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JOSH HAMILTON |
BOSTON STRONG -
THE ROAD TO REDEMPTION
Josh Hamilton's walk-off sinks
the Sox in the 11th inning
July 6, 2013 ...
Out of the blue, it all fell apart for the Red Sox in an almost unfathomable 9-7 loss to the Angels. Boston held a 7-3 lead with two outs in the bottom of the ninth when things unraveled for relievers Alex Wilson and Koji Uehara, not to mention third baseman Brandon Snyder.
Snyder's throwing error on a force at second sent the game to extra innings. In the 11th, Josh Hamilton belted a two-run, walk-off homer to right-center against lefty Craig Breslow. For Hamilton, it was sweet redemption after he badly misplayed a
Daniel Nava double for an error in the eighth, helping the Red Sox to push their lead to 7-3.
With what seemed like a comfortable four-run lead entering the bottom of the ninth, the Red Sox initially went to right-hander Wilson to finish it off instead of Uehara. After striking out Erick Aybar for the first out, Wilson gave up a single to Chris Iannetta.
Alberto Callaspo flied out to center and the Sox, still up by four runs, were just one out from victory. J.B. Shuck lined a single to center to keep hope alive. Wilson then drilled Mike Trout to load the bases. Manager John Farrell then turned it over to
Uehara, and he gave up a two-run single to Albert Pujols. Hamilton followed by lining an RBI single to right, and the Angels were down by just a run at 7-6. Finally, it seemed the game would end when Uehara induced Howie Kendrick into a grounder to third.
Snyder went for the force at second, but his throw was way off the mark, allowing the tying run to score.
Ryan Dempster was in position to earn the win by turning in his seventh quality start in the last eight outings. Dempster allowed seven hits and three runs over 6 1/3 innings, walking two and striking out four. With the Sox clinging to a 6-3 lead in the
seventh, Dempster came out after walking Iannetta and striking out Brendan Harris.
Andrew Miller came on and gave up a single up the middle that turned out to be a bad development for the lefty. As he ran to back up home plate, Miller tripped and fell, injuring his left foot. Miller was taken to a local hospital for X-rays, the results of
which likely won't be disclosed until Sunday.
A big reason the Red Sox, who lead the Yankees by five games in the American League East, are where they are is because they've turned the page after tough losses all season. |
