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"BEARD" NIGHT @
FENWAY PARK |
BOSTON STRONG -
THE ROAD TO REDEMPTION
Chris Davis drives in the winning Orioles'
run in the 12th inning on "Beard Night"
September 18, 2013 ...
After nearly six full innings of offensive inactivity, as the bullpen did its best Houdini act to keep the Red Sox bats at bay, Davis hit a two-out grounder that scooted through the infield to score two runs against
Franklin Morales to snap a 3-3 tie, as the O's escaped with a 5-3 victory, in 12 innings, at Fenway Park.
For most of the season, and in particular in their recently red-hot stretch, the Red Sox have come up with the big hit when they've needed it most. But for the second night in a row, the Orioles' pitching staff prevented that from happening and the Red Sox
suffered a loss.
The Red Sox would have clinched a postseason berth with a victory, but they can do so simply by beating the Orioles tomorrow. A Cleveland loss to the Astros would also do the trick. However, the main goal for manager John Farrell's team is to win the
American League East, something it is well-positioned to do with nine games left and an eight-game lead. The magic number for clinching the division is three. The Sox also missed a chance to stretch their lead on Oakland in the race for the best record in
the American League and home-field advantage throughout the postseason. They remain 2 1/2 games up on the Athletics.
It was a big win for the Orioles, who trail by just one in the Wild Card standings.
On Beard Night, more than 4,000 fans grabbed $1 tickets with beards real and fake and helped create a spirited midweek atmosphere. J.J. Hardy
opened the winning rally for the Orioles with a one-out single up the middle. Brian Roberts followed by doing the same. A wild pitch by Morales pushed runners to second and third. After
intentionally walking Steve Pearce to load the bases, Morales got Manny Machado to flyout to
Mike Napoli. With the count 1-2, Davis punched Morales' 76-mph curveball into center field.
That's what the Red Sox have done most of the year. But in this one, they consistently hit the ball right at people, hitting into four double plays, going 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and leaving nine on base. David Ortiz gave the Red Sox a quick lead when he hit a towering home run to right field in the bottom of the first, his 28th of the season.
Peavy turned in a solid start for the Red Sox, allowing six hits and three runs over seven innings. He walked one and struck out eight. It was his second start since lowering his arm angle. Peavy was dominant early, holding the O's hitless through the first
four innings. However, Baltimore had a breakthrough in the fifth. Danny Valencia led off with a single. Matt Wieters
followed with an RBI double that Shane Victorino pursued until he ran out of room at the wall. With one out, Roberts smashed an RBI double into the gap in left-center to tie the game at
2.
The O's took their first lead in the sixth when Wieters again did some damage, this time with a ground-rule double to right. But it didn't last long. The red-hot Napoli led off the bottom of the sixth by hitting a shot into the bleachers in center to tie the
game.
For the rest of the contest, Baltimore's pitching was lights-out. Over the last two nights, the Sox have scored five runs over 21 innings, gone 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position, and grounded into seven double plays.
Jacoby Ellsbury said Wednesday he is "very confident" he can return to the Red Sox lineup for the postseason. Ellsbury has a non-displaced fracture of the navicular bone. The injury initially happened on Aug. 28 and he played seven games before it was
diagnosed. Jarrod Saltalamacchia had one stolen base in the first 580 games of his career. He has four in the last eight. Will Middlebrooks (3 for 4) snapped an 0-for-17 skid. He had missed the last two games with the flu. |
