The Sox threatened in the top of the first inning but could not score off starter Brad Penny. Jeff Frye flied out to center but Trot Nixon walked. Nomar Garciaparra singled and Carl Everett walked to load the bases....but Nixon was thrown out at home on a force hit by Troy O'Leary. Brian Daubach grounded out to first to end the inning. Rose started out well when he struck out Luis Castillo to begin the bottom of the first. Mark Kotsay flied out to center but Cliff Floyd singled. Floyd swiped second but Preston Wilson popped up to second to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the second inning as Scott Hatteberg watched strike three go by to start. Manny Alexander grounded out to short and Rose himself grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Rose kept the Marlins off the board in the bottom of the second as Mike Lowell popped up to first to start. Derrek Lee grounded out to short and Dave Berg popped up to short to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the third inning against Vic Darensbourg after Penny was hauled off on a gurney after the bottom of the second. Frye flied out to right but Nixon tripled into almost the exact same spot. Nomar scored Nixon with a sac fly and Everett grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Rose coughed up the lead in the bottom of the third inning. Paul Bako popped up to third and Darensbourg grounded back to the mound, but Castillo singled. Kotsay walked and Floyd crushed a 3 run 54,000 foot home run to give the Marlins the lead. Wilson whiffed to end the inning but it was 3-1 Marlins.
The Sox were deflated in the top of the fourth inning as O'Leary flied out to left, Daubach whiffed and Hatteberg grounded out to second to end the inning. Somehow Rose recovered in the bottom of the fourth as he struck out Lowell to start. Lee grounded out to first and Berg flied out to center to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the fifth as Alexander popped up to right and Rose popped up to first. Frye doubled but Nixon flied out to right to end the inning. Rose did what he could in the bottom of the fifth as he struck out Bako to start. Darensbourg whiffed but Alexander booted a routine ground ball hit by Castillo for an error. Castillo stole second but Kotsay grounded out to second to end the inning.
More incompetence in the top of the sixth inning as Nomar flied out to center but Everett singled. O'Leary flied out to center and Daubach grounded out to first to end the inning. The Sox went with a double switch, replacing Daubach with Mike Stanley and Rose with the immortal Dan Smith in the bottom of the sixth. Smith crapped his pants as Floyd walked, Wilson doubled and Lowell walked to load the bases. Lee hit a bullet to the left field wall that was snared but it was deep enough to not only score Floyd but move everyone up a base. Berg hit another sac fly to score Wilson and ice the game. Bako flied out to center to end the game but it was over 5-1.
The Marlins pulled off a double switch with Braden Looper coming in to pitch and Mike Redmond coming in to catch the top of the seventh. Jason Varitek pinch hit for Hatteberg and doubled but Alexander popped up to second. Stanley grounded out to third and Frye flied out to right to end the inning. Smith returned for the bottom of the seventh and again crapped his pants. Redmond doubled and Castillo sacrifice bunted him over to third. Kotsay scored Redmond with a sac fly to increase the lead. Floyd grounded out to short to end the inning but it was now 6-1.
Somehow the Sox rallied in the top of the eighth inning against Looper. Nixon and Nomar singled and Everett hit a routine single to right...booted by Kotsay. Nixon scored and the Sox had runners in scoring position. Armando Almanza replaced Looper and O'Leary drew a walk to load the bases and somehow bring the tying run to the plate. Darren Lewis pinch hit for Smith....and struck out. Varitek watched strike three go by and Alexander popped up to first to end the inning. That little double switch Sox manager Jimy Williams had to have cost them a big chance to get back in the game, instead they were down 6-2.
Rob Stanifer replaced Smith for the bottom of the eighth and Wilson grounded out to short to start. Lowell lined out to second and Lee hit a routine ground ball to third. Alexander pick the ball up, threw it straight up in the air and caught it in his hat for a peculiar error. Berg flied out to right to end the inning.
The Marlins made a double switch with Alex Gonzalez coming in to play short for Berg and Antonio Alfonseca coming in to pitch the top of the ninth. Stanley flied out to right and Frye grounded out to third, but Nixon singled. Nomar singled but Everett grounded out to first to end the game. The Marlins avoided a sweep with a 6-2 win.
Jackass of the Night is Dan Smith. He turned what was a manageable 3-1 deficit into an impossible 6-1 in the blink of an eye.
The Good:
Trot Nixon was 3 for 4 with a walk and 2 runs scored.
Nomar Garciaparra was 3 for 4 with an rbi.
Carl Everett was 2 for 4 with a walk and an rbi.
Jason Varitek was 1 for 2 as a pinch hitter.
Rob Stanifer pitched a scoreless 9th inning.
The Bad:
Darren Lewis struck out as a pinch hitter.
Brian Daubach was 0 for 3 but struck out.
Scott Hatteberg was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
Manny Alexander was 0 for 4 with 2 errors.
Mike Stanley was 0 for 2 at the plate.
The Ugly:
Jeff Frye was just 1 for 5.
Troy O'Leary was 0 for 3 but walked.
Brian Rose took the loss but didn't pitch that bad, allowing 3 runs in 5 innings of work. He made one mistake to Floyd but it cost him.
Final Thoughts:
If the Sox mentally took this game off to prepare for the Cleveland Indians tomorrow, they better damn well win. The Marlins are one of the worst teams in the league and the starter was out after just two innings. Throwing out Dan Smith and pulling off double switches that didn't need to be made cost them big time. Rod Beck can't come back fast enough. Manny Alexander had a horrible game but with the demotion of Wilton Veras and John Valentin gone, he has to play third because they have no one else. The loss drops the Sox to 31-24, 1 game behind the victorious New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night is the big makeup game grudge match between the Cleveland Indians and the Sox at Fenway Park. Its Pedro Martinez (8-2) matched up against ace Bartolo Colon at a special 6:05 PM start time.
