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A TEAM "FIT TO BE TIED"
David Wells'
game completely
satisfies the fans
September 4, 2005
...
It ended appropriately, with a ground ball to first base that John
Olerud picked up before it could skip foul. He tagged B.J. Surhoff
for the final out of David Wells' 5-1 complete-game victory over the
Baltimore Orioles. Wells, the big lefthander, came over to Olerud
and gave him a hearty handshake and pat on the back.
Today the
quietest man, Olerud, broke a scoreless tie with a three-run homer off Sox
killer Rodrigo Lopez in the fifth inning, as perhaps the loudest man on the
team, David Wells, spun a beauty in his return after a controversial six-game
suspension. That seemed to be the consensus up and down the Red Sox clubhouse on
Wells' first nine-inning complete game this season. The guy has been around
forever and he's now 12-6. It certainly was a big treat for the Sox bullpen.
The Sox
have won eight consecutive home series to improve to a major league best 46-20
(.697) at home. In winning 21 out of their last 23 home games, they're hitting
.314 with 182 runs scored for an average of 7.9 per game.
The platoon
of Olerud and Kevin Millar at first base has been an interesting development.
For the first time this season, both are red hot at the same time. Olerud has
homered in three of his last four games after going deep just three times in his
first 60 games. He is hitting .417 (15 for 36) over a 15-game span since
returning from the disabled list Aug. 17 (left hamstring strain). In 64 games,
Olerud is batting .325 with six homers and 32 RBIs. He had a six-RBI game Friday
night, and Millar has had big games of his own recently. It was especially nice
that Olerud's homer came off Lopez, who again was mesmerizing the Sox through
four innings, David Ortiz's single in that frame the only blemish.
The Sox
scored all five of their runs in the fifth. It started with leadoff singles by
Trot Nixon and Bill Mueller before Olerud launched the first pitch into the
Orioles' pen. Mueller's hit was key because it looked like the veteran Surhoff
at first base maybe could have gotten to the ball and stopped the bleeding.
After Olerud's shot, Mirabelli, who was playing for a resting Jason Varitek,
continued the rally by doubling to left field. Then Tony Graffanino, back in the
lineup after needing four games to rest a sore right hamstring, reached on an
infield hit. Johnny Damon, who later came out of the game when he jammed his
left shoulder, doubled in a pair of runs, but was thrown out when he strayed too
far off the second base bag.
That's all
Wells would need.
Olerud's day
was particularly inspiring because he and Timlin spent the pregame signing
autographs and posing for pictures near Gate A as fans entered the ballpark, all
to help Hurricane Katrina victims in New Orleans. The Red Sox received $25,000
in donations yesterday alone. |
