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“DIARY OF A WINNER”
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BOSTON STRONG - June 10, 2013 ... The Red Sox, who gritted their teeth en route to a 10-8, 14-inning victory over the Rays at Tropicana Field. The Red Sox stole the momentum for good when Daniel Nava, who has had a flair for the dramatic this season, punched in an RBI single to center with one out in the 14th. And there was Saltalamacchia, who somehow still had the energy to come up with a single to left that brought in pinch-runner Jose Iglesias for an insurance run. Left-hander Franklin Morales pitched the final two innings to earn the win. The performance came just two days after his control meltdown hurt the Sox badly in a loss to the Angels. In this one, Morales, who had thrown a side session before the game, selflessly gave up his next start to help the Red Sox stave off the Rays. The game took five hours and 24 minutes and showcased so many of the traits that have the Red Sox at 40-25 -- the best record in the American League. It's hard to believe it would come to that, considering the first eight Boston batters reached base en route to a 6-0 lead in the top of the first. And even harder to believe, considering the Sox took an 8-6 lead in the top of the 10th when Saltalamacchia fought off a 99-mph fastball by Fernando Rodney in the top of the 10th for a two-run single. But that still wasn't enough. Andrew Bailey came on to try to close it out in the bottom of the frame and simply didn't have his best stuff, or anything close to it. In his first save opportunity since May 25, Bailey had a rough night. Jose Lobaton opened the bottom of the 10th with leadoff homer to nip Boston's lead to a run. Bailey then walked Yunel Escobar and Matt Joyce and there was still nobody out. Ben Zobrist followed with his fifth hit of the game, a single to right, to load the bases. After getting ahead of Kelly Johnson 0-2, Bailey walked him to force in the tying run. However, Bailey didn't let the night slip away entirely. After he had issued the game-tying walk, the Rays still had the bases loaded with nobody out. Just about anything could have won the game. Instead, Evan Longoria stung a 5-2-3 double play. Then came a game-saver by the always heads-up Pedroia. Pinch-hitter Sam Fuld tried to surprise the Red Sox with a game-winning bunt single to the right side. Pedroia swooped in and fired to first, just in time to get Boston out of the inning. Though he had a big cushion, Lackey allowed the Rays to get back into it. Joyce opened the Rays' first with a solo homer. With two outs, Longoria smashed a solo shot. The Boston bats were quieted after that outburst in the first. Meanwhile, the Rays kept coming, making it 6-4 by the fourth. James Loney went deep against Andrew Miller in the seventh, and Boston's 6-0 lead was down to 6-5. The Rays completed their comeback in the eighth. Escobar clubbed a double to left against Junichi Tazawa. Escobar moved to third on a grounder to second by Joyce, and painfully for the Red Sox, the tying run scored on a wild pitch. The ball caromed quickly to Saltalamacchia, but Tazawa wasn't able to get the tag down until Escobar had already crossed the plate. Pedroia prevented the inning from being worse, when he raced to the mound and made a sensational diving catch on a popup off the bat of Johnson. Pedroia barely snagged the baseball before it hit the dirt. The Red Sox started the game with a batting barrage against Alex Cobb, as the first eight hitters in Farrell's lineup reached base, six of them scoring. Will Middlebrooks was activated off the disabled list and started against the Tampa Bay Rays. That put Jose Iglesias and his outrageous .446 batting average on the bench. Now he will become a utility player who plays somewhat regularly. Iglesias is riding a 13-game hit streak and has a 1.075 OPS in 22 major league games. While his statistics are somewhat a product of small sample size and an astronomically high batting average on balls in play (.508), Iglesias's improved patience at the plate and added strength are no fluke. To make room for Middlebrooks, the Sox designated infielder Pedro Ciriaco for assignment. They now have 10 days to trade, release, or pass him through waivers. Two of the best lefthanders in the game, Jon Lester and Matt Moore, met with young cancer patients on the field before the game. Lester has organized similar events in other cities as part of his work with the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation. |
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