Red Sox Mount an Incredible Mother’s Day Comeback Against the O’s
Posted on May 17, 2007
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Red Sox ace, Josh Beckett, took the mound Sunday afternoon with his eye on joining the likes of Babe Ruth as only the 4th Boston pitcher in history to win his first 8 starts of the season. However, that vision soon faded when he left the game down 2-0 after only four innings with an avulsion on his right middle finger (I think that’s like a torn flap of skin or something). Beckett was quick to point out that the ailment was NOT a blister, this being a reference to problems he experienced earlier in his career. Despite giving up two earned runs on two hits, Beckett actually looked really good, striking out seven batters in his four innings of work. I guess now he will be trying to match Roger Clemons, who had 14 wins and a no decision in his first 15 starts back in 1986.
That was only the first disappointment in what was turning out to be a very long day for the Red Sox and for the sellout Mother’s Day crowd at Fenway Park. The Sox were held to just three hits through 8 1/3 innings by Orioles pitcher Jeremy Guthrie, while the O’s tacked on three more runs to make the score 5-0 going into the 9th. In most cities, this would result in the home team fans heading for the gates in an effort to beat the post game traffic, but not in Boston. Red Sox fans have witnessed too many amazing comebacks at Fenway over the years, and they know how their boys can perform in the clutch. So, needless to say, nobody was leavin’ (and they were glad they didn’t).
With one out in the 9th inning, Coco Crisp reached first base on an error by Orioles catcher Ramon Hernandez, which for some reason prompted the Orioles manager to bring in Danys Baez from the bullpen to face David Ortiz (BIG mistake!). Big Papi got it started using the opposite field to drive in Crisp from first with a double off the Green Monster. The next batter, Wily Mo Peña, singled, and Baez was done. The O’s went to their closer, Chris Ray, but he wasn’t finding much success either. Ray gave up back to back walks to J.D. Drew and Kevin Youkilis, forcing Ortiz in from third to make the score 5-2 and leaving the bases loaded for, el Capitán, Jason Varitek. Tek came through with a double to right, bringing in Peña and Drew to make it a one run game. With first base open and one out, the Orioles gave Eric Hinske the intentional pass to load the bases and bring up Alex Cora who hit a ground ball to give the O’s their second out with a force play at home plate. So here’s the scenario that every kid dreams of; it’s the bottom of the ninth inning at Fenway Park, two outs, bases loaded, down by one run. Julio Lugo steps into the box and works the count to 3-2. As my Dad would say, the big one was certainly due. With the runners moving on the pitch, Lugo chops a ground ball to the first base side forcing Ray to cover the bag. All former Red Sox first baseman, Kevin Millar has to do it toss the ball to Ray and the game’s over. But Lugo wasn’t going to let it go down that easily. His tremendous speed made it a close play at first base, and as he slid into the bag, Ray couldn’t hold onto the throw and Lugo was safe – Varitek comes home, Hinske comes home and Boston Wins!! It truly was Boston baseball at its finest!
You see folks, that’s one of the reasons I love the game of baseball – there’s no time limit. You can’t get comfortable and start loafing around just because you have a big lead near the end of the game. There are no clock-management gimmicks. The game isn’t over until that last guy is out, no matter how long it takes, and you have to play hard for all 27 outs; or teams like the Boston Red Sox will most certainly take advantage of it.
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