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“DIARY OF A WINNER”
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THE "IDIOTS" REVERSE THE CURSE July 30, 2004 ... Bronson Arroyo spun another gem on the road and the offense overcame a couple of shortcomings in the clutch to seize the opener of a weekend showdown against the Twins, 8-2, before 34,263 at the Metrodome. Arroyo, who boasts the league's second-best road ERA (2.79), stayed on a roll away from the Hub as he rationed the Twins two runs on eight hits over 7 1/3 innings. He walked none and struck out eight as he improved to 4-7 with a 4.08 ERA overall. As a measure of his masterful command, he fired 70 of his 98 pitches for strikes. Kapler picked up a dazzling assist by making like Roberto Clemente in the seventh and firing a throw from deep right field to third base to gun down Justin Morneau trying to stretch a leadoff double. Kapler also keyed the Sox offense as he banged out hits in his first three at-bats and knocked in three runs. Another Sox player who harbors no concern about his standing, former Twin Ortiz, continued to lay waste to the baseball landscape as he went 3 for 5 and doubled in two runs to reach 93 RBIs, one shy of the league lead. The Sox pen also pitched in as Alan Embree rescued Arroyo by shutting down the Twins with runners at first and second in the eighth before Keith Foulke finished things off in the ninth. Minnesota's starters had gone 7-0 with a 2.91 ERA as the Twins had won 10 of the previous 12 games. But the Sox snapped the streak as they loaded the bases in four of the first five innings, scoring seven times off starter Kyle Lohse. The wonder was that the Sox didn't score more since they amassed 11 hits and four walks off Lohse and finished with 16 hits. They stranded Johnny Damon after he doubled leading off the first and went scoreless after they loaded the bases in the third. It was all good for Arroyo, who felt "pretty bad" for the first three innings pitching with flu symptoms. Arroyo toyed with the Twins, allowing only one run on five hits through seven innings before he tired in the eighth. In the latest reminder of the physical challenge he faces, Nomar Garciaparra was forced to the bench with recurrent soreness in his right Achilles'. Garciaparra, who never fully recovered from the tendonitis that sidelined him the first 57 games of the season, was noticeably limping after Tuesday's rainout in Baltimore, but insisted on playing in Wednesday's series finale against the Orioles, a 4-1 loss in which he went 1 for 3 to extend his hitting streak to nine games. He said his condition has not progressively worsened. The Sox decided Scott Williamson will need at least one more rehab outing after he struggled Thursday for Triple A Pawtucket, retiring only one of six batters he faced. He walked three, hit one with a pitch, and surrendered a three-run double. |
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