The Sox wasted no time getting to Glavine in the top of the first inning. Jose Offerman drew a leadoff walk but Jeff Frye looked at strike three. Nomar Garciaparra doubled home Jose to put the Sox on top. Carl Everett doubled home Nomar to increase the lead before moving to third on the Troy O'Leary ground out. Everett and Nomar were a combined 2 for 23 against Glavine going into those at-bats. Jason Varitek popped up to short to end the inning but it was 2-0 Sox.
Ramon got the Braves in the bottom of the first as Quilvio Veras grounded out to second to start. Andruw Jones grounded out to short but Chipper Jones singled to left. Wally Joyner drew a walk but Brian Jordan grounded out to third to end the inning.
Glavine cruised in the top of the second inning as Manny Alexander looked at strike three to start. Darren Lewis lined out to left before Martinez grounded out to first to end the inning. Ramon matched Glavine in the bottom of the second as Javy Lopez and Reggie Sanders both looked at strike three to start. Rafael Furcal grounded out to second to end the inning.
Offerman grounded out to short to start the top of the third inning before Frye looked at strike three. Nomar flied out to right to end the inning. The Braves beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the third inning as Glavine, Veras and Andrew Jones all grounded out to second to end the inning.
Everett lined a base hit to lead off the top of the fourth but was doubled off on a scolding liner to Glavine off the bat of O'Leary. Varitek flied out to right to end the inning. Martinez cruised in the bottom of the fourth as Chipper Jones grounded out to second to start. Joyner flied out to left and Jordan lined out to third to end the inning.
The Sox tried to rally in the top of the fifth inning as Alexander singled to start. Lewis looked at strike three before Martinez fouled off a bunt for strike three. Offerman drew a walk but Frye took strike three for the third time today to end the inning, earning a hat trick. Martinez dominated the bottom of the fifth as Lopez looked at strike three to start. Sanders grounded back to the mound before Furcal grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Sox tried to rally again in the top of the sixth inning as Nomar singled to start. Everett walked but O'Leary banged into a double play. Varitek grounded out to second to end the inning. The Braves struck back in the bottom of the sixth although Glavine looked at strike three to start. Veras broke up the string of 14 in a row retired by Martinez by doubling. Veras moved to third on the grounder by Andruw Jones but Chipper Jones walked. Joyner singled up the middle to score Veras to cut the lead before Jordan grounded into a force to end the inning with the Sox up 2-1.
Glavine finished strong in the top of the seventh inning as Alexander grounded out to third. Lewis flied out to right and Sox manager Jimy Williams stuck with his starter by letting Martinez grounded out to short to end the inning. The decision almost proved fatal as Martinez allowed back to back singles to Lopez and Sanders to start the bottom of the seventh. Furcal dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners over as Andres Galarraga pinch hit for Glavine. Martinez intentionally walked Andres to load the bases and that was it for Ramon. In one of his best starts of the season, Ramon held down the defending National League champions for 2 runs in 6 1/3 innings. Rich Garces came in and got Veras to line to Nomar....off his glove. Nomar got Galarraga at second but Lopez came home to tie the game. Andruw Jones whiffed to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.
Rudy Seanez came in for the top of the eighth and the Sox struck. Offerman hit a double to center but Andruw Jones misplayed it, allowing Offerman to come all the way around for a little league home run to give the Sox the lead back. Frye singled and Nomar walk to chase Seanez. Bruce Chen came in to get Everett to fly out to right, although Jeff moved to third. O'Leary hit a sac fly to score Frye for the insurance run. Varitek walked but Alexander popped up to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-2.
Garces got tagged by the Braves in the bottom of the eighth as Chipper Jones doubled to start. Sox manager Jimy Williams pulled off a double switch by bringing in closer Derek Lowe to pitch and Wilton Veras to play third. Joyner grounded back to the mound but Jones moved to third and he scored on the grounder to short by Jordan. Lopez whiffed to end the inning but the Braves pulled closer but still trailing 4-3.
The Sox got a much needed insurance run in the top of the ninth inning as Lewis singled to center to begin. Veras dropped down a bunt to move Darren to second and Lewis swiped third. Somehow Chen balked home Lewis to increase the lead. Offerman eventually walked and Chen was done. Don Wengert got Frye to bang into a double play to end the inning but it was 5-3 Sox.
Lowe whiffed Sanders to begin the bottom of the ninth but Furcal singled to bring the tying run to the plate. Keith Lockhart pinch hit for Wengert but he grounded into a double play to end the game. It wasn't pretty but the Sox had beaten the Braves 5-3.
Hero of the Night is Jose Offerman. He walked 3 times, scored 2 runs and hit a little league home run.
The Good:
Nomar Garciaparra was 2 for 3 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.
Carl Everett was 2 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.
Ramon Martinez pitched well by allowing 2 runs in 6 1/3 gutty innings. He was 0 for 3 at the plate.
The Bad:
None.
The Ugly:
Jeff Frye was just 1 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but scored a run.
Troy O'Leary was 0 for 3 but drove in a run.
Jason Varitek was 0 for 3 but walked.
Manny Alexander was just 1 for 4.
Darren Lewis was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Wilton Veras dropped down a bunt in his only at-bat.
Rich Garces vultured a win from Ramon Martinez by allowing the tying run to score and one of his own in 2/3 of an inning.
Derek Lowe allowed an inherited runner to score but none of his own in 2 innings of work to earn his 14th save.
Final Thoughts:
With 13 straight games coming up against the Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays staring them in the face, winning this game was very important. Beating the current NL champs and Tom Glavine showed they can hang with the big boys. The Sox are gonna need the pitching to remain as good as its been if they want to leapfrog the Yankees and keep the Blue Jays in third place. As for this game, it was good to see Jose Offerman not only lead the charge offensively but play adequate first base for the first time in years. With his nagging injuries robbing his effectiveness at second, putting him at first may be a good idea. With Mike Stanley having a down year, this frees up Brian Daubach to play DH more often. Ramon looked like the Ramon of old and they're going to need that against the Jays and Yankees coming up. All in all it was a good win that they can build on against the Yankees coming up. The win improved the Sox to 33-26, 1 game behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox head to the Bronx on Tuesday night with a dance with the Yankees. Brian Rose goes for the Sox up against Orlando Hernandez at 7:05 PM at Yankee Stadium.
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