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Sox End Disappointing West Coast Trek On Wrong End Of 1-0 Score
By Administrator | May 29, 2008
Tim Wakefield entered last night’s game in Seattle having gone 0-2 in his last three starts, allowing a total of seventeen earned runs in his last thirteen innings pitched. So, if I had told you before the game that he would go eight innings and allow only one run on five hits without walking anyone, you would have gladly taken it… and likely put the game in the Red Sox win column.
Problem is: Seattle southpaw Erik Bedard, who allowed nine earned runs in 4 1/3 innings in his outing against the NY Yankees last weekend, decided to use last night to remind baseball fans of the reasons the Mariners shipped five players to Baltimore in order to acquire him. Bedard, along with fireballer Brandon Morrow (one of the next great starting pitchers in the AL) and all-star closer JJ Putz, shut the Red Sox out on two hits in the M’s 1-0 win over the Red Sox. Red Sox hitters flailed away in the batter’s box all evening, seemingly unable to figure out what he was going to throw or when he was going to throw it.
The loss leaves Wakefield winless in his last eighteen appearances (eight starts) against the Mariners dating back to his last complete game shutout — on July 29, 1997, at Fenway Park!
While Red Sox batters drew six walks in the game, including two in the ninth inning against Putz, only Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell sullied the hit column on the scorecard (for those of you keeping score at home). The sluggers hit back-to-back singles off Bedard with one out in the fourth inning, but the rally was short-lived as the next batter (Sean Casey) grounded into an inning-ending double play.
Wakefield meanwhile was diligently scattering five hits over eight innings. He struck out eight Mariners batters, including whiffing the side in the second inning. He made one mistake all night, a third inning knuckleball that shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt hammered for a home run. That was it. Seattle’s only other threat came in the eighth inning… Ichiro Suzuki reached base on a fielder’s choice, stole second base, and advanced to third base when Jason Varitek’s throw to Julio Lugo sailed into center field… but Wakefield then retired Miguel Cairo on a grounder to third base.
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Jason Varitek entered the game defensively in the bottom of the eighth inning after J D Drew pinch hit for Kevin Cash in the top of the frame. It was the first time he has caught Wakefield in a game since 2005.
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Julio Lugo failed to lay down a successful sacrifice bunt for the second time in three nights.
In the eighth inning, with a runner on first base and no one out, he pushed a bunt down the first base line… but he bunted the ball too hard and it was fielded by first baseman Miguel Cairo (In his Boston Globe blog, Nick Cafardo reported that the bunt was fielded by pitcher Brandon Morrow… Cafardo was wrong).
Cairo fielded the ball, spun and threw a dart to get the lead runner at second base. Morrow then pitched out of further difficulty by retiring Ellsbury on a grounder and striking out Pedroia.
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Mike Lowell made an excellent defensive pick and strong throw on Cairo’s grounder to end the eighth inning to help keep the deficit at one run.
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The Mariners were discussing putting Morrow into their starting rotation, but yesterday informed him that such a change won’t happen this season… the righty then took out his frustrations on the Red Sox — throwing high-90s gas at Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia to end the eighth inning.
Topics: Sox Games, Sox Players |
