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DOUG MIRABELLI |
THE "IDIOTS" REVERSE THE CURSE
A seven run eighth inning lets
the Sox bounce back
September 25, 2004 ... The Red Sox settled for a stirring, 12-5 victory over the Yankees before an ecstatic 34,856 who spilled out of Fenway Park afterward as if the party had just begun.
Keep the champagne on ice. But Sox fans could raise a cup of cheer to the dynamos at the top of Sox order, Johnny Damon and Mark Bellhorn, who helped break a tense, 5-5 standoff with one out in the bottom of the eighth by reaching on a single and walk, respectively. They could toast Manny
Ramirez, who doubled home the decisive run. And, if they saved a sip or two, they could hail Jason Varitek and Doug Mirabelli, who provided plenty of insurance with a pair of two-run doubles, before Orlando Cabrera (sacrifice fly) and Bill Mueller (RBI single) capped the seven-run,
game-breaking blitz. Oh, Sox fans also could tip their hats to Keith Foulke, who rebounded from three straight shaky outings to retire the final four Yankees in order.
Too bad manager Terry Francona was relegated to watching on television. The night after Francona inspired some public wrath with his handling of Pedro Martinez in the eighth inning of a dispiriting 6-4 loss to the Yankees, he went down fighting over a disputed call in the sixth inning,
ejected for the third time this season.
The victory guaranteed the Sox they would not risk suffering the indignity of watching the Yankees celebrate on the Fenway lawn today after clinching their seventh straight division title. The magic number for the Yankees, which would have dropped to two with a Sox loss, remained at four.
The Sox, who are closing in on clinching the wild card, also gained a small measure of consolation by winning their first season series over the Yankees since 1999.
The big guns for the Sox were Mirabelli, who also smacked a two- run homer to match his career high with four RBIs, and Varitek, whose pinch double in the eighth helped put the game out of reach. The Sox were particularly happy for Varitek, who was hitting .127 (7 for 55) this year against
the Yankees and was batting .214 (15 for 70) in September. Mirabelli had nothing to worry about since he has been one of the most productive bench players in the league this year.
Tim Wakefield, trying to recover from a four-start nightmare in which he went 0-3 with a 9.45 ERA, also boosted his confidence as he kept the Sox in contention until he departed amid a 5-5 deadlock with one out and a runner on first in the seventh inning. Curtis Leskanic picked up the
knuckleballer by getting Derek Jeter to bounce into an inning-ending double play.
Thanks in part perhaps to some wise counsel in recent days from retired knuckleballer Charlie Hough, Wakefield survived longer than he had in his previous four starts, allowing five runs (three earned) on five hits, a pair of walks, and a hit batsman over 6 1/3 innings.
The Sox are scheduled to depart for Tampa and a three- game series against the Devil Rays, but they expect their plans to hinge on Hurricane Jeanne, which was expected to strike Florida today. |
