As for the game, this was not the best three game stretch for the Boston Red Sox. After failing to win back to back close games they sent their ace Pedro Martinez to the mound for this one. Wouldn't you know it, Pedro picked THIS game to throw one of his worst of the season. The possibly injured Pedro was mortal as he allowed 5 runs before being removed in the 7th inning. The Sox were done in by a gaggle of errors, including a crucial one by Carl Everett in the bottom of the 13th. Capitalizing on the break, Tony Batista singled home the winning run to win the game for the Jays. The first place Jays swept the Sox out of the Skydome with a 6-5 win in 13 innings.
The Sox wasted no time getting to Jays ace Chris Carpenter in the top of the first inning. Jose Offerman led off with a walk and Jeff Frye lined out to left. Carl Everett singled to center and Nomar Garciaparra doubled home both runners. Brian Daubach flied out to left and highly touted Red Sox prospect Izzy Alcantara made his major league debut by striking out to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Pedro got tagged in the bottom of the first inning as Shannon Stewart hit the second pitch he saw out of the yard for a solo home run. Chris Woodward grounded out to first, Tony Batista went down hacking and Carlos Delgado grounded out to first to end the inning with the Jays down 2-1.
Scott Hatteberg flied out to left to start the top of the second before Wilton Veras grounded out to short. Curtis Pride singled to to center and Offerman singled him to third. Frye grounded out to third to end the inning. Brad Fullmer hit one up the elevator shaft to start the bottom of the second before Jose Cruz popped up to second. Marty Cordova hit a routine grounder to Nomar who dropped an elbow on the ball and pinned it for the 1-2-3 and the error. Alberto Castillo walked but Homer Bush grounded out to short to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the third as Everett walked to start. Nomar flied out to right but Daubach walked. Alcantara forced Everett at third but Hatteberg doubled home both runners to increase the lead. Veras flied out to right to end the inning but the Sox were ahead 4-1.
Normally a 3 run lead is more than enough cushion for Pedro but he seemed off in the bottom of the third. Stewart got plunked to start before Woodward struck out swinging. Batista flied out to left and Delgado hit a routine grounder to Veras. Veras picked the ball up and spiked it like a football before doing the boogie woogie for an error. Fullmer made Veras pay by doubling home Stewart to cut the lead. Cruz grounded out to second to end the inning but the Sox lead was cut 4-2.
The Sox fought back in the top of the fourth as Pride doubled to center to begin. Offerman flied out to deep center which moved Curtis to third, and he scored on the Frye base hit. That was it for Carpenter as Lance Painter came in to get Everett to pop up to first. Nomar grounded out to third to end the inning but the Sox were ahead 5-2.
Pedro cruised in the bottom of the fourth as Cordova took strike three to start. Castillo grounded out to short and Bush whiffed to end the inning.
The Sox failed to add to the lead in the top of the fifth although Daubach doubled to right to begin. Alcantara grounded out to short but a wild pitch moved Brian to third. Hatteberg lined out to short and Veras took strike three to end the inning. Once again Pedro got tagged in the bottom of the fifth although Stewart was frozen for strike three to start. Woodward watched strike three go by but Batista pulverized a solo home run to cut the lead. Delgado flied out to left to end the inning but the Sox only led 5-3.
John Frascatore came in to pitch the top of the sixth and the red hot Pride singled to left. Offerman flied out to center and Frye moved Pride to second with a grounder. Everett flied out to center to end the inning. Fullmer hit a routine grounder to Offerman who kicked the ball and ran around in a circle screaming "GOALLLLLL" for an error to start the bottom of the sixth. Pedro recovered to get Cruz swinging but plunked Cordova. Pedro struck out Castillo and Bush swinging to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the seventh as Nomar grounded out to third to start. Daubach whiffed and Alcantara grounded out to third to end the inning. Pedro uncharacteristically ran out of gas in the bottom of the seventh. Stewart grounded back to the mound to start the bottom of the seventh and Woodward singled to left. Batista whiffed but Delgado pounded a 2 run bomb to tie the game. Fullmer singled and that was it for Pedro. Sox manager Jimy Williams figured out something was wrong and pulled his ace after allowing 5 runs in 6 2/3 innings. Rich Garces walked Cruz but Cordova grounded out to third to end the inning with the game tied 5-5.
Pedro Borbon Jr came in for the top of the eighth and Hatteberg flied out to center to start. Veras and Pride both whiffed to end the inning. Garces returned for the bottom of the eighth and cruised. Castillo flied out to center, Bush grounded out to third and Stewart flied out to left to end the inning.
Jays closer Billy Koch came in for the top of the ninth and Offerman singled to center to start. Frye dropped down a sacrifice bunt to get Jose to second but the Jays made a huge gamble by intentionally walking Everett to get to Nomar. Somehow the gamble worked as Nomar banged into a double play to end the inning. Sox closer Derek Lowe came in for the bottom of the ninth and Woodward went down hacking to start. Batista doubled to left and Delgado was intentionally walked to set up a double play. The gamble worked as Fullmer hit a bullet to Nomar who doubled off Batista to end the inning.
The Sox blew their chance to take the lead in the top of the tenth against Paul Quantrill as Daubach grounded out to short to start. Alcantara grounded out to short but Hatteberg singled to center. Veras doubled him to third but Pride whiffed to end the inning. Lowe returned for the bottom of the tenth and the Jays nearly walked it off. Cruz walked and Cordova singled to put the winning run at second. Castillo dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners over but Bush hit a grounder to Veras who fired home to get Cruz with the second out. Stewart whiffed to end the inning and the game continued.
Quantrill returned for the top of the eleventh and Offerman grounded out to third to start. Frye popped up to first and Everett popped up to third to end the inning. Rod Beck came in for the bottom of the eleventh and Woodward flied out to center to begin. Batista grounded out to third but Sox manager Jimy Williams wanted the lefty/lefty matchup, bringing in Rheal Cormier to pitch to Delgado. Cormier did strike out Delgado but they lost Beck the rest of the night after two batters.
The Sox blew another chance to take the lead in the top of the 12th inning. Nomar grounded out to second and Daubach took strike three, but Alcantara singled. Hatteberg singled Izzy to third and Jason Varitek was sent to pinch hit for Veras. Varitek flied out to left to end the inning. Manny Alexander came in to play third in the bottom of the 12th and Fullmer singled to right to start. Cruz forced Fullmer at second and Cordova lined out to right. Castillo flied out to right to end the inning.
Matt DeWitt came in for the top of the 13th and the Sox blew their final chance to get a run. Pride grounded out to first to start but Offerman walked. Frye whiffed but Everett singled to right. Nomar flied out to center to end the inning. Bryce Florie came in for the bottom of the 13th but the Sox made a fatal mistake. Bush grounded out to third and and Stewart grounded out to short to start. Woodward hit a routine pop up to Everett but he tried to catch it in his hat and the ball dropped in for an error that allowed Chris to take second. Batista ended the game with a base hit to end the game and give the series sweep to the Jays 6-5.
Jackass of the Night is unfortunately Bryce Florie. Everett should have caught the ball in the 13th but he still gave up the base hit to Batista to end it.
The Good:
Jose Offerman was 2 for 5 with 2 walks and run scored.
Carl Everett was 2 for 5 with 2 walks and a run scored.
Scott Hatteberg was 3 for 6 with 2 rbis.
Curtis Pride was 3 for 6 with a run scored.
Rich Garces tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Derek Lowe tossed 2 scoreless innings.
Rod Beck got the first 2 outs of the eleventh.
Rheal Cormier tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Jason Varitek flied out as a pinch hitter.
Pedro Martinez got lit up for 5 runs in 6 2/3 innings. The Jays smacked him around for 6 hits and a walk even though Martinez struck out 10.
The Ugly:
Jeff Frye was just 1 for 6 but drove in a run.
Nomar Garciaparra was just 1 for 7 with an error but drove in a run.
Brian Daubach was just 1 for 5 but walked and scored a run.
Izzy Alcantara was just 1 for 6 but scored a run.
Wilton Veras was just 1 for 5 with an error and a strikeout.
Honorable Mention:
Manny Alexander played third base in the final two innings.
Final Thoughts:
Well this series was a sucker punch to the gonads. The Sox were in 3 consecutive close games and lost all three of them. The Jays managed to outpitch and outhit the Sox when it counted. They even smacked around Pedro Martinez to drive home the fact their offense is no joke. If the Jays pick up a starter at the trade deadline, they may be a bigger threat than the New York Yankees for the AL East supremacy. This game was frustrating as the Sox kept making errors which led to runs that spelled their doom. The Everett one in the 13th hurt the most because the Sox would have been out of the inning had he caught the ball. The less said of this disgrace, the better. The loss dropped the Sox to 37-34, 2.5 games behind the Blue Jays for first place in the AL East. After an off-day tomorrow the Sox are back in action Tuesday night when they return home to face the Baltimore Orioles. Mike Mussina takes on Pete Schourek at 7:05 PM at Fenway Park.
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