Woah....what the hell was that about? In one of the most baffling displays of aggression since Ty Cobb, Carl Everett let his rage get to him as he attacked home plate umpire Ron Kulpa and was ejected from the game. After Dennis Cook whined that he was over the batter's box last night, Kulpa enforced the rule in the bottom of the second. Everett headbutted Kulpa and had to be restrained by a bevy of people from doing any further damage. His insanity overshadowed what turned out to be a good win against a good team. Ramon Martinez (7-5, 5.60 ERA) allowed two first inning runs but pitched shutout ball afterwards for five more innings. Brian Daubach came in for Everett and he hit a 3 run home run to break the tie in the sixth inning. The Sox got another run in the seventh inning and survived a Rich Garces meltdown in the top of the ninth. With the tying run at the plate, Derek Lowe got Melvin Mora to ground out to end the game. The Sox had won the game despite Everett's antics 6-4 at Fenway Park.
Martinez got the ball in the top of the first inning and the Mets wasted no time getting to him. Melvin Mora was frozen for strike three and Derek Bell grounded out to third, but Edgardo Alfonzo walked to start. Alfonzo swiped second but Mike Piazza walked as well. Todd Zeile doubled to the centerfield wall to score both runners but Matt Franco flied out to right to end the inning with the Mets up 1-0.
Mike Hampton got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jose Offerman led off with a grounder to the mound to start. Jeff Frye doubled off the Monster but Jason Varitek flied out to center. Nomar Garciaparra check-swinged grounded out to third to end the inning. Jay Payton popped up to Carl Everett before Mark Johnson flied out to left. Benny Agbayani grounded a base hit up the middle but Ramon buzzed Mora up and in. Agbayani was thrown out trying to steal to end the inning. Carl Everett stepped to the plate to start the bottom of the second and took a first pitch before Ron Kulpa told him he couldn't stand where he was standing. Sox manager Jimy Williams came out but Everett said he's got this. Everett took a step back and took another pitch. After swinging and missing at strike one and fouling another pitch off, Kulpa again crossed the line off and told Carl not to stand there. This time Carl lost his head and was thrown out by Kulpa. Everett actually headbutted Kulpa and had to be restrained by Darren Lewis, first base coach Tommy Harper and third base coach Wendell Kim. Jimy Williams apologized to Kulpa as Everett was escorted out. He continued his tirade in the dugout and Bret Saberhagen tried to talk some sense into him. Brian Daubach took his place and struck out swinging to complete the at-bat. Troy O'Leary grounded back to Hampton and Izzy Alcantara got booed by the Fenway crowd before he struck out swinging to end the inning.
Mora grounded out to second to start the top of the third before Bell took strike three on the outside corner. Alfonzo doubled into the left field corner but Piazza struck out swinging to end the inning. Manny Alexander struck out swinging to start the bottom of the third before Zeile made a great play to rob Lewis of a base hit. Offerman grounded out to short to end the inning.
Alexander booted a grounder by Zeile to start the top of the fourth but Franco banged into a double play. Payton dumped a base hit to right and Johnson struck out swinging on a good changeup to end the inning. Frye flied out to left to start the bottom of the fourth before Varitek grounded out to third. Nomar popped up to short to end the inning.
The Mets beat the ball in the dirt in the top of the fifth as Agbayani grounded back to the mound to start. Mora grounded out to short and Bell grounded back to the mound to end the inning. The Sox rallied in the bottom of the fifth as Daubach was drilled to start. Payton fell down catching a fly ball from O'Leary but Alcantara dumped a base hit to center. Alexander blooped a base hit to center to score Daubach and Lewis hit a routine grounder to Franco. Franco fired to first but it went under the glove of Zeile to score Alcantara to tie the game. Offerman hit a bullet....right to Alfonzo who doubled off Lewis at second to end the inning. Replays showed Lewis was actually safe but the Sox still tied the game 2-2.
Martinez returned for the top of the sixth and Alfonzo grounded out to third to start. Piazza doubled into the left field corner but Zeile grounded out to third. Franco flied out to left to end the inning. The Sox took command in the bottom of the sixth as Frye slashed a base hit to center to start. Varitek grounded out to first to move Frye to second and Nomar was intentionally walked. Daubach made the Mets pay for such treachery with a 3 run blast to put the Sox ahead. O'Leary grounded out to short and Alcantara grounded back to the mound to end the inning but it was 5-2 Sox.
Daubach puts the Sox on top
Before the top of the seventh inning started Fox cameras caught Sox pitching coach Joe Kerrigan telling Ramon Martinez that he had "protection" in case something went wrong the following inning. Joe stuck to his word as Payton singled to right to immediately chase Ramon to start. Martinez pitched 6 plus innings and allowed just two runs. Rheal Cormier came in to pitch and Todd Pratt pinch hit for Johnson only to strike out swinging. Agbayani grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Ramon goes six plus and keeps the Sox ahead
The Sox got another run in the bottom of the seventh as Alexander hit one up the elevator shaft to start. Lewis drew a walk, Offerman singled in the hole at second and Frye blooped a single down the right field line. Lewis scored on the sac fly to center by Varitek but Nomar flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-2.
Cormier returned for the top of the eighth and Mora flied out to left to start. Bell popped up to third and Alfonzo flied out to center to end the inning. Richie Rodriguez came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Daubach flied out to left to begin. O'Leary flied out to right but Alcantara doubled down the left field line. Alcantara moved to third on a balk but Alexander popped up to first to end the inning.
Rich Garces came in to crap his pants in the top of the ninth as Piazza drilled a home run into the Red Sox bullpen to start. Zeile flied out to left and Franco grounded back to the mound, but Payton stuck his bat out and singled in the hole at short. That was it for Garces as Sox manager Jimy Williams called upon Derek Lowe to get the save. Payton took second on defensive indifference and scored on the base hit to center by Pratt. Agbayani singled to left to bring the tying run to the plate but Daubach made a great pick on a bad throw by Lowe on a grounder by Mora to end the game. The Sox had won it 6-4.
Hero of the Night is Brian Daubach. His 3 run homer in the sixth put the Sox up for good and he made the game ending play at first while not even supposed to be playing today.
The Good:
Jeff Frye was 3 for 4 with a run scored.
Izzy Alcantara was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Darren Lewis was 1 for 2 with a walk and a run scored.
Rheal Cormier tossed two scoreless innings.
Derek Lowe earned his 20th save by getting the final out of the ninth inning.
The Bad:
Carl Everett technically struck out in his only at-bat.
Troy O'Leary was 0 for 4.
Rich Garces was charged with 2 runs in 2/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Jose Offerman was just 1 for 4.
Jason Varitek was 0 for 3 but drove in a run.
Nomar Garciaparra was 0 for 3 but walked and drove in a run.
Manny Alexander was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout and an error but drove in a run.
Final Thoughts:
The Sox are in big trouble when they lose Everett to a suspension for this. They're already underperforming offensively and losing their second best hitter isn't going to help. Its his own fault and there's no defending that by any means. If the umpire says you can't stand in that spot, don't headbutt the guy! We all thought Izzy Alcantara dogging it two weeks ago was bad but this was far worse. Speaking of Izzy, he had a couple of hits in this game in his first start after being benched and hopefully he's learned his lesson. The Sox are gonna need his bat now that Everett will be out a while. Then again, the suspension could be appealed and Bud Selig may have an air conditioner fall on his head and he forgets this ever happened. While that's preposterously unlikely, the fact is Everett can still play until the suspension is verified. As for the game, that was a good win against a good team and Ramon Martinez pitched well today. Nomar couldn't keep his average above .400 but the rest of the team scratched out runs and got on base with some timely hits. Frye, Lewis and Alcantara got it done and so did Daubach. The Sox have a lot of work to do to fix their offense that caused them to relinquish first place in June so we'll see what happens. The win improved the Sox to 45-42, 2 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. Interleague play continues tomorrow afternoon against the visiting Montreal Expos. Tim Wakefield (5-5) gets the start for the Sox against Mike Johnson of Montreal. The game begins at 1:05 PM at Fenway Park.
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