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“DIARY OF A WINNER”
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A
POWERFUL CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM
May 26, 2007
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The offense buoyed starter Tim Wakefield, who won for just the fifth time in 17 career games in Texas, in front of a crowd of 37,974. Coming into the game, Wakefield was 4-11 at Texas with a 5.63 ERA. And he had been a tough-luck loser in his first start here this season, his 2007 debut back on April 6, when he allowed one earned run (two total) in a 2-0 loss that did not augur well for his run support this season. Of course in Texas, at least in this series, it has simply been a matter of keeping one's team in the game and waiting. Even as Wakefield gave up four runs, his teammates came back with outbursts in the fourth and sixth innings, battering Rangers starter Vicente Padilla and reliever Joaquin Benoit (two-thirds of an inning, two hits, three walks, one run, two inherited runners scored) to take a 7-4 lead after an interminable sixth in which the Sox batted around on four hits and four walks. Included in the onslaught was a run-scoring triple by Ramirez that died in the right field corner (with Ramirez then coming home on a wild pitch), an RBI single by Coco Crisp, and a bases-loaded walk to Youkilis. It was a combination of an offense perhaps hitting its stride, having scored 10 runs the night before, and some truly awful pitching by the Rangers. The Red Sox took the lead in the fourth inning, though it was short-lived, with Youkilis leading off with yet another double (his sixth in his last six games). That was followed by walks to Ortiz and Ramirez, and a fielder's choice by J.D. Drew. Youkilis scored for Drew's first RBI since May 15, and Ortiz scored on an error by shortstop Michael Young, who was attempting to complete the double play on Drew, making it 2-1. Wakefield (7 innings, 5 hits, 4 runs, 4 strikeouts, 1 walk) held his own early, retiring the Rangers 1-2-3 in three of the first four innings. It was only in the second in which he ran into trouble, a leadoff double by Sammy Sosa leading to a run when Ramirez's throw from left field drew catcher Doug Mirabelli up the third base line, allowing Sosa to score on Marlon Byrd's single. But Byrd was caught stealing after the Sox pitched out, and further damage was avoided. Trailing, 2-1, the Rangers again got to Wakefield in the fifth, the three-run inning starting when Frank Catalanotto was hit by a pitch. Ian Kinsler then doubled, and Gerald Laird's double brought home two. Laird's drive hit the ball girl down the left-field line, but Kinsler was still able to score from first. Kenny Lofton's sacrifice fly scored Laird, who had moved to third on Ramon Vazquez's single. But that was it, though the Rangers put two men on base against Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth (one on an error by shortstop Julio Lugo, one on a single by Kinsler). But Papelbon got Laird to fly to the warning track in center to record his first save since May 17 against Detroit. Julio Lugo leads all of baseball with 29 RBIs from the leadoff spot. Curtis Granderson of Detroit and Kelly Johnson of Atlanta each have 26. And the Sox shortstop has done it with a .235 batting average. Mike Timlin should pitch again today for Pawtucket in his rehab stint. He's coming back from shoulder tendonitis that put him on the disabled list May 3. Entering last night, the Red Sox had won their last 31 games when scoring at least five runs, their longest such streak since also doing it 31 consecutive times in 1949. |
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