It was a great day for Boston sports. The Boston Bruins defeated the New York Rangers in overtime in Game 1 of their NHL second round playoff series and Will Middlebrooks got the biggest hit of the year to beat the Tampa Bay Rays. For 8 2/3 innings the Sox trailed the Rays 3 to 1 and down to their last strike. This would mean their 10th loss in 13 games and 4th consecutive series loss. All that stood between them and defeat was Will Middlebrooks. With the bases loaded, Middlebrooks lined the 1-2 changeup deep into left field, scoring all 3 runners and turning what was a sure 3-1 loss into a 4-3 come from behind win at Tropicana Field.
Alex Cobb took the mound in the top of the first inning and struck out Jacoby Ellsbury. Shane Victorino grounded out to third and Dustin Pedroia struck out to end the inning. Felix Doubront got the start and had serious control issues. Desmond Jennings struck out but Luke Scott legged out an infield single. Ben Zobrist walked but Evan Longoria flied out. Yunel Escobar walked to load the bases but James Loney struck out to end the inning.
Cobb cruised in the top of the second inning. David Ortiz grounded out before both Mike Napoli and Daniel Nava struck out to end the inning. The Rays struck first in the bottom of the second inning. Sean Rodriguez struck out and Jose Lobaton flied out, but Ryan Roberts crushed a home run to dead center to give the Rays the lead. Jennings flied out to end the inning with the Rays up 1-0.
The Sox still didn't get a hit in the top of the third. Stephen Drew flied out, Will Middlebrooks flied out and Jarrod Saltalamacchia lined out to end the inning. Doubront ran into more trouble in the bottom of the third. Scott walked but Zobrist struck out. Longoria singled but Escobar flied out. Loney flied out to end the inning.
The Sox struck back in the top of the fourth inning. Ellsbury lined out but Victorino doubled. Pedroia grounded out but Ortiz singled home Shane to tie the game. Napoli whiffed to end the inning with the score 1-1. Doubront settled down in the bottom of the fourth. Rodriguez and Lobaton struck out but Roberts grounded out to end the inning.
Cobb remained tough in the top of the fifth inning. Nava lined out and Drew struck out, but Middlebrooks walked. Saltalamacchia grounded out to end the inning. Doubront continued to have trouble in the bottom of the frame although Jennings struck out to lead off. Scott grounded out but Zobrist and Longoria walked. Escobar popped up but Felix had thrown too many pitches to get through 5.
Cobb gave the Sox nothing in the top of the sixth inning. Ellsbury and Victorino grounded out but Pedroia singled. Ortiz grounded out to end the inning. The wheels fell off in the bottom of the sixth as Loney walked to chase Doubront. That was 6 walks for Doubront in less than 6 innings....brutal.
Clayton "Vigo" Mortensen came in and got pinch hitter Matt Joyce to ground out, advancing Loney to second. Joe Lobaton walked (7th walk total) and both runners advanced on yet another passed ball from Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Ryan Roberts walked to load the bases and Desmond Jennings finally made the Sox pay for the mistakes with a single that scored Loney. Andrew Miller replaced the ineffective Mortensen and gave up a single to Luke Scott which scored Lobaton. Miller then got a big out by striking out Ben Zobrist then escaped the jam by getting Evan Longoria to ground out. The Rays took advantage of 3 walks and 2 hits to take a 3-1 lead.
The Rays kept the Sox off the board in the top of the seventh. Napoli walked but Nava flied out to chase Cobb, Jake McGee came in and threw a wild pitch that moved Napoli to second. Drew popped up and Middlebrooks grounded out to end the inning. Craig Breslow had the bottom of the seventh inning and he cruised. Escobar, Loney and Joyce all grounded out in short order.
Joel Peralta kept the Sox at bay in the top of the eighth inning. Saltalamacchia popped up, Ellsbury grounded out and Victorino popped up to end the inning. Victorino was the real hero of the bottom of the eighth as he was throwing himself around like a pinball machine. Junichi Tazawa (3-2, 2.95 ERA) got the ball and Shane made a difficult running catch on Lobaton. He dove for a foul ball (and missing) only for Roberts to strike out. Shane then made a diving catch on Desmond Jennings to end the inning.
Victorino had to leave the game with a back injury (gee I wonder why) and Rays closer Fernando Rodney came in to nail down the 9th. Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz worked back to back walks to put the tying runs on base. Pedro Ciriaco ran for David Ortiz but appeared to be stranded when Mike Napoli struck out . Daniel Nava walked to load the bases. With a chance to put the Sox on top, Drew struck out. Middlebrooks fell behind 1-2 before lacing a changeup into left field that scored all 3 runners and gave the Red Sox a shocking 4-3 lead. Saltalamacchia walked to chase Rodney and Alex Torres got Ellsbury to ground out to end the inning. Wow....
Taz returned for a hairy bottom of the 9th. Jonny Gomes took over in left as Nava moved to right. Scott singled to lead off and Sam Fuld pinch ran for him. Drew heroically snared a line drive off the bat of Zobrist. Taz struck out Longoria but Yunel Escobar singled to put the winning run at first. With all eyes on him, Tazawa got Loney to ground out to end the game. The Sox had stolen it 4-3.
Hero of the Night is a no-brainer. Will Middlebrooks was 1 for 3 with a walk but the one hit was a 3 run double to give the Sox a lead in the 9th inning.
The Good:
Dustin Pedroia was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
David Ortiz was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.
Pedro Ciriaco pinch ran for Ortiz and scored.
Craig Breslow pitched a scoreless 7th inning.
Junichi Tazawa got the win with 2 scoreless innings.
THE BAD:
Jacoby Ellsbury was 0 for 5 with a strikeout.
Stephen Drew was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts
Clayton Mortensen allowed an inherited runner to score and one of his own in just 1/3 of an inning.
THE UGLY:
Shane Victorino was just 1 for 4, but scored a run and made great defensive plays.
Mike Napoli was 0 for 3 with a hat trick but walked.
Daniel Nava was 0 for 3 but walked and scored.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 0 for 3 but walked.
Felix Doubront walked 6 guys and was knocked out in the 6th but he only gave up 2 runs and struck out 7.
Andrew Miller allowed an inherited runner to score but got out of the 6th unscathed.
Honorable Mention:
Jonny Gomes played right field in the bottom of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
Well this WAS going to be another tough loss for the Sox that generated no offense again but one swing of the bat changed that. It was a gutty win to prove that this year's team has balls but they still have a lot of work to do on offense. Napoli and Ellsbury are slumping and anytime your leadoff and cleanup hitters can't hit, you're in trouble. Doubront once again walked everything but if he can cut down on them, he'll return to the effectiveness he showed in the first half of 2012. Once again Sox pitchers had trouble in the 9th so it wasn't just Bailey or Hanrahan. Speaking of Hanrahan, he underwent Tommy John surgery today which means we've probably seen the last of him in Boston. 7 million dollars for 7 innings....lovely. Still, a win is a win and it moved the Sox to 24-17, 1 game behind the Yankees for the AL East lead. With Bailey on his way back, the bullpen appears to be in fine shape and if the offense can come around, they can easily overtake the Yankees who just lost Andy Pettite to the disabled list. Clay Buchholz goes tonight in Minnesota against the struggling Vance Whorley.
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