ON THIS DATE (April 20, 2003)
...
The crowd of 29,579 saw how it looked after the Nomar Garciaparra hit
one into the bottom of a left-field light tower off Toronto reliever
Cliff Politte in the 9th inning. A gaggle of Red Sox were
swarming Garciaparra at home plate, laughing and leaping and
celebrating their third last at-bat win in the course of a winning
streak that now has reached seven.
Sox 6, Blue
Jays 5, when only 3 1/2 innings earlier the scoreboard Blue Jays 5, Sox 0.
Whether you're speaking the King's English or the version they speak down under,
that's one mighty fine comeback, especially since the Jays had their ace, Roy
Halladay, hanging those zeroes on the Sox.
No pain,
either, for starter Casey Fossum, who was in the clubhouse watching on TV. Even
before his home run, which came on a 1-and-1 cut fastball from Politte,
Garciaparra had taken the lefthander off the hook with a tying two-run double in
the seventh off Halladay, a 19-game winner last season who has yet to win in
five starts this season.
Late-inning comebacks can be habit-forming. The Sox did it twice earlier in the
streak against the Devil Rays, and with The Committee holding another closed
session yesterday, Ramiro Mendoza turned the boos that greeted him to cheers
with a scoreless seventh, and Mike Timlin punched out four Jays in a six-up,
six-down two- inning stint, the Sox made the most of a chance to do it again
yesterday.
Manny
Ramirez had the day off until Grady Little summoned him to pinch hit in the
seventh. He was intentionally walked, and was on-deck when Garciaparra connected
with his winner. Giambi, batting .143 entering the game, drew the start in left,
and his home run off a gassed Halladay ignited the Sox bench. It also sets a
manager to grinning.
