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JONNY GOMES |
BOSTON STRONG -
THE ROAD TO REDEMPTION
The Red Sox rally and beat
the Twins, 3-2 in 10 innings
May 17, 2013 ...
Jonny Gomes drove in the game-winning run with a sacrifice fly and the Red Sox got a mostly dominant pitching performance from Buchholz and their bullpen in a 3-2, 10-inning win over the Twins at Target Field.
Buchholz was denied his seventh win of the season, but he went seven strong innings and combined with three relievers to retire the last 17 batters to seal Boston's third consecutive win. It didn't come without a few hiccups for the right-hander, who won his
first six starts this season but now has a string of three straight no-decisions. He hit a speed bump in the middle innings, allowing a two-run home run to Pedro Florimon among seven of 14 Twins batters to reach base. But just as quickly as Buchholz
lost his touch, he regained his early form and mowed down the final seven Minnesota hitters he faced. Buchholz was locked in early, seemingly in cruise control en route to his seventh straight win. After Pedroia robbed Brian Dozier with a brilliant
diving stop up the middle for the first out, Buchholz struck out the next five batters and looked dominant in the process.
The Red Sox weren't able to do much with the bats either, scuffling to just two runs in nine innings against Twins starter Vance Worley and four relievers. Boston finally broke through in the 10th against Josh Roenicke as Dustin Pedroia, who had gone 0-for-4 and
grounded into two double plays, hit a leadoff single and moved to second when David Ortiz walked. Will Middlebrooks laid down a sacrifice bunt and then Stephen Drew was intentionally walked to load the bases. With the count 1-1, Gomes hit Roenicke' 82-mph
slider to left-center field to bring in Pedroia with the game-winning run. Koji Uehara pitched a perfect bottom of the 10th to lock down the victory and pick up a save. Alex Wilson retired one batter on just two pitches to earn his first Major League
victory.
The Red Sox are 7-4 in one-run games. It means they are coming up with the big hit at the right time. It means their bullpen is holding leads. It means they're scoring late in games. It means their starting pitcher is keeping them in games. And so the Red
Sox have added a new dimension in 2013. An essential dimension.
Backup catcher David Ross, who is on the seven-day concussion disabled list, had been scheduled to join the team this weekend. |
