Tigers - 010 010 002 - 4 7 0 Red Sox - 131 001 01x - 7 13 0A swinging strike 3 by Mike Aviles should have ended the second inning with the score 1-1. But first base umpire Bill Welke ruled that the Aviles's bat had touched the ball and that the ball had hit the ground before Gerald Laird caught it.
Welke was dead wrong on both counts (Tigers manager Jim Leyland and third-base coach Gene Lamont were both ejected), and the Red Sox took full advantage of his gift, scoring three times before the inning ended a second time, enabling them to coast to victory.
Allowed another crack at Fister (5-11-6-1-2, 89) Aviles lined a single to left-center, bringing home Ryan Sweeney (3-for-4). Daniel Nava scored Aviles with a double to dead center and Pedroia knocked in Nava with a hard hit single of Prince Fielder's glove at first base. 4-1, Boston!
From that point, it was a relaxing, care-free afternoon. Jarrod Saltalamacchia homered in the third, Will Middlebrooks added an RBI-single in the sixth, and Aviles doubled in another run in the eighth.
After the game, Welke admitted that he blew the call:
What looks crystal clear [on video] didn't look crystal clear from the first-base line.Leyland:
There shouldn't have been a second-inning rally. There's three outs. I've been in the game a long time. When the catcher catches the ball and it's strike three, you're out. It's that simple, isn't it? ... You guys [reporters] have to write something and hold people accountable. You know what, we're all accountable in this business. ... There should not have been a rally in that inning. ... A ridiculous [expletive] call, not just a bad call or a maybe call but a [expletive] ridiculous call. Write the [expletive] thing. That's all. I protect the umpires more than anybody, but [expletive], it's a ridiculous [expletive] call.Doubront (6-4-2-1-6, 95) turned in a stellar performance, allowing two solo homers. Scott Atchison struck out four Tigers in two innings of work. Alfredo Aceves allowed a two-run dnog to Jhonny Peralta in the ninth, but that only delayed the celebration by a few minutes. Once again, the Red Sox are at .500 (24-24).
Dustin Pedroia jammed his right thumb diving for a ground ball in the top of the fifth and was pulled from the game. There was no immediate word on how serious the injury is.
Nava, LFRyan Sweeney may return to the lineup today. He suffered a concussion making a diving catch against the Phillies on May 19. Sweeney's return may end Adrian Gonzalez's time in right field, and re-open the debate of whether Will Middlebrooks should be in Boston or Pawtucket. (Kevin Youkilis is 6-for-16 (.375) since coming off the DL.)
Pedroia, 2B
Gonzalez, RF
Ortiz, DH
Youkilis, 1B
Saltalamacchia, C
Sweeney, CF
Middlebrooks, 3B
Aviles, SS
The Red Sox - 11-5 since May 10 and 23-24 overall - host the Tigers for a four-game series. This is the latest the Red Sox have been under .500 since August 23, 1996. After starting the year 9-3, Detroit has gone 14-21. The Tigers are in third place in the AL Central, 3 GB Cleveland.
I dont understand why Middlebrooks couldnt play right. He is a better athlete than Adrian with a better arm. Granted he has looked suspect on popups by the stands. But why put the slowest option in that big right field?
ReplyDelete"This is the latest the Red Sox have been under .500 since August 23, 1996."
ReplyDeleteThis is not true as we finished 1997 with a losing record. I believe what you mean is that this is the longest it's taken us to get above .500 in a season since then. ?
I thought Aviles did foul tip Fister's pitch in the second, but Laird clearly caught the ball. As long as MLB doesn't have replay we're all going to have to put up with obviously incorrect calls. It's nice when they're in the Sox favor (and the Sox did a great job of making it matter) but it's increasingly ridiculous that something like that isn't resolved via replay.
ReplyDeleteWhat's more, if MLB had replay in that situation they would have figured out the correct call in 2 seconds. Instead, without replay, the Tigers (rightfully) put up a huge argument and we all had to sit through that, which added another 10 or 15 minutes onto the game.
"I thought Aviles did foul tip Fister's pitch in the second"
ReplyDeleteI watched every replay over and over, I just could not see it ever hit.ty5u8
(Last 5 characters was Danzig walking over keyboard! He's all over JoS today!)
Rays lost, so at end of day we'll either be out of last place, or just 4.5 out of first.
ReplyDeletety5u8. Ha. I was trying to figure out what that meant.
ReplyDeleteThank you (something) you ate
Alfredo Aceves allowed a two-run dnog to Jhonny Peralta in the ninth
ReplyDeletethat should be: dhong
And the Yankees just lost in the bottom of the ninth in Anaheim. So yay, perfect day.
ReplyDeleteYanks lose in walk-off fashion. Jays win so we're still in basement, but it moves us to 4 back in the loss column. 2.5 out of the playoffs.
ReplyDeleteWhat were they watching?? Welke did overturn the call. Nelson called him out, Welke came in and said it hit the dirt.
ReplyDeleteFrom the Globe:
The Red Sox had a runner on second with two outs in a 1-1 game when Mike Aviles appeared to strike out facing Doug Fister. But instead of the end of the inning, plate umpire Jeff Nelson called it a foul tip that struck the dirt before landing in the glove of catcher Gerald Laird.
Replays showed that Laird caught the ball cleanly.
First base umpire Bill Welke did not overturn the call. Aviles fouled off the next pitch, then lined a single to center field, scoring Ryan Sweeney, who doubled. Daniel Nava drove in Aviles with a double. Dustin Pedroia’s RBI single gave the Red Sox a 4-1 lead.