorn and Kevin Millar hit a sac fly to right to score Ortiz. Jason Varitek drew a walk but Kapler struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Eric Hinske led off the top of the second by popping up to Bellhorn before Greg Myers grounded out to first. Orlando Hudson grounded out to second to end the inning. Cesar Crespo led off the bottom of the second by grounding out to second before Pokey Reese struck out swinging. Bellhorn grounded out to second to end the inning.
Chris Gomez struck out swinging to start the top of the third before Johnson also went down hacking. Catalanotto grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the third as Mueller grounded out to first to start. Ortiz struck out swinging and Ramirez flied out to right to end the inning.
The Jays got to Schilling in the top of the fourth as Wells doubled under the glove of Mueller into the left field corner to start. Delgado got hit with a pitch and Phelps doubled to the centerfield wall to score Wells. Hinske grounded out to first but Delgado scored and Phelps moved to third to tie the game. Schilling got a big out by striking out Myers swinging. Hudson took strike three to end the inning,
The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the fourth as Millar hit a rocket to Hinske to start. Varitek grounded back to the mound and Kapler grounded grounded out to third to end the inning.
Hinske puts Toronto on top
Gomez struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth before Johnson flied out to right. Catalanotto flied out to center to end the inning. Crespo struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fifth before Reese grounded out to short. Bellhorn walked but Mueller grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Jays struck again in the top of the sixth as Wells flied out to center to start. Delgado also flied out to center but Phelps got a base hit to center. Hinske then hit a home run all the way into Lake Titicaca to put the Jays on top. Myers hit a routine grounder to Reese who booted it....then threw the ball away for two errors on one play. Hudson struck out swinging to end the inning with Toronto up 4-2.
Ortiz grounded out to second to start the bottom of the sixth before Ramirez grounded out to short. Millar flied out to center to end the inning.
Gomez took strike three to start the top of the seventh and Johnson took strike three on the outside corner. Catalanotto flied out to right to end the inning. Batista returned for the bottom of the seventh and Wells made a diving catch to rob Varitek of a single to start. Kapler got a base hit to left but Crespo flied out to center. David McCarty pinch hit for Reese and popped up to Hudson to end the inning.
Schilling returned for one final inning in the top of the eighth as Wells popped up to McCarty to start. Delgado flied out to right and Phelps grounded out to third to end the inning. That was it for Schilling who went 8 innings but allowed 4 runs on 6 hits while striking out ten.
Kevin Cash came in to catch and Terry Adams came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth. Bellhorn walked but Mueller popped up to second. Valerio De Los Santos was brought in to face Ortiz again but this time David got a base hit to right. Justin Speier came in to face Ramirez and Manny got a base hit to left to load the bases. Millar got a seeing eye single to left to score Bellhorn to cut the lead but Varitek struck out swinging. Kapler struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox down 4-3.
Alan Embree came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Hinske popped up to second to start. Cash walked but Hudson struck out swinging. Gomez singled to left to chase Embree. Keith Foulke came in to pitch and Johnson flied out to a running Kapler to end the inning. Kerry Ligtenberg came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Crespo doubled down the left field line to start. McCarty struck out swinging but Bellhorn ripped a base to hit to right. Crespo motored around to score to tie the game. Mueller struck out swinging but Bellhorn stole second to put the winning run at second. That was it for Ligtenberg as Jason Kershner came in to pitch to Ortiz. David hit a rocket but Wells jumped up to catch at the centerfield wall to end the inning with the game tied 4-4.
Tie game!
Foulke returned for the top of the tenth and Catalanotto singled to right to start. Millar made a diving catch to rob Wells of a double and Delgado took strike three. Phelps and Hinske walked to load the bases but Cash grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Aquilino Lopez came in to pitch the bottom of the tenth and Ramirez got a seeing eye single to left. Millar hit a grounder to short but Ramirez slid in safe at second for a "single". Varitek banged into a double play and Kapler popped up to third in foul territory to end the inning.
Bobby Jones came in to crap his pants in the top of the eleventh as he walked Hudson and Gomez on eight straight balls. Sox manager Terry Francona yanked Jones before he could cause any more damage and brought in Mark Malaska. Johnson beat out a double play ball to put runners at the corners but Catalanotto struck out swinging. Wells grounded out to second to end the inning, good work by Malaska. Crespo struck out swinging to start the bottom of the eleventh before McCarty popped up to short. Bellhorn grounded out to second to end the inning.
Malaska returned for the top of the 12th inning and Delgado grounded out to short to start. Phelps grounded out to second and Hinske flied out to center to end the inning. Lopez returned for the bottom of the 12th and Mueller walked to start. Ortiz then launched a 2 run home run into the Monster Seats to win the game. The Sox had won it 6-4 in 12 innings.
Hero of the Night is David Ortiz. His two run home run in the 12th won the game
The Good:
Mark Bellhorn was 1 for 3 with 3 walks, an rbi, a stolen base and 2 runs scored.
Manny Ramirez was 3 for 5 with an rbi.
Kevin Millar was 2 for 4 with 2 rbis.
Alan Embree got the first two outs of the ninth inning.
Keith Foulke tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Mark Malaska got the win with 2 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Bill Mueller was 0 for 5 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.
Pokey Reese was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
David McCarty was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Bobby Jones walked the only two batters he faced.
The Ugly:
Jason Varitek was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but walked.
Gabe Kapler was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
Cesar Crespo was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.
Curt Schilling allowed 4 runs but went 8 innings allowing 6 hits while striking out 10.
Final Thoughts:
It wasn't pretty but it was a win. Curt Schilling looked mortal in this one but he battled for 8 innings. The Sox bullpen once again stepped up with four shutout innings to preserve the win. Sox manager Terry Francona said after the game said it was a great win while Jason Varitek said David Ortiz was awesome. Can't argue with that, that's for sure. Crespo starting the ninth with a double and Malaska getting out of the 11th inning jam were the unsung heroes of this one. The Sox bullpen are being taxed early but Schilling went 8 innings in this one, just one of those days. Still, the Sox won the game when trailing by 2 in the eighth and 1 in the ninth. Ortiz getting the big walkoff was the icing on the cake. Hopefully more big wins are in store this season. After an off-day tomorrow the Sox now welcome the Baltimore Orioles in for a three game set on Tuesday night with Derek Lowe (1-0) on the mound against Erik Bedard of Baltimore. The game begins at 7:05 PM at Fenway Park.
No comments:
Post a Comment