Spiders - 100 311 000 07 - 13 17 0After Kevin Youkilis lined out to center in the bottom of the ninth with Jacoby Ellsbury carrying the potential winning run at second, Boston had their best hitters up in the bottom of the tenth. But against Tom Mastny, David Ortiz (bbcb) grounded out to second, and Manny Ramirez (bb) and Mike Lowell (cb) both flew out to right field.
Red Sox - 003 030 000 00 - 6 10 0
ALCS tied 1-1
Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth and tenth (throwing 36 pitches), so Eric Gagne began the top of the 11th. He fanned Casey Blake, but gave up a single to Grady Sizemore and a walk to Asdrubal Cabrera. Terry Francona brought in Javier Lopez to face Trot Nixon. Dirty Hat lined a single to center, scoring Sizemore and breaking a 6-6 tie that had stood since the sixth inning. After a wild pitch made it 8-6, Victor Martinez was intentionally walked and Ryan Garko singled in another run. Jon Lester took over. Jhonny Peralta's double made it 10-6 and after a second out, Franklin Gutierrez's three-run dong to deep left made it 13-6.
Facing Joe Borowski in the home half, J.D. Drew opened with a single and Coco Crisp singled with one out. But Julio Lugo grounded into a 6-4-3 game-ending, series-tying double play. Time of game: 5:14.
Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell hit back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning. Lowell also had a two-run single in the third.
I figured the teams would split the first two games, and they did, though this route is a bit tougher to take. Still, I cannot fault Francona's bullpen management at all.
Cleveland's trio of Jensen Lewis, Rafael Betancourt and Mastny shut down the Red Sox when it counted, allowing only one baserunner in the 6th through 10th innings.
***
Lineups:
Grady Sizemore, CF Dustin Pedroia, 2B***
Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B Kevin Youkilis, 1B
Travis Hafner, DH David Ortiz, DH
Victor Martinez, C Manny Ramirez, LF
Ryan Garko, 1B Mike Lowell, 3B
Jhonny Peralta, SS J.D. Drew, RF
Kenny Lofton, LF Jason Varitek, C
Franklin Gutierrez, RF Coco Crisp, CF
Casey Blake, 3B Julio Lugo, SS
Fausto Carmona / Curt Schilling
Not that I necessarily need to be doing shots of Pepto and getting all sweaty-palmed when watching a game, but I was considerably more nervous during many mid-season games that I was last night. Beckett was in total control throughout and the Boston bats collected 12 hits (five doubles) to go along with eight walks.
Odds are tonight will be a different story.
The Red Sox hitters have not seen much of Carmona. Youkilis has faced him five times and Coco Crisp, David Ortiz and Alex Cora have seen him four times. Most of the PAs were in his win over Boston in late July.
Cleveland's batting numbers against Schilling are here.
431 comments:
1 – 200 of 431 Newer› Newest»Wedge's bullpen management last night was strange.
He pulled Sabathia with Cleveland trailing 7-1 and brought in Lewis, one of his better relievers, who threw 23 pitches. Wedge then used his closer as a mop-up guy in the eighth inning with the score 10-3.
Wedge did pretty much the same thing early on in the ALDS. As Cleveland's Game 1 lead over the Yankees went from six to nine runs, Wedge used Perez, Lewis and Betancourt.
BP had the Red Sox at 54.5% favourites to win the pennant. Up 1-0 in the series, the probability is now 66.6%.
Two bits:
Camona has come a long way from his nightmare week back in late July/early August 2006, when he blew three saves and collected four losses.
Keith Foulke is considering coming out of retirement next year.
Great post from Beth about Josh and his 3rd inning battle with Hafner last night.
A lot of curveballs from Beckett last night expect Schill to do somewhat of the same tonight....I don't see this game being close either....i picked the sweep in the pool and will stick to it......I also beleive the next time the Rockies lose a game they will not win another.....
And no , I haven't smoked since college..
Ian Browne, redsox.com:
"Tonight's game is huge. I can not overstate the importance of it. Tonight we find out how competitive a series we are going to have. I think that if the Red Sox win tonight and go up 2-0, they'll be licking their chops at the prospects of Westbrook and Byrd the next two games.
"But if the Indians can ride Carmona to victory, suddenly the series is tied and the Red Sox have a recently wobbly Dice-K and a recovering Wakefield pitching the next two games, where there are clearly no certainties."
You have to wish all the best for Foulke. We'd still be hearing the 1918 chant if he wasn't a part of that club. What a difference a few years make. Nice to see the monkey on MFY's back now.
my brother called me during dinner last night from boston...."do you wanna go to the game tomorrow night?"
i immediately lost my appetite, got my shit ready for the chinatown bus and headed on up to boston.
tonight is my FIRST post season game.
IM SO PSYCHED.
now i'll have to keep the werd, slugo, lbj, fuck yeah, MBM, dong, etc. stuff to myself in my head.
LETS GET A WIN EVERYBODY!
you lucky bastard!
i think "fuck yeah" will translate well in a public setting.
I'm surprised Gutierrez is back in there tonight and not Nixon. Gutierrez has struck out 8 times this postseason.
Looks like Keith Foulke is attempting a comeback to MLB! Can you believe this? This surprises me quite a bit. He seemed like a guy who was just sick of the game and didn't want to do it anymore.
From Gordon Edes:
Keith Foulke, a World Series hero for the Red Sox in 2004 who abruptly retired in February on the eve of spring training with the Indians, is planning a comeback, his agent said last night. Johnny from Burger King, consider yourself warned.
About a month ago, Foulke went to noted orthopedist Lewis Yocum, who shaved a bone spur in his pitching elbow, Horwits said. The procedure was relatively simple, Horwits said, the type requiring a relatively short rehabilitation period. Foulke, who lives in Glendale, Ariz., will begin throwing next month, Horwits said.
The Sox declined to exercise the $7.75 million option on his contract, and the Indians decided to take a chance on him, signing him to a one-year, $5 million contract. Foulke could have come to camp and collected the money, but instead informed general manager Mark Shapiro that he was retiring, freeing Cleveland from any obligation to pay him. The Indians placed Foulke on the voluntarily retired list, but Shapiro said last night Foulke would be a free agent if he chose to come back.
Horwits plans to sit down with Foulke in the next month and come up with a list of teams in which he might have interest. Horwits intends to call the Red Sox to gauge their interest.
Foulke is already working out and is watching the ALCS, according to the agent. "He still has friends on the Red Sox and is rooting for them," Horwits said. "He'd like to see them play his hometown team, the Diamondbacks, in the World Series. But he also absolutely wishes the best for the Indians, for the way they treated him."
Hot Damn! Here we go!
I'm thinking a win tonight. Kinda agree with Brownie on the importance of this game, although I wouldn't go anywhere near "must-have" status. Definitely a valid point tho about the comfort level of the Indians if they get a split and go home to face Dice & Wake
Jerry Remy on NESN tonight looked like he just stepped off the set of Wild Hogs.
Same old story from London. Probably not going to get to see a lot as I need some sleep. The Yankee beloved is over and wants to go out tomorrow.
This is a must win for the Indians. No two ways about it. This will test Carmona's mettle. Sabathia certainly wasn't up to it last night.
who is the other fox guy? karros? he says that v-mart should have gone out and calmed cc down after his walks last night. "that's why varitek is so valuable."
god, how many times were we screaming at tek to go out and slow dice down this year? several times per start?
nice work, karros.
Oh well. Hair extension Zalasko disagrees with me.
Won't be the first time. OK, Cleveland will be in a large hole if they lose this.
maybe carmona's feeling the pressure to go back home 1-1.
Hair extension Zalasko disagrees with me.
That means you are correct.
"I have no clue."
McCarver, speaking the truth
not enough sleep + grueling day of work = no game thread for me, at least until i recover a little
have fun and GO SOX
nix33 goes to the game! nice!
no way this is a must-win for cleveland. i'm super optimistic, but there's no reason they couldn't come back from 0-2.
we can't let up til our magic number is 4.
bye now.
god damn MLB.tv, no postseason streaming video for US customers. Those of us without TV will have to do with radio ..
popup bunt that the dr gets after sizemore's double
gotta love Castiglione, though. The umpire just let a ball go on the field accidentally, and Joe's response is "That happened in an odd situation in Detroit in 1983 ..."
manny back on the track, feeling back with his hand, two outs!
V.mart setting us up for another come from behind win
run in the top of the 1st -- same first chapter as last night's book.
wow - that sox lineup was painful.
C'mon Manny ...
TIZ playoff OBP: .895
Let's go, Manny!
Well, rooting against my almost-namesake tonight (my last name is Carmon...). And doing so from the Joy household for a second night in a row!
Leadoff guy on again? Oy. This won't be as painless as last night.
Nice! DP!!
And doing so from the Joy household for a second night in a row!
That's a lotta joy!
GIDP giveth, and GIDP taketh away
It must be really cold at Fenway. Schilling looked white-cold. It is about 48 degrees here on the Cape. Brrrr.
46° in the Portsmouth, NH area...
53° in Boston.
they said 52 at game time with the slight wind making it feel like 48.
Pedro would not like those temps.
Drew almost got there. Pretty speedy.
Tek was robbed!
The 53° is probably at Logan. SW wind at 10 mph.
Why does Fox keep missing the first pitch of the inning?
did fox just miss the first pitch to blake?
Yes, and they missed the first pitch in the last inning.
then fox has done it twice tonight.
4 half innings and they fuck up on 2 of them.
81 in Tampa
nice inning
More important to get every damn commercial in.
I miss TBS.
ESPN Radio missed the first pitch, too.
Almost like somebody decided not to tell anyone that the inning has started.
Go, Coco!
No DP, Youk.
Tire him out, Youk. Keep fouling them off.
Awfully quiet here tonight. Guess everyone is watching the game somewhere without a laptop.
we're chatting here with ofer -- and one of our dogs will not settle down.
HIT -- FLO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That's the .900 OBP hit.
Here's Manny's 3rd shot at his first postseason GS ...
(I'm here!)
big spot for manny here -- time to destroy car-moaner.
Ortiz ties a postseason record with 10 straight times on base.
Also, S1c away, Nixon at the game, Tim at Octoberfest, Lord asleep, not sure about the rest.
So, basically, Papi could not get on base the next 20 ABs and still be around .450...
moaner is rattled
Cool. A run walked in and the tie is scored. A bit of deja vu here?
... or another RBI BB will do.
patient manny gets the rib eye
Jensen Lewis already warming
hahaha, the score is tied. Can't believe I typed that. Two drinks at dinner again.
Come on, Doc. Make a house call and bring them home.
I didn't even notice, and I'm dead sober ;)
clutch!
YES!!
doctor singles.
The Dr is IN!!!
When they showed the dugout reaction, you could see Lips - pointing.
Hi Daniel, haven't seen you here before. I guess two drinks and I shouldn't game thread. Certainly I shouldn't drive.
I'm gonna start calling Sexy Lips "The Maestro" - did you see him conducting the base running from the dugout steps?
When they showed the dugout reaction, you could see Lips - pointing.
I saw that too. Wow.
I wasn't expecting Lowell to hit that bloop. I was just sitting here, gleefully watching the Red Sox take the tantalizing pitches and run Fausto's pitch count up. What an inning! This is shown you more about how dangerous the Red Sox are than any other time this postseason, with perhaps the exception of Game 1 of the ALDS with Beckett.
22 minute wait for curt!
Ortiz Postseason OBP: .900
18 for 20!!!! Manny and Papi are 3 for 4 tonight in OBP opps.
Pitches / Strikes
Carmona: 74 / 37 through 3.0
Schilling: 47 / 32 through 3.1
That's an interesting stat, Ish, about pitches. Guess Curt is holding is own despite giving up some leadoff hits.
need a pd from brak
transformers?
Is he from DR? I once had a student from there named Jhoan.
Damn.
Brak? Isn't that what your dogs say?
WP says yes:
The unusual spelling of his first name is attributed to a clerical error on his birth certificate.[1] He has refused to have it changed. The letter combinations "Jh" or "Gh" are sometimes used in the Spanish language to represent the English "J" sound, as the "J" in Spanish is normally pronounced as an English "H".
So, is it a mistake or not?
They also list Mexican boxer Jhonny Gonzalez, Colombian cartoonist Jhonny Henao, and Nats prospect Jhonny Nunez.
He is from DR, and according to Wikipedia, it was a clerical error he refused to fix.
Looked it up earlier.
sorry, WP=Wikipedia, and Jhonny Nunez is also from DR.
Get that run back now, and then some.
Well, the Red Sox are in much better position to get this run back than they were when it was 1-0. That was a pretty shocking home run, but it's just a pinprick. They won the battle, but we'll win the war.
Does Schilling have that contrite, frustrated-with-himself face? The one that says "You're not allowed to be mad at me because I'm even madder"?
That face should have its own name, like the Derek Lowe face.
Hello all,
Hope you don't mind I drop in. I'm pretty much a mess down here in DC... chose to watch the game alone rather than go to a bar with a bunch of non-believers.
Red Sox Monster
Fausto has been behind in the count to 14 of the 17 men he's face tonight. Make that 15 out of 18.
Hey, Dan. Welcome. You bringing some runs?
Got them in my pocket right here. Although that last JP homer was a buzzkill...
Always glad to have another believer, Pity.
By the way: I STILL have the Tim McCarver Blues.
Hi PDF, welcome. I guess you caught us on a quiet night, not too much gamethread action for some reason.
woo, boston college: 7-0
time for the sox to finish my doubleheader nicely. LETS DO IT
Hey Dan/PDF, I see you are a western MA native. I live in Longmeadow. Good to see another Pioneer Valley person here.
I love when a pitcher worries about the runner more than about the batter ..
and not just because of the memories of 2004.
Hi Amy,
Thanks for the welcome. Yep, I grew up in Chicopee and blog for MassLive. Living outside DC now, though.
Oh boy guys. Things were going so well for a minute there! We're going to get it back here, right?
"PDF" makes me laugh, by the way. I feel like a file name...
grrr .. that was frustrating. Maybe the Sox will do better in five innings against the Cleveland bullpen.
We're going to get it back here, right?
Sarah, don't worry. Don't forget- their closer is Joe Borowski. Not that I plan on getting to the point where they'll need to use him, but still...
"PDF" makes me laugh, by the way. I feel like a file name...
Made me laugh too. Should I convert that to Word, I wonder? (I do that a lot on the job.)
is that a second chicopee connection here?
Don't worry, Amy. All will be well.
And by Amy, I mean Sarah. :)
Who is the first with a Chicopee connection? That's random...
"Pity da fool" is actually how the Adobe engineers first called it. "Portable Document Format" came later. ;)
someone ...
my mother's mother was born in chicopee.
The Red Sox will get at least one more crack at Carmona before the cavalry arrives. Of course, I'll feel better against the bullpen than against Carmona himself.
One way or the other, I don't see 4-3 being the final score.
FANTASTIC DIVING PLAY BY THE DOCTOR! Filled a prescription of DIRT and BALL there!
Dr. Glove!
Daniel, I think you are totally right about the Schilling Self Flagellation Face.
Mike Lowell is SO my homeboy.
Laura, glad you are here. I didn't even express my worry (that was Sarah), but guess you anticipated it!
Dan, your name is familiar. Did you write for the Republican at some point? Must be hard to be a Sox fan in DC, though we have good friends there who are big Sox fans.
The moment I say 4-3 won't be the final score, Grady Sizemore of all people proves me right.
Let's add some more weight on our side of the see-saw.
Four years later, and we're STILL cursing Grady.
Damn, another home run off Schilling. Now, Laura, you can reassure me.
start praying harder, curt.
Lopez, MDC warming.
Hi Amy :)
Thanks, I'm here, but I need to stay away from the keyboard and screen a bit - in the middle of my big work weekend.
Ofer is here, btw - live and in person, in the control room.
Anyone else lose their Fox HD? Ours switch to SD a few minutes ago.
This is one of those nights I'd rather not watch the top of the innings.
Wow, I'm impressed/amazed you might remember me from The Republican. Yes, I was there from '04 to August '06... spent time covering Agawam, UMass and police in Springfield at night.
I actually didn't even mean to be expressing worry so much as confidence that we were about to get the run back. But we didn't so maybe I should have been worried.
Nah.
Sounds like a bad day at work, Laura. Sorry to hear it.
Hi, Ofer. Hi, Sarah.
Ouch...sorry Curt. You did great against the Angels but now it's your time to depart.
Dan, I knew the name was familiar. We have good friends at the paper---Chip and Carolyn. Also, I teach at WNEC so probably read the UMass stuff.
Check out this MLB.com article on Manny in between innings. I can't tell if it's another "Manny's a moron" article or not. It mixes "real-time reporting" of his dazzling play last night with "man-on-the-street interviews" of sox fans, who all talk about the time he took a pee break in the Green Monster.
OUT pls.
v mart is 2-2 so far
You're right, Sarah: nah. I thought you were Amy, so I thought it was worry. j/k
Thanks, Amy. It's good to be home, on the couch, with wine, and the Red Sox. And it will be better with a lead.
RUNS PLEASE!!!!
Ah, I know them both, Amy. I'm probably down here to stay for a while, though.
OK, Terry, time for the hook?? Schilling looks so cold. Skin is looking frost-bitten white.
Another spider bite pulls Schilling. MDC, the calamine lotion.
I really hope this inning doesn't get any worse. I hate it when I agree with McCarver, but Curt probably should have been yanked after giving up the hit to Pronk.
No tenth postseason win for Schill.
Hi, Amy (:
Well, look at it this way: '04 Schilling had an easy game against the Angels and a bad first ALCS game- how did that work out?
Yeah, I know it doesn't really mean anything, but we can always hope.
Well, it's a little bit concerning to see Schilling throw only 4 2/3 innings tonight. We'll see if MDC can get the final out here, and then start our new Quest.
i started that manny piece. got thru 3 paragraphs, looked like MUMS to me.
First-pitch change-up from MDC.
My wife always says he should have retired after '04.
No tenth postseason win for Schill.
Well, no, not TODAY anyhow...
Small world, six degrees of separation, and all that, Dan. I will tell the Chipkins about the connection.
DC's a good place. Not as exciting as western MA, but it has its plusses. (Well, Springfield can be exciting...though not in many good ways.)
It's weird to see both Francona and Wedge give so much work to their bullpens. I feel like starters went deeper into games in the regular season.
Not to say they should be leaving them in now.
Finally, inning over, time for RUNS!
My wife always says he should have retired after '04.
I think he can still be effective for a few more years, but not in the American League, and certainly not on an AL East team.
mdc = many dead clevelands
Don't worry. The Red Sox are going to start steaming some spinach here.
Well, it's a little bit concerning to see Schilling throw only 4 2/3 innings tonight. We'll see if MDC can get the final out here, and then start our new Quest.
Yeah, seeing Schilling out of the game before 5-innings are done- that's pretty rare.
Although it is "playoff-Tito"- quicker hook.
Hey, we are only down two runs. Even I am not fretting yet. Don't give up, folks. Game is far from over. Did we really expect Schilling to be dominant each time?
What do you know, it is Carmona in the 5th.
Someone has kidnapped Amy and is posting under her login! ;-)
Okay, what optimist hacked Amy's account?
:>)
Greek god of base hits!
Rafael Perez to Ortiz.
Carmona's gone, and he won't qualify for the win.
You guys have made me laugh out loud, and now I had to explain to my family, who wonder if I have lost my mind! Yes, must be the two cosmos at dinner. Feeling like nothing can go wrong.
Thanks, Amy. Pretty lively down here, actually... and again, not in all good ways. I live just outside the city in Maryland, and it can be a tough area.
On another note, soon, we will find out what this Cleveland bullpen is made of...
Down to 51° at Logan
Well, since Ortiz is incapable of making outs, this inning is looking pretty good.
Two cosmos at dinner, I see a pattern here.
Haven't seen Perez or Betancourt yet, but the Red Sox have seen pretty much everyone else. Including Jensen Lewis, who was the right handed warming alongside Perez.
Change of pace, new pitches... no more 97 MPH sinkers. Not sure how I feel about that right now, haha.
Carmona's gone, and he won't qualify for the win.
He won't qualify for the win, because the Spiders aren't winning tonight.
Did I ever tell you guys about the first time I took my boyfriend to Fenway? Youkilis comes to the plate and Dave turns to me and says, "wait. I thought he was our guy. Why are they booing?"
There you go, Ofer---I like that attitude. You must be drinking cosmos also.
Go, Papi. 3-0.
Sarah, I thought that at first also. I also remember Youk's first AB, when he hit a home run and the whole team ignored him when he returned to the dugout.
Wow, Ortiz beat the throw! Even with his bad knee.
wheels ortiz!
I also remember Youk's first AB, when he hit a home run and the whole team ignored him when he returned to the dugout.
i loved that. ignoring the batter is an old baseball tradition, but yook pretending to high-five invisible teammates was so funny.
OK, so he's capable of making outs, as long as he still reaches base
Ironic .. that PA broke Papi's consecutive on-base streak, but he is physically on base right now.
There you go, Ofer---I like that attitude. You must be drinking cosmos also.
Wine is the drink of choice here at the Joy-house.
flo's post-season OBP drops below .900 -- trade the bum, theo.
YESS!!! MANNY!! A BAD BAD MAN. GAME TIED!
MBM rocks my sox!
Is it wrong that I just screamed at the top of my lungs in an empty apartment? Is it really wrong?
Oh, and thank you, Mr. Ortiz, for running hard and preventing that last DP.
BEING DONG!!!
We scared our dog cheering :)
Manny is now the all-time leader in postseason home runs! 23!!!
*sniff sniff* Smell that?
I smell some steamed spinach!
Now that is Manny Being Manny.
All-time postseason HR record.
Scared our dog a bit there.
DONG !!!!!!!!!
My dog---sound asleep despite yells and applause from my daughter and me. Very laid-back dog. Used to commotion, I guess.
DOING THE MUMMY
WHOOOAAA! NOW the dog got up!!! GO LOWELL!!
Mikey Lowell: STILL my homeboy.
DOCTOR DONG ACTION!!!! A HOUSE CALL!!!!!!!!!
HOUSE CALL DONG
OK, Perez- do a Chase Wright for us, why don't ya?
Do you hear that?
MVP chants!
back to back dong action!!!
I hate to praise the Fox Fools, but I'm gratified that they were pointing out how key Papi's hustle was.
My dog---sound asleep despite yells and applause from my daughter and me. Very laid-back dog. Used to commotion, I guess.
our old girl is sound asleep too. but the pup is still easily excitable.
My dog came over to me to see what was going on. She doesn't get the idea of back to back homer and then a base hit.
The vaunted Cleveland bullpen strikes again.
maybe mcmoron will give jeemer some attention now that the sox battered perez.
so much for "arguably the best LH reliever in the game", tim!
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