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J.D. DREW |
THE RAYS and A ONE WAY
TICKET TO "MANNY-WOOD" ...
2008
ALDS, GAME #2
J.D. Drew leads the Red Sox past
the Angels
October 3,
2008 ...
J.D. Drew's answer to doctors' reports and rustiness, came off his
bat and off Francisco Rodriguez at a moment when it seemed the Angels
were close to stanching their failing season. Los Angeles had tied
the game, their vaunted closer on the mound, as Drew's home run
wafted out and out and out. It hit near the green-tarped area in
center field, a two-run shot in the ninth inning and a perfect
bookend to Jason Bay's first-inning home run.
It was the
perfect answer to Chone Figgins' eighth-inning triple and subsequent tying run.
Figgins slammed his fist against the cool California air, having just pulled
into third base with a triple. It was not only the first extra-base hit for the
Angels after 19 straight singles in this series, but it left the Sox in an
unforgiving position. Their bullpen was decimated, with Matsuzaka having
provided just five innings, and Jonathan Papelbon was the best option. So, with
the Angels on the verge of tying it, Papelbon took his place in the middle of
the diamond in the eighth. He got what he wanted on the first pitch, a foul pop
to third base. But on the third, he was not so lucky. Mark Teixeira flied to
mid-center field, with the fleet Figgins reaching home plate easily ahead of the
throw. The game was tied at 5. Justin Masterson jogged in from the bullpen, the
situation the biggest of his young career. With Teixeira on second base after
his third hit of the game, and Vladimir Guerrero on first after his third,
Masterson walked to the mound needing three outs to get out of the seventh
inning. The Sox had a 5-3 lead, with Masterson designated to keep it there. He
kept the lead, but just barely. Masterson started out by getting Torii Hunter to
fly to left field, but then loaded the bases with a walk to Juan Rivera. Howie
Kendrick swung at a slider out of the zone for strike three, but Mike Napoli
worked a five-pitch walk, bringing home Teixeira and bringing the Angels within
one. Masterson then finagled his way out of the jam with another swinging
strikeout, this one of Erick Aybar.
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DICE-K |
All told,
the Sox had five straight hits, including one by Drew that looked like a single
off the bat and turned into a double by the time the Angels tracked it down in
right-center, scoring Ortiz for the game's first run. And then came Jason Bay.
The left fielder blasted a three-run homer. The ball off the bat of Bay bounced
in the rock formation in center field, the water flowing undisturbed beside it.
That could hardly be said for the Angels fans on hand to witness what had
started out so well for the boys in red, and devolved suddenly into another
exhibition for Bay. Ervin Santana got through the first two batters, Jacoby
Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia, and had started with a strike to David Ortiz. Ortiz
then lofted a single over the head of shifted second baseman Kendrick, starting
an outburst that wouldn't end until No. 8 hitter Jason Varitek flied to short
right field.
Through two
innings, Matsuzaka had thrown just six balls. Instead, it was Santana who was
racking up the pitches, and who was trailing. But Matsuzaka's low pitch count
didn't last. He soared past 100 in the fifth. The Angels had become more
patient, and it resulted in base runners, and those base runners resulted in
runs. Matsuzaka went to three balls on each of the first four batters of the
fifth, with Teixeira and Guerrero walking, and Hunter scorching a single past
Alex Cora at shortstop to plate the Angels' third run.
After being
given a 4-0 lead, Matsuzaka had allowed a run in the first on three straight
two-out hits. Teixeira and Guerrero singled, and Hunter singled up the middle to
push Teixeira across.
Matsuzaka
extricated himself from another jam in the third. After another pair of two-out
singles by Teixeira and Guerrero, Hunter pushed a slow bouncer toward shortstop.
Cora made the play, barely getting Hunter at first. Hunter jumped in protest of
the call, coming down awkwardly and dropping to the dirt after appearing to
injure his right knee. The Angels' trainers came out, but Hunter got up and
limped back out to center field.
When
Matsuzaka did finally walk a batter and he came around to score, coming home on
Figgins' two-out single to left-center. But with men on first and third, Garret
Anderson missed a chance to bring the Angels closer with a swinging strikeout.
The Angels
(11 runners left on base) staged multiple rallies over nine innings. But nothing
matters when the Red Sox and Angels play in October. We just know that the Sox
will win. Every time. When the Red Sox play the Angels in October, the Sox take
a choke hold on the series. The Angels just take the choke. Eleven in a row.
Eleven. It was also textbook Red Sox-Angels, with the Sox making all the plays
and the Angels wallowing in frustration. |
