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MIKE CARP |
BOSTON STRONG -
THE ROAD TO REDEMPTION
Mike Carp's grandslam
pushes the Sox further ahead
September 11, 2013 ...
When Mike Carp comes off the bench, be it for a spot start, a late-inning substitution or a pinch-hitting appearance, the chances are pretty good that he is going to find a way to
produce. Manager John Farrell's indispensable reserve took it up even another notch at Tropicana Field, when he belted a pinch-hit grand slam to center field with one out in the top of the 10th.
Backed by Carp's game-breaking slam, the red-hot Red Sox upended the reeling Rays, 7-3. The shot came on the first pitch Carp saw from reliever Roberto Hernandez. In sending
up Carp, Farrell pinch-hit for Jonny Gomes, another player who has come up with his share of late-game heroics this season. It was the second grand slam of Carp's career, and first
since Sept. 19, 2011. For the Red Sox, it was the first pinch-hit grand slam since Kevin Millar on June 7, 2003, at Milwaukee. Also, it was the first pinch-hit, extra-inning slam in team history. It was the seventh pinch-hit home run by the Red Sox
this season, a team record. So it's not just the every-day players doing the job; the backups have done it as well. It was the first go-ahead pinch-hit grand slam in extra innings since Adam Dunn did it for Cincinnati May 26, 2003, in Atlanta.
Maybe some time between now and November closer Koji Uehara will be something less than perfect. Uehara earned the win with a scoreless ninth, increasing his streak of consecutive batters
retired to 34. That mark, the longest in team history, surpassed Ellis Kinder, who retired 32 straight in 1952. Uehera extended his scoreless streak to 291/3 innings, the longest by a Sox reliever since Dick Radatz (33 innings in 1963). Farrell will
sometimes hold Uehara back for an extra-inning save situation on the road rather than bringing him on in a tie game, but the Rays had the meat of their order coming up in the ninth, while the Sox had their best hitters coming up for the 10th.
Once Uehara mowed through the Rays, Dustin Pedroia led off the 10th with a walk and Shane Victorino bunted him
to second. Rays manager Joe Maddon then ordered an intentional walk to Ortiz. Out of the bullpen came Hernandez, and he walked Mike Napoli on four pitches. Then it was time
for Carp, and he delivered. In 188 at-bats this season, Carp is hitting .314 with 16 doubles, nine homers and 37 RBIs.
It wasn't one of the prettier games Ryan Dempster has pitched, but he got the job done. Over five innings, the righty gave up four hits and a run, walking five and striking out
seven. Of Dempster's 106 pitches, 58 were strikes. Dempster left with a 3-1 lead, in position to get the win. But the Rays rallied back against Brandon Workman. In the
seventh, Tampa Bay started a two-out rally on a walk by Ben Zobrist. Evan Longoria drilled a double to center
to slim the deficit to 3-2. James Loney delivered the equalizer, a solo shot to right against Workman with one out in the eighth.
With 14 wins in their past 17 games, the Red Sox appear to be firing on all cylinders at just the right time. With 15 games left in their season, the 89-58 Sox now lead the Rays by a season-high 9 1/2 games, and Boston's magic number to clinch the American
League East is down to eight. |
