The Jays tagged Wakefield in the top of the first inning as Shannon Stewart was plunked to start. Stewart stole second and moved to third on a grounder to second by Alex Gonzalez. Carlos Delgado grounded out to second to score Stewart to put Toronto on top. Raul Mondesi popped up to second to end the inning with the Jays up 1-0.
Steve Parris got the start for Toronto in the bottom of the first and Jose Offerman flied out to left to start. Trot Nixon hit one up the elevator shaft but Carl Everett singled to right. Everett stole second but Manny Ramirez grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Jays struck again in the top of the second as Brad Fullmer hit a home run all the way to Edmonton to increase the lead. Tony Bautista struck out swinging and Jose Cruz Jr grounded out to first but Darrin Fletcher singled to right. Homer Bush grounded out to second to end the inning with the Jays ahead 2-0.
The Sox struck back in the bottom of the second as Troy O'Leary tripled into the centerfield triangle to start. Tony Bautista booted a grounder by Shea Hillenbrand for an error to score Troy but Brian Daubach struck out swinging. John Valentin flied out to right but Jason Varitek walked. Offerman lined out to left to end the inning with the Sox down 2-1.
Stewart hit one up the elevator shaft to start the top of the third before Gonzalez struck out swinging. Delgado walked and took second on a wild pitch but Mondesi struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the third as Nixon singled to left to start. Everett caught the Jays asleep with a bunt single to the mound but Ramirez struck out swinging. O'Leary struck out swinging and Hillenbrand flied out to right to end the inning.
Fullmer singled to right to start the top of the fourth before moving to second on a passed ball. Batista and Cruz both struck out swinging before Fletcher flied out to left to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fourth as Daubach smashed his eighth home run of the season to tie the game. Valentin popped up to second, Varitek flied out to left and Offerman lined out to second to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.
Bush struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth before Stewart took strike three. Gonzalez singled to left but was thrown out trying to steal to end the inning. The Sox took the lead in the bottom of the fifth as Nixon doubled to center to start. Everett doubled into the same spot to score Nixon to put the Sox on top before Ramirez flied out to right. O'Leary was intentionally walked and the gamble worked as Hillenbrand hit into a double play to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-2.
Everett with an rbi
Delgado flied out to center to start the top of the sixth before Mondesi popped up to third in foul territory. Fullmer flied out to left to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the sixth although Daubach struck out swinging to start. Valentin struck out swinging but Varitek doubled off the Monster. Offerman ripped a base hit to center to score Varitek and chase Parris. Pedro Borbon Jr came in to pitch and Offerman swiped second. Nixon grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-2.
Wakefield returned for one final inning in the top of the seventh and Batista popped up to second to start. Cruz beat out a bunt in front of the plate but Fletcher grounded into a double play to end the inning. Wakefield was outstanding, allowing just 2 runs in 7 innings of work. He allowed 5 hits and struck out 7.
Everett grounded out to short to start the bottom of the seventh and that was it for Borbon. Paul Quantrill came in and Ramirez struck out swinging. O'Leary also went down hacking to end the inning.
Rod Beck came in to pitch the top of the eighth as Bush grounded out to short to start. Stewart went down hacking and Gonzalez grounded out to first to end the inning. Hillenbrand grounded out to second to begin the bottom of the eighth but Daubach singled to center. Valentin banged into a double play to end the inning.
Derek Lowe came in to pitch the top of the ninth inning and Delgado singled to right to start. Mondesi flied out to right and Offerman made a great diving stab to rob Fullmer of a base hit. Delgado moved to second on that grounder but Batista grounded out to third to end the game. The Sox had won it 4-2.
Offerman saves the day
Hero Wakefield
Hero of the Night is Tim Wakefield. He earned the win by allowing just 2 runs in 7 innings of work to keep the Sox in the game and ahead.
The Good:
Trot Nixon was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Carl Everett was 3 for 4 with an rbi and a stolen base.
Troy O'Leary was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Brian Daubach was 2 for 4 with a home run.
Jason Varitek was 1 for 2 with a walk and a run scored.
Rod Beck pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Derek Lowe earned his fourth save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Manny Ramirez was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
John Valentin was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Jose Offerman was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run and stole a base.
Shea Hillenbrand was 0 for 4 but drove in a run.
Final Thoughts:
Even though the Sox technically played their first game in April of 01 and won their first home game in early May, Sox brass felt today should honor 100 years of Sox baseball. At least the current incarnation delivered a win with timely hitting and pitching. Looks like the decision to demote Paxton Crawford and Tomo Ohka in favor of putting Tim Wakefield and David Cone in the rotation is working so far. Hopefully both Paxton and Crawford can turn things around for themselves in case god forbid somebody gets hurt. The offense is doing well despite not having Nomar Garciaparra and it'll only get better when he comes back. The Sox needed to win this game because they got two big games coming up at home against the New York Yankees. They dropped the two in New York earlier this week and they need to win both if they want to get back in first place. The win improved the Sox to 27-21, 0.5 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. Now the Sox face the Yankees in a weird two game series as they play tomorrow night, are off Tuesday and play again Wednesday night. David Cone gets another crack at his old team when he takes the hill for the Sox up against Andy Pettite of the Yankees. The game begins at 7:05 PM at Fenway Park.
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