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“DIARY OF A WINNER”
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BOSTON STRONG - May 5, 2013 ... Clayton Mortensen threw a wild pitch that seemed to change the complexion of the entire ninth inning and set the stage for a Texas Rangers walk-off victory over the Red Sox. The misfire set up Adrian Beltre for a two-out, walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth that gave the Rangers a hard-fought 4-3 win -- not to mention a three-game sweep -- over the Red Sox. Things had started so well for Mortensen, who was pitching in a more pressurized situation than normal on a day the Red Sox were once again without closer Andrew Bailey. Mortensen came on in a 3-3 tie and promptly struck out the first two batters he faced. Elvis Andrus gave the Rangers life with a single up the middle. With Lance Berkman at the plate, Mortensen buried the first pitch. The ball bounced off catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and then too far away to make a play on Andrus, who was on his way to second. Once Berkman looked at the next pitch to make it a 2-0 count, Red Sox manager John Farrell called for an intentional walk. Four pitches later, Beltre lined one to right for a single and Andrus scored easily from second. Ballgame. It marked the first time this season the 20-11 Red Sox have been swept, and perhaps it's fitting that it came against the team that is now tied with Boston for the best record in the Majors. The Red Sox are now 12-28 against the Rangers dating back to the beginning of the 2009 season. The good news is that the Sox headed back to Boston after the game, set to open a seven-game homestand. The Red Sox had an early 3-0 lead on home runs by David Ortiz and David Ross, but Rangers ace Yu Darvish was nasty for the rest of the day. While there was a lot of buildup about the starting-pitching match-up, Lester and Darvish wound up dueling to a virtual standoff. Over six innings, Lester allowed five hits and three runs, walking three and striking out seven. Darvish lasted seven innings, giving up four hits and three runs. He also tied a career high with 14 strikeouts. Starving for offense in the first two games of the series, the Red Sox got an early jolt from Ortiz, who ripped a two-run homer to right against Darvish with two outs in the first. That extended Ortiz's career-long hitting streak to 25 games, dating back to last season. After that, Darvish was almost untouchable. Early on, so was Lester. Lester navigated out of jams in the fourth and fifth, but he was not so fortunate in the sixth. With Beltre on first, Lester left a fastball out over the middle of the plate to Nelson Cruz, and the outfielder roped it for a game-tying, two-run homer to center. |
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