August 14, 2009

G115: Red Sox 8, Rangers 4

Red Sox - 000 002 006 - 8 11  0
Rangers - 200 001 100 - 4 9 0
If the Red Sox get hot and finally start playing the way we know they can and go deep into October, we should look back on this game -- and, specifically, the ninth inning -- as a catalyst.

Down by two runs and facing Frank Francisco in the top of the ninth, David Ortiz got things started. Flo was batting in the #7 spot for the first time since May 2003. He had walked his first two times up, then drilled a two-run homer to right-center to tie the game at 2-2 in the sixth. Tiz looked at a ball from Francisco, then lined a double into the right field corner.

Jason Varitek, after getting ahead 3-0, grounded a full-count pitch to second. Omar Vizquel went to his right and attempted an off-balance throw. It was low and Tek beat it out, with Ortiz taking third. Jacoby Ellsbury singled up the middle, scoring Ortiz. Boston trailed 4-3.

Chris Woodward, who had taken over at shortstop in the seventh, tried two half-assed bunt attempts before striking out. Having failed to advance the runners, Terry Francona put Clay Buchholz in to pinch-run for Varitek. We've heard a few times that Laptop is one of the fastest runners on the team, and now he represented the tying run.

Dustin Pedroia crushed a 1-1 pitch to deep left field. I thought it was gone, but it hit off the wall, beyond David Murphy's leap. Buchholz was between second and third and seemed to have trouble seeing the ball against the different coloured lights of the scoreboard on the wall. He hesitated, then took off once he saw the ball had not been caught. However, that hesitation, and a stumble around third, cost him as he was cut down at the plate. (Happy 25th birthday, Clay.)

With one out to go, Victor Martinez was up with Lyndon at third and FY at second. He feel behind 1-2, fouled off two pitches, then checked his swing for ball 3 (whew!). After another foul, he doubled to right. Both runners scored and Boston led for the first time in the game, 5-4. Jason Bay singled to right and Martinez scored. Four pitches later, J.D. Drew hit a two-run home run to right center and it was 8-4.

Francisco was finally pulled (8 batters, 7 hits, 6 runs) and Jason Jennings came in. He walked Mike Lowell and got Ortiz to pop to third.

Jonathan Papelbon allowed a one-out double to Vizquel, but struck out Michael Young and Marlon Byrd to end the game, giving the Red Sox a 1.5-game lead over Texas in the wild card standings.

Lester (6-6-3-3-11, 117) had a bad first two batters. Vizquel walked and Young cranked a dong, and after only seven pitches, Lester trailed 2-0. But he worked out of his other jams. He got double play grounders in the second and third. After walking the first two Rangers in the fourth, he struck out the next three. In the sixth, after Ortiz had tied the game, Lester allowed a double and a single to give Texas a 3-2 lead. But again, he finished that inning by striking out the side. Lester struck out more than 10 batters for the sixth time this season, the most ever for a Red Sox left-hander.

The Yankees scored two in the top of the ninth to beat Seattle 4-2 and stay 6.5 GA of the Red Sox in the East.
Example
Jon Lester (3.67, 128 ERA+) / Kevin Millwood (3.38, 133 ERA+)

The Red Sox have a slim 0.5-game lead over Texas in the wild card standings. Boston trails the Yankees in the East by 6.5 games. Lester gets the series started tonight, with Brad Penny and Junichi Tazawa following over the weekend.

In the SoSH game thread, they are offering some Shakespeare Mojo:

Infield Infidel
Alas, poor Varitek! I knew him, Martinez: a fellow
of infinite jest, of most excellent captaincy: he hath
borne the Sox on his back a thousand times; and now, how
abhorred in my imagination it is! His bat whiffs at
it. Here hung those curveballs he had hit I know
not how oft. Where be your might now? Your
contact? Your swings? Your flashes of power,
that were wont to set the crowd on a roar? Not one
now, to mock your old Heidi? Quite cap-fallen?
Now get you to Lester's chamber, and tell him paint
the corners an inch thick, to this favour he must
come; make them swing at that.
HowBoutDemSox
To score runs, or not to score runs: that is the question:
Whether 'tis better in the loss column to suffer
The GIDP and Ks of terrible offense,
Or to take action against some slumping veterans,
And by benching, end them? To sit: to rest;
No more; and by a sit to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That PED-inflated muscle tone is heir to, 'tis a lineup
Devoutly to be wish'd.
Sprowl
Not that I think you did not love the Red Sox;
But that I know love is begun by time;
And that I see, in trade deadline deals,
Time qualifies the spark and fire of it.
There lives within the very flame of trade
A kind of wick or snuff that will abate it;
And no prospect is at a like goodness still;
For pitching, growing to a surfeit,
Dies in its own too much. That we would do
We should do when we would; for this "would" changes
And hath abatements and delays as many
As there are Gonzalez, Halladay, Hernandez
And then this "should" is like a depreciating prospect,
That hurts by failing. But, to the wild card race —
Texas comes back: what would you undertake,
To bring us a competent shortstop in deed
More than in words?
10 PM: Yankees/Mariners.

247 comments:

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allan said...

Tiz at #7.

Reddick, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Martinez, 1B
Bay, LF
Drew, RF
Lowell, 3B
Ortiz, DH
Varitek, C
Green, SS

SoSock said...

Tito must be a covert gamethreader :)
Or maybe just a lurker.
Early service time and central starting time means I might catch the end of the game. That is... if I don't find a cold beer and a barstool with my name on it somewhere other than at home.
Be wicked, Lester!

allan said...

Ortiz says he is hitting like shit. A lot more here.

allan said...

1. Omar Vizquel, 2B
2. Michael Young, 3B
3. Marlon Byrd, CF
4. Andrew Jones, DH
5. Josh Hamilton, RF
6. Hank Blalock, 1B
7. David Murphy, LF
8. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
9. Elvis Andrus, SS

Rick (f/k/a westcoastsox) said...

Some runs, some runs. My kingdom for some runs.

(You knew that was coming)

Rick (f/k/a westcoastsox) said...

I think Big Papi dost protest too much.

Rick (f/k/a westcoastsox) said...

O Yook, O Yook. Wherefore art thou Yook?

(I'm done).

Rick (f/k/a westcoastsox) said...

Out, out, damned closer!

(OK, now I'm really done)

allan said...

Aded one to the main post.

& this from BarnabeGooge:

Fear no more the heat o' th' sun
Nor the Rangers' lineup's thunder,
Thou must pitch until you're done
And give up just three runs, or under.
Golden gloves your fielders lack,
Tazawa, but they'll have your back.

****

This is an important game.

I would like the Boston Red Sox to have scored at least one more run than the Texas Rangers when the umpires decree that the contest is complete.

I.e., win, you assholes.

Rick (f/k/a westcoastsox) said...

SoSH is brilliant.

laura k said...

Some runs, some runs. My kingdom for some runs.

I used this one the other night when we were riffing on runs - song lyrics, shakespeare, famous literary lines (it was the best of runs, it was the worst of runs), even bible verses. Some great stuff in there - last Sunday night, I believe.

laura k said...

Oh shit, Fox Texas feed. Gotta go for MLB audio.

Rob said...

Not enamored with Viola. His accent annoys me.

laura k said...

extra walk

laura k said...

Ououch! Now a little on fire, pls.

Rob said...

Viola: It doesn't matter where David hits. 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th... They're gonna know where David Ortiz is hitting.


...I don't know what to say about that. These days it's more of a good thing for a pitcher.

laura k said...

or not

Patrick said...

FHAK!

laura k said...

oh shit

Patrick said...

This calls for ice cream, or something more delicious than this start.

Iridescence said...

GD it I hate the damn Rangers and their stupid bandbox.

laura k said...

I wouldn't mind their park if we hit a few out of it.

laura k said...

Which is not to say I don't hate the Rangers.

Patrick said...

I does seem like the magic of this park doesn't seem to work on our fly balls.

Iridescence said...

I'm not a fan of 11-10 type sloppy games although I guess a win is a win.

laura k said...

Rx!

Patrick said...

Joe called Lowell's streak, "lusty hitting"

Ooo la la

laura k said...

If they were all low scoring games, the low scoring games wouldn't be as much fun.

Patrick said...

Let us plate these runners.

laura k said...

god tek you suck

Rick (f/k/a westcoastsox) said...

I hope these guys remember that the plate's the thing.

Time to get in the car and listen.

Patrick said...

JESUS FUCK! That's no fair, aka baseball.

laura k said...

never mind, you all suck!

laura k said...

the plate's the thing, very good :)

laura k said...

Joe called Lowell's streak, "lusty hitting"

I chuckled over that too. Funny choice of words.

Patrick said...

I'm not a fan of these Rangers, and more importantly, these ranger beatings.

Iridescence said...

Tek and Green kill rallies dead.

Patrick said...

Green hit a line drive. I can't blame him.

Tek on the other hand could've been up there with an umbrella, as he never swung.

DP!

laura k said...

ok, that was good. now

RSVP

Patrick said...

Oh yeah! John Lester. I remember you. Don't stop.

laura k said...

in fact i think tek was using an umbrella. no point in wasting a bat.

Iridescence said...

Nice DP

allan said...

Dear Red Sox:

I am here now. You may commence scoring runs. How many? A fuckton would be a good amount.

laura k said...

i have to take a thread break to eat some rally frozen yogurt.

Patrick said...

Plate a fuckton(TM).

I am behind that a shitload.

allan said...

i liked viola asking don some questions, but his "kids these days are soft" shit is beyond annoying.

hey frank - name one pitcher who wants to take 2 weeks off for a hangnail. name one or STFU!!!

Patrick said...

I see a V-Mart dong unloading here.

allan said...

i'd better just watch and not have earphones. i'll be more relaxed that way.

Patrick said...

Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak

Patrick said...

I'm done making calls. 2 runs is pretty opposite to 2 outs.

laura k said...

texas feed showing omar dp 100 times, obie & castig going on and on about it. greatest dp in the history of shortstops. shut up already!

Patrick said...

A signature, Fuck Yeah.

laura k said...

viola is player bashing, at his age? he's too young for that.

why do retired players feel the need to do that. sheesh.

allan said...

i wonder how many times the tex feed will show that one?

Patrick said...

Nuns... Ones... Puns...

Runs!

Iridescence said...

Nice Defense!

laura k said...

SAFE!

Patrick said...

Please, please, please plate the fire.

Patrick said...

I see a ground out.

allan said...

nice bb for tizzle

Unknown said...

Oh great, Tek at the plate in a key spot

I think I know where this is going...

laura k said...

ugh

Unknown said...

So fucking predictable...

Patrick said...

I am really befuddled by this commercial for a bath sponge.

A fucking bath sponge?!!?

laura k said...

But parents all over New England are smiling!

Yes, it is strange.

Unknown said...

K would be great here...

Unknown said...

There we go

Unknown said...

One more out please

allan said...

After seeing HH and Penny at Fenway, I'm glad it looks like we'll see Beckett at Skydome on Tuesday.

laura k said...

K! Thx

allan said...

woo-hoo-dini

Unknown said...

K's the side, nice

Patrick said...

He misses bats, he misses the strike zone. He misses run support.

laura k said...

Dear Red Sox

I am shutting down my laptop for the night. When I return I expect to see

WATER

DIRTY WATER

RANGERS DROWN IN DIRTY WATER

and the like.

Please make it so.

Yours,

A Concerned Fan

Iridescence said...

Nice inning by LesterZaka (struck out the side with two walks mixed in).

allan said...

could we DO SOMETHING with that baserunner?

Unknown said...

Squander...

Patrick said...

Joe and Dave have been truping me all night. It's not good for my belly.

allan said...

QUADRANGULAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Patrick said...

ORTIZ!!!!

Patrick said...

FUCK YOU ARLINGTON! We are the RED SOX!

Unknown said...

PAPI!!!!

Tito does know what he's doing!

allan said...

DAMN -- OFF A LEFTY TOO!

andy said...

ahhh yeah!
the big Tiz shot - striking fear !!


it's just not that simple to bench Ortiz

Iridescence said...

PAPI!
Rice n' Beans!

Patrick said...

That double was Ellsbury's fault.

Unknown said...

Shit, leadoff double...

Alright, let's K the side again

Unknown said...

Shit...

Patrick said...

Oh well. Papi has rekindled my faith. We can pull this out.

Patrick said...

I know it's a little late to bring this up, but why lead off with Reddick?

Unknown said...

Sit

andy said...

damn quickrun buzzkill

nick said...

"lusty hitting" -- how shakespearean.

I didn't know the red sox employed a "mental performance coach" (per ortiz link).

Unknown said...

11 Ks

Patrick said...

Argh. Truped again!

nick said...

Emma and I are flying cross country tomorrow and I have not yet begun to pack.

goddamn another run. that is unsatisfactory! Ks all day and still 4 on the board.

Unknown said...

Alright, we need to get some more runs NOW

allan said...

time to go bridge, bay!

Unknown said...

Nice, leadoff walk

Now it is time for Thunder and Fire

allan said...

SEA 2-1 in the 2nd

allan said...

you better call up the doctor ...

Unknown said...

Are we really going to waste a leadoff walk?

allan said...

Are we really going to waste a leadoff walk?

Yep.

Unknown said...

NOT a strike

Amy said...

I am finally here. Had people over for dinner and just done cleaning up.

Patrick said...

Amy, I hope you brought some 9th inning magic with you.

Amy said...

Me, too, Patrick. Not feeling it, but who knows....

Unknown said...

Alright, we NEED to win this game

SCORE RUNS

allan said...

can we PH for tek?

Amy said...

Papi trying to avoid being benched.

allan said...

FLO!!!!!!!!!!!

Amy said...

You have my permission to PH for Tek.

Amy said...

Not going to happen though.

Unknown said...

Please tell me someone is going to PH for Tek...

Unknown said...

Papi on base all four times tonight

Amy said...

Walk him!

allan said...

kotch ph/1b and vmart to c?

Patrick said...

We need the assassin to not play TeK.

God Damn

Amy said...

TEK BEAT IT OUT! Be still, my fragile heart!

allan said...

HEY NOW!

Patrick said...

OH FUCK YEAH!!!!!!

Amy! Keep it going!

Amy said...

Oh ye of little faith...

Iridescence said...

Tek infield hit wow

Unknown said...

Tek did something useful!

Amy said...

Come on, LBJ.

allan said...

i'd like a little double in the gap

Iridescence said...

JACOBY!

Amy said...

OMG...

Amy said...

Tek the tying run!

allan said...

LBJ!!!!!!!

blown save and a loss?

"you can dooooo eeeeet!"

Unknown said...

Alright, we have a no-hit shortstop up with two on and none out

I'm going with bunt

allan said...

woodward is batting???

oh fucking christ tito

Iridescence said...

geez Woodward

Unknown said...

"woodward is batting???

oh fucking christ tito"

We don't have any other shortstops on the bench

Amy said...

Do not strike out, you loser.

Amy said...

Asshole.

Unknown said...

"Do not strike out, you loser."

More importantly, do not GIDP

Iridescence said...

that sucked....come on MVP

allan said...

get runs, then worry about who plays short!

ah fuck -- okay only 1 down.

fy?

Unknown said...

Please Pedroia, give us at least one run

Amy said...

Huh, HH in for Tek! Who's going to catch?

Patrick said...

HH PINCH RUNNING!!!!

Unknown said...

Am I reading Gameday right? Clay pinch-running?!?!

Nice

allan said...

steal third?

Unknown said...

"Who's going to catch?"

Martinez catches, Kotch Rocket or Youk at first

Amy said...

SHIT

Patrick said...

FUCK YEAH!!!!!!

Patrick said...

FUCK NO~~~!@!@$#GRWDG

allan said...

wtf was that clay?

your feet fall alseep?

Amy said...

Hmm, Tek could have done as well as that, frankly.

Iridescence said...

what on earth?

Patrick said...

Damnit, shit crap, damnit.

Iridescence said...

FUCK....

Unknown said...

You've got to be fucking kidding me...

Patrick said...

Fucking curse of David Murphy.

Amy said...

Another asshole.

allan said...

THAT was some shitty baseruning. Like Suppan in the 04WS shitty.
good lord

allan said...

just a single, v.

Amy said...

What the fuck do pitchers know about running the bases? Stupid move.

nick said...

c'mon V-mart! I got up outta bed to watch this. show me the runny!

Iridescence said...

Come on victor(y) save this game for us please

Amy said...

My heart is pounding.

nick said...

run(s)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Iridescence said...

VICTORY!

Amy said...

HOLY SHIT! We are leading!!

Benjamin said...

!!!!!!

allan said...

I LOVE THAT MOTHERFUCKER!!!!!!!!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Patrick said...

HELL YEAH!!!

I CAN BELIEVE IT JOE! I CAN!

Amy said...

My heart is still pounding.

Baseball---what a crazy game.

Unknown said...

YES!!!!!

nick said...

I don't think my heart was beating before...it's pounding now!

Rick (f/k/a westcoastsox) said...

Wooohoooooooo!!!! Good dinner, good wine, and turned on the radio just in time.

Such stuff as dreams are made on...

Amy said...

All right!

Patrick said...

V-Mart!!!

Iridescence said...

Victory and Thunder!

Rick (f/k/a westcoastsox) said...

Back to drinking...

allan said...

you know how we do

Amy said...

Me, too, WCS. Got here just in time for the 8th and 9th.

Unknown said...

Insurance run!!!

allan said...

tito PUMPED up at victor!!!!

Amy said...

WHOOOAAAAA!!!

Patrick said...

FIRE FIRE FIRE!!!!!

Iridescence said...

En Fuego!

allan said...

FUCK THE RANGERS!!!!!!!!!

Amy said...

Shabbat shalom!

Patrick said...

MAKING A STATEMENT!

allan said...

keep that closer in!!!!!!!!!!!

yeee hah

Unknown said...

ON FUCKING FIRE!!!!!

nick said...

Holy fuck! As soon as the sox when ahead my mom called...I'm giving her a play-by-play and I can't even keep up with the runs!

allan said...

if this team starts rolling like it should, we'll look back on this game.

allan said...

SEA 2, MFY 1 in the 5th

allan said...

hah - not even a save sit for bot

tim said...

just got in and tuned in NESN right as JD hit that.

looked up box score/gdgd and WOW!!!!

What a rally

HH pinch running? lol!

this is amazing! 6 runs off the fucking closer?! weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

9casey said...

That was the most fun I've had with 2 outs in a while.....I still can't believe they came in to Victor there.

Unknown said...

Holy shit, we've batted around!

allan said...

Francisco: 0.2-7-6-0-1, 33!

Amy said...

Tim, you can laugh about HH pinch running NOW. We were not laughing a few minutes ago when he blew scoring the tying run.

Patrick said...

Who's coming in? Bot still?

Iridescence said...

"HH pinch running? lol!"

Yeah that seems a lot funnier NOW...
Poor Clay...

9casey said...

Patrick said...
Who's coming in? Bot still?



He's loose ..he's in

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