With the season hanging in
the balance every game, the Boston Red Sox needed a big game from Daisuke Matsuzaka (9-4, 4.29 ERA) against the Baltimore Orioles. Dice K made sure
to do his part for five innings before falling apart in the sixth inning. The Boston bats pounded O's starter Brad Bergesen for five runs in the second inning and needed a Mike Lowell rbi ground out for some insurance. After Dice K was charged with 4 runs, Scott Atchison, Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon slammed the door from there. The Sox needed a win to keep pace with the idle Tampa Bay Rays and they got it with a 6-4 victory at Camden Yards.
Bergesen got the ball in the top of the first inning and Marco Scutaro beat out an infield single to third to start. JD Drew banged into a double play but Victor Martinez drew a walk. David Ortiz grounded out to second to end the inning. Matsuzaka got the ball in the bottom of the first and Brian Roberts grounded out to second to start. Nick Markakis flied out to left and Ty Wigginton grounded out to short to end the inning.
The Sox hadn't even come back from commercial yet when Adrian
Beltre led off the top of the second with his 25th homer of the year to give the Sox a the lead. Jed Lowrie walked and Mike Lowell singled to third, bringing up Daniel
Nava. As commentator Heidi Whatney babbled on about CT scans, Nava
hit a ball that Wigginton misplayed, allowing Lowrie to score the
game's second run. Ryan Kalish doubled in a hobbling Lowell and
moved Nava to third, increasing the lead. Scutaro
then walked to load the bases for Drew. Drew popped up to center
and Martinez also failed by popping up to short. Ortiz stepped
in and slapped a single to left which scored Kalish and Nava,
increasing the lead. Lowrie whiffed to end the inning but Dice K
now had a 5 run lead to work with as the Sox led 5-0.
Lowell let a ground ball
by Luke Scott go under his glove for an error to start the bottom of the second but Felix Pie banged into a double play. Dice K then struck out Matt Weiters
looking to end the inning.
Lowrie led off the top
of the third by taking strike three but Lowell singled to center. Nava popped up to center but Kalish walked. Then came a peculiar play when Scutaro bounced
a ball to Josh Bell at third place who stepped on third for the final
out but then threw to first, catching Wigginton off guard. There was nothing peculiar
about Dice K who snared a line drive by Nolan Reimold to begin the
bottom of the third. Cesar Izturis followed by grounding out to first and Dice K
punched out Josh Bell to end the frame.
Drew singled to leadoff the top
of the fourth but Martinez struck out swinging. Drew advanced to second on the
groundout by Ortiz as Adrian Beltre was intentionally walked.
Lowrie hit a warning track fly ball to right to end the inning. Dice K opened the bottom
of the fourth by striking out Roberts swinging but Markakis doubled to left. Wigginton
flied out to Drew which advanced Markakis to third. Luke Scott then
popped up to third to end the inning with Dice K at 58 pitches.
Lowell went down hacking to start the top of the fifth before Nava flied out to left. Kalish popped up to short to end the inning. Dice K whiffed Pie to open
the bottom of the fifth before Matt Wieters doubled to center. Dice K then struck
out Riemold swinging on a high fastball before Izturis popped up on the first
pitch to third to end the inning. Dice K had thrown 5 shut out innings without
walking anyone.
Bergesen came back for the
top of the sixth and got Scutaro to ground out to short to begin the inning. Sox broadcasters Jerry
Remy and Don Orsillo then started to uncontrollably laugh at the old "Tooth hurty" joke as Drew
singled to right. Rich VandenHurk replaced Bergesen and got Martinez
to ground into a double play on the first pitch, ending the inning.
Then, the dreaded Dice K
Disease struck in a bad way in the bottom of the sixth. Bell opened the inning with a
single in the hole at second before advancing to third on a double from Roberts. A
single to center by Markakis put Baltimore on the board as Bell crossed
the plate and Roberts moved to third. Wigginton brought Roberts
home with a ground out to cut the lead. With Scott Atchinson
warming in the bullpen, Luke Scott walked but Dice K beared down to
punch out Felix Pie swinging. Then the night ended for Dice K by allowing a
double to Wieters that scored Scott and Markakis. Atchinson came in for Dice K and managed
to strike out Reimold to end the inning, but the damage had been done. The 5-0 lead was
now down to 5-4.
VandenHurk did himself no
favors to preserve the score by walking Ortiz and hitting Beltre with
a pitch to open the top of the seventh. Lowrie flied out to center but Ortiz moved
to third, prompting manager Buck Showalter to bring in Matt Albers to
pitch to Mike Lowell. Lowell did his part by beating out a double
play ball to score Ortiz from third. Nava grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-4.
Atchison returned for the bottom of the seventh with Eric Patterson in for Nava in left. Izturis struck out swinging to start before Bell grounded back to the mound. Roberts flied out to center to end the inning.
Sox win
Kalish grounded out to second to start the top of the eighth before Scutaro flied out to left. Drew singled to center but Martinez popped up to short to end the inning. Atchison got Markakis to ground out to second to start the bottom of the eighth before Wigginton took strike three. That was it for Atchison as Hideki Okajima came in to get Scott to pop up to third to end the inning.
Alfredo Simon came in for the top of the ninth and Ortiz struck out swinging to start. Beltre grounded out to short and Lowrie flied out to left to end the inning. Jonathan Papelbon came in to close out the bottom of the ninth although Pie greeted him with a base hit to left. Wieters singled to center and old friend Julio Lugo pinch ran for him. Corey Patterson pinch hit for Reimold and dropped down a sac bunt to move the runners over, but Papelbon got a big punch out when Izturis struck out swinging. Bell also went down hacking to end the game. The Sox had won it 6-4.
Hero of the Night is Scott Atchison. He put the fire out in the sixth inning and tossed 2 full scoreless innings to keep the Sox ahead.
The Good:
JD Drew was 3 for 5.
Adrian Beltre was 1 for 3 with a walk and a solo home run.
Mike Lowell was 2 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.
Ryan Kalish was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Hideki Okajima retired the only man he faced.
Jonathan Papelbon earned his 35th save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
None
The Ugly:
Marco Scutaro was just 1 for 4 but walked.
Victor Martinez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but walked.
David Ortiz was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but walked, drove in two runs and scored a run.
Jed Lowrie was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.
Daniel Nava was 0 for 4 but scored a run.
Daisuke Matsuzaka got the win but allowed 4 runs in the sixth inning and left after 5 2/3 innings. He struck out 6 and walked 1.
Honorable Mention:
Eric Patterson played left field in the final two innings.
Final Thoughts:
With the season riding on every game at this point, the Sox need to make a statement by going on a long winning streak. It may be impossible given their injury woes but that's what they're going to need to do. They're eight games behind the New York Yankees who won their game tonight and could pull away quick if the Sox go into a rut. Dice K once again had one bad inning but thankfully Sox manager Terry Francona pulled him before the damage got any worse. Kudos to Scott Atchison who put his walkoff disaster behind him and rescued the Sox in this one. The losses of Jacoby Ellsbury, Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia hurt big time but the name of the game is pitching. The Sox are gonna need Clay Buchholz, Jon Lester, Dice K and John Lackey to step up if they have any hope of a fourth consecutive playoff trip. The win improved the Sox to 76-58, 8 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow is a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox. Jon Danks goes for Chicago in Game 1 up against Clay Buchholz (15-5, 2.26 ERA) of the Red Sox. The game begins at 1:05 PM at Fenway Park..
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