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“DIARY OF A WINNER”
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A
POWERFUL CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM
May 9, 2007
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Tomo Ohka, with a rare chance to prove to his Japanese fan base, that he is deserving of attention and respect he's never gotten back home, appeared to crack under that pressure. He went to six three-ball counts, threw ball one to seven of the first 11 batters he faced, uncorked a wild pitch, and committed an error - all in the first two innings. By then, the Red Sox had a 3-0 lead, and though that would be all they would score against Ohka, who lasted just 4 2/3 innings, it was enough to assure him second-banana status to Matsuzaka, on a night he hoped he would be so much more. Not that there was much chance Ohka would let the world in on what he was feeling after the game. Joe Siddall was the catcher the night Ohka threw a perfect game in Pawtucket, R.I., only the third in the 117-year history of the International League. That was June 1, 2000, and in a cinematic touch, Siddall retired after the game. Never mind that Siddall, a journeyman who had made big league cameos with the Expos, Marlins, and Tigers, had decided before the game that he was returning to his native Windsor, Ontario, to spend more time at home with his doctor wife and their four kids. When Ohka parted last night with two on and two out in the fifth, he'd already thrown 96 pitches, 51 for strikes. All the Sox' long balls would come off relievers. Lugo hit a two-run home run off Scott Downs to make it 5-0 in the sixth, and three batters later, Ramirez blasted his sixth home run, into the second deck in left-center, to make it 6-0. Ortiz, who had two singles and a double in his first three at-bats, hit his ninth home run with Coco Crisp aboard in the eighth. That gave him the 10th four-hit game of his career. Lowell, who also homered the night before, hit his sixth in the ninth. He also singled, doubled, and walked. Matsuzaka, meanwhile, had his hands full with Blue Jays leadoff hitter Alex Rios, who went single, walk, double, and single off the Japanese right-hander, but nobody else in a Toronto uniform until Overbay hit a first-pitch changeup over the right-field fence with two outs in the sixth. Matsuzaka struck out eight, walked three, and allowed just five hits, while appearing to be far more certain of himself than in his three most recent outings, in which big innings had bedeviled him. Mike Lowell, who came into last night's game with a .368 average against the Blue Jays (46 for 125) is the highest all-time among players with at least 100 at-bats. Lowell walked, doubled, singled, and homered last night. Kevin Youkilis was in Francona's original lineup, but was scratched after he came to the ballpark and complained of stiffness in his left quadriceps. Youkilis was hit by pitches about 6 inches apart in consecutive games, Sunday in Minnesota by Glen Perkins, Tuesday night by Casey Janssen. While Josh Beckett is within one of the club record for consecutive starts won to begin a season, he is only halfway to Roger Clemens's club record of 14 consecutive wins to start a season, which the Rocket did in 1986. |
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