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THE RAYS and
A ONE WAY October 10, 2008 ... The Red Sox won Game 1 of the American League Championship Series, 2-0, over the Rays. It was the same as always, with Boston winning Game 1 of a series for the fifth straight time. This occasion was slightly different, as there was no way to stop the noise, the ear-splitting, migraine-inducing mix of songs over the sound system and shaken cowbells taking over The Trop. But there was one good way to silence the 35,001 playoff neophytes: by no-hitting the Rays through six innings, and finishing off a shutout of the AL East champions. And so it went, the Sox earning just their second win in 10 games here in 2008. Perfect timing, too, as the Sox got the jump on this series by taking away home-field advantage from the team with the best home record in the majors. Plus, it took away what had seemed, prior to last night's starts by Daisuke Matsuzaka and James Shields, to be a matchup that favored the Rays. This one favored Matsuzaka, yet another tumultuous start giving way to brilliance. And this one was better than most. Despite Dice-K's contention that his fastball wasn't up to par, he was in control for most of the evening. Until the seventh inning, when the Rays found hope. The Rays weren't hitting anything in this one. Matsuzaka's pitch count was at 89 at the start of the seventh inning. That must have sounded a siren for the Rays. Relievers began warming in the bullpen as Matsuzaka worked to Carl Crawford. And then, it happened. After 22 futile plate appearances before him, Crawford knocked a solid single into right field for the Rays' first hit. Before that, the one that could have gotten through, by Carlos Pena in the sixth inning, played right into the Sox' decision to employ the shift, as Dustin Pedroia gobbled up the hard shot on his backhand in short right field. Meanwhile, the Rays were getting nearly as impressive a start from Shields.
Still, the Rays did come close to breaking through it that seventh inning, as Cliff Floyd followed Crawford's hit with one of his own. There were runners on first and third, no outs, and Dioner Navarro at the plate, with relievers at the ready. But Navarro flied to left, and Gabe Gross struck out. (That shouldn't be surprising, given that it gave Gross 18 strikeouts in 52 at-bats against the Sox this season). Jason Bartlett then grounded into a force out, as Matsuzaka escaped again. But the game didn't end without incident. With Iwamura at the plate, Francona decided to leave in his starter, even though he was at 107 pitches to start the eighth. Iwamura singled to left, followed by an infield single by B.J. Upton to third, where Kevin Youkilis wasn't able to field the ball cleanly. That was it for Matsuzaka, and ultimately for the Rays in the eighth, as Hideki Okajima (fly out to right) and Justin Masterson (double-play ball to shortstop) closed out the inning. Okajima retired Pena, and Masterson got Evan Longoria, who dropped to 1 for 16 since hitting two homers to begin his postseason career. Mark Kotsay's excuse-me swing resulted in a double in the fifth inning off Shields, pushing Jason Bay to third base, from where he scored on Jed Lowrie's sacrifice fly. The Sox scored again in the eighth when Youkilis got his third hit, and first RBI, doubling home Pedroia. His first two hits had come off Shields, notable because Youkilis had been 0 for 17 against the right-hander coming in, before doubling and singling in his first two at-bats. It's just one win out of a necessary four, but with a loose and happy clubhouse after the game, it somehow seemed like more than that. |
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