A TEAM "FIT TO BE TIED"
Jason Varitek rescues the Sox with
another walk-off ninth inning homer

May 11, 2005 ... Oakland’s right fielder Bobby Kielty, felt some pretty tangible pain in his side after crashing into the wall beyond Pesky's Pole in a gutsy, yet futile attempt to keep Varitek's ninth-inning game winning blast out of the seats today. Varitek's two-run homer lifted his average to .343, gave him seven home runs in just 102 at-bats, and gave the Sox their second walk-off home run victory in as many days, 6-5. Both days, the Sox trailed by a run going into the bottom of the ninth, both times David Ortiz walked to begin the comeback, and both times a Sox player took Octavio Dotel for a long, painful ride.

Varitek, with the second walk-off homer of his career (both vs. Oakland), escorted Dotel into the record books. This was just the second time the Sox have won on walk-off home runs on consecutive days on July 21 and 22, 1935, Sox pitcher/pinch hitter Wes Ferrell accomplished the feat. And, this marked just the sixth time a major league team has hit walk-off home runs in two straight games off the same pitcher.

Varitek took a sinker away and broke a bat fouling off a cutter to begin the at-bat. The 1-and-1 pitch was in on his hands, and he turned on it. Off the bat, Varitek said, he gave the ball "no chance" to stay fair. But it stayed fair and sent the 35,375 in attendance on this 72- degree day into a frenzied celebration.

But Varitek's heroics, which gave the Sox eight wins in their last nine games and nine straight victories against the A's, never should have been needed. The Sox led, 4-1, after eight innings thanks in part to a third-inning, two-run homer by Manny Ramirez and Clement was looking at a 5-0 record.

On came Keith Foulke, and his stultifying inefficiency continued. He issued a one-out walk to Kielty, then allowed a two-out double to Marco Scutaro and a two-run single to the No. 8 hitter, Keith Ginter. That pulled Oakland within 4-3. On the eighth pitch to pesky No. 9 hitter Eric Byrnes, Foulke left a slider up and Byrnes muscled it into the Monster seats.

Foulke, who was at the pinnacle of his profession in October, has now given up more home runs (six) than any other reliever in baseball. His confidence is waning, his ERA rising (7.94), and he's going to have to overcome seeing a fat number in that ERA column if he's to piece this season back together. It's a virtual certainty his ERA will be above 3.00 at the end of this year, which it hasn't been since 1998. He needs 28 scoreless innings to reduce his inflamed ERA to 3.00. He allowed 20 runs all of last season. He's already allowed 15. He gave up eight home runs all of last season.

Foulke's blown save cost Clement a win. But he's still unbeaten (4-0) with a shrinking ERA (3.06). Take out his one implosive start of 12 hits, seven earned runs in 4 2/3 innings April 26 vs. Baltimore, and the right-hander's ERA is 1.99. He has just eight walks in his last five starts, and four were in one game. And, he's not getting hit hard, either. Since allowing a Hideki Matsui home run in his debut, Clement has not been taken deep in seven consecutive starts, a span of 47 innings. He got through seven innings on 100 pitches, and he probably could have gone longer.

Clement has spearheaded a remarkable season to this point for the ever-changing Sox rotation. Sox starters, in the last 12 games, are 8-0 with a 2.75 ERA. For the season, Boston's eight starters have accounted for 17 of the team's 21 wins, going 17-6 with a 3.74 ERA.

There should be one more win in the starters' stats, but Clement can live with that. And he was happy, given that Varitek got to deliver the dramatic moment.