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THE "IDIOTS" REVERSE THE CURSE
David Ortiz slams his 41st HR
to help Tim Wakefield
October 1, 2004 ... All Tim Wakefield needed to do last night, it turned out, was pitch adequately and emerge uninjured to secure a
spot in the postseason rotation. He did both, prompting the Red Sox to announce after an 8-3 victory over the Orioles at Camden Yards that Wakefield and Bronson Arroyo would pitch Games 3 and 4 of the American League Division Series.
Wakefield worked six innings in his 30th and final start of the season, surrendering two runs on six singles and a pair of walks before he departed with the Sox trailing the Orioles, 2-1. The Sox picked him up by scoring twice in the top of the seventh to help him post his first win in six
starts. Wakefield, who allowed only RBI singles to Brian Roberts in the fifth inning and Geronimo Gil in the sixth, finished the season 12-10 with a 4.87 ERA.
The Sox took Wakefield off the hook when Doug Mirabelli and Mark Bellhorn each singled home a run in the seventh inning for a 3-2 lead. Johnny Damon tagged Orioles starter Rodrigo Lopez in the third for a solo shot, his 20th home run. It marked the first 20-homer season for Damon, who joined
Gabe Kapler in each singling home insurance runs in the ninth. David Ortiz then put the game out of reach in the ninth with a three-run blast off John Parrish. The homer was Ortiz's 41st of the season and gave him 139 RBIs, tying Jim Rice for ninth most in a season in club history. Rice
knocked in 139 in 1978. |
