Daubach, Sox Walkoff A's (8/16/99)

For eight innings it looked like the Oakland A's were going to pull in to a tie for the American League Wild Card slot. Brian Rose got rocked for 4 runs in just 2 1/3 innings although the Sox got some runs back courtesy of Reggie Jefferson and John Valentin. The A's got a run off Rich Garces to take a 5-3 into the bottom of the ninth. Things looked bleak when John Valentin struck out for the second out but A's manager Art Howe made a boo-boo. He brought in Tim Worrell to face the AL Player of The Week Brian Daubach. Daubach continued his hot streak with a bases clearing double to win the game. The Sox had stunned the A's 6-5 at Fenway Park.

                                                   Shireen Crutchfield approves of the win

Rose got the ball in the top of the first inning and Ryan Christenson grounded out to third to start. Randy Velarde grounded out to first and Jason Giambi struck out swinging to end the inning. Omar Olivares got the ball to start the bottom of the first and Jose Offerman grounded a single up the middle. John Valentin grounded into a double play and Brian Daubach flied out to the left field wall  to end the inning.

John Jaha grounded out to short to start the top of the second before old friend Matt Stairs grounded out to second. Ben Grieve grounded out to second to end the inning. Nomar Garciaparra popped up to first in foul territory to start the bottom of the second. Reggie Jefferson singled to center but Jason Varitek forced Jefferson at second to end the inning.

The A's struck first in the top of the third as Miguel Tejada walked to start. Eric Chavez singled to right and AJ Hinch hit a home run all the way to Yellowstone to put the A's on top. Christenson walked and Velarde singled to center, but Giambi took strike three. Jaha ripped a base hit to center to score Christenson to chase the incompetent Rose. He allowed 4 runs in 2 2/3 innings on 4 hits and 2 walks. Mark Guthrie came in to pitch and Stairs moved the runners over with a grounder to first. Grieve flied out to left to end the inning with the A's up 4-0.

                                                              Rose gets hammered

Donnie Sadler grounded out to short to start the bottom of the third before Trot Nixon flied out to center. Offerman grounded out to short to end the inning.

Tejada walked to start the top of the fourth but Chavez struck out swinging. Hinch forced Tejada at second and promptly stole second. Christenson grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the fourth as Valentin grounded out to short to start. Daubach walked and Nomar was hit with a pitch, but O'Leary lined out to third. Jefferson lined a ball off the Monster for a single to score Daubach. Varitek grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Sox down 4-1.

                                                            Daubach scores a run

Guthrie returned for the top of the fifth and the Sox broadcast team was chosen by their first round pick in the 1999 draft Rick Asadoorian. Hope he makes it some day. Velarde struck out swinging, Giambi flied out to left and Jaha struck out swinging to end the inning.

                                                            Asadoorian in the house

The Sox struck back with Olmedo Saenz in for Giambi to start the bottom of the fifth. Sadler grounded out to short but Nixon stroked a seeing eye single in to right. Offerman moved Nixon to second with a grounder to first and Valentin ripped a base hit to right. Nixon scored to cut the lead in half but Daubach struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox down 4-2.

                                                             Sox inch closer

Stairs struck out swinging to open the top of the sixth but Grieve lined out short. That was it for Guthrie as Rich Garces came in to pitch to Tejeda. Miguel lined out to third to end the inning. Garciaparra reached on an error to start the bottom of the sixth but O'Leary could only move Nomar to second with a fly ball to right. Jefferson grounded out to second to move Nomar to third but Varitek grounded out to second to end the inning.

The A's struck in the top of the seventh as Chavez lined out to center to start. Hinch struck out swinging but Christenson singled to right. Christenson stole second and Velarde singled to to center, the ball getting booted by Sadler for an error to score Christenson. Saenz lined out to center to end the inning with the A's ahead 5-2.

The Sox fought back in the bottom of the seventh as Sadler beat out a grounder to Tejeda to start. A passed ball moved Sadler to second and Nixon moved Donnie to third with a grounder to second. Offerman singled in the hole at short to score Sadler to cut the lead and chase Olivares. Greg McMichael came in to pitch and Valentin struck out swinging and Daubach flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox down 5-3.

                                                            Sadler scores a run

Jaha took strike three to start the top of the eighth before Stairs grounded out to second. Grieve got a base hit to right and Jason McDonald ran for him. Tejada struck out swinging to end the inning. Garciaparra grounded out to third to start the bottom of the eighth and Buddy Groom came in to pitch to O'Leary. Troy grounded back to the mound and that was it for Groom. Doug Jones came in to pitch and Mike Stanley pinch hit for Jefferson. Stanley grounded out to short to end the inning.

Derek Lowe came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Chavez struck out swinging to start. Hinch grounded out to short and Christenson took strike three to end the inning. The Sox refused to go quietly in the bottom of the ninth as Varitek dumped a base hit to right to start. Butch Huskey pinch hit for Sadler and hit a line drive base hit to center to put the tying run on. Darren Lewis pinch ran for Huskey but Nixon flied out to left. Offerman drilled a base hit to right to load the bases but Valentin struck out swinging. A's manager Art Howe brought in Tim Worrell to face Daubach and one strike away from defeat, Daubach launched a ball off the Monster. Varitek and Lewis scored easily and the throw came home to get Huskey....OFFLINE....RED SOX WIN!!!

                                                                   Sox win

Hero of The Night is Brian Daubach. He got the bases clearing doubled to win the game.

                                                     Nomar hugs our hero

The Good:

Jose Offerman was 3 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored.

Reggie Jefferson was 2 for 3 with an rbi.

Darren Lewis scored a run as a pinch runner.

Donnie Sadler was 1 for 3 with a run scored.

Butch Huskey singled and scored as a pinch hitter.

Mark Guthrie tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings.

Derek Lowe got the win with a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Troy O'Leary was 0 for 4.

Mike Stanley was 0 for 1 at the plate.

Brian Rose allowed 4 runs in just 2 1/3 innings.

The Ugly:

John Valentin was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts but drove in a run.

Nomar Garciaparra was 0 for 3 but was hit with a pitch.

Jason Varitek was just 1 for 4.

Trot Nixon was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.

Rich Garces allowed a run in 2 1/3 innings.

Final Thoughts:

What a week for Daubach and what a come from behind win for the Red Sox. The Sox have a legitimate chance to repeat as Wild Card champions or overtake the Yankees if they can go on a run. Wins like this can launch a team with the proper momentum. Things are clicking and hopefully the Sox can keep this going. The only drawback is Brian Rose continues to pitch like trash. The Sox are going to need starting pitching if they're going to beat the Yankees and just Pedro Martinez and Bret Saberhagen isn't going to cut it. The win improved the Sox to 66-52, 6.5 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it two in a row against Oakland tomorrow night when Bret Saberhagen (9-4) takes on Gil Heredia of Oakland. The game begins at 7:05 PM at Fenway Park.

Sox Rally Past Tigers (5/31/99)

What a Memorial Day comeback for the Boston Red Sox. The Sox were getting their brains beat in by the Detroit Tigers as they took a 6-1 lead, knocking starter Mark Portugal out of the game after 3 innings. Then Brian Daubach hit a two run bomb off Detroit starter Bryce Florie. Creighton Gubanich drove in a run in the sixth but the damage came in the seventh. Jason Varitek hit a pinch hit two run home run off Matt Anderson and Troy O'Leary hit a two run bomb two batters later to put the Sox on top. The Tigers got a Dean Palmer home run off Derek Lowe and had the tying & winning runs in the ninth, but Tom Gordon shut the door for Boston's fourth straight win. The Sox had won the game 8-7 at Fenway Park.

                                              "My fellow Americans, the Red Sox win" - BC

Portugal got hammered immediately to start the top of the first as Luis Polonia hit a routine pop up that Nomar dropped for a "double" to start. Brad Ausmus grounded out to second but Damion Easley was plunked. Bobby Higginson got a base hit to left to score Polonia and Palmer hit a sac fly to left to score Easley with another run. Higginson was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning with the Tigers up 2-0.

                                                            Tigers strike first

The Sox answered against Florie in the bottom of the first as Jose Offerman got a base hit to left to start. John Valentin took strike three but Florie threw a pickoff throw away allowing Jose to reach second. Brian Daubach took strike three but Nomar Garciaparra drilled a base hit to center to score Jose. Nomar swiped second but Troy O'Leary grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox down 2-1.

                                                            Offerman scores a run

The Tigers exploded in the top of the second as Gape Kapler hit a home run all the way to Saturn to start. Juan Encarnacion flied out to left but Frank Catalanotto singled to right. Deivi Cruz singled in the hole at short and Polonia doubled to right to score Catalanotto. Ausmus forced Polonia but Cruz scored to increase the lead. Easley hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning with the Tigers up 5-1.

                                                   Home run Kapler

Mike Stanley grounded out to third to start the bottom of the second and Creighton Gubanich did the same. Darren Lewis got a base hit to left, Trot Nixon walked and Offerman singled in the hole at short to load the bases. Valentin lined out to left to end the inning.

The Tigers finished off Portugal in the top of the third as Higginson hit a home run all the way to Cuba to start. Palmer grounded out to short but Kapler popped up to second. Encarnacion flied out to center to end the inning and that was it for Portugal. He was rocked for 6 runs in just 3 innings.

                                                         Portugal gets wrecked

Daubach grounded out to second to start the bottom of the third and Nomar grounded out to short. O'Leary flied out to center to end the inning.

The Sox got a spark in the top of the fourth with Pat Rapp now on the mound. Catalanotto grounded out to second to start. Cruz grounded out to short and Offerman made an unbelievable play to rob Polonia of a hit to end the inning.

                                                        Great play by Offerman

Stanley popped up to second to start the bottom of the fourth and Grubanich grounded out to short. Lewis grounded out to short to end the inning.

Ausmus flied out to right to start the top of the fifth but Easley was hit with a pitch. Higginson lined out to second and Palmer flied out to center to end the inning. The Sox rallied in the bottom of the fifth as Nixon grounded out to first to start. Offerman doubled to right but Valentin grounded out to third. Daubach smashed his fourth home run of the season to cut the lead in half but Nomar grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Sox down 6-3.

                                                                   Daubach cuts the lead

Kapler flied out to right to start the top of the sixth but Encarnacion beat out a roller to third. Encarnacion was thrown out at second trying to steal and Catalanotto hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning. The Sox got another run in the bottom of the sixth as O'Leary doubled to right to start. Stanley flied out to right to move Troy to third and O'Leary scored on a Gubanich single to right. Lewis dropped down a bunt to move Gubanich to second but Nixon grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox down 6-4.

                                                                     Gubanich drives in a run

John Wasdin came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Cruz popped up to third to start. Polonia caught the Sox asleep with a bunt single down the third base line but Ausmus struck out swinging. Polonia stole second but Easley struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox took command in the bottom of the seventh with CJ Nitkowski on the mound. Offerman walked but Valentin flied out to center. Tigers manager Larry Parrish brought in Matt Anderson to face Daubach. Sox manager Jimy Williams countered by bringing in Jason Varitek to pinch hit. The gamble worked as Varitek launched his 6th home run to tie the game. Nomar got a base hit to left and O'Leary belted his ninth home run of the season to suddenly give the Sox the lead.

                                                                  Sox take the lead

Tempers flared when Anderson then hit Stanley on a 3-2 pitch and was immediately ejected by home plate umpire Chuck Meriwether. Brad Ausmus shouted that it was a 3-2 count and he wasn't trying to hit him and he got tossed as well. Larry Parrish sprinted out and got in Meriwether's face, he too was ejected. Old pal Bill Haselman came in to catch and Masao Kida came in to pitch. Gubanich hit into a double play to end the inning with the Sox up 8-6.

                                                             Meriwether gets trigger happy

The Tigers countered in the top of the eighth although Mark Guthrie was brought in just to strike out Higginson swinging. Derek Lowe came in....and Palmer hit a home run all the way to Texas to cut the lead. Kapler grounded out to short but Encarnacion beat out a roller to third. Encarnacion stole second but Catalanotto grounded out to second to end the inning with the Tigers down 8-7.

                                                                Home run Palmer

Lewis got a base hit to right to start the top of the ninth but Nixon flied out to center. Offerman walked but Valentin grounded into a double play to end the inning. Tom Gordon came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Gregg Jefferies pinch hit for Cruz. Jefferies lined out to second but Polonia singled in the hole at second. Polonia stole second but Haselman struck out swinging. Easley got plunked but Higginson flied out to center to end the game. The Sox had won it 8-7.

                                                                 Sox win

Hero of The Night is Troy O'Leary. His two run home run in the seventh inning put the Sox up for good.

                                                        Troy O'Hero

The Good:

Jose Offerman was 3 for 3 with 2 walks and 3 runs scored.

Brian Daubach was 1 for 3 with a 2 run home run.

Jason Varitek hit a pinch hit 2 run home run.

Nomar Garciaparra was 2 for 4 a stolen base, rbi and a run scored.

Darren Lewis was 2 for 4.

Pat Rapp tossed 3 scoreless innings.

Josh Wasdin got the win with a scoreless seventh inning.

Mark Guthrie struck out the only man he faced.

Tom Gordon earned his 11th save with a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

John Valentin was 0 for 5 with a strikeout.

Mike Stanley was 0 for 3.

Mark Portugal got hammered for 6 runs in just 3 innings off 7 hits.

Derek Lowe allowed a run in 2/3 of an inning.

The Ugly:

Creighton Gubanich was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.

Trot Nixon was 0 for 3 but walked.

Final Thoughts:

The Red Sox keep rolling and this was a hell of a comeback win. Down 6 to 1 most teams would have given up but they kept chipping away. Kudos to Jimy Williams for having a hunch Varitek was due and O'Leary getting the two run homer was the icing on the cake. Portugal sucks but give credit to the bullpen for surrendering one run in 6 innings of work. The bats have picked it up lately and they're in first place as long as the pitching holds up. Expecting Brian Rose and Juan Pena to carry the load is unfair but if they keep up this pace, the Sox might be AL East champs and headed to a rematch with Cleveland when all is said and done. Obviously there's four months left in the season but the Sox are in good shape. The longer the win streak, the better. The win improved the Sox to 31-19, 1.5 games in front of the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it five consecutive wins and two in a row against the Tigers tomorrow night when Bret Saberhagen takes on Jeff Weaver of Detroit. The game begins at 7:05 PM at Fenway Park.

Rose, Sox Sweep Indians (5/30/99)

How about those first place, red hot Boston Red Sox? The Sox went to Cleveland to face the same Indians team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year and swept them. Today it was rookie Brian Rose (3-0, 1.29 ERA) that tossed five perfect innings and holding the Indians to just two runs through six. Meanwhile Nomar Garciaparra hit his second 3 run bomb in 3 days off Dwight Gooden in the third inning. The Sox got some insurance in the eighth inning when Mike Stanley drove in Nomar as the suddenly hot Sox bullpen held the fort. Mark Guthrie, Jim Corsi, Rheal Cormier and Tom Gordon slammed the door as the Sox completed the sweep with a 4-2 victory over the Indians at Jacobs Field.

                                                          Olivia Hussey approves of the win

Gooden got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jose Offerman flied out to right. John Valentin doubled to left but Reggie Jefferson watched strike three go by. Nomar Garciaparra flied out to right to end the inning. Rose got the ball in the bottom of the first and Kenny Lofton grounded out to first to start. Omar Vizquel struck out swinging and Roberto Alomar's bunt was snuffed out by Rose to end the inning.

Troy O'Leary doubled to left to start the top of the second and Mike Stanley was plunked. Jason Varitek struck out swinging and Darren Lewis grounded into a double play to end the inning. Manny Ramirez flied out to center to begin the bottom of the second and Jim Thome hit one up the elevator shaft. Richie Sexson struck out swinging to end the inning.

The Sox struck first in the top of the third as Trot Nixon doubled to right to start. Jose Offerman got a base hit to right to move Nixon to third, then promptly stole second. Both Valentin and Jefferson struck out swinging but Nomar pounded his 10th home run of the season to give the Sox the lead. O'Leary walked but was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-0.

                                                      Home run Garciaparra

David Justice led off the bottom of the third by popping up to short and Travis Fryman flied out to center. Einar Diaz popped up to third to end the inning.

Stanley flied out to center to start the top of the fourth and Varitek grounded out to first. Darren Lewis lined out to right to end the inning. Lofton popped up to second to start the bottom of the fourth and Vizquel popped up to third. Alomar popped up to short to end the inning.

Nixon flied out to center to open the top of the fifth and Offerman grounded out to second. Valentin and Jefferson both got base hits to center but Nomar struck out swinging to end the inning. Ramirez struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fifth and Thome swung at air as well and Sexson flied out to right to end the inning.

O'Leary grounded out to second to start the top of the sixth and Stanley flied out to right. Varitek grounded out to short to end the inning. Nomar blew the perfect game by throwing a grounder by Justice away for an error to start. Fryman struck out swinging but Diaz broke up the no-no with a double to left. Lofton then hit a routine grounder to Stanley....under his glove for another error to score Justice, moving Diaz to third. Vizquel forced Lofton at second but Diaz scored. Alomar grounded out to short to end the inning with the Indians down 3-2.

                                               Dammit Nomar

Steve Karsay came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Lewis popped up to second. Nixon singled to center but Offerman grounded out to second to move Trot over. Valentin struck out swinging to end the inning. Rose returned for one final batter in the bottom of the seventh but Ramirez got a base hit to center. He was outstanding, holding the Indians to 2 runs on 2 hits and might have had a perfect game bid of the Sox didn't boot the ball around. Mark Guthrie came in to pitch and Ramirez stole second. Thome struck out swinging, Sexson grounded out to short and Justice grounded out to second to end the inning.

                                                    Rose stares down the Indians

The Sox got an insurance run in the top of the eighth as Jefferson grounded back to the mound to start. Nomar walked but O'Leary struck out swinging. Garciaparra stole second and Stanley got a base hit to center to score Nomar. Varitek walked but Lewis flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-2.

                                                        Stanley drives in a run

Jim Corsi came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Fryman greeted him with a double to center. Enrique Wilson pinch hit for Diaz and grounded out to third. Out came Jimy Williams as he wanted Rheal Cormier to face Lofton. Kenny walked but Vizquel flied out to left. Alomar grounded out to third to end the inning.

Chris Turner took over behind the plate with Mike Jackson now on the mound for the top of the ninth. Nixon flied out to center to start and Offerman struck out swinging. Valentin walked but Jefferson grounded out to second to end the inning. Tom Gordon came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Ramirez walked to start. Thome flied out to center and Sexson struck out swinging. Justice also struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had won it 4-2.

                                                                   Sox win

Hero of The Night is Nomar Garciaparra. His three run home run was all the runs the Sox needed in this one.

                                                         Nomar Garcia-Hero

The Good:

John Valentin was 2 for 4 with a walk.

Troy O'Leary was 1 for 3 with a walk.

Mike Stanley was 1 for 3 with an rbi and a hit by pitch

Trot Nixon was 2 for 4 with a run scored.

Brian Rose got the win by tossing 6 innings of 2 run ball on just 2 hits.

Mark Guthrie tossed a scoreless seventh inning.

Jim Corsi got the first out of the eighth inning.

Rheal Cormier got the final two outs of the eighth inning.

Tom Gordon earned his 10th save with a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Darren Lewis was 0 for 4.

The Ugly:

Jose Offerman was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but scored a run.

Reggie Jefferson was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.

Jason Varitek was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.

Final Thoughts:

Don't look now but the youth movement has put the Sox in a good position moving forward. First Juan Pena dazzled in his two starts and now Rose not only won again, he was no-hitting last year's AL Central champions. Between Pedro being the best pitcher in baseball, the Sox bats doing what they can and a good bullpen, the Sox are in good shape so far this season. They can cut down on the errors because that almost ruined the day but at least Nomar and Stanley made up for them with big hits. The New York Yankees aren't going away and each win by the Sox is crucial in order to topple the world champions. Starts like this moving forward is how the Sox need to do it, especially when they face inferior opponents. The win improved the Sox to 30-19, a half game ahead of the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox now come home for a three game set against the Detroit Tigers beginning tomorrow afternoon on Memorial Day Monday. Mark Portugal gets the start for the Sox against Bryce Florie of Detroit. The game begins at 1:05 PM at Fenway Park.