Jones, Mets Blank Sox (6/6/98)

So much for revenge of the 1986 World Series. After the Mets emphatically beat down Boston Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez, today they took the offense out of the game and blanked the home town team. Bobby Jones tossed a 3 hit shutout through 8 innings while the Sox bats did absolutely nothing. Meanwhile Tim Wakefield (6-3, 4.27 ERA) tossed one of his best games of the season allowing one run on just 1 hit and a walk.....and lost. Butch Huskey scored the only run of the game on a damn balk to put the Mets up in the sixth inning. The Sox got the tying run on base in the eighth and ninth innings but couldn't deliver the punch they needed. The Mets had beaten the Sox 1-0 at Fenway Park. How many runs did the Sox score Dean Wormer?

Wakefield got the ball in the top of the first and Brian McRae grounded out to second to start. Bernard Gilkey popped up to Darren Lewis and John Olerud flied out to left to end the inning. Jones got the ball in the bottom of the first as Darren Lewis dumped a base hit to left to start. Reggie Jefferson got a seeing eye single into right but Nomar Garciaparra hit into a 5-3 double play to put Jefferson at second. Mo Vaughn popped up to center to end the inning.

Butch Huskey led off the top of the second by flying out to the centerfield warning track before Carlos Baerga grounded out to second. Edgardo Alfonso singled to left but Matt Franco struck out swinging to end the inning. Troy O'Leary led off the bottom of the second with a single off the leg of Rey Ordonez but John Valentin just missed a home run off Pesky's Pole by 5 feet. John popped up to second, Scott Hatteberg forced O'Leary at second and Mike Benjamin grounded back to the mound to end the inning.

Ordonez flied out to center to begin the top of the third before Alberto Castillo flied out to center. McRae popped up to short to end the inning. Darren Bragg led off the bottom of the third by grounding out to second and Lewis lined out to left. Jefferson grounded out to first to end the inning.

Gilkey flied out to center to start the top of the fourth but Vaughn went OLE! on a grounder by Olerud for an error. Huskey flied out to the left field warning track and Baerga popped up to third to end the inning. Garciaparra grounded out to third to start the bottom of the fourth before Vaughn drew a walk. O'Leary grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Alfonso grounded out to short to start the top of the fifth before Franco popped up to Vaughn. Benjamin booted a ball from Ordonez for an error but Castillo forced Rey at second to end the inning. Valentin took strike three to start the bottom of the fifth before Hatteberg grounded out to second. Benjamin walked but Bragg struck out swinging to end the inning.

The Mets struck first in the top of the sixth as McRae walked to start. Gilkey struck out swinging but McRae swiped second. Olerud grounded out to second to move McRae to third and he scored on a balk of all things. Sox manager Jimy Williams ran out of the dugout for an explanation to no avail. Huskey grounded out to short to end the inning with the Mets up 1-0.

                                                  "That's a balk and you know it!"

The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the sixth as Lewis flied out to center to start. Jefferson grounded out to first and Garciaparra lined out to right to end the inning.

Baerga popped up to Vaughn in foul territory to start the top of the seventh before Alfonso grounded back to the mound. Franco popped up to short to end the inning. Vaughn lined out to left to start the bottom of the seventh before O'Leary grounded out to second. Valentin grounded out to third to end the inning.

Ordonez flied out to center to begin the top of the eighth and Benjamin made a great play to rob Castillo of a hit. Franco popped up to short to end the inning. That was it for Wakefield who allowed just 1 hit and a walk in 8 strong innings, allowing just the balked in run. 

                                                     Wakefield deserved better

Hatteberg led off the bottom of the eighth by striking out swinging and Midre Cummings pinch hit for Benjamin. Cummings struck out swinging but Bragg walked to put the tying run on. Lewis forced Bragg at second to end the inning.

Lou Merloni came in to play second in the top of the ninth with Tom Gordon now on the mound. Gilkey grounded out to short to start but Olerud singled off the Monster. Huskey grounded into a double play to end the inning. John Franco came in to close out the bottom of the ninth as Damon Buford pinch hit for Jefferson to start. Buford grounded out to third and Garciaparra took a full count strike three on the inside corner for strike three. Vaughn ripped a base hit to center and Jimy Williams sent Steve Avery the pitcher to run for Vaughn. O'Leary struck out swinging to end the game. The Mets had won it 1-0.

                                                                 Mets win

Jackass of the Night is Nomar Garciaparra. He was 0 for 4 with a strikeout while hitting into a huge double play in the first, plus taking strike three in the ninth.

                                                         Nomar the Jackass

The Good:

Reggie Jefferson was 1 for 3.

Mo Vaughn was 1 for 3 with a walk.

One of the rare times the losing pitcher ends up on the good list but Tim Wakefield pitched his best game of the season, allowing just 1 run on 1 hit and a walk in 8 innings of work.

The Bad:

Damon Buford was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.

John Valentin was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

The Ugly:

Darren Lewis was just 1 for 4.

Troy O'Leary was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.

Scott Hatteberg was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Mike Benjamin was 0 for 1 with an error but walked.

Midre Cummings struck out as a pinch hitter.

Darren Bragg was 0 for 2 with a strikeout but walked.

Honorable Mention:

Lou Merloni played second base in the final two innings.

Steve Avery pinch ran for Vaughn in the ninth inning.

Final Thoughts:

You can't lose a game worse than that, especially after Wakefield utterly dominated that game. John Valentin missed what would have been the game winning home run by five feet and the Sox bats just couldn't get a clutch hit when it counted. Wakefield allowed 1 hit in 8 innings and still lost, that's absolutely disgusting. The Sox quite frankly are a light hitting team after Mo Vaughn and losing a game like this is disheartening. The New York Yankees continue to win and losing two straight to the New York Mets at home is a recipe for disaster. The loss dropped the Sox to 34-25, 10.5 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to avoid the sweep tomorrow when today's pinch runner Steve Avery (2-1) takes on Masato Yoshii of the Mets. The game begins at 8:05 PM at Fenway Park.

Sox Pull Away Late, Down A's (4/2/98)

So far so good for the new look 1998 Boston Red Sox. Pedro Martinez was impressive in his debut last night and today the offense responded by getting to the Oakland A's bullpen. Sox starter Tim Wakefield and Oakland starter Kenny Rogers fought to a 3-3 stalemate with both out of the game by the end of the sixth inning. In the top of the seventh, Mo Vaughn put the Sox ahead with an rbi single and Jim Leyritz added an rbi hit of his own to put the Sox on top. The Sox bullpen responded with 3 scoreless innings including Tom Gordon slamming the door in the bottom of the ninth. The Sox beat the A's 6-3 in Oakland Coliseum.

                                                     Sting approves of the win

Rogers got the ball in the top of the first inning and Nomar Garciaparra grounded out to short to start. John Valentin grounded out to short but Mo Vaughn walked. Jim Leyritz grounded out to second to end the inning. Wakefield got the ball in the bottom of the first and Rickey Henderson popped up to short to start. Jason McDonald singled to center and Ben Grieve popped up to short. McDonald stole second but Matt Stairs struck out swinging to end the inning.

Rookie Jason Varitek made his season debut in the top of the second with a pop up to first in foul territory. Damon Buford made his Sox debut with a fly out to right but Troy O'Leary drew a walk. Darren Lewis grounded out to first to end the inning. The A's struck first in the bottom of the second as Jason Giambi singled in the hole at second to short. Mike Blowers was hit with a pitch and Giambi took third on the Scott Spiezio fly ball to right. AJ Hinch scored Giambi with a sac fly to give the A's the lead then Rafael Bournigal flied out to left to end the inning with the A's up 1-0.

                                                              Giambi scores a run

Donnie Sadler lined out to first to start the top of the third and Garciaparra lined out to right. Valentin also lined out to right to end the inning. Henderson popped up to left to start the bottom of the third before McDonald grounded out to first. Grieve lined out to third to end the inning.

The Sox struck back in the top of the fourth although Vaughn grounded out to first to start. Leyritz walked, Varitek singled to center and Buford walked to load the bases. O'Leary singled to center to score Leyritz to tie the game and Lewis was hit with a pitch to score Varitek. Sadler hit a sac fly to center to score Buford and increase the lead. Garciaparra lined out to left to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-1.

                                                               First rbi for Sadler

The A's answered in the bottom of the fourth as Stairs singled to right and Giambi doubled him home to cut the lead. Blowers grounded out to third, Spiezio popped up to left and Hinch struck out swinging to end the inning with the A's down 3-2.

                                                        Stairs scores a run

Valentin grounded out to short to start the top of the fifth and Vaughn struck out swinging. Leyritz flied out to right to end the inning. Bournigal grounded out to short to begin the bottom of the fifth before Henderson also grounded out to short. McDonald took strike three to end the inning.

The Sox blew a rally in the top of the sixth as Varitek grounded out to third to start. Buford doubled to left, O'Leary walked and Lewis singled to right to load the bases. Billy Taylor came in to pitch and Sox manager Jimy Williams countered by sending Reggie Jefferson in to pinch hit for Sadler. Giambi made a diving catch on a pop up but Buford tried to come home. Giambi fired home and Buford was out by a mile to end the inning, what a waste.

                                                            Yerrrr out!

Mike Benjamin came in to play second in the bottom of the sixth and Grieve walked to start. Stairs singled to left but was forced at second by Giambi. Blowers singled to left to score Grieve and tie the game, but Spiezio moved Giambi to third with a fly ball to center. That was it for Wakefield as John Wasdin made his season debut by plunking Hinch to load the bases. Bournigal lined out to left to end the inning with the game tied 3-3.

                                                            Wakefield almost goes six

The Sox went up for good in the top of the seventh as Nomar singled in the hole at short to start before moving to third on the single in the hole at second by Valentin. Lefty Buddy Groom came in to pitch to Vaughn and Mo singled home Garciaparra with a base hit to left. Leyritz singled to center to score Valentin but Varitek flied out to center. Buford took strike three and O'Leary lined out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-3.

                                                          Vaughn drives in a run

Henderson flied out to left to start the bottom of the seventh but McDonald singled to center. McDonald stole second but Grieve watched strike three go by. Steve Avery was brought in to pitch but old buddy Kevin Mitchell came in to pinch hit for Stairs. Mitchell popped up to first in foul territory to end the inning.

The Sox wrapped up the scoring in the top of the eighth as Lewis grounded out to short to start. Aaron Small came in to pitch and Benjamin doubled to left. Benjamin took third on a wild pitch and Garciaparra scored him with a base hit to left. Nomar was thrown out trying to steal and Valentin flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-3.

                                                           Benjamin scores a run

Jim Corsi came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Giambi walked to start. Blowers struck out swinging but Nomar booted a grounder by Spiezio to put runners at the corners. Dave Magadan pinch hit for Hinch and banged into a double play to end the inning.

Izzy Molina took over behind the plate with former Milwaukee Brewers closer Mike Fetters now on the mound for the top of the ninth. Vaughn struck out swinging but Leyritz singled to left. Midre Cummings made his Red Sox debut by pinch running for Leyritz but Varitek struck out swinging. Cummings stole second but Buford struck out swinging to end the inning.

                                                              First steal for Cummings

Tom Gordon came in to close out the bottom of the ninth with old pal Shane Mack pinch hitting for Bournigal to start. Mack lined out to right, Henderson took strike three and McDonald lined out to first to end the game. The Sox had won it 6-3.

Hero of the Night is Mo Vaughn. He drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh inning.

                                                                 Hero Mo

The Good:

Nomar Garciaparra was 2 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored.

Jim Leyritz was 2 for 4 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.

Midre Cummings stole a base as a pinch runner.

Troy O'Leary was 1 for 2 with 2 walks and an rbi.

Darren Lewis was 1 for 3 with a hit by pitch and an rbi.

Mike Benjamin was 1 for 1 at the plate with a run scored.

John Wasdin got the win with a full scoreless inning.

Steve Avery retired the only man he faced.

Jim Corsi tossed a scoreless eighth inning.

Tom Gordon earned his second save with a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Reggie Jefferson was 0 for 1 at the plate.

The Ugly:

John Valentin was just 1 for 5 but scored a run.

Jason Varitek was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but scored a run.

Damon Buford was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked and scored a run.

Donnie Sadler was 0 for 1 but drove in a run.

Tim Wakefield lasted just 5 2/3 innings and allowed 3 runs for a no-decision.

Final Thoughts:

Never a bad thing to win the first two games of the season. The bullpen saved the day today after Wakefield was gone in the sixth inning, they didn't give an inch. The offense was pretty good and Vaughn is looking for a new contract after the season. If he has a great year, how can you not re-sign him? Garciaparra continues to be the best leadoff hitter in the game and hopefully that can keep up through the season. The advantage of Gordon in the bullpen has already shown as he's looked very good so far. Getting him out of the rotation could be the best decision made by Sox manager Jimy Williams. All in all it was a good win and hopefully the Sox can keep the momentum going as they now travel to Seattle for a three game set with the reigning AL West champion Mariners. Derek Lowe gets the start against his former team against Ken Cloude of the Mariners. The game begins tomorrow night at 10:05 PM Eastern time at the Kingdome.