The BIG Homestand:

The M’s Come To Town:

Game 25 v. Seattle (4/29/11):

The M’s (11-15) come into Boston, having won three straight. Daisuke (2-2, 4.09) got the call against lefthander Jason Vargas (0-2, 5.53). The Sox put out a decidedly right-handed hitting lineup out there against Vargas, benching Drew and Crawford for this one. Ichiro led off against Daisuke, and once upon a time that would’ve been appointment television in Tokyo, but nowadays maybe not so much. Ichiro flied out to left to open the game. Figgins then walked and Miguel Olivo reached when Darnell McDonald flubbed a fly ball to left. Both runners scored on Justin Smoak’s base hit. Daisuke was up to 38 pitches through the first two innings. In the bottom of the second, Mike Cameron hit a solo homer around Pesky’s Pole to make it a 2-1 score. In the third, Ellsbury reached on a fielder’s choice, moved to third on Gonzalez’ single and scored on Youkilis’ base hit to left-center. Ortiz then singled in Gonzalez and the Sox took a 3-2 lead. In the fourth, Daisuke walked Cust and Kennedy with one out. Daisuke came back to strike out Saunders and Ryan flied out to left. Cameron then homered again into the Monster Seats to lead off the bottom of the fourth. After Ichiro singled leading off the fifth, he was relieved by Matt Albers after suffering some sort of an injury. Figgins followed with a base hit up the middle. Bradley then hit into a 6-4 force but Lowrie flubbed the throw, Ichiro scored and Bradley went to second on the play. With Jenks pitching in the seventh, Ichiro led off with a single and Figgins doubled. With one out, Olivo grounded out and Ichiro came in with the tying run. With two outs, Smoak walked and Cust doubled in Figgins with the go-ahead run, as that was a bad inning by Jenks. In the eighth with Okajima pitching, Saunders walked leading off and moved to second on a sacrifice. Ichiro then walked, but Okey Doke got out of the inning when Figgins grounded into a double play. Brandon League entered in the bottom of the ninth to close things out and retired the side in order.

Game 26 v. Seattle (4/30/11):

This game pretty much summed up the Red Sox’ offensive frustrations as they left 11 runners on base against the M’s and lost 2-0. John Lackey started for the Sox and once more gave the team another coveted “quality start”. It was a beautiful night at the ballpark, a touch cool, but our annual pilgrimage was really nice. Ichiro led off the game with a single, stole second and made it to third on Lackey’s bad pickoff throw but made it no further. The Sox loaded the bases off of Doug Fister in the bottom of the first, but were unable to score when Drew hit a long fly to center to end the inning. The M’s pushed across a run in the third when Ichiro walked, Figgins singled and Milton Bradley doubled home Ichiro. Olivo then grounded out to third on a close play and Bradley protested the call at first and was ejected. Ellsbury doubled in the bottom of the third and Lowrie doubled in the fourth, but neither was able to advance. In the fifth, Saltalamacchia doubled leading off and then Ellsbury and Pedroia walked. Gonzalez then hit a wicked line drive to short that was caught and the shortstop flipped to second for the double play. Youkilis then popped out to first and slammed the bat and his helmet in disgust. No good deed goes unpunished as they say, and the Sox’ failure to execute with the bases loaded cost them another run in the sixth. Cust and Saunders started the inning with singles and both advanced on Ryan’s sacrifice bunt. Jack Wilson then hit a sacrifice fly to center and Cust came across to make it 2-0. Drew doubled in the bottom of the sixth and Crawford walked with two outs. After a pitching change, Saltalamacchia hit a foul pop to the catcher. Hideki Okajima replaced Lackey in the seventh and retired the side in order. In the bottom of the seventh with two outs, Gonzalez walked and Youkilis doubled down the line in left. Ortiz then hit a long fly to left that died on the warning track. That was the Sox’ last best chance as Aaron Laffey set down the side in order in the eighth and Brandon League did the same in the ninth. It simply wasn’t their night.

Game 27 v. Seattle (5/1/11):

Prior to the game, Clay Buchholz was scratched from his start due to illness. Tim Wakefield was called upon to face Cy Young winner “King” Felix Hernandez and what appeared to be a mismatch turned into a well-pitched ballgame as Carl Crawford drove in Lowrie in the bottom of the ninth and the Sox walked off with a hard-fought 3-2 win.

Wake shut down the side in order in the top of the first. The Sox loaded the bases in the bottom of the first before Lowrie struck out. In the second, Wake walked Cust and gave up a single to Luis Rodriguez with two outs before Michael Saunders flied out to Crawford. The Sox put up a pair in the bottom of the third as Ellsbury and Pedroia started off with singles and both scored when Ortiz doubled off the wall. Wake pitched into the top of the sixth when he was relieved by Jenks with two outs and a runner on first. Jenks couldn’t find the plate, gave up a single and three straight walks and the Mariners tied the score. Papelbon entered in the top of ninth and retired the side in order. With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Lowrie hit a long fly to right that Ichiro lost in the sun and dropped and Lowrie wound up on third. Crawford followed with a base hit up the middle and the Sox had their first walkoff win of the year.

Four With the Angels:

Game 28 v. Los Angeles Angels (5/2/11):

In Monday night’s opener with the Angels, Clay Buchholz (1-3, 5.33) took the hill against Jered Weaver (6-0, 0.99). Weaver has gotten off to a fabulous start and the Sox were fortunate to have missed him on the recent West Coast swing, but no such luck tonight. It was a cool night at the ballpark with a patriotic touch honoring all those who lost their lives on 9/11. People were waving flags in support of the recent military action in Pakistan that removed Public Enemy #1 from our midst. It was also nice to see Satch and “The Turk” each throw out the ceremonial first pitch in support of the C’s and B’s.

Facing the AL’s two best starters in back-to-back games ought to qualify the Sox’ hitters for hazardous duty pay. Buchholz had struggled in his last outing, so it would be interesting to see what he brought to the table tonight. Izturis singled to right but was thrown out at second on a nice peg by Drew trying to stretch things. Abreu then singled up the middle and Kendrick hit a base hit to left. It appeared as if Buchholz had no command of his off-speed pitches. Fortunately, Torii Hunter hit into a 5U3 double play to end that threat. Ellsbury singled leading off the bottom of the first and stole second. With two outs, Youkilis singled to left and Ellsbury came around to score the game’s first run. In the third. Izturis doubled with two outs and it appeared as if Ellsbury’s throw to second was in time but the umpire didn’t see it that way. Abreu followed with a single to right and Izturis scored the tying run. So, a bad call by the ump led to an unfortunate run. Aybar led off the fifth with a single to right and Mathis followed with a walk. Buchholz came back to strike out Bourjos but both runners stole second and third. Buchholz walked Izturis to load the bases. Buchholz simply had no feel for his change up. Abreu hit into a 4-6 force and Aybar came in with the go-ahead run. One run with Weaver pitching may be all the Angels need. Crawford then doubled to left with one out in the fifth, and Varitek walked. Crawford made it to third on Ellsbury’s 6-4 force. After a lengthy at bat (in which Pedroia fouled off nine balls—essentially breaking Weaver’s back), Pedroia singled up the middle and both runners scored. With one out in the seventh, Bourjos singled and stole second. By this time, Buchholz was well over 100 pitches. After retiring the next batter, Buchholz was lifted in favor of Daniel Bard, who retired Abreu on a grounder to first, Takahashi relieved Weaver in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Varitek singled up the middle and Ellsbury followed with a line drive double down the line in left. Takahashi was then relieved by Francisco Rodriguez. Pedroia then wakjed to load the bases. Adrain Gonzazlez then hit a bases-clearing double off the wall in center and the Sox were ahead 6-2! Youkilis then doubled off the wall and Gonzalez scored. Big Papi then launched a bomb into the Monster Seats and the Sox were up 9-2. With two outs, Lowrie hit a routine fly to short center that Bourjos dropped. Dan Wheeler came on to pitch the eighth, allowed a couple of singles before Callaspo hit into a double play. Sluggo Wells then hit a towering two-run bomb over everything in left to make it 9-4. Wheeler stayed on for the ninth and allowed a single before striking out Bourjos and then getting relieved by Okajima. Izturis then doubled in Mathis to make it 9-5. The Angels got no further as Okajima retired the next two batters and the Sox handed Weaver his first loss of the year.

Game 29 v. Los Angeles Angels (5/3/11):

On a cloudy and cool night at the ballyard, Jon Lester (3-1, 2.52) got the start against Dan Haren (4-1, 1.23). Youkilis was a late scratch with an illness, moving Lowrie to third and putting Scutaro into the lineup. This game would be the third in a row in which the Sox faced a top-line starter. Maicer Izturis doubled down the line in left leading off the ballgame, tagged to third on Abreu’s fly ball to center but advanced no further as Kendrick struck out and Hunter popped out to second. With two outs in the second, Mark Trumbo uncorked a high fastball into the Monster Seats to give the Angels an early lead. The Sox got their first hit with one out in the third when Crawford singled to right and then he promptly stole second but got no further than third as Haren retired the next two batters. In the fourth, Hunter reached on an infield hit and Wells walked. Aybar then lined into a 4-3 double play and Trumbo struck out. After setting down the Sox hitters pretty much at will, Haren allowed a double to Ellsbury with one out in the sixth and Gonzalez drove in the tying run with a two-out single to left. Ortiz then ripped a base hit down the rightfield line and Gonzalez took third on the play. Lowrie then laced a liner to right and Gonzalez came in with the go-ahead run. Lester struck out the side in the seventh and had 11, total. With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Crawford lined a base hit to center and scored on Saltalamacchia’s double off the wall on a very close play at the plate. Lester (7IP, 6H, 1ER, 1BB, 11K) handed things off to Bard in the eighth, who retired the side in order. Gonzalez led off the bottom of the eighth with a towering home run into the bullpen to make it 4-1, and that was the night for Haren. Looked like Scoscia left him out there one pitch too late. Takahashi replaced Haren and Big Papi took him deep around Pesky’s Pole to make it 5-1. Lowrie followed with a single and (with one out) Scutaro hit a long drive to left that was caught by a fan (nice catch) but Scoscia came out to make a stink and the umpires went in to review the call, which was upheld on the replay. Papelbon (who started warming up in the bottom of the eighth) was handed the ball in the ninth to close things out but putting Pap in when it’s a “non-save” situation has been at times a dicey proposition. Hunter and Wells each singled to start the inning and Aybar followed with a ground-rule double to right, scoring Hunter. Trumbo then hit a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Wells. But Pap came back to retire the next two batters and the Sox came away with a very encouraging 7-3 win.

Game 30 v. Los Angeles Angels (5/4/11):

On a cool and showery Wednesday evening, Josh Beckett (2-1, 2.65) was scheduled to pitch against Ervin Santana (1-3, 4.89). The tarp was on the field prior to game time, but the showers relented and the game started on time. Beckett was going on six days’ rest after having suffered a slight injury his last time out. Aybar walked to lead off the game and stole second. With one out, Izturis then singled and Aybar went to third. Hunter followed with a walk to load the bases. Callaspo then hit into a 4-6-3 double play and Beckett got out of that jam. The rain then picked up in the bottom of the first from a drizzle to a downpour. In the second, Ortiz fouled a ball off his ankle and went down in a heap. It registered 4.5 on the Richter Scale, but he was able to get up and continue (and struck out). Santana ended up striking out the side. The gounds crew needed to doctor the mound in between innings as it was a mess. Izturis walked leading off the fourth but was cut down by Varitek trying to steal second. Callaspo hit a long drive to center to end the inning. Youkilis was hit on the wrist with two outs in the fourth but Ortiz struck out. The rains returned with a vengeance and this time, the umpire called for the grounds crew to pull out the tarp at 8:30…at 11:05 play resumed and the house was empty. Matt Albers took over for Beckett to face Wells. In the seventh with Wheeler now pitching, Sluggo Wells hit a two-run bomb off the light tower stanchion and the Angels were up 2-0. Somewhere around midnight it was the bottom of the eighth and the Sox pushed across a run when Varitek doubled leading off, moved to third on a ground out and scored on Gonzalez’ weak infield hit that the pitcher muffed and made a bad throw to first. Okajima entered in the top of the ninth and allowed singles to Wells and Conger before being replaced by Wakefield. With two outs, Aybar hit a long sacrifice fly to center and Wells came across to make it 3-1. In the bottom of the ninth with Jordan Walden pitching, Lowrie led off with a walk and moved to second on Cameron’s single. Walden then uncorked a wild pitch and Lowrie scored on the play but Conger’s throw to third hit the umpire and Cameron was out at third. With two outs, Crawford doubled to deep center and came across with the tying run on Ellsbury’s line drive single to right. The game went into extra innings and deep into the wee hours. In the bottom of the 12th, the Sox had a chance to win the game as Scutaro singled with one out. Youkilis followed with a long fly deep to left that…missed going over the wall by a matter of a few feet. Scutaro raced around the bases and tried to score but was thrown out at the plate. Perhaps he missed the third base coach’s signal to stop but it was too late. By the 13th, the bullpen was fully depleted and Daisuke was called on to pitch on what was his normal off-day throwing program. His pitches were all over the place. After Kendrick and Bourjos singled and two were out, Abreu singled to right and the Angels were ahead 5-3. Trevor Bell retired the side in the bottom of the 13th and the Angels came away with the win. The game took an even 5:00 to play (not including the delay) and wrapped up at 2:45 a.m. It’s not possible to determine exactly how many brave souls sat through the entire proceedings but your faithful correspondent was not one of them.

Game 31 v. Los Angeles Angels (5/5/11):

After last night/this morning’s marathon wrapped up, both teams had an early wake up call for the 1:30 p.m. finale. Because the bullpen was depleted and the fact that the team will not having a day off for a week, a couple of roster moves had to be made. Rich Hill and Oh No Atchison were recalled from Pawtucket while Jenks and Wheeler were placed on the DL with “injuries”. John Lackey (2-3, 5.65) took the hill against Joel Pineiro (0-0, 1.29). Pedroia was given the day off after striking out four times last night (first time in his career for that) and Drew was back in the lineup after suffring a minor case of vertigo. In the third, Bourjos was hit by a pitch leading off, moved to third on Aybar’s single and scored on a ground out. With two outs and runners on the corners, Callaspo lined a double into the rightfield corner scoring both runners and giving the Angels a 3-0 lead. Lackey was wildly inconsistent with his breaking stuff and was already over 60 pitches through 2 ⅔. Trumbo walked leading off the fourth but was cut down trying to steal second. What is Scoscia thinking? He has an aggressive style but that’ll hopefully be the last time he sends a lead-footed runner today. With two outs, Bourjos and Aybar reached on singles and Kendrick followed with a base hit up the middle that drove in Bourjos with the fourth Angels’ run. The Sox needed Lackey to eat a lot of innings today, but he wasn’t helping his cause as Abreu ripped a single up the middle, scoring Aybar to make it 5-0. The hits just keep comin’…Torii Hunter drove a single to right scoring Kendrick and it was 6-0. The Sox got their first hit of the game in the fourth when Crawford rocked one off Piniero, who couldn’t retrieve the bounce in time. After Youkilis struck out, Gonzalez bounced into a double play. In the fifth, Wells singled leading off, stole second and came across on Trumbo’s line drive into the Monster Seats. This Trumbo kid has impressive power. That was the afternoon for Lackey (no “quality start” for you today) as Sox fans were treated to the Return of Scott “Oh No” Atchison, who was just recalled from Pawtucket. Bourjos singled up the middle and made a daring move for second. Lowrie attempted to make a diving grab and rolled over his surgically-repaired wrist in the process. Scutaro picked up the ball and threw to Youkilis, who was covering second. Bourjos ran over Youkilis, who couldn’t hold onto the ball and made it to third. When it’s not your day, it’s just not your day. Aybar followed with an infield hit that scored Bourjos and moved to second on Kendrick’s line drive single to right. When it rains it pours: Ortiz lined a shot off the wall and tried to stretch it into a double. He was thrown out by three feet (“Slide, Papi, Slide!”). Lowrie followed with a long drive into the triangle. It could’ve been good for three bases but for the knucklehead in the stands who reached out and grabbed the ball while it was in play. Security immediately appeared on the scene and invited the idiot to leave (wonder if he gets to keep the ball?). After Drew walked, Saltalamacchia hit into a textbook 4-6-3 double play and that was that. In the seventh, Abreu doubled in Mathis and Bourjos to make it 11-0 as Oh No kept throwing meatballs up there for the Angels to crush. After it rained briefly in the seventh, Scutaro and Ellsbury both singled to start the eighth but Fransisco Rodriguez retired the next three batters and that was that. Drew mercifully lined out to center to put an end to this abominable baseball game.

The Twins’ Wraparound Series:

Game 32 v. Minnesota (5/6/11):

The Twins came to Fenway for a Friday-Monday series to wrap up the homestand. Atchison was sent back to Pawtucket and Alfredo Aceves was recalled. It was a cool, partly cloudy night at the ball yard with an occasional breeze. The “Joe West” umpiring crew was in for this series, so fans could expect bad calls and ejections. West and Angel Hernandez are really an embarrassment for MLB. The Twins haven’t hit much so far and have been without Joe Mauer since April 12th. The Twins are also 11-18, near the basement of the AL Central and sent Scott Baker (1-2, 3.16) up against Tim Wakefield (0-0, 4.08). With one out in the first, Trevor Plouffe popped a knuckleball into the Monster Seats. After Morneau walked, Kubel hit into a 5-4-3 double play to get Wake out of that inning. Cuddyer walked leading off the second and Danny Valencia followed with a single to left. Ben Revere then singled to center to load the bases. Butera hit a short pop to right and Cuddyer couldn’t advance. Wake then struck out Alexei Casilla but Denard Span singled past the dive of Gonzalez and two runs scored. Span appeared to be picked off in a rundown but the home plate umpire ruled that Wakefield balked. The manager came out to argue, was summarily ejected and then went about as ballistic toward Joe West as anyone could remember; there may be a suspension in the offing. Revere scored and it was 4-0. JD Drew homered to right with one out in the second to cut the deficit to 4-1. Adrian Gonzalez led off the bottom of the fourth with a homer into the Monster Seats to make it a 4-2 game. In the fifth, Plouffe walked leading off and Morneau followed with a single. With one out, Cuddyer singled to load the bases and Valencia followed with a two-run double to left to make it 6-2. That was all for Wake, as Aceves entered to stop the bleeding but, with two outs, Butera reached on Lowrie’s error and two more runs scored. Wake’s line was ugly (4⅓IP, 9H, 6ER, 4BB, 1K). Baker struck out the side in the bottom of the fifth. In the sixth, Span singled and was erased on Plouffe’s fielder’s choice. Plouffe stole second, went to third on (another) error by Lowrie and scored on another balk call. Angel Hernandez is ridiculous. How many times have you ever seen a balk called twice in one game? The bad umpiring is the least of the Sox’ woes as they’ve been outscored 20-2 in the last 15 innings. The best thing that could be said about this game was that it finished well before 10 o’clock, just another awful effort by the Hometown Nine.

Game 33 v. Minnesota (5/7/11):

On Saturday afternoon, the Sox looked to rebound after two dreadful outings. They sent Clay Buchholz to the hill against Brian Duensing. In the bottom of the first the Sox scored first as Ellsbury led off with a double, stole third and scored on Lowrie’s single to left. In the second, Scutaro and Pedroia teamed up for a very smart play where Scutaro made a diving stab of Rene Rivera’s grounder, and then flipped the ball to Pedroia, who leaned forward to get the force at second. Once again, the rain (thunder and lightning) returned with a vengeance in the third and there was a delay of over two hours. Kevin Slowey replaced Duensing in the third and the Sox scored again as Adrian Gonzalez hit a ground-rule double to right and scored on Youkilis’ base hit to left. Buchholz was finished after five and, considering the weather, had a good outing (5IP, 2H, 0ER, 1BB, 6K) before turning things over to Rich Hill. The bullpen (Hill, Albers and Bard) did a good job shutting down the Twins’ hitters through eight. In the bottom of the eighth with two outs, the Sox struck for a pair as Saltalamacchia singled, went to third of Crawford’s single and both came across on Ellsbury’s line drive base hit up the middle. Papelbon entered in the top of the ninth and shut things tight including strikeouts of Kubel and Cuddyer to end it.

Game 34 v. Minnesota (5/8/11):

Prior to the game the team announced that Marco Scutaro was placed on the DL with an oblique strain and Jose Iglesias was recalled from Pawtucket. Iglesias is a Cuban defector who is a wizard with the glove but his bat is not quite big league ready. It was a sunny but cool and windy afternoon at the ballyard as Daisuke (2-3, 4.33) started against Carl Pavano (2-3, 5.84). The Twins scored three runs in the first as Span singled leading off and stole second. Plouffe then walked and Kubel drove in Span with a pop fly single to left. With two outs and runners on second and third, Danny Valencia lined a base hit up the middle and both runners scored. Daisuke threw a ton of pitches in that inning. In the bottom of the second, Youkilis ripped a double down the line in left leading off, moved to third on Ortiz’ ground out and scored on Drew’s grounder to second. Crawford led off the third with a triple off the centerfield wall and scored on Varitek’s grounder to first. Ellsbury then reached on Plouffe’s fielding error at short. After Pedroia walked, Gonzalez knocked in Ellsbury with the tying run on a base hit up the middle. Youkilis then hit into a 6-4 force and Pedroia came across with the go-ahead run. After Ortiz singled, Youkilis then scored on Drew’s single to right. Valencia led off the fourth with a homer to left that hit the foul pole. The manager came out to argue and the umpires reviewed the call, which was upheld on replay. With one out in the fifth, Gonzalez lined a homer into the Monster Seats to give the Sox a 6-4 lead. Youkilis and Ortiz followed with singles and Youkilis scored when Casilla made a bad throw to first following Drew’s 6-4 force. Gonzalez singled off the wall to open the seventh, moved to second when Youkilis hit a smoking line drive to left that Ben Revere dropped and both later scored on Lowrie’s double off the wall in left to make it 9-4. The Twins pushed across a run in the eighth off of Albers when Plouffe hit a ground-rule double to short right and scored on Kubel’s single off the wall. Plouffe appeared to have pulled a leg muscle as he was limping noticeably as he crossed the plate. In the ninth, Iglesias entered the game filling in for Lowrie and Bard also entered and retired the side in order as the Sox came away with a pretty nice 9-5 win.

Game 35 v. Minnesota (5/9/11):

The series wrapped up on Monday night with Josh Beckett (2-1, 2.35) taking the hill against Nick Blackburn (2-4, 4.41). In other baseball news, the Mariners bid adieu to the “troubled” Milton Bradley along with Ryan Langerhans. Bradley has been a pain in the ass pretty much everywhere he’s been but as long as he was able to hit the ball he always had a willing employer. Right now, he’s batting .218 with a .669 OPS, so there may not be a bidding war for his services.

Speaking of batting struggles, the Little Guy is in a schrump, having gone 8 of his last 61 over the past 15 games and losing over 100 points in his average. There are a lot of pieces on this team that are still misfiring, though at 16-18, they’re still within hailing distance from the top of the AL East. It was cool, with a stiff wind blowing in to start the game. Beckett retired the side in order in the first on three fly ball outs. In the bottom of the second, Ben Revere made a fine diving catch off of Ortiz’ line drive to left and the Sox added two runners on base but Crawford flew out and Varitek struck out looking. Luke Hughes singled up the middle with one out in the third and Span followed with a walk. Tolbert then hit into a 3-6-3 twin killing and Beckett got out of that jam. Ellsbury led off the bottom of the third with a line drive single to center (18-game hitting streak). Drew doubled off the wall with one out in the fourth but Lowrie lined out to center and Crawford hit a weak grounder to second (5 LOB so far). As a light rain started to fall in the bottom of the fifth, Varitek doubled down the leftfield line leading off and scored on Gonzalez’ two-out single to left. Blackburn then struck out the side in the sixth. Cuddyer led off the seventh with a single to left but Revere hit into a 4-6-3 double play. After Varitek singled to right leading off the seventh, Denard Span made a great diving catch of Ellsbury’s short fly to center. Pedroia followed with a walk and that was the night for Blackburn. Glen Perkins entered in relief and got Gonzalez to ground into a double play. Alfredo Aceves entered in relief of Beckett, who had another great outing (7IP, 6H 0ER, 1BB, 5K). Span legged out an infield hit with one out. Aceves was charged with a balk and the manager came out to question the call but was not ejected (yet). Papelbon relieved Aceves with two outs and gave up a bloop single to Kubel with the tying run coming across. Perkins took a hard grounder from Ortiz on the back of his leg but was able to recover and throw out the runner. The Twins’ manager was tossed for arguing a strike two call with Joe West (this umpiring crew is a joke). The game moved on to extra innings and Okajima came on in relief of Papelbon. With one out, Hughes walked and Span reached on an infield single that bounced off of Okajima and rolled into foul territory. Okajima then struck out Tolbert and Casilla grounded out to third. Pedroia doubled to left with one out in the tenth and moved to third on Gonzalez’ grounder to second. Youkilis was given a free pass but the Mighty Papi grounded out to second and it was on to the 11th. Ortiz slammed down his helmet in frustration. The Sox were now 1-13 with RISP. Morneau singled up the middle leading off the 11th and Cuddyer walked with one out. Rene Tosoni ran for Morneau and moved to third on Revere’s 5-4 force but Okajima was able to get out of the jam by striking out Rene Rivera. Hoey relieved Mijares in the bottom of the 11th. With one out, Lowrie walked and was run for by Iglesias. Crawford then smoked a double off the wall and Iglesias raced around from first and barely made it home on a very close play at the plate. Sox win, 2-1!