May 4, 2007
...
In a 2-0
Sox win over the Twins, David Ortiz hit one that avoided the speakers and
landed safely in the upper deck, just to the right of the late, great
Kirby Puckett poster, the kind of blast that reminds Minnesotans of
what they lost when the Twins didn't offer Ortiz a contract after the
2002 season.
For
eight innings, Ortiz's eighth home run of the season, off Carlos Silva, which
broke a scoreless tie in the sixth, was all that separated the Sox from the
Twins, for whom home runs have been an uncommon sight in 2007. They began the
night last in the American League with 16. Justin Morneau, the reigning MVP, had
six. So did Torii Hunter. Joe Mauer, last year's AL batting champion, had one.
The other six batters in the Twins' lineup had zip. Nada. Zilch.
Unencumbered by fears that he was facing a Midwestern Murderers' Row, Tim
Wakefield shut out the Twins on three hits through seven innings, then was
picked up by the Sox' bullpen, which was given a bonus run to work with in the
ninth when J.D. Drew tripled to left-center and scored on Coco Crisp's single
through a drawn-in infield.
Wakefield, pitching despite a bad cold that had left him feeling dehydrated,
lowered his earned run average to 2.11. That's second in the league to Oakland's
Dan Haren (1.75), which is what makes Wakefield's 3-3 record so misleading.
That, and the fact that the Sox have scored 12 runs for him while he has been on
the mound (38 1/3 innings). That translates to 2.88 runs per nine innings, the
third-lowest average in the league. The Sox pitcher who is undefeated, Josh
Beckett, leads the league in run support with 9.53 runs per nine innings.
Former
Twin, J.C. Romero got the first two outs in the eighth before departing after
Mauer's ground-rule double that made the left-field seats on one hop. Terry
Francona summoned Donnelly, who needed one pitch to dispose of Hunter on a foul
pop to first baseman Kevin Youkilis. Jonathan Papelbon, pitching for the first
time since blowing a save Tuesday, finished off the Twins in the ninth.
The last
time Papelbon pitched, he gave up a two-run home run to Travis Buck that tied a
game in the ninth that the Sox lost in the 10th. Tonight, the first batter he
faced, Morneau, sent Crisp to the fence in center to haul in a drive for the
inning's first out. Mike Redmond flied to right for the second out, before Jason
Kubel rolled out to shortstop to end it. The save was Papelbon's ninth of the
season.
The Sox
had a couple of chances early against Doug Silva. Doug Mirabelli led off the
third with a double and was bunted to third by Alex Cora, but was erased
attempting to score on Julio Lugo's one-hopper to shortstop Jason Barrett,
catcher Mike Redmond pirouetting to make the tag on the slo-mo-in-actual-time
Mirabelli. Cora, who had three hits to raise his average to a Williamsesque
.406, tripled with two outs in the fifth but this time Lugo lined to right.
Manny Ramirez followed Ortiz's homer with a double to the fence in center, but
Drew rolled out and Mike Lowell lined to the track in left.
But
Wakefield also was tough with men on base. The Twins had two on in the first
after Wakefield hit Mauer with a pitch and Hunter had an infield hit, but
Morneau flied to left. A walk and Barrett's double gave the Twins runners on
second and third in the second, but Luis Castillo lined out. Hunter singled and
stole second with two outs in the third, but Morneau was rung up when he failed
to hold up on his two-strike swing. Hunter walked with one out in the sixth and
attempted to steal again, but was thrown out by Mirabelli.
Cora,
cheating toward the middle, took a base hit away from Castillo leading off the
eighth against Romero. Last night's win marked the first for the Sox at the
Metrodome since Aug. 7, 2005.
Just because Jon
Lester will be haunting the same clubhouse as his former (and future) teammates
does not mean Lester's status on the active roster is going to be solidified
this weekend. Instead, his presence will give him a chance to work out the
medical kinks with the major league training staff, plus his manager and
pitching coach to be.
As
expected, Jacoby Ellsbury was promoted from Double A Portland to Triple A
Pawtucket yesterday. Ellsbury played in 17 games with the Sea Dogs, hitting
.452, the best average in the minor leagues, with 33 hits, including 10 doubles.
He reached base safely in 61 of 66 games with Portland, including last season,
after moving up from Single A Wilmington July 13. Batting leadoff and playing
center field last night, Ellsbury went 1 for 4 with two walks and two runs. "
Devern
Hansack was sleeping after throwing a side session Thursday when he got the call
up to the big club. He then called a friend to drive him to Boston to make it in
time for the team charter here.
