G93: Red Sox 1, Rays 0 (16)

Red Sox - 000 000 000 000 000 1 - 1  5  0
Rays    - 000 000 000 000 000 0 - 0  3  0

Dustin Pedroia's line drive single to right field scored Josh Reddick with the only run of the game as the Red Sox outlasted the Rays in a marathon pitching duel that ended at 1:54 AM. Pedroia (aka the "Muddy Chicken") finished the night 3-for-7, while his Red Sox teammates went 2-for-45 (.044).

I just wanted to go home. I think everyone did. We were trying our best pretty much the whole night to score some runs. ... It was a great game; we're just happy we won.

The Rays became the first team (dating back to at least 1919) to be held to three hits or fewer in a game of 16+ innings.

B.J. Upton:

I don't know what to say. ... I'd probably say this is the toughest loss of the year. To know that we played as well as we did and our pitching kept us in it the whole game. ... I think a lot of us in the clubhouse right now are pretty much not happy.

Tampa Bay pitchers allowed only five hits, but they issued 12 walks, including seven in a span of 12 batters in the 9th-11th innings. Boston left the bases loaded in the ninth and eleventh, and two on in the tenth. In the eleventh, Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz, and Darnell McDonald walked, only to watch Josh Reddick (K), Jason Varitek (K), and Marco Scutaro (PF2) squander the golden chance for run(s). Thirty-three pitches in that inning -- and not one fair ball.

The first half of the game was an excellent pitchers duel between Beckett (8-1-0-0-6, 106) and Neimann (8-2-0-2-10, 118). Beckett allowed a two-out infield single to Evan Longoria in the first inning; it was the only base runner he allowed, as he set down 22 in a row. In Beckett's last two starts in Tampa (tonight and June 15), he has pitched 17 shutout innings and allowed two infield hits.

There were several excellent catches on both sides of fly balls hit deep to the warnings track or to the base of the wall. The best one was hauled it by Josh Reddick, leaping in left-center and snaring Justin Ruggiano's drive with two outs in the bottom of the tenth. (It reminded me of Manny Ramirez's HR-robbing grab against Miguel Cairo in September 2004. Ruggiano did not circle the bases and point towards heaven before realizing he'd been pwned, but B.J. Upton, trying to get a head start on a possible celebration at the plate, attempted to hop over the dugout railing and stumbled ... and then went sheepishly back into the dugout!)

This was the longest game the Red Sox had been held scoreless since a 17-inning scoreless tie against the St. Louis Browns almost exactly 95 years ago (July 14, 1916)!

It was also the longest game by time (5:44) in Rays history. The previous longest regular-season game was a 10-9 loss to the Orioles on August 4, 2000, that lasted 5:16. On October 11, 2008, the Rays beat the Red Sox 9-8 in 11 innings in Game 2 of the ALCS, in 5:27.

This was also the longest scoreless game in Rays history. On June 18, 2003, the Devil Rays and Yankees were scoreless through 11 innings, before New York won 1-0 in 12 (that game lasted only 3:17).

Josh Beckett / Jeff Niemann

Beckett hyper-extended his left knee on July 8 against the Orioles. He warmed up last Tuesday night at the All-Star Game, expecting to pitch, but the knee felt sore and he decided to not risk it.

I played long toss [on] some flat ground [on Friday]. Everything is good, just like I said it was.

Dustin Pedroia has hit seven home runs during his current 14-game hitting streak. ... Since June 9, when Pedroia got his right knee examined, he has the highest OPS in baseball (.375/.469/.714/1.183).

"Hello" Niemann spent time on the DL this year with a lower back strain, but has a 2.82 ERA in four starts since returning on June 20 (runs allowed: 0, 5, 1, 1). In his last start, on July 7, he allowed one run and six hits to the Yankees in 7.1 innings.

Good Old Days, July 17 Dept.: 1903 - Rube Waddell of the Athletics is arrested for assaulting a fan who criticized his pitching. Connie Mack bails Waddell out of jail.

AL East: Yankees/Blue Jays at 1 PM.