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BOSTON STRONG -
THE ROAD TO REDEMPTION
Koji loses his first game of
the season
September 17, 2013 ...
Chris Davis had already tied the game with a mammoth shot over the center-field wall, his 51st homer of the season, a significant number as it set a new record in Orioles history.
Danny Valencia led off the ninth inning against Red Sox closer Koji Uehara with a triple to deep center field. Matt
Wieters then brought home pinch-runner Alexi Casilla with a sacrifice fly to right field and the Orioles completed a thrilling 3-2 comeback win. The victory was crucial for
the Orioles, as they are two games back in the fight for an AL Wild Card berth.
Koji Uehara had been perfect for weeks and impenetrable for months, but the Red Sox's closer finally had an off-night, and it happened to come with the game on the line. When Uehara
entered in the top of the ninth, the game was tied at 2. The right-hander had retired 37 straight batters dating back to Aug. 17 and hadn't allowed a run since June 30. The first streak ended when Valencia led off the ninth with the triple. The second would end when Wieters followed with the sacrifice fly to give the Orioles their first
lead of the night.
The Orioles were in prime position to take the lead in the top of the eighth when Nate McLouth led off with a single and Manny Machado followed with a double against Brandon Workman. With the dangerous Chris Davis looming, manager John Farrell called on lefty Craig Breslow. All Breslow did was induce Davis and Adam Jones into harmless groundouts to short before retiring Nick Markakis on an inning-ending flyout to left.
Red Sox right-hander Ryan Dempster turned in a solid start, giving up three hits and two runs over six innings. He walked four and struck out five, throwing 100 pitches.
Dustin Pedroia got the Boston bats off to a quick start when he led off the bottom of the first with a homer over the Green Monster. It was his first home run since July 31, covering a
span of 176 at-bats. Thanks to some sloppy defense by the Orioles, the Red Sox extended their lead to 2-0 in the fourth. With one out, Jarrod Saltalamacchia reached on a throwing
error by Machado at third and Stephen Drew walked. Saltalamacchia and Drew then executed a double steal. That set up Xander Bogaerts for a liner to left that McLouth dropped. It was ruled a sacrifice fly and an error, as Saltalamacchia scored.
Ultimately, the game came down to the ninth inning. And for one of precious few times this season, Koji lost.
With 92 wins, 32 games over .500, and 146 days atop the American League East, their turnaround this year has been dramatic. Ahead by 31/2 games on the Oakland A's entering Tuesday night, the Red Sox still have the top seed in the AL in their crosshairs.
Farrell said he'll be strategic about getting players rest. With the PawSox wrapping up their season over the weekend, the parent club brought up infielder Brock Holt and pitchers Brayan Villarreal and Steven Wright. The moves bring the active big league
roster to 36. |
