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BOSTON STRONG -
THE ROAD TO REDEMPTION
Scutaro walks-off with a pass
to win it for the Giants
in the 9th inning
August 20, 2013 ...
The Red Sox couldn't capitalize on the early chances they had and then went silent for the rest of the game, buying the Giants enough time to come back for a 3-2 victory that was literally a walk-off.
Marco Scutaro, a valuable member of the Red Sox for two seasons, drew a walk with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth to end it.
But the Red Sox knew full well that the walk by Scutaro wasn't even close to the biggest reason this game ended in defeat instead of victory. The tough loss dropped Boston into a first-place tie with the Rays in the American League East, though Tampa Bay
actually leads by two games in the loss column.
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BRAYAN VILLAREAL |
Brayan Villarreal, who was promoted from Triple-A on Tuesday, walked Scutaro on four pitches. It was the first batter Villarreal faced in a Boston uniform after being acquired from the Tigers as part of the
Jake Peavy three-way trade July 30. If Scutaro seemed overly patient during his at-bat, it's because hitting coach Hensley Muelens made him aware that control hadn't been
Villarreal's specialty.
Down, 2-1, the Giants came back and tied it in the bottom of the eighth on a sacrifice fly to right by Buster Posey. Given that the ball was in foul territory,
Shane Victorino at least had the option of letting the ball drop and seeing how the rest of the at-bat would play out. Victorino was mindful of the fact that Posey could easily have
clubbed a home run or a two-run double into the gap that would have put the Giants in front instead of merely tying it. Also, the way the wind blows in San Francisco, there's always the chance of the ball whipping back to fair territory.
That rally against Junichi Tazawa started on one-out singles by Scutaro and Brandon Belt, putting runners at
the corners with one out. San Francisco finished the job against lefty reliever Franklin Morales and Villarreal in the ninth. Roger Kieschnick got things started in that final frame with a one-out single. Andres Torres drew a two-out walk. Morales hit
Hector Sanchez to load the bases, leaving Villarreal with no margin for error. The 3-0 pitch was at least close to being a strike.
Peavy worked 5 2/3 strong innings (five hits, one run, four strikeouts) and was in position to get the win before Posey tied it. Top prospect Xander Bogaerts had a fairly uneventful
Major League debut, going 0-for-3, but he did make a nice play at shortstop to help Peavy out of one of the few jams he was in. Peavy threw 92 pitches and likely would have worked longer if the game was being played under American League rules. But Farrell
gave the veteran the hook, knowing that he was the second batter due up in the top of the seventh.
At least at the outset, it looked like it was going to be a productive night for the Red Sox offensively. Jacoby Ellsbury opened the game with a single and stole second. Victorino got hit
by a pitch. Pedroia reached on an infield single. Presented with an RBI opportunity, Mike Carp lifted a sacrifice fly to right for the first run of the game. Bogaerts came up with
the bases loaded and two outs in his first Major League at-bat and got a good piece of the ball, but the grounder went off starter Ryan Vogelsong's glove and right into the glove of
Scutaro, who fired to first for the easy out. The switch-hitting Victorino, who again batted righty against a righty, made it a 2-0 game in the third when he laced a homer down the line in left.
The game marked the major league debut of Bogaerts, the organization's top prospect. The 20-year-old was 0 for 3 before leaving the game in the sixth inning as part of a double switch. Bogaerts is the youngest position player to get in a game for the
Sox since Dwight Evans in 1972. Evans was five days younger than Bogaerts at the time of his debut.
Red Sox pitcher Ryan Dempster was suspended for five games by Major League Baseball for intentionally throwing at Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez Sunday night. The righthander did not appeal and began serving his sentence on Tuesday. |
