Cards Tie Series on Miscues (10/24/13)

In the 2004 World Series, the Boston Red Sox set an unwanted record by committing 8 errors in the first two games. Luckily they won both games but 9 years later there was no luck in Game 2 this year. The Sox clung to a 2-1 lead over the St. Louis Cardinals when a series of clutch hits and miscues by the Sox defense led to the Cardinals tying the World Series with a 4-2 victory at Fenway Park. It was the first World Series loss at Fenway since Game 4 in 1986.

Lackey took the mound in the top of the first inning and Matt Carpenter grounded out to short to begin. The Fox broadcast showing the 2004 Red Sox alumni throwing out the first pitch which was a painful reminder to Cardinals managr Mike Matheny and catcher Yadier Molina who were on the 2004 Cards that lost to the Sox. Carlos Beltran lined one into left and Jonny Gomes dove....couldn't catch it. He did scramble after the ball to hold Carlos to a single before Matt Holliday struck out swinging on a high 93 mph fastball. Matt Adams flied out to left to end the inning. Wacha got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jacoby Ellsbury popped up to third to begin. Shane Victorino whiffed on a changeup out of the zone and Dustin Pedroia swung and missed for strike three to end the inning.

Molina poked a single to right to begin the top of the second before Allen Craig flied out to right. David Freese whiffed on a curveball in the dirt before Jon Jay grounded out to second to end the inning. David Ortiz led off the bottom of the second by grounding out to second before Mike Napoli drew a walk. Gomes popped up to center before Jarrod Saltalamacchia also popped up to the same spot to end the inning.

Daniel Descalso led off the top of the third inning by swinging and missing on a cutter in the dirt before Carpenter whiffed on the exact same pitch. Beltran grounded out to second on the first pitch to end the inning. Stephen "PU" Drew led off the bottom of the third by whiffed to start. Xander Bogaerts also swung and missed for strike three before Ellsbury lined a broken bat bloop single to center. Victorino popped up to center to end the inning.

The Cards struck first in the top of the fourth when Holliday tripled into the gap in center. Pedroia saved a run with a diving catch on a liner by Adams but Molina grounded on to Pedroia who had no choice but to go to first for the out, scoring Holliday to give the Cards the lead. Craig walked but Freese grounded out to short to end the inning with the Cards up 1-0.

                                                   The Cards strike first

The Sox tried to fight back when Pedroia doubled off the Monster to begin the bottom of the fourth before Ortiz walked. The rally ended as Napoli banged into a double play and Gomes popped up to Carpenter to end the inning.

Jay lined out to a running Ellsbury to begin the top of the fifth before Drew made a hell of a play to rob Descalso of a hit. Carpenter also grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the fifth although Saltalamacchia walked to begin. Drew flied out to left before Bogaerts whiffed again. Ellsbury popped up to third to end the inning.

Lackey returned for the top of the sixth and Beltran popped up to center to begin. Holliday whiffed on a breaking ball in the dirt but Adams smacked a seeing eye single into left. Molina grounded out to second to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the sixth although Victorino was retired on a squibber to third. Pedroia walked and Ortiz crushed a 2 run homer into the Monster Seats to give the Sox the lead. Napoli looked at strike three before Gomes grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-1.

                                                 Kiss it goodbye, home run Ortiz

Unlike every other World Series game at Fenway going back to Game 5 in 1986, the Sox failed to hold the lead in the top of the seventh inning. Lackey did freeze Craig for strike three but Freese worked a crucial walk on a full count. Jay singled to right and that was it for Lackey. Lackey pitched a heck of a game but the bullpen would eventually fail him.

                                                  Good effort by Lackey

Pete Kozma pinch ran for Freese as Craig Breslow came in and the Cardinals pulled off a double steal when Saltalamacchia couldn't get a grip on a ball from Craig. Descalso walked to load the bases with nobody out and Carpenter popped up to left. Kozma took off for home and Gomes threw home but Saltalamacchia muffed the throw, allowing the run to score. If that wasn't enough, the ball got away and Jay took off for third. Breslow threw the ball away allowing Jay to score the go-ahead run and Descalso advanced to third. Beltran singled to right to score Descalso and chase Breslow from the game. Junichi Tazawa came in to pitch and got Holliday to ground out to second but it was 4-2 Sox. Just like that the Cardinals had the 4-2 lead and the Sox were deflated.

                                                        The Cards lead it

Carlos Martinez was the new pitcher in the bottom of the seventh and Saltalamacchia whiffed to start. PU Drew lined one off Martinez but Kozma made an amazing throw to nab Drew at first. Bogaerts grounded out to short to end the inning.

Brandon Workman came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Adams lined out to left to begin. Molina flied out to the warning track in center but Craig singled to center. Kozma popped up to second to end the inning. The Sox tried to start a rally when Ellsbury reached on an error by Carpenter to begin the bottom of the eighth. Martinez froze Victorino with a slider for strike three before whiffing Pedroia. Cards manager Mike Matheny left Martinez in to face Ortiz and David singled into the shift. Martinez was still there to face Napoli with the tying runs on and Matheny's faith was rewarded when Mike popped up to short to end the inning.

Koji Uehara took the mound in the top of the ninth and Jay popped up to left to start. Descalso grounded out to short and Carpenter lined out to a diving Bogaerts to end the inning. Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal came on to end the bottom of the ninth and froze Gomes to start. Saltalamacchia whiffed badly and Daniel Nava pinch hit for Drew only to strike out to end the game. The Cardinals broke the Sox 8 game world series winning streak with a 4-2 win at Fenway.

                                                  The Cards take game 2


Jackass of the Night is Craig Breslow. He was brought in to protect a 2-1 lead and allowed both inherited runners to score and one of his own.

                                              Breslow the Jackass



The Good:

Dustin Pedroia was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.

David Ortiz was 2 for 3 with a walk including a 2 run home run.

Junichi Tazawa retired the only man he faced.

Brandon Workman pitched a scoreless 8th.

Koji Uehara pitched a scoreless ninth inning.



The Bad:

Shane Victorino was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Stephen Drew was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Daniel Nava struck out to end the game.

Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.



The Ugly:

Jacoby Ellsbury was just 1 for 4.

John Lackey took the loss but pitched well, getting charged for 3 runs in 6 1/3 innings of work. If it wasnt for the comedy of errors in the 7th the game might have turned out differently.




Final Thoughts:

If this is the beginning of the end for the Red Sox this season, this sure was a bitter pill to swallow. The Sox committing 2 errors on one play and giving up an rbi single 30 seconds later was like bing, bang boom for Sox fans The Sox pretty much needed to win both games at Fenway because you can't really trust Jake Peavy and Clay Buchholz at this point to get the job done. Not that Joe Kelly or Lance Lynn are as scary as Adam Wainwright and Wacha but it could be a slugfest the next two games. Once again Lackey pitched his ass off and the Sox failed to score many runs for him. The bullpen minus Breslow locked it down but it was too late at that point. Fortunately the Sox are not dead yet and the series is only tied early. Game 3 in St. Louis as Jake Peavy taking the mound against Joe Kelly at 8:05 PM at Busch Stadium.

Peavy Rocked, Tigers Take Game 4 (10/16/13)

After the Boston Red Sox took a 2-1 series lead in the 2013 American League Championship Series despite being held in check by Annibal Sanchez, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, it appeared that any Detroit Tigers starter can pitch a gem but the Sox would find a way to win. Not if your own starter vomits up his intestines in the second inning though. The Tigers pounced on the ineffective Jake Peavy, starter Doug Fister joined the others in shutting down the offense and Detroit evened the ALCS with a 7-3 victory at Comerica Park.

Fister took the mound in the top of the first inning and Jacoby Ellsbury grounded out to second to begin. Shane Victorinio popped up to Prince Fielder in foul ground but Dustin Pedroia dumped a base hit to right. David Ortiz grounded out to second to end the inning. Peavy took the ball in the bottom of the first and got Torii Hunter to ground out to third to start. Miguel Cabrera froze on a curveball for strike three and Prince Fielder grounded out to third to end the inning.

As usual the Sox did nothing in the top of the second inning although Mike Napoli doubled off the glove of Cabrera to begin. Daniel Nava moved Napoli to third with a groundout to second but Jarrod Saltalamacchia popped up to third in foul territory. Stephen "PU" Drew took a high strike three to end the inning. Peavy crapped his pants in the bottom of the second inning as Victor Martinez poked a base hit to left before Jhonny Peralta walked. Alex Avila walked to load the bases but Peavy got a big out when Ellsbury ran down a sinking liner by Omar Infante to keep the Tigers from advancing. The Tigers took command when Austin Jackson walked to score Martinez. Jose Iglesias hit a double-play ball to Pedroia but he booted it, only able to get Avila at second as Peralta score to put runners at the corners. Hunter doubled down the left field line to score both men to ice the game early. Cabrera put the exclamation point on with a base hit to center to score Hunter. Fielder grounded out to second to end the inning but the Tigers had jumped out to a 5-0 lead.

                                                Game is over already

Down five runs, the Sox needed to make a stand in the top of the third inning but failed. Will Middlebrooks whiffed and Ellsbury hit a line drive over the head of Hunter in right but a cannon throw by Torii kept Ellsbury at first. Victorino was rung up on a check swing breaking ball but Pedroia walked. With a chance to club back in to the game....Ortiz grounded out to second to end the inning. Peavy returned for the bottom of the third and got Martinez to ground out to short to start. Peralta grounded out to short and Avila flied out to a running Nava in left to end the inning.

The Sox did nothing against Fister in the top of the fourth as Napoli and Nava both whiffed to start. Saltalamacchia singled to right center but Drew flied out to right to end the inning. Peavy returned for the bottom of the fourth inning but immediately regretted it as Infante pounded a ground rule double to left over the head of Nava to start. Jackson singled off the glove of Pedroia and Infante came all the way around to score. Sox manager John Farrell had seen enough and lifted the incompetent Peavy after allowing 6 runs (so far) in just 3 innings.

                                            "Yeah you're out Peavy, now beat it!" - Farrell

Brandon Workman got the call to relieve Peavy and Jackson immediately stole second base. Iglesias dropped down a sacrifice bunt to advance Jackson to third but Workman got Hunter to ground back to the mound. Cabrera put the exclamation point on the game when he slammed a single to center to score Jackson. The supposedly hobbled Cabrera swiped second but Fielder whiffed to end the inning with the Tigers up 7-0.

The Sox did not respond against Fister in the top of the fifth inning as Middlebrooks whiffed to start the inning. Somehow Ellsbury doubled past Peralta in left but Victorino popped up to a running Iglesias at short, nearly doubling Jacoby off second base. Pedroia grounded to third and was out on a bang bang play at first to end the inning. Workman returned for the bottom of the fifth inning and Martinez lined out to second to begin. Peralta whiffed but Avila walked. Infante flied out to right to end the inning, good work Brandon.

                                                   Yeoman's effort by Workman

Somehow the Sox rallied in the top of the sixth briefly with Don Kelly taking over in left for Peralta. Ortiz flied out to center but Napoli sliced a single to right. Nava hit a ground ball up the middle for a base hit and Saltalamacchia singled home Napoli to put the Sox on the board. PU Drew killed the rally with a strikeout then Mike Carp pinch hit for Middlebrooks....only to ground into a force to end the inning but the Sox would not be shut out, 7-1.

                                       "ARE YOU THREATENING ME!!??" - Drew

Ryan Dempster replaced Workman for the bottom of the sixth with Xander Bogaerts taking over at third. Jackson started the inning by dumping a single to right. Iglesias beat out a double play ball but Hunter grounded into one to end the inning.

Somehow the Sox scored in the top of the seventh inning with Phil Coke now pitching to Ellsbury. Jacoby sliced a single to left and that was it for Coke. Al Alburquerque came in an Victorino doubled in Ellsbury. Pedroia failed to move Shane over when he grounded out to third and Tigers manager Jim Leyland brought in Drew Smyly to pitch to Ortiz. David did what Pedroia couldn't and advance Victorino to third on a ground-out but now there were two outs and Napoli popped up to first to end the inning with the Sox down 7-2.

                                                   "We're not dead yet!" - Ellsbury

Franklin Morales took over in the bottom of the seventh and Ellbsury robbed Cabrera of extra bases with a great running catch to begin. Fielder flied out to center but Martinez singled. Kelly popped up to second to end the inning.

Ramon Santiago took over at third for Cabrera with Jonny Gomes pinch hitting for Nava to start the top of the eighth inning. Gomes popped up to short, Saltalamacchia whiffed and Drew popped up to left to end the inning. Felix Doubront came on to pitch the bottom of the eighth inning and began by hitting Avila....good start huh? Well Felix recovered to induce a double play from Infante although Jackson walked on a 3-2 pitch that just missed inside. Iglesias sliced a single to right but Doubront blew away Hunter on a full count to end the inning.

Joaquin Benoit came on to close out the top of the ninth with a 4 run lead and Bogaerts greeted him with a ground rule double to begin. Ellsbury slashed a line drive off the bag at first base into the right field corner for a triple that scored Bogaerts. Another base hit would have made it interesting but alas, Victorino whiffed and Pedroia whiffed badly on a ball in the dirt. Ortiz flied out to right to end the game. The Tigers had evened the series with a 7-3 win.

Jackass of the Night is Jake Peavy. He got hammered for 7 runs in just 3 plus innings and put the Sox out of reach early.

                                                 Game 4 Jackass: Peavy


The Good:

Jacoby Ellsbury was 4 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored.

Mike Napoli was 2 for 4 with a run scored.

Daniel Nava was 1 for 3.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 2 for 4 with an rbi.

Xander Bogaerts doubled and scored in the ninth inning.

Brandon Workman pitched 2 scoreless innings.

Ryan Dempster pitched a scoreless 6th inning.

Franklin Morales pitched a scoreless 7th inning.

Felix Doubront pitched a scoreless 8th inning.



The Bad:

David Ortiz was 0 for 5.

Jonny Gomes was 0 for 1 at the plate.

Stephen Drew was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Will Middlebrooks was 0 for 2 with 2 strikeouts.

Mike Carp was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.



The Ugly:

Shane Victorino was just 1 for 5 but drove in a run.

Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 4 but walked.




Final Thoughts:

Apart from the 8th inning rally in Game 2, the top four starters by Detroit have allowed TWO combined runs in the first four games. Apart from a once in a lifetime grand slam and a home run by Mike Napoli, this series could easily be over now. As it is, the series is just tied with Game 5 coming tomorrow night. The Sox are going to have to find a way to score some runs because they can't keep continuing to be shut down and pull a rally out their collective asses in the playoffs. Luck runs out eventually and maybe that will be the case in Game 5. Tomorrow night Jon Lester looks to get revenge on Annibal Sanchez in a Game 1 rematch at 8:05 PM at Comerica Park.

Tigers Shutout Sox in Game 1 (10/12/13)

When you think of the feared Detroit Tigers pitching you may think Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Doug Fister. Well the Boston Red Sox totally underestimated their former prospect Annibal Sanchez. Sanchez was dominant and the Sox were no-hit for 8 innings. A rally in the ninth fell short and the Detroit Tigers took Game 1 of the 2013 ALCS by a score of 1-0 at Fenway Park. How many runs did the Sox score Dean Wormer?

Jon Lester got the start for Boston and began the top of the first inning by whiffing Austin Jackson. Torii Hunter was rung up on a check swing in the dirt but the hobbled Miguel Cabrera got a base hit to left that should have been a double when Daniel Nava misplayed it. Prince Fielder slashed a rocket to center for a base hit but old pal Victor Martinez grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox had one of their only rallies in bottom of the first inning, Sanchez started by freezing Jacoby Ellsbury for strike three. Shane Victorino struck out but the ball got away from catcher Alex Avila, allowing Shane to reach first. Victorino swiped second and Dustin Pedroia walked. An unhappy David Ortiz was rung up on a full count, check swing in the dirt for strike three. Sanchez blew away Mike Napoli on a full count for his fourth strikeout of the inning, tying Orval Overall in 1908 for a post-season record, to end the inning.

                                          "Out??? No way!" - Ortiz

Lester began the top of the second inning with Jhonny Peralta grounding out to third. Omar Infante whiffed and Avila watched strike three go by to end the inning. Sanchez matched Lester in the bottom of the second inning when Nava whiffed on a pitch in the dirt to begin. Stephen "PU" Drew somehow drew a walk but Will Middlebrooks flied out to left. David Ross also walked but Ellsbury grounded out to a charging Jose Iglesias to end the inning with Sanchez already up to 51 pitches.

                                                Orval Overall digs Annibal Sanchez

Iglesias himself led off the top of the third inning with a pop up to right. Jackson poked a base hit to left but was erased on the Hunter double play to end the inning. An unhappy Victorino was rung up on a borderline changeup on the inside corner to begin the bottom of the third. Pedroia lined out to center and Ortiz grounded out to third to end the inning.

Lester cruised in the top of the fourth, starting by getting Cabrera to ground out to second to start. Fielder also grounded out to second on a full count and Martinez lined out to right to end the inning. Sanchez continued to dominate in the bottom of the fourth, beginning by getting Napoli on yet another check swing called third strike. Nava also took a called third strike before Drew whiffed to end the inning. That's 9 strikeouts and no hits allowed for Sanchez.

Lester was almost tagged in the top of the fifth inning when Peralta led off with a double to the centerfield wall. Infante grounded to first but Napoli fired it to second where Drew caught Peralta going back to second for the out. Avila singled to right but Victorino booted the ball, allowing Infante to advance to third. Iglesias grounded to third but Middlebrooks fired home and Infante was out by a mile. Jackson flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox keeping it tied. Middlebrooks grounded out to second on the first pitch of the bottom of the fifth before Ross popped up to second. Ellsbury was rung up on a questionable foul tip into the mitt call by home plate umpire Joe West to end the inning. That's 5 innings, 10 strikeouts and no hits allowed for Sanchez.

The Tigers struck first in the top of the sixth although Hunter grounded out to third to start. Cabrera walked and Fielder was hit to put the pressure on. Martinez beat out a double play ball and Peralta blooped a single to center to score the hobbled Cabrera to give the Tigers the lead. Infante grounded out to third to end the inning but Lester had thrown 102 pitches and the Tigers had a 1-0 lead.

                                                       Peralta puts the Tigers on top

The Sox tried to rally in the bottom of the sixth but Victorino unsuccessfully tried to catch Fielder sleeping at first with a bunt attempt. Pedroia found a way to draw a walk and advance to second on a passed ball but Ortiz whiffed badly. Napoli and Nava drew back to back walks to load the bases but Drew whiffed on a pitch in the dirt to end the inning. Sanchez had struck out 12 and didn't allow a hit through 6 innings.

                                                    Who saw this coming in 2005?

Lester returned for the top of the seventh inning and got Avila to line out to Drew to begin. Iglesias was hit on his little baby toe and that was it for Lester. He did the best he could, allowing just 1 run through 6 1/3 innings but the offense let him down.

                                                      Lester deserved better

Junichi Tazawa relieved Lester and he got Jackson to ground out to third although Iglesias moved to second. Hunter flied out to the right field warning track to end the inning. Al Albuquerque replaced Sanchez for the bottom of the seventh with Mike Carp pinch hitting for Middlebrooks. Carp hit a broken bat grounder to Iglesias before Jarrod Saltalamacchia pinch hit for Ross only to watch strike three go by. Ellsbury worked to count to 3-1 then took a very questionable strike two call at the knees that had Victorino in the on-deck circle ready to riot. Jacoby whiffed to end the inning as the boo-birds rained down, causing Sox manager John Farrell to ask Joe West for an explanation.

                                           "That was baloney and you know it Joe!" - JF

Xander Bogaerts came in to play third with Salty taking over behind the plate as Craig Breslow took the mound for the top of the eighth. Cabrera flied out to right but Fielder walked. Martinez flied out to left and the pain in the ass Peralta doubled down the left field line for a ground rule double amidst "Who's your dealer?" chants from irate adult Sox fans. Sox manager John Farrell went to the mound to ask Breslow if he wanted to walk Infante or pitch to him and Breslow said to walk him to load the bases. Sure enough Infante walked to get to Avila as Ramon Santiago pinch ran for Peralta. The gamble worked as Breslow got Avila to fly out to center to end the inning. Don Kelly took over in left as Jose Veras came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth. Victorino whiffed on a damn good curve by Veras before Pedroia was rung up by West much to Dustin's chagrin. Tigers manager Jim Leyland wanted lefty Drew Smyly to pitch to Ortiz and Drew got Ortiz to fly out to center to end the inning. The Sox were held hitless through 8 innings but were one swing of the bat away from tying it.

Koji Uehara took over in the top of the ninth and Iglesias golfed a base hit to center to begin. Uehara recovered to whiff Jackson on a high fastball but Hunter doubled down the left field line. Kelly whiffed for a huge out and Drew made a wonderful over the shoulder grab to rob Fielder of a hit to end the inning.

                                                  One last chance for the Sox

Joaquin Benoit came on to finish the no-hitter in the bottom of the ninth and Napoli left the bat on his shoulder for strike three to begin. Nava woke up the crowd and broke up the no-hitter with a bloop single to center. Quintin Berry pinch ran for Nava but Drew flied out to right. Berry swiped second to put the tying run at second but the 20 year old rookie Bogaerts popped up to short to end the game. The Sox were 1 hit, struck out 17 times and lost 1-0.

Jackass of the Night is David Ortiz. He was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts and left 3 men on base. One swing of the bat could have impacted the game but he failed to deliver every single time.

                                                      Game 1 Jackass: Ortiz

The Good:

Dustin Pedroia walked twice in four plate appearances.

Daniel Nava was 1 for 3 with a walk.

David Ross walked once in two plate appearances.

Quintin Berry stole a base a pinch runner.

One of the rare times the losing pitcher ends up on the good list but Jon Lester was the hard luck loser giving up just the 1 run in 6 1/3 innings. Lester gave up 6 hits and struck out 4.

Junichi Tazawa got out of the 7th inning.

Craig Breslow pitched a scoreless 8th inning.

Koji Uehara pitched a scoreless 9th inning.



The Bad:

Jacoby Ellsbury was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of three strikeouts.

Shane Victorino was 0 for 4 with an error and a hat trick of three strikeouts.

Will Middlebrooks was 0 for 2.

Mike Carp was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.

Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 1 at the plate.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 0 for 1 at the plate.



The Ugly:

Mike Napoli was 0 for 3 with a hat trick of three strikeouts but walked.

Stephen Drew was 0 for 3 but walked.




Final Thoughts:

The Sox are in deep trouble. Not that Sanchez was a pushover, his performance tonight is proof of that, but the Sox needed to win this game with arguably the two best starters in the American League going in Game's 2 and 3. Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander are looming and the Sox will have to counter with the still injured Clay Buchholz and unpredictable John Lackey. It doesn't look good for the Sox unless they somehow find a way to score some offense against a group of starters that can match their own. The only Detroit weakness is their bullpen but good luck getting to it. Tomorrow night the Sox hope to rebound when Clay Buchholz takes on Max Scherzer at 8 PM in Game 2 at Fenway Park.

Rays Walkoff in Ninth, Force Game 4 (10/7/13)

The Boston Red Sox may very well win their ALDS matchup with the Tampa Bay Rays but the Rays surely won't go quietly. Heading to Tampa to finish them off after taking the first two games at Fenway Park, the Rays saved their season with a dramatic walkoff home run by the unlikeliest of players against the toughest closer in the American League. With 2 outs in the bottom of the ninth, little known Jose Lobaton took Koji Uehara deep and the Rays walked off with a 5-4 Game 3 win at Tropicana Field.

                                                                 This sucks

The Sox struck first against Tampa starter Alex Cobb in the top of the first inning as Jacoby Ellsbury snuck a seeing eye single in the hole at short to begin. Shane Victorino was plunked and Ellsbury scored when Ben Zobrist threw away a double play ball off the bat of Dustin Pedroia. David Ortiz walked but Mike Napoli popped up to left. Daniel Nava grounded back to a diving Cobb to end the inning but the Sox were up 1-0

                                           Victorino cleans out Zobrist to make it 1-0

Clay Buchholz got the start for the Sox and David Dejesus hit a 3-2 flare into left field for a base hit to start. Dejesus was erased on the force by Zobrist before Evan Longoria popped up to center. Wil Myers hit a broken bat grounder to second to end the inning.

Cobb settled down in the top of the second inning as Jarrod Saltalamacchia whiffed to begin before Stephen "PU" Drew popped up to left. Will Middlebrooks was out at first on a bang bang play to end the inning. Old friend James Loney began the bottom of the second with a double off the wall but was doubled off second on a Desmond Jennings liner to Napoli. Matt Joyce lined out to a sliding Nava in left to end the inning.

Ellsbury flied out to left to open the top of the third inning before Victorino swung at air for strike three. Pedroia swung at strike three in the dirt to end the inning. Buchholz got Yunel Escobar to ground out to third before Jose Molina waived at strike three. DeJesus looked at strike three to end the inning.

Ortiz led off the top of the fourth with a walk before Napoli went the other way with a base hit to right. Nava flied out to center but the hustling Ortiz moved to third to put runners at the corners. Saltalamacchia whiffed on a pitch in the dirt for strike three before Drew grounded back to the mound to end the inning. The bottom of the fourth began with Zobrist hitting one up the elevator shaft but it hit the catwalk and the ball was ruled foul. Zobrist ended up walking on a borderline 3-2 pitch but Buchholz recovered to freeze Longoria with an inside change. Myers whiffed after nearly hitting a bomb before Loney ripped a hit to right. Jennings walked to load the bases but Buchholz whiffed Joyce to end the 35 pitch inning. Good god that was brutal.

The Sox struck back in the the top of the fifth although Cobb blew away Middlebrooks to open. Ellsbury lined one off the glove of Loney and taking second on the hustle double before Victorino ate up Longoria with an infield single to put runners at the corners. A wild pitch by Cobb scored Ellsbury and a Pedroia grounder moved Shane to third. Ortiz lashed a single to left to score Victorino before Napoli grounded out to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-0.

                                                  Ellsbury scores to increase the lead

The Rays roared back in the bottom of the fifth and Escobar beat out an infield single to short to begin. Molina flied out to center but Jennings doubled to right to put runners at second and third. Buchholz got a big out when Zobrist popped up to short but Longoria smashed a 3 run home run to left to tie up the game. Myers walked and Loney singled but Sox manager John Farrell suck with Buchholz to face Jennings. Clay rewarded Farrell's faith by getting Jennings to pop up to short to end the inning but the Rays had tied it 3-3.

                                                     So much for that lead

Alex Torres replaced Cobb for the top of the sixth and struck out Nava to begin. Saltalamacchia grounded a seeing eye single to center but Escobar ran down a PU Drew pop up. Torres struck out Middlebrooks and celebrated after to end the inning. Buchholz returned for the bottom of the sixth and got Joyce to pop up to Middlebrooks in foul territory to begin. Escobar popped up to first and Molina popped up to third to end the inning. That was it for Buchholz after 6 solid innings giving up just the mistake to Longoria in his outing.

                                                    Clay goes 6

Joel Peralta took the mound in the top of the seventh and Zobrist made a great jumping catch to rob Ellsbury of a hit. Victorino flied out to left and Pedroia flied out to right to end the inning. Craig Breslow took the mound in the bottom of the seventh and Sean Rodriguez pinch hit for DeJesus but popped up to third to begin. Zobrist singled to chase Breslow as Junichi Tazawa came in to pitch, but uncorked a wild pitch to move Ben to second. Tazawa got Longoria to pop up to third and blew away Myers to end the inning.

Jake McGee came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Ortiz got a gift walk to begin the inning. For some reason Sox manager John Farrell decided to pinch run Ortiz with Quintin Berry, removing Ortiz' bat from the game. Berry took off for second and.....SAFE! Rays manager Joe Maddon sprinted out of the dugout throwing everything he could get his hands on to protest the call. The replays showed Berry was clearly out but there was nothing that could be done. Napoli grounded out to short and Jonny Gomes pinch hit for Nava. Maddon had Gomes intentionally walked to set up the double play but Saltalamacchia whiffed for the second out. PU Drew popped up 15 feet to the left to end the inning. That was a huge squander for the Sox as Ortiz bat was now sorely missed. Franklin Morales came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and walked Loney to start. Sam Fuld pinch ran for Loney and Jennings caught the Sox asleep with a bunt single to first. Joyce popped up a bunt to Saltalamacchia and that was it for Morales. Brandon Workman came in and the Rays got more luck when Pedroia and Drew ran into each other on an Escobar grounder, loading the bases. Delmon Young pinch hit for Molina and grounded a hard one to Napoli who couldn't get the ball out of his glove, deciding to step on first for the out but the go-ahead run scored. Rodriguez flied out to left but it was 4-3 Rays.

                                                     Dammit

Somehow the Sox rallied in the top of the ninth against closer Fernando Rodney. Middlebrooks walked to start and Xander Bogaerts ran for him. Ellsbury hit a flare to left that dropped in no man's land for a single before Victorino grounded back to the mound, but both runners moved into scoring position. Pedroia grounded to short but Bogaerts scored to tie the game. Mike Carp pinch hit for Berry and Ellsbury swiped third to put the go-ahead run 90 feet away. Carp was rung up for strike three to end the inning but it was tied 4-4.

Koji Uehara was brought in to pitch the bottom of the ninth and Zobrist grounded out to first on the first pitch. Longoria flied out and with Wil Myers out of the game due to dehydration, Jose Lobaton pinch hit for Fernando Rodney. Out of complete nowhere Lobaton crushed a solo home run to win the game for Tampa. Unbelievable.

                                                                   Dammit


Jackass of the Night is unfortunately Koji Uehara. How the hell do you give up a walkoff bomb to Jose freakin Lobaton?

                                                   Uehara the Jackass


The Good:

Jacoby Ellsbury was 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored and a stolen base.

Shane Victorino was 1 for 3 with an HBP and a run scored.

David Ortiz was 1 for 1 with 3 walks and an rbi.

Quintin Berry pinch ran for Ortiz and stole a base.

Jonny Gomes walked as a pinch hitter.

Xander Bogaerts scored a run as a pinch runner.

Craig Breslow retired one of the two men he faced.

Junichi Tazawa got both hitters he faced.



The Bad:

Mike Carp struck out as a pinch hitter.

Daniel Nava was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Stephen Drew was 0 for 4.

Franklin Morales gave up a run in just 1/3 of an inning.



The Ugly:

Dustin Pedroia was 0 for 5 but drove in a run.

Mike Napoli was just 1 for 4.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia was just 1 for 4 with a hat trick of three strikeouts.

Will Middlebrooks was 0 for 3 but walked.

Clay Buchholz was game by lasting 6 innings but allowed a 3 run bomb to Longoria to finish with a no-decison.

Brandon Workman allowed an inherited runner to score but none of his own in 2/3 of an inning.




Final Thoughts:

So much for a clean sweep. The Rays kept thier season alive and now the pressure is on the Sox to put them away. If the Sox can't win Game 4 you're looking at a Game 5 in Boston with Matt Moore on the mound looking for revenge, not a pleasant picture. Pretty much whoever wins Game 4 wins the series because I don't like the idea of the Sox choking away a 2-0 series lead. Tonight's game was a tough pill to swallow as Buchholz made one mistake and the Sox worked their asses off to tie the game in the ninth. Hopefully the Sox have better luck in Game 4. Jake Peavy goes for the Sox tomorrow night against Jeremy Hellickson at 8:30 PM at Tropicana Field.