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ALCS, Game 1: Advantage, Red Sox — Matsuzaka Keeps Rays Hitless For Six Innings En Route To 2-0 Win
By Administrator | October 11, 2008
I cannot wait for the day when the so-called experts who predicted a Tampa Bay victory in this series have to eat their words… I just wish I could be there to spinkle some Chalupa sauce on those words. Do you hear that, Tony Massarotti? Rays in six… bah!
Tonight at The Trop, the red Sox and Rays engaged in a very well pitched, well played ballgame that eventually went to the Red Sox. Matsuzaka did what he does best… he got into trouble in both the first and seventh innings but walked the tightrope masterfully.
Dice-K kept the Rays hitless into the seventh inning and scoreless into the eighth inning, and when Terry Francona (belatedly) went to the bullpen, three relievers (Hideki Okajima, Justin Masterson and Jonathan Papelbon) were superb. Five up, six down (Masterson induced a double play from the soon-to-be AL ROY Evan Longoria).
The Red Sox threatened in the first inning. Dustin Pedroia walked and Kevin Youkilis hit a two-out, ground-rule double to put two runners in scoring position… but JD Drew struck out (on a bad pitch) to let rays starter James Shields off the hook.
In the bottom of the first inning, Dice-K did his high-wire act. He walked the first, third and fifth batters, but retired each of the even-numbered batters (a strikeout, a fly out and a ground out) to leave the bases loaded and a goose-egg on the scoreboard.
Whew.
The starting pitchers dominated the next three innings. Rays righty Shields retired eight of the next nine batters… the one guy who reached (Youkilis, on a fourth inning single) was erased on a double play. Dice-K retired nine of the ten batters he faced… surrendering only a walk to Pena but striking out the next batter, Longoria, to end the third inning.
Jed Lowrie drives in the eventual game-winning run with a sac fly to right field in the fifth inning… AP photo
The Sox finally broke through in the fifth inning. Jason Bay walked and went to third base on Mark Kotsay’s check-swing double down the left field line. Jed Lowrie then ripped a sacrifice fly to Gabe Gross in right field to drive in Bay with the first run (advancing Kotsay to third base)… but Shields escaped further damage when Iwamura snared a Jason Varitek liner that bounced at his feet (for the second out) and Ellsbury popped out to shortstop.
The next nine batters (six Rays, three Red Sox) were all retired with only one ball leaving the infield.
Boston then put the first two batters on base in the seventh inning, but Shields retired Kotsay (pop up), Lowrie (strikeout) and Varitek (pop up) to keep the score 1-0.
Turn about is fair play.
Tampa put the first two runners on base in the bottom of the frame - at the corners - with speedster Carl Crawford just ninety feet from home plate… but Matsuzaka escaped the threat unscathed. Karl Wallenda would have been jealous! Dice-K retired Dioner Navarro on a shallow fly out to left field, Gabe Gross on strikes, and then Jason Bartlett on a ground ball to shortstop.
The Red Sox added an insurance run in the top of the eighth inning. Pedroia singled and stole second base. Exit starter James Shields, enter reliever JP Howell. The southpaw walked David Ortiz. Kevin Youkilis then lined a ball to left field that Carl Crawford (maybe) should have caught, but didn’t… score it an rbi-double. Red Sox-2, Rays-0.
Exit Howell, enter Grant Balfour. The hard-throwing righty hit JD Drew to load the bases, but struck out Bay and induced a pop up from Kotsay to end the inning.
The lost opportunity appeared to be potentially fatal when Matsuzaka put the first two batters on base in the eighth inning, but Okajima and Masterson took him off the hook. And Papelbon brought the hammer down to close out an exciting win.
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Terry Francona continues to carry a lucky rabbit’s foot in his back pocket. With 100+ pitches under his belt as the eighth inning began, Tito had NO business sending Dice-K out to face Akinori Iwamura (who has OWNED him in the past) to start the inning. This fact is not arguable.
It was time for Manny Delcarmen to be brought into the game with lefties Iwamura and Carlos Pena coming to the plate.
After Dice-K allowed Iwamura and BJ Upton to reach base, Okajima hung a 3-0 slider to Pena… the first baseman had the green light but hit the ball of the end of the bat for a soft fly ball to JD Drew. In 90 of 100 instances, that pitch is turned into a single, double or home run.
A tip of the cap to Justin Masterson, who made a beautiful pitch to Longoria to induce the inning-ending GIDP.
Like I said, rabbit’s foot.
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Youkilis entered the game hitless against Shields in seventeen career at-bats against the right-hander… he had two hits off him in his first two at-bats.
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Since becoming the second player in major league history to homer in his first two playoff at-bats, Longoria is 2-for-14 with eight strikeouts.
Topics: MLB Playoffs, Sox Games, Sox Players |
