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A SEASON IN THE DRINK
(CHICKEN & BEER) ...
The Sox come from
behind to beat Oakland
June 3, 2011 ...
Carl Crawford shattered his bat, but hit the ball well enough to drop
it into center field for a two-run single that sparked the Sox to an
8-6 victory over the Oakland A’s. Knowing that Crawford was 7 of 68
(.103) against lefthanders this season, Oakland manager Bob Geren
called in Brian Fuentes to face him. Crawford got ahead, 3 and 1,
before taking a strike. The next pitch jammed him but he got enough
wood on it.
The Sox
snapped a four-game losing streak on a night Clay Buchholz gave up four runs in
the first inning. But Scott Atchison, newcomer Tommy Hottovy, Bobby Jenks,
Daniel Bard, and Jonathan Papelbon combined on 4 1/3 innings of shutout relief.
Jenks (2-2) got the win and Papelbon his 11th save.
Jenks had an
adventurous seventh inning. With the Sox trailing, 6-5, he allowed a leadoff
double by Josh Willingham. With one out, Jenks balked Willingham to third, then
walked Kurt Suzuki. It was the fourth balk of the season by the Sox, one more
than all of last season. But Jenks stayed composed.
The scouting
report on Daric Barton indicated his dislike of quick pitches. Jenks rushed his
delivery, intending to throw a fastball low and in. He left it high but Barton
hit a ground ball to short and Jed Lowrie started a double play that got the Sox
out of the inning. It was a big moment for Jenks, who this season has done
little to create confidence. After Crawford gave the Sox the lead,
Saltalamacchia's long solo homer in the eighth inning helped secure it.
Oakland beat
up Buchholz with jabs in the first inning, scoring four runs on five singles.
David DeJesus singled with one out and took third on a single off the wall in
left by Willingham. Hideki Matsui grounded to shortstop, driving in a run as
Willingham was forced. Singles by Suzuki, Barton, and Mark Ellis accounted for
two more runs. Buchholz finally struck out Kevin Kouzmanoff to end the inning
after 27 pitches.
Buchholz had
left his previous start with a sore lower back, a condition he felt "a little
bit" last night. The Sox took Buchholz off the hook with two runs in the first,
a run in the second, and two more in the third. Ortiz had two hits and two RBIs
in the comeback. Given the lead, Buchholz gave it away in the fourth inning. His
error on a pickoff attempt and a wild pitch helped Oakland score a run. After
Barton's two-out single in the fifth, Francona emerged from the dugout and
Buchholz was done after 99 pitches. Buchholz has allowed five earned runs three
times in the last two seasons against Oakland. He has a 7.24 earned run average
in five career starts against the Athletics.
Trailing,
6-5, the Sox rallied against Joey Devine (0-1) in the seventh. Adrian Gonzalez
(3 for 5, now hitting .335) had a one-out double before Kevin Youkilis was hit
by a pitch and Ortiz walked. Lowrie popped to shortstop, putting the onus on
Crawford. |
