|
A SEASON IN THE DRINK
(CHICKEN & BEER) ...
Big Papi leads the Sox to a doubleheader sweep
August 27, 2011 ...
Nobody at Fenway Park faced a greater challenge yesterday than
groundskeeper Dave Mellor in trying to figure out how to get in two
games amid downpours related to Hurricane Irene. He searched
endlessly for ways to keep the playing field above water. Mellor and
his crew worked feverishly to keep the infield playable as the Red
Sox' doubleheader with Oakland was played in its entirety (including
three rain delays totaling four hours). The beneficiaries were the
Sox, who swept the A's, 9-3 and 4-0, on a day when baseball began at
noon and ended at 10:58 p.m.
With the
Yankees having their doubleheader postponed yesterday, the Sox added to their AL
East lead, going up two games. It was a nice comeback for the Sox after they
were blitzed Friday, 15-5.
The
announced attendance for Game 1 was 37,314, which extended the Red Sox' sellout
streak to 695, although there were hardly that many people in the stands. With
so many empty seats, the Sox let Game 2 patrons into the park in the eighth
inning of the opener as the game resumed for good after a delay of 2 hours 15
minutes. The second game was also deemed sold out.
The three
hours of delays in Game 1 didn't deter the Sox, who struck for nine runs in the
first five innings. The nightcap, which didn't start until 6:50 p.m., had a
one-hour rain delay after the fourth inning that curtailed starter Erik Bedard's
outing. Bedard had pitched four-plus scoreless but tedious innings, walking
four, three of them in the first inning. When play resumed, Bedard was replaced
by Alfredo Aceves, who shut down the A's for three innings. Daniel Bard and
Jonathan Papelbon completed the three-hit shutout.
David Ortiz
was the hitting star of the doubleheader. He went 2 for 4 with two doubles and
two RBIs in the first game and had three hits, including a two-run homer, in the
nightcap. Ortiz now has 27 homers, 86 RBIs, and a 12-game hitting streak (24 for
46, .522).
The homer
followed a second-inning leadoff double by Dustin Pedroia (3 for 8, 3 RBIs). The
Sox added a run in the fourth on singles by Pedroia, Ortiz, and Jed Lowrie, and
a Jarrod Saltalamacchia grounder to first. Saltalamacchia's bloop double to
right in the sixth brought home Lowrie with the fourth Sox run. It was a good
day and night overall for the catching tandem of Saltalamacchia and Jason
Varitek, who knocked in five runs between them.
Varitek
drove in three runs in the opener, two of them coming on a two-out home run (his
ninth) into the Sox bullpen in the second. He knocked in a run in the fifth with
a single to bring in Ortiz, who led off with a double to right-center, his
second double of the game. Varitek's performance, coupled with that of starter
Saltalamacchia, have made the catching position work out splendidly for the Red
Sox. The backstops have combined for 22 home runs and 75 RBIs.
The Sox got
another solid outing from Jon Lester, who pitched six innings and allowed two
runs (one earned) in winning his 14th game. After a rain delay in the top of the
seventh, and with a seven-run lead, there was no need for Lester to come back
for more. Where it was all Oakland Friday, it was all Boston in Game 1 until the
tarp came on the field before the start of the seventh with the Sox holding a
9-2 lead.
The A's
scored in the second on a home run by Brandon Allen. In the third, Marco Scutaro
booted a grounder by Scott Sizemore, who eventually scored on Coco Crisp's
sacrifice fly. The rain created an interesting issue when Major League Baseball
ruled that Game 1 had to be completed before Game 2 could begin.
The opener
was well in hand and, with the hurricane approaching, the Sox were hoping to
avoid a rainout in Game 2 and thus a makeup game late in the season by speeding
things up. There was precedent. On April 22, 2009, against the Twins at Fenway,
the first game of a doubleheader was called after seven innings with the Sox
leading, 10-1. The second game began 47 minutes later and was played in its
entirety. According to a team source, the Sox pushed to get the game called
after seven innings, citing that 2009 game, to no avail. Instead, they waited 2
hours 15 minutes after the seventh inning in the second delay. |
