August 19, 2007
...
There was a moment, brief though it was, when it appeared that hot
heads and emotional reactions might prevail. Well, almost. Because it
was Los Angeles's Orlando spouting off, causing benches and bullpens
to empty in the third inning of what was otherwise a tranquil day at
Fenway Park. No one threw a punch No one was ejected. Julian Tavarez
stayed even-keeled as Cabrera, who was hit by a Tavarez pitch, barked
from the grass near the first base line.
No
overreaction by Tavarez. No overreaction by the Red Sox. And that continued into
the clubhouse, even though the Sox dropped their second game of the series, 3-1,
to the Angels, earning a split as the Yankees beat Detroit and gained another
game in the standings, shrinking the American League East lead to four games.
The Sox
offense was stymied yet again, this time by Joe Saunders. On a day when their
fill-in starter, Tavarez, pitched well enough to win, the offense just didn't
hit well enough. No comebacks, either.
After
Tavarez allowed two runs in the first inning, with Chone Figgins (single)
scoring on a single by Vladimir Guerrero and Cabrera (walk) scoring on a
fielder's choice by Gary Matthews, the right-hander held the Angels hitless for
his remaining five innings. He did need help to emerge without further damage in
the first, relying on an outstanding back-bending catch by Bobby Kielty to
prevent a Casey Kotchman shot from landing in the visitor's bullpen.
Tavarez's
line? Six innings, two runs, two walks, two strikeouts. And that one hit batter.
But even as good as Tavarez was, with help from exceptional defense by Pedroia
at second, Saunders was better. Or, as Francona allowed, he was "too
impressive."
Which is not
to say that the Red Sox didn't have chances. They just came mostly with two
outs. Other than the first and third innings, Boston had base runners in each of
the eight innings Saunders worked (he went 7 2/3). They had Mike Lowell and
Kielty aboard with one out in the second, but Coco Crisp and Julio Lugo flied
out. They again had two on in the fourth, before Crisp struck out to end the
threat.
Boston's
most productive inning came in the eighth, after the Angels had increased their
lead to 3-0 by scratching out a run off Kyle Snyder. With two outs, David Ortiz
singled to left against the shift. That was it for Saunders. With Scot Shields
in, Manny Ramirez walked and Lowell sent an RBI single off the wall in left.
J.D. Drew was sent to pinch hit for Kielty and Angels manager Mike Scioscia
countered by lifting Shields in favor of Justin Speier.
Speier won,
striking out Drew looking to finish the threat. And the Sox could do nothing
against Francisco Rodriguez in the ninth in front of a crowd of 36,346 that had
experienced some ups and downs in the top of the inning when Gagne came to the
mound. Fenway filled with boos, then cheers, and finally a standing ovation as
Gagne walked off the field, having struck out the side sandwiched around a pair
of singles. It was progress for Gagne, which should help the Sox, even though
losing another game to the Yankees in the standings might not make their fans
very happy.
It does,
however, make for a good race to the finish. There is no more 14 1/2-game lead.
There won't be for the rest of the season. Tavarez is now winless in his last
seven starts, going 0-5 with a 6.55 ERA. Julio Lugo had a bunt hit in the
seventh inning, his eighth of the season. He has 25 infield hits, ranking third
in the American League. David Ortiz, who had two singles, finished the series 7
for 16 (.438). He was 4 for 31 (.129) over the eight games before this series.
