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POWERFUL CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM
The Red Sox bury the Angels
April 13, 2007
...
After a
six-run eighth, the Red Sox led by nine runs, going on to beat the
Angels, 10-1, in a Fenway Park filled with 35,946 frigid souls.
With one
out in the eighth inning, and the Sox ahead, 4-1, Jonathan Papelbon entered with
men on first and third and the Angels' Nos. 3 and 4 hitters lining up to face
him. Reminiscent of his four-pitch strikeout of the Rangers' Michael Young with
one out in the eighth inning Sunday, Papelbon struck out Guerrero on his fourth
pitch, a 97-mile-per-hour fastball that left the Angels' best hitter swinging at
air. And it took just two pitches to retire Anderson on a hard drive to Manny
Ramirez.
When the
score reached 6-1 in the ninth, Terry Francona told Papelbon to put down his
glove. His night was over, giving Timlin a chance for a 1-2-3 ninth inning
(highlighted by an impressive catch by second baseman Dustin Pedroia in short
right field for the final out).
With Tim
Wakefield mastering both the knuckleball and, by extension, the Angels, and his
offense giving him a rare boost in the form of four runs while he was in the
game, it wasn't quite as close as Sunday, when Papelbon inherited a one-run lead
to protect for Curt Schilling. But it was close.
Supported with a home run by personal catcher Doug Mirabelli, who later added a
second RBI to make it 3-1, Wakefield deployed a diving, darting knuckleball that
was moving so much that at one point, Guerrero looked foolish enough on a swing
to draw a delighted gasp from the crowd. And he wasn't the only one.
Throwing
just 82 pitches over seven-plus innings on a night when the game-time
temperature was 47 degrees, Wakefield allowed one run, scored by former teammate
Orlando Cabrera after a walk, stolen base, and solid single by Guerrero that
ended with the right fielder caught in a rundown between first and second.
Wakefield exited one batter into the eighth after third baseman Mike Lowell made
a diving stop of a Maicer Izturis grounder but threw the ball away.
But this
excellent offensive night for the Sox, with multiple-hit games from Julio Lugo,
Kevin Youkilis, J.D. Drew, Ortiz, Lowell, and Mirabelli didn't come down to the
offense. Even with six eighth-inning runs, including two RBIs each by Ortiz,
Drew, and Lowell, it came down to the bullpen, to Papelbon.
Finding
at-bats for Wily Mo Pena, who was optimistically slated for 400 this season,
remains a problem. He had just three plate appearances, and no hits, in the
first eight games of the season.
Righthander J.D. Durbin was claimed off waivers by the Phillies. Durbin had been
designated for assignment by the Sox Tuesday after being claimed Monday off
waivers from the Diamondbacks. |
