G110: Red Sox 2, Athletics 1 (12)

Athletics - 000 000 010 000 - 1  7  0
Red Sox   - 010 000 000 001 - 2 11  2

Jason Bay (#44) scored both runs as the Red Sox win in extras!

Bay - who received a long standing ovation when he came to the plate in the second inning -- reached based in four of his six plate appearances.

He walked and scored in the second, was hit in the back by a pitch in the fourth, struck out in the sixth and eighth, walked in the tenth, and then tripled with two out in the twelfth.

After J.D. Drew was intentionally walked, Jed Lowrie chopped a grounder that Oakland shortstop Bobby Crosby could not make a clean play on and Bay scored the winning run.

Wakefield (6.1-4-0-3-4, 108) was superb and the bullpen was solid.

Tampa Bay beat Detroit 5-2 and Los Angeles shutout New York 1-0, so the Red Sox stay 3 GB and the Yankees fall to 5.5 GB.

***

This morning's "Thank You, Manny Ramirez!" post is the main link at the Guardian (UK)'s Comment/America webpage! (The photo is the link.)

***

Oakland            Boston
Sweeney, RF        Pedroia 2B
Suzuki, C          Youkilis, 1B
Cust, LF           Ortiz, DH
Thomas, DH         Lowell, 3B
Gonzalez, CF       Bay, LF
Ellis, 2B          Drew, RF
Hannahan, 3B       Lowrie, SS
Crosby, SS         Cash, C
Barton, 1B         Ellsbury, CF

***

Justin Duchscherer (2.37, 165 ERA+) / Tim Wakefield (3.94, 112 ERA+)

A wise man once said: "The players come, the players go, we stay."

... and so the Jason Bay era begins.

And it begins against perhaps the best pitcher in baseball. In 16 of his 18 starts, Duchscherer has allowed two or fewer earned runs (on May 24, he threw a 8-1-0-0-4 line at the Red Sox).

Duchscherer leads the major league in ERA, WHIP (0.94, one of only two starters under 1.00), fewest hits allowed per 9 IP (6.96), lowest opponents average (.199) and lowest opponents slugging percentage (.309). He is a close second among MLB starters in lowest opponents on-base percentage (.255, with Dan Haren at .253).

In the six games of this homestand, the Sox are 1-5 with a .240/.303/.375 batting line. In the 12 games since the All-Star Game, they are hitting .241/.330/.360 and have slipped from .5 GA to 3 GB.

          Tampa    Boston   New York
Last 10:   6- 4      4- 6       6- 4
Last 20:   8-12      9-11      13- 7
Last 30:  17-13     14-16      17-13

Also at 7 PM: Tigers/Rays and Angels/Yankees