July 10, 2005

G86: Orioles 9, Red Sox 1

Everyone agrees that Luis Matos's home-run robbing catch off David Ortiz in the third inning was the turning point. It would have given the Red Sox a 4-1 lead. Matos: "I got goose bumps after I caught it."

Miguel Tejada went 5-for-5 (two singles, two doubles, one triple), Rafael Palmeiro drove in six runs and Sandy Koufax Bruce Chen shut down the Boston bats. Johnny Damon got two singles, though, extending his hitting streak to 24 games.

Steven Krasner says Johnny Damon's shoulder is a ticking "time bomb" for the Red Sox:
He noticeably winced after reaching up to catch a line drive and bumping against the wall two weeks ago. He gave it the alligator-arm reach for a ball in the left-center gap a week ago at Fenway Park. At the plate, there were some swings and their resulting follow-throughs that hurt him so badly, he had to take the next pitch, even if one of them was a called third strike ... [H]earing him talk about the intense pain he was feeling after the catch in Texas is alarming because Damon has played through a lot of pain over the years and has always downplayed it.
Curt Schilling pitched a perfect ninth inning on only seven pitches in Pawtucket's 12-3 victory over Syracuse last night. The Globe has a detailed recap. Schilling: "I went curveball, split, fastball to the first hitter. I went fastball, fastball, split to the second guy, and fastball in" to the third batter. ... Coverage from the Syracuse Post-Standard and the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.

Matt Clement was added to the AL All-Star team after Roy Halladay broke a bone in his left leg Friday. Francona disclosed that he has chosen Halladay to start the ASG.

Manny Ramirez has hit his 20 grand slams in 176 at-bats with the bases loaded. ... News on the three winners of the World Series ring raffle. ... A Q&A with Fred Lynn. ... Baseball in 1858.

The Yankees lost 8-7 to Cleveland -- Slappy made the final out with the tying run at third -- so Baltimore is 3 games out and New York is 3.5 back.

4 comments:

From the Vined Smithy said...

Not that I enjoy telling you this, but I believe the Yankees are actually three and a half back, not four and a half.

allan said...

Oops. Thanks.

laura k said...

Third place is third place. Sox still in first at the break.

Michael Leggett said...

Still, The All Star Break, will be a good thing, as 2nd half starts Thursday.