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ANDREW BAILEY |
BOSTON STRONG -
THE ROAD TO REDEMPTION
Peralta's walk-off
sinks the Sox and Bailey, 4-3
June 20, 2013 ...
The last two times Bailey has come on to pitch for the Red Sox, he has blown a one-run lead by serving up a home run. The crushing two-run, walk-off home run that Andrew Bailey served up to Jhonny Peralta in the bottom of the ninth inning was the latest blow. This time, Peralta
walloped Bailey's 83-mph cutter over the wall in left to hand the Red Sox a painful 4-3 loss to the Tigers.
John Lackey was in line for the win after giving up two runs over seven innings. It was Lackey's fifth quality start in his last six outings, as he lowered his ERA 3.03. For the 44-31 Red Sox, it was a tough way to start a four-game showdown against
another first-place team. Lackey deserved better. He retired 10 of the first 11 Tigers he faced, and carried a shutout into the fifth inning.
This was a hard-fought contest throughout. David Ortiz snapped the 2-2 tie with a single to right against lefty reliever Phil Coke in the top of the eighth. Coke got himself into trouble in that inning, walking Jacoby Ellsbury and Shane Victorino. It
was Ortiz who broke the scoreless tie in the top of the fourth when he launched a solo homer to right, his 15th of the season.
Jose Iglesias got a fifth-inning rally started when he led off with a triple to right. Ellsbury then smashed a single up the middle and Lackey had a 2-0 lead. Later in the game, Ellsbury helped with his glove, making a fine running catch against Prince
Fielder in front of the wall in right-center to complete a 1-2-3 eighth for Uehara.
The Tigers had their first fruitful rally in the fifth. Andy Dirks started it with a one-out walk. With two outs, Brayan Pena and Austin Jackson came through with singles to load the bases. The hit by Jackson was a slow roller to third. Up stepped Torii Hunter,
and he blooped a single into short right, bringing home two runs to tie the game. The Tigers thought they had momentum with Miguel Cabrera at the plate, but Lackey came through with a big strikeout.
Bailey's slump has been dramatic. In his last five appearances, the righty has converted just two of five save opportunities, posting a 15.75 ERA while allowing a .444 opponents' batting average. This time, Bailey came on with a 3-2 lead. His outing started
by walking Victor Martinez on five pitches. Peralta came up next and worked the count to 1-2 before putting one out of the yard.
Clay Buchholz is eligible to come off the disabled list and start Tuesday's game against Colorado. Or he could be pushed back once again and sent to Pawtucket for a start. Buchholz played catch out to 100 feet on Thursday and said he felt fine. |
