Into August With The Sox…

The Tribe came to town for four games, as the Sox looked to build upon their good fortune from the Detroit series. Prior to Monday’s game, the management decided to shut down Mike Cameron for awhile, as he’s been battling a sports hernia all season and simply couldn’t go on any longer. The manager was effusive in his praise of Cameron (who is a consummate pro) but the pain was too much. Daniel Nava was recalled from Pawtucket and there was also word that Ellsbury is “getting close” to returning from his rehab stint. Based on the way that he has handled his rehab to date, Ellsbury may have burned a bridge with his teammates and his future with the club may be irreparably harmed.

The Indians have once more fallen on hard times. This is a damn shame. The Indians are an original flagship AL franchise with a great tradition and some truly historic players. It wasn’t that long ago when they were a power in the AL Central and the beautiful f/k/a Jacobs Field was sold out every night. Now they’re dead last and the crowds at the park resemble the dreary decades when they played at “The Mistake by The Lake”. In 2007, they had Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia in the rotation, Victor Martinez behind the plate and a young Grady Sizemore who looked like he was going to be the rising star. Unfortunately, the owners decided they no longer could (or would) compete with the big-market teams and piece by piece dismantled the team.

John Lackey (10-5, 4.26) started the opener (8/2) for the Sox, coming off his most impressive win of the year last week in Anaheim. Fausto Carmona (10-8, 3.92) started for Cleveland. Matt LaPorta (once drafted by the Sox) doubled off the wall with one out in the second. With two outs, Shelley Duncan ripped a bullet to left that Ryan Kalish quickly grabbed and prevented LaPorta from scoring. Lackey was then able to get out of the jam on a 6-4 force. Ortiz led off Boston’s second by whacking a single off the wall. Victor Martinez followed with a base hit to right and Big Papi turned on his “blazing speed” and made it to third. Beltre followed with a long fly to right that Choo leaped to catch. Papi tagged and trotted in with the game’s first run. In the third, VMart moved from catcher to first replacing Youkilis, who appeared to have injured his hand after lining out on an inside fastball. Scutaro doubled to right leading off the third but was later thrown out at the plate trying to score on a short fly to left. The Indians then went ahead with two outs in the fourth after a single, a fan-interference double and a bases clearing double by Duncan that missed going over the wall by a matter of inches. Duncan was later thrown out at the plate by Kalish trying to score from second on a base hit. Cash is a very good defensive catcher and effectively blocked Duncan’s slide (“out by a mile”). The Indians started quickly in the fifth, putting runners on the corners on back-to-back singles. The Sox gladly conceded a run on Choo’s double play ball. Kalish singled leading off the Sox’ fifth and Hall rocked a single off the wall. With one out, Scutaro grounded into a double play and that chance went by the boards…Lackey proceeded to load the bases in the sixth on a single sandwiched between a couple of walks. His pitch count was getting close to 100 and his control was not at all sharp. Lackey then walked Crowe to make it 4-1 Tribe and the manager came out of the dugout looking for the baseball. With two outs and Richardson in relief of Delcarmen, Choo drove in two more runs on a line drive single. With Carmona pitching well, the Sox would be hard pressed to make up the difference. Without Carmona, whomever comes out of the Indians’ bullpen is quite hittable. In the bottom of the seventh, Beltre homered to make the score 6-2. Moments later, a frightening moment occurred on a collision at the plate. After Beltre’s homer, Ryan Kalish doubled and Nava (pinch hitting) singled to right. Kalish came around from second and there was a big bang at the plate. Kalish was called out, but the Indians’ catcher, Carlos Santana, stuck out his leg to block the plate and in the collision his leg was bent in a direction in which joints aren’t designed to go. It was about as gruesome an injury as occurs in baseball. There was a lengthy delay as the medical staff tended to Santana before he was carted off the field. What a shame, as Santana is regarded as one of the best young catchers coming up through the ranks. When the Indians stole Santana from the Dodgers’ organization in the Casey Blake trade a couple of years ago, it looked as if they had their catcher for the next decade.

The last time I saw a knee injury this bad in a collision at the plate was when Leron Lee crashed the plate in a game in Cleveland in June of ’74 and blew Carlton Fisk’s knee to smithereens. Fisk was told that he’d never play again, yet devoted himself to an incredible rehab and was back behind the plate a year later. The rest is history…

In the bottom of the eighth, the Sox scored three times, including a certifiable bomb by Beltre to make it 6-5, but Chris Perez came on for The Tribe in the 9th and shut down the Sox hitters to close out the game. Those two runners thrown out at home loomed really large after the fact.

Mikey Lowell, Come On Down…

The good news prior to Tuesday night’s game is that Lowell was activated off the DL and will be starting at first. The (potentially really, really) bad news is that Youkilis’ thumb injury is much worse than originally thought and he had to be placed on the DL. According to various news reports, Youk suffered a torn muscle at the base of his right thumb last night while swinging at an inside fastball. If he requires surgery, he’s done for the remainder of the season. That may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Youk was batting 307/.411/.564 with 19 homers and 62 RBIs. How does this team replace a .975 OPS?

On Tuesday (8/3) Josh Beckett (2-1, 6.33) got the start for the Sox against David Huff (2-9, 6.04). Earlier this year, Huff was struck in the head by a line drive off the bat of A-Rod and had to be carted off the field. But Huff is tuff stuff, he returned to the rotation shortly thereafter and has pitched pretty well. The Sox needed Beckett to pitch economically as he continued to rebound from his lengthy DL stint.

Beckett hit Shelley Duncan with a pitch in the first, but otherwise got through the first two innings with little difficulty. In the bottom of the second, Beltre led off with an infield hit then Lowell stepped up to the plate to great applause and promptly deposited Huff’s first pitch into the Monster Seats to put the Sox up 2-0. Indians’ catcher Lou Marson led off the top of the third with a long homer to left to cut the lead to 2-1. There was still no definitive diagnosis of Carlos Santana’s knee injury. He was flown back to Cleveland to meet with the doctors. With two outs, Beckett hit Choo square on the knee with a pitch. With two hit batters, some form of retaliation is sure to follow. Choo went down in a heap, but must’ve healed quickly as he promptly stole second. Bill Hall put the Sox up 3-1 with a solo shot into the Monster Seats with one out in the fourth.

Things stayed pretty quiet…until the bottom of the eighth…when all hell broke loose, The genesis of the matter was Beckett’s hitting Choo in the third. Later on, Justin Germano threw two pitches near McDonald’s head and a pitch behind Ortiz in the 6th. Jensen Lewis came on for the bottom of the eighth and threw behind Beltre with his first pitch. The benches emptied and there was the usual yelling and pushing and shoving. Beckett was particularly livid with certain instigators from the Cleveland side. After a momentary de-escalation, the manager started yelling at one of the Cleveland coaches (Smith) and tempers flared again, eventually cooler heads prevailed. When the smoke cleared, Lewis, Smith and Beckett were tossed. After the dust up, things quickly reverted to business as usual as players in both dugouts were leaning on the rail and yukking it up. Let’s hope the book is closed and stray pitches do not reappear tomorrow night. Beckett had a great night, allowing only three hits while walking none and striking out eight. Papelbon entered in the ninth and retired the side on 12 pitches. It was a big night for Beckett and an even bigger one for Lowell.

Wednesday night’s game (8/4) featured Jon Lester (11-6, 3.05) against Justin Masterson (3-10, 5.55), who pitched a whale of a ballgame against his old team in June. It also marked the return of the long, lost Jacoby Ellsbury to the starting lineup, batting leadoff. Much was made in the media over Ellsbury’s overly long absence from the lineup and their were a lot of questions regarding his “toughness”. Funny, but nobody talked about that last year when he set a club record with 70 stolen bases. Perhaps none of his accusers in the media (chief among them being the despicable CHB) ever dealt with cracked ribs.

The Tribe went ahead in the top of the third as Marte walked and Crowe singled putting runners on the corners. Marte scored when Lester made a bad throw on a force play and Lou Marson went to second. Lester then walked Choo but was able to avoid further trouble by getting Duncan to ground into a force. The Indians scored two more runs in the fifth, as Marson singled leading off, went to third on Donald’s single and scored on a sacrifice fly. Donald came around to score on Shelley Duncan’s double. Jayson Nix homered leading off the sixth and after Marte singled, that was the night for Lester. Ortiz finally put the Sox on the board in the bottom of the sixth with a long shot to center leading off. After Martinez walked, Masterson was relieved by lefty Tony Sipp. Masterson didn’t pitch a complete game this time, but had another really good outing against his former club. Still, Victor has worked out well for the Sox. Sipp struck out Drew and Beltre (this kid brings some serious smoke) then was relieved by sidewinder Joe Smith. Atchison loaded the bases in the top of the seventh with a single, an error by Martinez and a walk. Duncan hit a grounder to short, but Scutaro’s throw to the plate was late and the Tribe went up 5-1. With one out, Nix hit a sacrifice fly to center to make it 6-1. Marte then hit a three-run job that barely cleared the wall in left and—just like that—the rout was on at 9-1. Cleveland put a big, ugly crooked number up on the board and the Sox were toast…Ellsbury went 0-5 in his first night back.

MLB handed down some undisclosed fines and a two-game suspension to Indians’ third base coach Steve Smith resulting from Monday night’s bench-clearing dust-up. While no punches were thrown, Smith appeared to be instigating Beckett to the point where Francona (usually pretty even-tempered) had to be restrained. “Much a’do about nothin’” However, to no one’s surprise, Carlos Santana will require surgery to repair his left knee that was mangled in that horrible collision at the plate on Monday night and is done for the year.

Prior to Thursday’s finale (8/5), the manager announced that Youkilis will have surgery on his injured thumb and will miss the remainder of the season. In a season where we have seen the team decimated by one injury after another, this is surely the cruelest blow. But there are games yet to be played including a brutal NYY/TOR/TEX trip on the horizon. Despite everything that’s happened the expectation among the team and its fans is to go out full tilt from here on out. Maybe that’s bravado or maybe football season starts earlier in the minds of the fans than usual. We’ll see. Daisuke Matsuzaka (7-3, 4.22) got the start against Josh Tomlin (1-0, 1.46), making only his third major league start. Bill Hall made a nice backhanded grab and snap throw out of Trever Crowe’s hard grounder to open the ballgame. With two outs, Shin-Soo Choo crushed a long solo shot over the wall in center. He was waiting dead-red on a fastball from Daisuke that came right down the heart of the plate and croaked it. Rookie Jordan Brown led off the Tribe’s second with a base hit, but Nix hit a tailor-made double play grounder and Daisuke whiffed Valbuena. Andy Marte (who was briefly Red Sox property a few years ago before getting flipped to Cleveland for Coco Crisp) walked to start the third but was erased on a force play, In the Sox’ fourth, the offense got cranking. Scutaro led off with a single, the first Sox hit of the night. Martinez and Drew then walked and Beltre brought everyone home with a long grand slam into the Monster Seats. Tomlin’s control had begun to weaken and he had difficulty locating the strike zone, but the pitch to Beltre was right down Main Street and he took it over the wall. Kalish led off the fifth with a single. The kid is now batting .500. In the bottom of the eighth, the Sox loaded the bases once more and Drew drove Ellsbury and Ortiz with a base hit to right to make it 6-1. The manager, thinking it safe to avoid having to use the closer, brought Okajima in to mop up the ninth. It proved to be a bad idea as Okey-Doke allowed three singles and a run in his 1/3 of an inning. So Papelbon (who had previously warmed up when it was 4-1) entered in relief and was able to close things out. The team has to do better than splitting a series with a last-place club.

Four In The Bronx:

The Sox opened a 10-day, three city trip starting with four at Yahnkeee Stadiuuummm (thanks to the late, great Bob Sheppard). Prior to the game, the Sox placed Okajima on the DL with a variety of issues and recalled Felix Doubront from Pawtucket.

In the opener (8/6), Clay Buchholz (11-5, 2.59) got the call for the Sox against Javier Vazquez (9-7, 4.61). Ortiz popped a shot into Monument Alley in the first to give the Sox a quick 1-0 lead, but that was quickly erased in the bottom half when Jeter singled and Teixeira homered to right. Beltre doubled to the left-center gap leading off the second, but the Sox got very lucky when Lowell hit a pop that went straight up in the air and appeared to be a harmless out. Both Vazquez and Cervelli went after the ball, but Cervelli dropped it and Lowell was safe. With two outs, Vazquez walked Lowrie and Ellsbury back-to-back to tie the score 2-2. Scutaro followed with a long double, scoring Lowell and Lowrie. The Yanks came back with a run in the bottom of the 5th as A-Rod singled in Jeter with two outs. But the Sox put this one away in the 6th as Lowell singled with one out and Ryan Kalish followed with his first Major League homer, taking the first pitch over the wall in right. Buchholz stayed in until Cano doubled with one out in the eighth. He did get scuffed around with seven hits, but was otherwise pretty solid tonight. Daniel Bard came on in the bottom of the eighth and his bacon was saved by a great diving catch of Berkman’s line drive. Papelbon entered in the ninth and really struggled with Jeter, who eventually walked after twelve pitches. But Swisher flied out to left and the Sox were able to take the first game of the series 6-3.

Saturday afternoon’s game (8/7) at the Stadium featured John Lackey (10-6, 4.48) against CC Sabathia (13-5, 3.19). Prior to the game the Sox announced that they had signed former Met Carlos Delgado to a minor-league deal. Delgado has not played in a game since May of ’09. when he underwent hip surgery. It’s a low risk move that may or may not pay some dividends in the final month of the season. The team can’t realistically rely on Mike Lowell the rest of the way through, so it can’t hurt having two guys on the team with bad hips, right? A-Rod was struck in the leg with a line drive during BP and was removed from the starting lineup. Rather than focusing on the field he was distracted by someone in the media and, whack! He rolled around on the ground writhing in pain before walking off under his own steam. Jeter later said, “He always does that when he gets hit…” What a teammate! Best wishes to first-base coach Ron Johnson and his daughter, as she recovers from injuries suffered in a hit-and-run accident in Tennessee while riding her horse last week. Her life was saved by a Good Samaritan named “Bernie”.

The Sox got a pair of runs in the second inning when Martinez homered and Beltre and Lowell hit back-to-back doubles. The Yanks came right back to tie as Berkman walked and came home on Granderson’s triple. Granderson later came in on Ramiro Pena’s ground out. The game stayed tied until the bottom of the fifth when the Yanks pounded Lackey with four straight singles after two were out. If Youkilis were out there, Posada’s single would’ve been easily handled. But Mike Lowell has the range of a turtle and the Yanks were able to go ahead 4-2. The Yanks manufactured another run in the sixth when Granderson singled, stole second, went to third on a bad throw and scored on Pena’s base hit. Perhaps A-Rod ought to consider the plight of Wally Pipp, as Pena’s hit well today. Delcarmen came on in relief of Lackey and had a surprisingly good inning of relief. Lackey didn’t have a particularly bad outing, but one very bad inning ,and with Sabathia at the top of his game, that was all it took. Doubrount came on in the bottom of the eighth and also had an easy inning. Sabathia was finished after eight and handed things over to Rivera, who retired the side in order to pick up his 23rd save of the year. With the loss, the Sox fell six games back of the Yankees in the AL East, but the Rays lost to Toronto again so they remain 4 ½ games back in the Wild Card.

Sunday night’s game was supposed to feature a Beckett v. Burnett matchup, but Burnett was scratched and Dustin Moseley started in his place. Beckett had bad stuff and the Yankees ended up pummeling him. With the Yanks up 2-0 in the fifth, Bill Hall homered and it looked like the Sox might have a chance, but the roof caved in on Beckett in the bottom half as the Yanks pushed across five runs. Beckett allowed 11 hits and 7 runs in 4.2 innings. Do you think ownership is having second thoughts over that extension? Game Ovah…

Monday afternoon’s finale featured Lester (11-7, 3.07) against Phil Hughes (13-4, 3.96). Lester had struggled in his last few outings (0-4, 4.39) but was in top form on this hot and humid afternoon in the Bronx, taking a no-hitter into the bottom of the fifth. The Sox got all the runs they’d need in the top of the second when Kalish singled, stole second, went to third on Posada’s throwing error and scored on a single by Hall. Ellsbury (0-22 since returning) then singled, Scutaro walked and Hall came in the back door on Drew’s ground out. After struggling early, Hughes settled down to retire 14 of the next 15 Red Sox hitters. Lester ran out of gas in the bottom of the seventh and loaded the bases with no outs. Posada led off with a single then Marcus Thames hit a long drive to center that looked as if it had a chance to go, but hit the top of the wall for a double. Lester then plunked Austin Kearns to load the bases but was able to whiff Granderson (who can’t hit lefties worth a lick). Bard came on to face TFJ (“that f’g Jeter”) and struck him out with some serious heat. Next up came Swisher and he went down the same way. In the bottom of the eighth, Teixeira crushed a long homer to right to make it 2-1 and A-Rod singled. With two on and two out. Papelbon entered and closed out the threat with a one-pitch ground out. Ellsbury singled in the ninth and stole second, tying a Red Sox single game record with 4 SB's but was unable to advance. In the bottom of the ninth, Jeter walked and stole second, but Papelbon struck out Swisher and was able to dispose of Teixeira “by way of the K” to end it in thrilling fashion. So the Sox wound up splitting the four games which wasn’t all that bad considering. If they started off 0-4 or 1-3 they might as well have started setting up their October tee times.

The Other Pitch…

Superliga 2010 Semifinal: Revs v. Puebla FC (8/4/10):

Los Camoteros came to Gillette (“where good seats are still available”) on a hot, humid evening looking to deny Revs another trip to the Superliga finals. The tournament has enabled Revs to right their wobbling ship, more or less. They’re unbeaten in tournament play but were extremely fortunate to escape last Saturday’s MLS match against Philly with a point. Coach Nicol put the regular XI out there with the exception of Khano Smith, who started at left midfield. Saying that there was a “sparse” crowd at Gillette would be charitable. This event appears to be relevant only to Spanish-speaking fans, as it was broadcast on Telefutura and not a word of it was whispered in the anglo media. In the 4th, Nyassi dumped Gabriel Pereyra setting up a free kick that Reis punched away. Two minutes later, Puebla had their first corner, Joaquin Velasquez had a great header from service, but the ball went just wide left. In the first 10 minutes, Camoteros played at a much higher tempo than Revs. In the 13th, Marko Perovic’s free kick from 25 yards out was snared by Edgar Hernandez in the Puebla goal. The pace slowed down thereafter as the Revs’ midfielders asserted themselves and the Revs had the better of possession. In the 21st, Alvaro Ortiz fouled Mansally, though nothing came of the free kick.In the 25th, Mansally broke in alone on goal and attempted to head the ball past Hernandez, bumping the goalkeep while doing so. Mansally was booked, as it appeared as the balance of the calls were going Puebla’s way. In the 30th. Felipe Ayala pulled down Joseph with a rough tackle and tempers flared. A couple of minutes later, Perovic took a nasty knock on the leg and was replaced by Zack Schliawski. In the 38th, Juan Garcia broke past Alston, but fired the ball high right. Near the end of the half, butts were dragging on both sides and the play was ragged.

Reis made a great save off of Edgar Lugo’s half-wheel kick in the 53rd. Revs came right back and Schliawski fired on goal with Hernandez out of position, but a Puebla defender slid into the goal mouth to stop the ball from going in. Mansally scored in the 56th, as he took a perfect pass from Joseph and fired the ball low and to Hernandez’ left. A minute later, Puebla equalized as Olivera picked up a loose ball in the box and fired a rocket past Reis. In the 63rd and 64th, Revs had two glorious chances, the first by Mansally that missed the left corner by inches, the second by Schliawski that went wide left. In the 66th, there was some pushing and shoving prior to a set piece in front of Hernandez. In the 69th, Joseph had a header to Hernandez’ right that was turned aside. In the 81st. Reis made another nice save off of Lugo’s point blank header. Two minutes later, Reis was called upon again to make a diving stop of a shot from Lugo. In the 87th, Reis made his most impressive stop of the night, diving to his right to snare the ball away from Lugo. In the 89th, Mansally broke into the box but fired wide left. In the 90th. Emanuel Osei’s header from a corner went wide left. After full time, the match moved on to penalty kicks.

NE- Joseph: Goal
P- Olivera: Goal
NE- Reis: Goal
P- Juarez: Goal
NE- Tierney: Goal
P- Ayala: Goal
NE- Phelan: Goal
P- Lugo: MISSED Low Center, Tipped Away
NE- Mansally: Goal, roofed it high left corner

Revs win 2-1 on penalties and await the winner of tomorrow night’s Houston/Morelia semifinal. This match could’ve gone either way during regulation time, as each side had quality chances especially in the second half.

Morelia defeated Houston 1-0 on Thursday, so Revs will face Monarcas at home on Wednesday, September 1st.

Revolution Match 17 v. DC United (8/7/10):

Prior to the match, Revs (4-9-3-15) announced that stalwarts Marko Perovic and Kevin Alston would be unavailable due to injuries suffered in the match against Puebla. Zack Schliawski replaced Perovic up top and Emanuel Osei started in place of Alston at left back. Kheli Dube is also out with a right knee sprain. Recently acquired forward Ilija Stolica has received his visa to work in the States, but it’s not known whether he’ll play tonight. This team desperately needs production up top. DCU sits in an uncharacteristically bad spot in last place in MLS East at 3-12-3-12 and recently fired their coach Curt Onalfo and relaced him with former MLS All-Star Ben Olsen. Their regular XI has been gutted by injury this year.

A halfway decent crowd turned out at Gilletts on a perfect night for football, moderate temperatures with no humidity. These teams are original MLS East rivals who always play a rough brand of football whenever they meet. Both sides were tentative in the first 10 minutes but DCU seemed to be the aggressor. In the 12th, Pablo Hernandez’ header off of Najar’s service was picked by Reis. Najar went down with a twisted ankle in the 20th and went to the sideline for treatment. Cory Gibbs’ header in the 28th went over the bar and he was upset at the missed opportunity. He became he more angry at getting booked in the 30th for a sliding hard tackle, as the replay indicated he knocked away the ball. Nicol was livid on the sideline, screaming at the referee. Schliawski ripped a shot in the 39th that Bill Hamid pushed aside. In the 42nd, Revs went up on Phelan’s header coming off of Chris Tierney’s free kick. DCU’s Hernandez had fouled Phelan, so it was a matter of sweet revenge. He was in the crowd at the box and perfectly timed his leap and rocked the ball past Hamid. It was Phelan’s first career MLS goal and was a thing of beauty.

Khano Smith took a leg knock in the 53rd but was able to continue after treatment. In the 56th, Hernandez’ challenge in the box was turned away with a sliding save by Reis. Former Rev Adam Cristman entered for DCU in the 68th and moments later, Hernandez was booked for a nasty tackle from behind. In the 72nd, Stolica made his Revs’ debut, entering for Schliawski. Stephen King’s blast in the 74th went high right following a flurry of action in front of Reis. In the 77th, Hernandez and Smith got into a pushing match after Hernandez committed a foul outside of the Revs’ box. Cristman’s header from Hernandez’ corner bounced in front of Reis and the rebound went over the bar. In the 80th, Brazilian Roberto Linck made his Revs’ debut in relief of Smith. In the 85th, Mansally’s shot coming from a rebound of Tierney’s free kick just missed to the right. In the 87th, Reis leaped to snare Hernandez’ free kick knocking down two of his players in the process. Carey Talley booked in the 90th after he dumped Nyassi who broke down right wing into the box. In stoppage time, Cristman (who hits like a linebacker out there) fouled Gibbs, then DCU pressed very hard in the Revs’ end. In the last moments, Revs regained possession and Joseph fired a testing shot on Hamid as time expired. With the victory, Revs continued their impressive recent run up the ladder in MLS East and will take on Houston at home next Saturday.

Roughriders Game 6 at Montréal Alouettes (4-1), (8/6/10):

The Riders traveled to a packed house at McGill Stadium on a beautiful night for an important game with the Als. When these teams last met in Week 1, the Riders prevailed in a thrilling overtime classic. Since then, Montréal has started to run away with the race in the CFL East while the Riders are tied for first in the CFL West with Calgary at 4-1. During the week, Darian Durant was limited at practice due to a nasty stomach virus. Both teams came out with the ‘70’s retro look. Als won the toss and, starting at their 21, Calvillo hit SJ Green on a 67-yard pass and run play. One play later, Calvillo connected with Kerry Watkins on a 22-yard touchdown pass, and Montréal was ahead 7-0. Less than a minute played and the Riders were already in a hole. Riders started their initial drive at their 27. On second-and-5, Durant threw a shovel pass that was intercepted by Chip Cox. Starting at the Riders’ 21, Calvillo (not exactly fleet of foot) carried up the middle for 9. The Als’ drive stalled and Duval knocked in a chip shot to put Montréal up 10-0. Prechae Rodriguez returned the ensuing kickoff to Montréal’s 45. Durant was able to move the offense to the 20 on a short pass and a great run by Cates up the middle. Two plays later, Durant fumbled the snap, but was able to evade the rush, and rolling to his left he found Wes Dressler in the back of the end zone and the Riders were back in business only down by a field goal. On the Als’ next drive, Calvillo hit Jamel Richardson on a second-and-10 that moved the ball to midfield, then an offsides penalty against the Riders pushed the ball into their end of the field, but James Patrick made a nice stop and the Als had to punt away. The Riders were able to move the ball to the 40, thanks to a pass interference call, but two straight penalties pushed the ball back. On second-and-14, Durant looked to his right and found Cates, who dove to put the ball inches shy of the first. Durant called his number up the middle to keep the chains moving. Durant found Cates again over the middle for another first down as time expired in the first quarter.

Eddie Johnson’s squib punt to open the quarter put the ball on the 12, but Calvillo had no problem moving the ball past the 40 on three plays. On second and 10, Calvillo found Watkins on the right side, and Watkins ripped off a big gainer inside the 25. From the 10, Calvillo was sacked by Keith Shouligan. On second down, Calvillo fumbled the snap and the ball was recovered by Jerrell Freeman. But an interference call on the Riders gave Calvillo a second chance, and he connected with Watkins again and the Als went up 17-7. Riders went two n’ out on their next drive and the Als set up shop at their 40. On first down, Calvillo connected with Green over the middle at midfield. They were unable to move the ball from there, and Duval hit a perfect coffin-corner kick inside the 10. Fantuz made a nice catch to move the ball to the 30, then, on second-and-9, Durant hit Cates, who carried for another first down. On second-and-10 at midfield, Durant escaped a big rush and connected with Fantuz for another first down. After the three minute warning, a roughing the passer call on the Als’ Anwar Stewart put the ball on the Als’ 35. On second-and-2, Cates’ rush into the middle was stuffed short. His helmet was ripped off on the play and he angrily reacted by shoving the Als’ Eric Wilson. Cates was called for unnecessary roughness, which set the ball back 15 yards. Luca Congi came on to attempt a 42-yard field goal, but the kick went wide left. Tim Maypray caught the kick and streaked down the left sideline 118 yards for the touchdown! Dominique Dorsey returned Duval’s kick to the 45 with a minute and change remaining in the half. Durant then found Fantuz over the middle to put the ball in field goal range with 35 seconds left. Durant then took two shots at the end zone that were incomplete, so the Riders had to settle for a 35-yard field goal from Congi to make it 24-10 right before time expired.

The Riders’ Stu Foord returned the opening kickoff of the second half to the 32. After Cates ripped off a big gainer to midfield, Durant carried for 9 to the 45. From there, Szarka pushed across for the first down. On second and 10, Dressler made a tough catch over the middle for 12. Durant’s next pass intended for Bagg was incomplete, but the Als De’Audre Dix was flagged for pass interference at the 5. Durant’s next two passes went incomplete and the Riders were forced to settle for a chip shot from Congi to make it 24-13. What a wasted opportunity. Midway through the quarter, Duval kicked a 46-yard field goal to put the Als ahead 27-13. On the Riders’ next possession, Fantuz made a nice catch in traffic to bring the ball down to the Als’ 29. Dix broke up a pass intended for Bagg in the end zone, so the Riders had to settle for a 36-yard field goal from Congi to make it 27-16. The Riders’ Brent Hawkins sacked Calvillo and the Als were forced to punt. The Riders were able to pick up a first down courtesy of a penalty on the Als’ Billy Parker.

The fourth quarter opened with the Riders at their 46 and second-and-6. Durant found Getzlaf over the middle for a first down and another completion to Dressler moving the ball to the 35. After Durant ran for 8, he hit Bagg, who broke a tackle and spun his way to the 6. On second-and-goal, Durant connected with Cates wide open in the end zone and it was 27-23 with 12 minutes left. Cox made a great return of the kickoff, taking the ball to the Riders’ 42. But the Als went two n’ out and Duval’s punt bounced out of the corner of the end zone and the Als picked up the single. From the 35, Durant found Fetzlaf, who leaped to make the grab in traffic for a first down. But Durant was sacked for a loss of 8. With second-and-18, Durant withstood the rush and found Getzlaf, who dove ro make the catch for another first down. Durant’s next two throws were incomplete, but Congi knocked in a field goal to make it 28-26 with six minutes left. On second-and-9, Calvillo’s protection broke down and he was sacked, forcing the Als to punt again. The Riders started out at their 34. On first down, Durant found Dressler to the left at midfield. With the clock winding under four minutes, Durant threw a desperation pass that was caught by Fantuz, but he bobbled the ball and Chip Cox picked it in the air, giving the Als the ball back at their 45. The Riders then rushed Calvillo hard and decked him. He appeared to have suffered a hand injury and went directly to the dressing room accompanied by the trainers. Dorsey took Duval’s punt at the 10 and returned the ball to the 34. A holding call brought the ball all the way back to the 4. On second and 10, Durant was sacked in the end zone by Jermaine McElveen and the Als went up 20-26. Chris Leak entered in relief of Calvillo, but the Als were unable to pick up a first down. Duval punted away and Dorsey was able to return the ball to the 34. With 1:30 left on the clock, Durant found Cates on a screen for 6, then connected with Dressler for a first down. With less than a minute remaining, Durant found Cates wide open at the 40 and Cates dropped the ball. On third and 13, Fantuz made a great catch in double coverage for a first down. The Riders called a timeout with 18 seconds left and the ball at the Als’ 43. Durant then threw two long incompletions and there were only four seconds left on the clock. Durant’s Hail Mary pass into the end zone was deflected away and the Als came away with the win. The Riders have no one but themselves to blame for losing a winnable game. Three stupid penalties cost them, and the Als are not a team that throws away second chances.