A TEAM "FIT TO BE TIED"
Wakefield and
Mirabelli stop the bleeding
June 29, 2005
...
After losing consecutive games to the Cleveland Indians, the Sox
avoided a sweep with a 5-2 win over the Indians, a day after Keith
Foulke had surrendered five runs in a 12-8 loss. With Foulke
unavailable yesterday after pitching 1 2/3 innings Tuesday night, the
closing role was turned over to Mike Timlin. He got two quick outs in
the ninth, then allowed hits to Jhonny Peralta and Coco Crisp before
getting Casey Blake on a fly ball to center fielder Johnny Damon to
record his first save since April 24, 2004, against the Yankees.
After subpar
outings by Bronson Arroyo and Wade Miller, Tim Wakefield proved to be the
stopper with seven solid innings, allowing only two solo homers (Blake and
Victor Martinez), while his batterymate, Doug Mirabelli, hit a key two-run homer
as part of a four-run sixth that turned a 2-1 deficit into a 5-2 lead.
Indians
starter Scott Elarton had controlled the early part of the game pretty well. Sox
hitters remained their usual patient selves, and by the sixth, the third time
around the batting order, they were ready to pounce.
Trot Nixon
had two doubles, scored twice, and drove in a run. Mark Bellhorn pulled a home
run into the right-field seats and Elarton's day was done.
The hitting
component is just one of the facets of Mirabelli’s game. His relationship with
Wakefield has proved to be a winning combination, and Wakefield's surge of late
has coincided with Mirabelli's return from the disabled list June 12 after
missing 20 games with a sprained left wrist. Wakefield had lost four straight
starts in Mirabelli's absence, but since his return is 3-0 with a 0.93 ERA in
four starts, working at least seven innings in each of them. The only negative
for Wakefield was Blake breaking his scoreless streak at 19 2/3 innings with a
two-out homer in the fifth. Wakefield thought he had better stuff his previous
two times out, but said he was able to make a big pitch yesterday when he needed
it.
The Sox drew
first blood against Elarton (4-3) when John Olerud, getting the start at first
base, got the first of his two hits with a wall single to drive in Nixon for his
1,200th career RBI. The Indians then took the lead on the solo homers in the
fifth and sixth innings.
But the most
encouraging aspect was watching the much-maligned bullpen rebound. It didn't
start well when Matt Mantei threw six straight balls to begin the eighth. Mantei
got a visit from pitching coach Dave Wallace, and he told Wallace that he was
experimenting with a new leg kick, but decided he was going to scrap it. He
retired the next three batters to set the stage for Timlin.
Timlin got
two quick outs and the crowd was on its feet before the Indians threatened with
a pair of hits. But Timlin hunkered down and got Blake to end it. Today the
crowd just wanted a less-hectic day. And Wakefield, Mirabelli, Timlin & Co.
delivered.
