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STEPHEN DREW |
BOSTON STRONG -
THE ROAD TO REDEMPTION
Drew's 15th inning walk-off puts
the Sox back in first place
July 31, 2013 ...
They have turned into the walk-off specialists, these 2013 Red Sox. This time, it was Stephen Drew who played the role of early-morning hero at Fenway Park, belting a bases-loaded RBI single down the line in right with two outs in the bottom of the 15th inning, capping a 5-4 win over
the Mariners. It was a Major League-leading 10th walk-off win of the season for the Red Sox and vaulted them back into first place, a half-game ahead of the Rays, who lost, 7-0, to the D-backs.
The game started on the last day of July and ended on the first day of August, but it ultimately had the ending Boston wanted.
Dustin Pedroia started the winning rally with a walk. After he moved to second on a grounder by David Ortiz, the Mariners intentionally walked Mike Napoli. With two outs, Jonny Gomes drew a walk to load them up. Drew then pulled a 2-1 slider by lefty Lucas
Luetge just fair to end the marathon.
The Red Sox nearly ended it in the bottom of the 14th. With Brandon Snyder on third and one out, Shane Victorino hit a medium-depth fly ball to center. Snyder tagged up, but was thrown out at the plate by Michael Saunders for an inning-ending double play.
And in the top of the 15th, the Mariners had a golden opportunity, when they had two on and one out against Drake Britton. Saunders hit a sinking liner to left that Gomes made a nice sliding catch on. Raul Ibanez didn't think it would be caught, and was
doubled off second. In the rarest of plays, Gomes, after catching the ball, ran in and tagged second himself for the unassisted double play.
Pedroia, who has gotten hot the last two nights after a slump, belted a two-run homer that soared over the Monster Seats and on to Lansdowne Street, giving the Red Sox a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the seventh. John Lackey was in position to get the win,
giving up eight hits and three runs over seven innings, walking one and striking out six. But Junichi Tazawa came on for the eighth and served up a game-tying solo shot to right-center by Kyle Seager.
Once again, the Red Sox found a way not to get deflated, making things right in the end. Aside from Tazawa, John Farrell received brilliant work from his relievers. Koji Uehara worked two dominant innings, throwing 19 pitches, 17 for strikes. Matt
Thornton pitched a clean 11th. Craig Breslow took care of the next two innings. And Britton took care of the final two frames, earning his first Major League win.
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JOSE IGLESIAS |
The Red Sox made a bold move to improve their rotation by acquiring righthander Jake Peavy from the Chicago White Sox in a three-team, seven-player trade. The price was steep: defensive wizard Jose Iglesias was traded to the Detroit Tigers along with three
lower-level prospects. The Sox also obtained Triple A righthander Brayan Villarreal from Detroit. The Sox sent righthanders J.B. Wendelken and Francelis Montas and infielder Cleuluis Rondon to the White Sox. Chicago also obtained outfielder Avisail Garcia
from Detroit.
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JAKE PEAVY |
In Peavy, the Red Sox get a pitcher who will slot into a rotation still waiting for the return of Clay Buchholz from the disabled list. The 32-year-old is 8-4 with a 4.28 earned run average in 13 starts and was one of the best starters available on the trade
market. Peavy is a three-time All-Star and won the Cy Young Award with San Diego in 2007. He is 36-29 with a 4.00 ERA in parts of five seasons with the White Sox. In 45 starts since the beginning of 2012, Peavy has won 19 games and has a 3.61
ERA. Peavy has $5.19 million remaining on his contract for this season and is signed for $14.5 million in 2014. That he was not a rental for two months appealed to the Red Sox. Peavy has a $15 million vesting player option in 2015 based on
innings pitched. Peavy would need to pitch 400 innings from 2013-14, including 190 in 2014, for the option to kick in. Because he has thrown only 80 innings this season, that is unlikely. |
