BOSTON STRONG -
THE ROAD TO REDEMPTION
Hanrahan's blown save loses
the game for the Red Sox

April 10, 2013 ... Joel Hanrahan was one strike from handshakes and a victory line. He was one strike away from converting his fourth consecutive save opportunity. He was one strike away from avoiding the worst part of being a closer.  However, Wednesday night was an occasion when Hanrahan did not get the job done. In fact, the new closer had a stunning implosion that led to the Red Sox taking an 8-5 loss to the Orioles.

Hanrahan wasn't going to be perfect. No closer is, not even Mariano Rivera, but the true test of what kind of closer the Red Sox acquired over the offseason will be told by how Hanrahan bounces back from a night like this, when he came on with a 5-3 lead and was touched up for three hits, five runs and two walks over two-thirds of an inning.

It started innocently enough as Hanrahan gave up a leadoff shot in the ninth to Chris Davis that slimmed Baltimore's deficit to 5-4.  Hanrahan was also taken deep by Adam Jones to open the ninth on Monday, but Hanrahan battled back to secure Boston's 3-1 victory during Boston's home opener.  Hanrahan had a 2-2 count on Ryan Flaherty and the Red Sox could taste victory, but Flaherty hung in with a single to left to keep the Orioles alive.

Pinch-runner Alexi Casilla came on and stole second, putting the tying run in scoring position. Nolan Reimold drew a walk and it was clear that Hanrahan was losing his hold on the game. Nate McLouth also drew a walk to load the bases.  Once the Orioles had rallied for that long, you figured something bad was about to happen for the Red Sox, and it did, as Hanrahan uncorked a game-tying wild pitch.  If the wild pitch seemed like a bad development for Hanrahan, things got far worse on the next pitch, when he served up a three-run homer to Manny Machado on a 95-mph fastball. Machado's game-turner silenced the Fenway faithful, which was a non sell-out crowd (30,862) for the first time since May 14, 2003.

Before Hanrahan's meltdown, it seemed like Daniel Nava was in the process of being the hero again.  With the game locked in a 3-3 tie with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Nava ripped an opposite-field solo shot to left. Jarrod Saltalamacchia followed by hitting a laser beam into the bleachers in right-center, and the game was handed over to Boston's usually trusted bullpen.

Ryan Dempster went five innings in his Fenway debut, giving up three hits and three runs while walking two and striking out seven, but his night ended after a 43-minute rain delay.  There was a moment of silence before the game for Dave O'Hara, the former New England sports editor for The Associated Press in Boston, who died Wednesday at the age of 86. 

The Red Sox activated SS Stephen Drew from the seven-day concussion disabled list, optioned SS Jose Iglesias to Pawtucket and called up RHP Alex Wilson from that Triple-A team.  While an exact return date is still uncertain, David Ortiz's rehab assignment from a strained Achilles' tendon will move to Pawtucket Thursday, where the intent is to give him 20-30 at-bats, according to Farrell. The Red Sox are eyeing next week as a possible return for the slugger.  Jerry Remy, the popular longtime Red Sox television analyst and former second baseman, announced during a recorded interview on NESN Wednesday night that he recently had been treated for a relapse of lung cancer.