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THE RAYS and A ONE WAY
TICKET TO "MANNY-WOOD" ...
Youkilis' second homer is
a walk-off in the 13th
June 22,
2008 ...
Thirteen innings, and one 49-minute rain delay, in what was supposed
to be an afternoon game at Fenway Park, turned into evening as Kevin
Youkilis stroked his second home run of the game, a two-run shot
lofted over the Green Monster. He was met, as usual, by a group of
teammates happy to pound his head into mush, but also by the
knowledge that this one was finally, finally over.
The Red Sox
and Cardinals each loaded the bases in the 11th, only to strand all the runners.
But it wasn't just that. The Red Sox led off four straight innings with a hit
(10th through the 13th) and three straight with a double before Mike Lowell
crushed a single off the Wall to lead off the 13th inning. That was the charm.
Youkilis then smashed a fastball into the seats and a celebration was touched
off for the only win the Sox could take from the Cardinals this weekend.
Lowell (3
for 5) did do more than a single in the box score yesterday. He helped prevent
the Cardinals from sweeping at Fenway. None of the late heroics would have been
necessary without Jonathan Papelbon.
The Sox
closer came in with a 3-2 lead in the ninth inning. He had struck out Rick
Ankiel and Yadier Molina, both on 97-mile-per-hour fastballs, when he walked
Chris Duncan. Pinch hitter Adam Kennedy followed with a double over the head of
Coco Crisp, allowing Duncan to tie the score.
Down 2-0,
the Sox scored their first run on a seventh-inning homer by Youkilis, and
grabbed two more in the eighth, Crisp tripling when Ankiel fell on his drive to
center field. Crisp scored on Julio Lugo's sacrifice fly to tie it. Dustin
Pedroia singled and stole second then scored the go-ahead run after consecutive
walks to J.D. Drew, Manny Ramirez, and Lowell, including nine straight balls
from Chris Perez. But Youkilis left the bases loaded when he struck out
swinging.
That's when
things got particularly interesting. The bases were loaded, with one out in the
11th, when Alex Cora and Jacoby Ellsbury struck out to end it. The Cardinals got
a particularly odd bounce in the 12th, a comebacker off the hand of Ron Villone,
to the shortstop to get Pedroia at third base for a 1-6-5 fielder's choice.
Oddities, of
course. But there was nothing odd about the pitching on both sides. Though
former Sox pitcher Joel Pineiro and Jon Lester were long gone, their pitchers'
duel but a memory, both bullpens held up admirably as the game dragged on. The
Red Sox' bullpen was especially notable. While the Cardinals didn't have many
chances against Lester, they did have some in the later innings, including
leaving them loaded in the 11th. That was Hideki Okajima's doing, erased when
Craig Hansen got Ryan Ludwick swinging on a slider.
Then there
was the 13th, in which Jason Varitek and Duncan had a smash-up at the plate,
after a stellar throw by Drew. That saved a run and, ultimately, the game, the
11th time this season the Red Sox have won in their final at-bat. |
