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JOHN OLERUD |
THE "IDIOTS" REVERSE THE CURSE
2004 ALCS, GAME #2
Pedro pitches well,
but Jon Lieber pitches better
October 13, 2004 ... In the span of a few painful hours, Sox Nation learned that ace Curt Schilling (torn ankle ligament) might be
done for the year, then watched Pedro Martinez lose again to the team he calls "daddy."
The Yankees' 3-1 victory over Martinez last night gives New York a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven series and dashes much of the rampant exuberance that's cloaked New England since the Red Sox' second-half season surge and first-round playoff sweep of the Angels. Yankee starter Jon Lieber
smothered the Sox, holding them to three hits in seven innings. Martinez, meanwhile, pitched well, but was beaten by a sixth-inning, two-run homer by veteran John Olerud.
It started badly late in the afternoon when Red Sox team physician William Morgan announced that Schilling has a dislocated tendon in his right ankle and will need surgery. The Sox are holding out dim hope that Schilling can take his regular turn in Game 5 Sunday at Fenway, but his
uncharacteristic poor performance in Game 1 (six runs in three innings) is evidence there's something seriously wrong and Schilling said he would not return to the mound if he could not do any better.
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JON LIEBER |
The first inning was predictably eventful. After the national anthem, Martinez walked in from the bullpen as 56,136 stood and chanted, "Who's your daddy?" He watched the Sox go down, 1-2-3, in the top of the first, then ran to the same mound where he was routed while Grady Little slept in
October 2003. The serenade never ceased, it seemed. He pitched well, allowing only three hits in the first five innings with six strikeouts - four of them looking. Martinez threw 91 pitches in the first five frames and the "Daddy" chants fizzled as the game moved though the middle
innings.
However, the vaunted Red Sox offense was stuck in the mud against Lieber. Never regarded as a fearsome presence on the mound, Lieber let the Sox batters get themselves out, usually early in the count. Orlando Cabrera's hard single to left was Boston's only hit in the first six innings. They
had no hits and no base runners in the first six innings against Mike Mussina Tuesday.
Martinez's 106th pitch was crushed by veteran John Olerud for a two-run homer. Martinez finished the inning, but did not come out for the seventh. He pitched well, but as so often happens against the Yankees, not well enough to win.
Last night, Mariano Rivera got the final out in the eighth (with the tying run at third) and then got a game-ending double play ball from Bill Mueller, who representing the tying run. Tonight, he got Damon looking with Jason Varitek on third base in the eighth. In the ninth, he was,
well, Mariano The Magnificent. When it matters the most, Rivera has been called to save a playoff game against the Red Sox on six occasions. He has converted them all.
Pedro Martinez's start was his 10th in the postseason, a club record. Roger Clemens made nine. |
