|
 |
|
BRANDON SNYDER |
BOSTON STRONG -
THE ROAD TO REDEMPTION
The Red Sox win on a
walk-off Blue Jay error
June 30, 2013 ...
The latest walk-off special at Fenway Park ended on, of all things, an error. But there was no hollow feeling for the Red Sox following this 5-4 victory over the Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon. Manager John Farrell's team now has an American League-leading 50 wins, seven of which have
been of the walk-off variety.
Brandon Snyder, making his first start in a Boston uniform, ignited the winning rally in the ninth when he lined a one-out single to right. It was also Snyder who made a diving stab at third to rob J.P. Arencibia of a hit in the eighth. Jacoby Ellsbury followed
with a walk to push the go-ahead run into scoring position. Snyder was called up after Stephen Drew went down with a hamstring pull. He was hitting .267 with 10 homers and 37 RBIs for Pawtucket. He had played 40 games at first base and 22 at third base since
signing with the Sox after the Rangers released him March 27.
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons removed lefty Juan Perez and called on closer Casey Jansen to face Victorino. Victorino spun a grounder that went off the glove of Josh Thole and into right field, allowing pinch-runner Jonathan Diaz to score easily from
second. If Victorino could have scripted it, he probably would have stung one into the gap or over the wall. But hitting one off the first baseman's glove was fine with him, even if it did cap a rare 0-for-5 performance.
To start the top of the ninth, Victorino made a tremendous catch in the corner in right to rob Jose Reyes of extra bases, giving veteran Red Sox fans flashbacks of Tom Brunanksy's division-clinching catch in that same area of right field against Ozzie Guillen and
the White Sox in 1990.
The catch left the Red Sox two outs away from victory, but Jose Bautista tormented them once again. The slugger hit an absolute rocket of a home run off a sign above the Green Monster Seats, tying the game at 4-4 against closer Koji Uehara. If not for
Victorino's grab, the Sox might well have been trailing. Since being named the closer, Uehara had been dominant, converting his first three save opportunities by retiring all nine batters he faced. This time, Bautista jumped on a splitter for his third
home run in the last two days.
Up until the ninth, the Sox had done a nice job clinging to leads. That was never more evident than in the top of the sixth, when the Jays, trailing 4-2, loaded the bases with nobody out and still didn't score. Dempster, who opened the sixth by giving
up a walk and two singles, settled down by getting Arencibia on a popup to short. He was then lifted by Farrell in favor of Craig Breslow. The lefty got the job done, getting Maicer Izturis on a popup and striking out Emilio Bonifacio. Reyes did take a
big swing against Breslow in the seventh, lacing a solo shot that trimmed Boston's lead to 4-3.
Dempster battled his way to a decent performance on a hot and sticky day, giving up seven hits and two runs over 5 1/3 innings.
It was a good win for the Red Sox, who were without David Ortiz and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who both received a rest. The Sox took three out of four from the last-place Jays.
Speculation is swirling that the Red Sox may be in the market for Phillies third baseman Michael Young, a veteran who could solidify the Sox at third and who also could be used at first base, second base, and shortstop. |
