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ON THIS DATE (September
22, 2004) ... For the second straight game, the Red Sox overcame an unnerving lapse by Keith
Foulke and rallied past the Orioles in their topsy-turvy ride toward the postseason. After Foulke blew a 6-5 lead by surrendering a pinch homer to Rafael Palmeiro leading off the ninth inning, the Sox rescued him again when Orlando Cabrera homered off Rick Bauer leading off the bottom of the 12th for a rousing 7-6 victory
before 35,103 at Fenway Park.
The thrilling finish unfolded after Foulke blew his second save in as many nights and surrendered his third ninth-inning homer to an Oriole in three nights. Palmeiro's blast followed Javy Lopez's two- run shot off Foulke Tuesday and Melvin Mora's solo homer in the Orioles' win Monday. The
Sox came back to win Tuesday's game on Mark Bellhorn's walkoff, two-run single with two outs in the ninth. Foulke's latest lapse marked the first time in his career as a closer he has allowed home runs in three straight games.
Cabrera's home run overshadowed a historic achievement by David Ortiz in the seventh inning. With the Sox trailing, 5-4, Ortiz slugged his 40th homer of the season, a two-run shot that appeared to put Francona's lads on a glide path to a 6-5 victory. Ortiz joined Ramirez (41 homers) as only
the second pair of Red Sox sluggers to connect for 40 or more homers in the same year, a milestone even the great tandems of Ted Williams and Jimmie Foxx and Jim Rice and Fred Lynn were unable to reach. The only previous pair of Sox hitters to go deep 40 or more times in a season were Carl
Yastrzemski and Rico Petrocelli, who each slugged 40 homers in 1969. After the shot by Ortiz, Mike Timlin preserved the lead by pitching a scoreless eighth before he handed off to Foulke, who promptly prolonged his slump.
Seven Sox relievers combined to work 6 2/3 innings, with Foulke surrendering the only run, though Mike Myers allowed an inherited run to score.
Starter Bronson Arroyo fared no worse than Derek Lowe and Tim Wakefield in their most recent outings, though Arroyo fell short of his effectiveness in his previous two starts (he allowed the Yankees two runs over six innings Friday after blanking the Mariners for seven innings Sept. 11).
Arroyo, making his second attempt to win his 10th game of the season, let the opportunity slip away when he surrendered a one-out single to Javy Lopez amid a 4-4 tie in the sixth. Myers allowed Lopez to score on a double by Bigbie to give the Orioles a 5-4 lead before Ortiz countered in the
seventh. |
