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TOO MANY INJURIES TO STAY COMPETITIVE ... June 12, 2010 ... Two innings into the game, Daniel Nava, who a few short years ago was laundering jerseys for the University of Santa Clara baseball team that had cut him, took Philadelphia Phillies starter Joe Blanton to the cleaners with a grand slam on the first major league pitch he saw. That was the good news in a bittersweet day of baseball yesterday at Fenway. Before the game, the Sox lost Daisuke Matsuzaka to a forearm strain while he was warming up in the bullpen, forcing Scott Atchison into an emergency start. By the end of the day, the Sox were 10-2 winners over the Phillies. They now have to deal with the long-term ramifications of losing Matsuzaka, who was 5-2 with a 4.59 ERA and had a streak of 13 2/3 scoreless innings. Matsuzaka, who complained of discomfort in his right forearm while warming, indicated after the game that he doesn't believe the strain is serious and was told the injury is "not a joint issue, it's muscle soreness. Manager Terry Francona said the team had no choice but to place Matsuzaka on the 15-day disabled list. Lefthander reliever Dustin Richardson was recalled from Pawtucket. Matsuzaka, who said the tightness came on suddenly, had struck out 37 batters over his last eight starts and was 3-1 over his last four, posting a 1.98 ERA after missing the Sox' first 23 games while on the disabled list. The performances of Atchison, Manny Delcarmen, Hideki Okajima, Ramon Ramirez, and Jonathan Papelbon, coupled with Nava's big day, sparked the Sox. The switch-hitting Nava, who was hitting .294 with eight homers and 38 RBIs at Pawtucket, became the third call-up outfielder to spark the Sox this season. Darnell McDonald homered in his first game with the team, and Josh Reddick had a strong game last weekend in Baltimore.
Those contributions have helped with the injuries to Jacoby Ellsbury, who has missed most of the season with fractured ribs, and Mike Cameron, who has been in and out of the lineup with a lower abdominal strain. And Jeremy Hermida was placed on the DL Friday because of fractured ribs. The Sox' offense has pulverized Phillies starters Jamie Moyer and Blanton the past two days for 22 hits and 18 runs over five innings. The Sox' assault yesterday started with five runs in the second inning as J.D. Drew's solo homer to right cut the Phillies' lead to 2-1. Drew's homer was followed by consecutive singles by Adrian Beltre, Jason Varitek (infield hit), and McDonald, before Nava became just the fourth major leaguer to hit a grand slam in his first at-bat. One of the other three is Hermida (Aug. 31, 2006, with the Marlins). Nava had the opportunity to make this one of the greatest performances by a rookie in major league history when he came to plate in the third inning with the bases again loaded: Drew (single), Varitek (walk), and McDonald (infield hit). This time, Nava struck out on a half-swing, but Marco Scutaro followed with a two-run single and Dustin Pedroia added an RBI single. Nava is just the second player to hit a grand slam in his first at-bat with the Red Sox and the second in major league history to hit a slam on his first pitch, joining Kevin Kouzmanoff, who did it for the Indians in 2006. |
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