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THE "IDIOTS" REVERSE THE CURSE
Bronson Arroyo pitches a shutout in Toronto
May 15, 2004 ... Kevin
Youkilis left an indelible mark north of the border by launching a home run in his major league debut and the team's so-called sixth starter, Bronson Arroyo, was well on his way to submitting one of the finest pitching performances for the Sox this season. The Sox blanked the Blue Jays, 4-0, before 36,841 at SkyDome and wrested
first place in the American League East from the Yankees.
Arroyo himself was so fine in his first start since he replaced Byung Hyun Kim in the rotation that his teammates unabashedly reveled in his glory. Kim had alienated a number of players with his aloofness off the field and his tediously subpar performances on the mound.
The Sox also got a kick out of Youkilis. Filling in for Bill Mueller (right knee inflammation) at third base, Youkilis became the first Sox player to homer in his major league debut since Sam Horn July 25, 1987. And Youkilis gave the weary Sox such a lift that he
inspired some comedy from Martinez, who persuaded his teammates to act as if nothing had happened after the rookie whaled a pitch from Pat Hentgen into the second deck beyond the left-field wall in the fourth inning.
Kevin Youkilis' homer overshadowed solo shots by Mark Bellhorn and David Ortiz and a run-scoring double by David McCarty. But Arroyo's gem shined through, ranking with Curt Schilling going the distance in a 9-1 victory May 8 over the Royals and Martinez blanking the
Yankees for seven innings in a 2-0 triumph April 25 among the team's most dominant pitching performances this season.
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KEVIN YOUKILIS |
Arroyo, who wielded a nasty curveball, surrendered only singles to Eric Hinske in the second and fourth innings and a triple to Chris Gomez leading off the third. He also hit a batter. But otherwise Arroyo was so sharp that he threw first-pitch strikes to 19 of the 28
batters he faced and went to three balls in the count only three times. In fact, he threw more than one ball to a batter only six times. He was so efficient that he threw 100 pitches over eight innings while Hentgen departed after tossing 108 through five innings.
Though Arroyo battled the flu all week, he said he felt fine by the second or third inning. Still, Francona proceeded cautiously after Arroyo carried the Sox through the eighth, sending out Keith Foulke to wrap up the victory in the ninth. That was fine with Arroyo, who
already had made the case that he qualified for the fifth spot in the rotation. |
