A Rust Belt Road Trip

After a very productive homestand, the Sox hit the road with stops in Cleveland and Detroit. The Sox were humbled by the Tribe in early April and were looking to put a more competitive product on the field. The Indians remain atop the AL Central at 29-15, a full seven games ahead of the Tigers while the Sox are 25-21, ½ game behind the Yanks and Rays. So far, the Tribe has carried over their early season success but have been beset by injuries of late (Hafner and Sizemore). Prior to Monday’s game there were reports in the media that Daisuke would be consulting a Japanese doctor as it was feared that he may require “Tommy John” surgery on his pitching elbow. If he goes that route, it may be the last that Red Sox fans see of Daisuke as it’s a 12-18 month recovery and next year is the final year of his contract.

Game 47 at Cleveland (5/23/11):

In Monday night’s opener, Clay Buchholz (4-3, 3.42) started against for Sox righty Justin Masterson (5-2, 2.52), who has really blossomed after having been traded in 2009 for Victor Martinez. The rain followed the Red Sox to Cleveland as the tarp remained on the field just prior to the 7:00 start. There was a delay of about an hour as the teams tried to get some baseball in before another front was scheduled to move in. There were more folks in the stands than the last time the Sox visited Cleveland. Still, the park was 60% empty. Masterson breezed through the top of the first. With one out in the bottom half, Asdrubal Cabrera lined a comebacker off of Buchholz reached on an infield hit. Youkilis was hit by a pitch to lead off the second but Ortiz grounded into a double play. The Sox went ahead in the third as Crawford reached on an infield single, Ellsbury was hit by a pitch with two outs and Pedroia singled to right. After Kearns walked leading off the bottom half, Lou Marson missed extra bases by less than a foot as his liner to right went just foul. Instead he grounded into a double play. Asdrubal Cabrera then homered leading off the bottom of the fourth. Carl Crawford put the Sox back on top with a long solo homer to right in the fifth. Jack Hannahan walked leading off the bottom half but was thrown out trying to steal second. Kearns then doubled off the wall in right center but Marson then grounded out to first. Buchholz dodged a bullet there. A light rain began to fall in the sixth and the umps called for the tarp before abruptly changing their minds. Meanwhile, the rain picked up in intensity. In the eighth, Ellsbury reached on a 3-1 play in which Masterson failed to touch the bag with his foot (not once, but twice). The Indians’ manager came out to vociferously argue the safe call and was tossed for his trouble. It didn’t matter as Ellsbury was thrown out at second trying to steal. Pedroia followed with a walk and Masterson was lifted at that point. Lefty Rafael Perez entered in relief and Gonzalez responded with a line drive single to right. On the play, Pedroia stumbled going over second base and suffered a left leg or foot injury and had to be removed from the game. Joe Smith then came on in relief and got Youkilis to fly out to center. Drew Sutton replaced Pedroia at second. Hopefully, Pedroia did not aggravate the broken foot he suffered last year. Hannahan led off the eighth with a single to right. Adam Everett came on as a pinch runner. With one out, Buchholz was relieved by Bard. With two outs, Brantley singled to right and Everett scored the tying run. Asdrubal Cabrera then doubled off the wall and Brantley scored the go-ahead run. So, another poor outing by Bard cost the Sox the lead and he was yanked in favor of Rich Hill. Cabrera then stole third. Hill struck out Choo but the damage was done. Chris Perez entered in the ninth. Drew singled with one out and Lowrie followed with a line drive single to right, putting runners on the corners but Crawford grounded into a 4-6-3 to end it. That was a tough loss to swallow, but the Yanks and Rays both loss so the standings didn’t change. The primary concern was Pedroia’s well-being.

Game 48 at Cleveland (5/24/11):

After last night’s depressing result, the word on Pedroia was more encouraging. He was previously scheduled for a day off and should be ready to go by Wednesday. Josh Beckett (3-1, 1.73) got the start against Fausto Carmona (3-4, 4.76). On April 7th, Carmona completely shut the Sox’ hitters down, going seven strong innings allowing only two hits in a 1-0 Indians’ win. Since then, the outlook for the Sox has improved significantly but the Tribe has continued to steamroll the opposition. The alleged attendance for last night’s game was 19,225. Somehow, you’d hope that the Cleveland fans would turn out in greater numbers for a team that’s played lights-out baseball so far. Carmona blew through the top of the first with no problems. With one out in the second, Ortiz ripped a double to the gap in right-center. Drew then reached on a fielder’s choice when Ortiz recklessly broke for third and was caught in a rundown. In the bottom of the second, Buck singled and Beckett hit Orlando Cabrera off the top of the head with a curveball. With two outs, Asdrubal Cabrera singled up the middle and Buck came across with the game’s first run. On the play, Orlando Cabrera was thrown out at third. In the third, Crawford was hit by a pitch as payback to lead things off and then he promptly stole second and made it to third on Drew Sutton’s ground out. After Ellsbury walked, Lowrie hit a long sacrifice fly to center and Crawford came in with the tying run. Ellsbury then stole second and scored on Gonzalez’ line-drive double to right. Carlos Santana walked leading off the bottom of the fourth. After Santana was erased on a 4-6 force, Varitek threw out Buck trying to steal second. LaPorta singled leading off the bottom of the fifth. With one out, Ezequiel Carrera lined out to the left-center gap and LaPorta was doubled up. Ellsbury did a nice job tracking the ball down and firing back to first. Ortiz hit his second double of the night leading off the seventh. With one out, Varitek hit his first homer of the year, a line drive down the line in right that sailed over the wall to give the Sox a 4-1 lead. With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Orlando Cabrera walked and LaPorta hit a hard single down the third base line with Cabrera taking third. At that point, Beckett (over 100 pitches) was relieved by Rich Hill, who struck out Hannahan looking. Beckett had another outstanding night (6⅔IP, 5H, 1ER, 3BB, 6K. 111P). Shelley Duncan pinch hit for Carrera leading off the eighth and walked. He advanced to second on a wild pitch. Brantley then hit a pop fly to center on which Ellsbury and Crawford nearly collided before Crawford made the catch (that was a close call). After Youkilis singled leading off the ninth, Carmona was relieved by Rafael Perez. Ortiz reached on Cabrera’s fielding error trying to turn the double play with Youkilis safe at second. McDonald pinch ran for Ortiz and both runners moved along on Drew’s grounder to first. Varitek then walked to load the bases. But Crawford hit into a 1-2 force and Sutton struck out looking. With one out in the bottom of the ninth and Papelbon on the mound, Travis Buck hit a line drive homer to right. With two outs, LaPorta rocked a drive to deep left that Crawford hauled in on the warning track and the Sox came away with a 4-2 win.

Game 49 at Cleveland (5/25/11):

In Wednesday afternoon’s finale, Jon Lester (6-1, 3.68) took the hill against Mitch Talbot (1-0, 1.46). Talbot pitched very well against the Sox in April, only to hit the DL after his next start. A very good crowd turned out at f/k/a “The Jake” on a warm and sunny afternoon. Youkilis and Drew were scratched from the lineup with nagging injuries and Sutton and Cameron took their places. Pedroia also returned to the lineup after missing Tuesday night’s game. Ellsbury led off the ballgame with a single up the middle and stole second. Pedroia followed with a two-run homer to left. Talbot left a fastball over the plate and Pedroia crushed it. Gonzalez then singled up the middle and Ortiz followed with a comebacker infield single. After Lowrie reached on a 4-6 force, Crawford lined a singled to center driving in Gonzalez. Saltalamacchia then singled to right and Choo bobbled the ball with Lowrie coming across to score to make it 4-0. Mike Cameron hit a sacrifice fly to left and Crawford came in with the fifth run. Drew Sutton followed with a bloop single to center and Saltalamacchia scored. Ellsbury then lined a base hit to center. Pedroia singled to left, scoring Sutton to make it 7-0. So, the Sox hung a BIG UGLY CROOKED NUMBER up on the board that sort of makes up for Saturday night’s meltdown against the Cubs. Lester allowed a pair of singles with two outs in the bottom of the first before striking out LaPorta. Crawford doubled to the right-center gap with two outs in the second before Cameron struck out. Sutton led off the third with a double to left and scored on Gonzalez’ line drive single to right. Talbot was finished after three and Crawford immediately greeted (Harvard’s Own) Frank Herrmann with a long homer to right leading off the fourth to make it 9-0. Ortiz led off the sixth with a bomb to right to push the lead into double digits. His homer nearly reached the second level, what a bomb! After Lowrie walked, Crawford doubled to the gap in left-center and everybody came home on Saltalamacchia’s three-run shot to right. Mike Cameron followed with a double off the wall. After Chad Durbin replaced Herrmann, Ellsbury doubled to center, scoring Cameron and the Sox were ahead by two touchdowns. Lester was finished after six and had another tremendous outing (6IP, 3H, 0ER, 0BB, 7K). After Dan Wheeler pitched a fairly clean seventh, Franklin (“Is It Safe?”) Morales entered in the bottom of the eighth. The Indians scored a pair of runs with two outs when Shelley Duncan blooped a single to left with runners on scoring position. Atchison entered in the ninth, hit a batter but got through otherwise unscathed and the Sox came away with a 14-2 win. In the past week, the Sox have been in three outliers but it’s always nice to be on the positive side of the equation.

Four In Motown:

Game 50 at Detroit (5/26/11):

That was a really tough break for Giants’ catcher Buster Posey last night, who suffered a broken leg and ligament damage when the Marlins’ Scott Cousins crashed the plate last night. It was a gruesome injury that only needed to be seen once to reveal the impact. Posey is done for the year and his absence will really hurt the Giants’ playoff chances this year. We send our best wishes for a full recovery to one of baseball’s bright young stars.

Prior to Thursday’s game, Darnell McDonald was placed on the DL a sore left quad and Josh Reddick was recalled from Pawtucket. Drew was still nursing a sore hamstring so Reddick was put in the starting lineup. Alfredo Aceves (1-0, 2.42) got the start against tough young righty Max Scherzer (6-1, 2.98).

Scherzer wasn’t too sharp to open the game as Ellsbury walked on four pitches. After retiring the next three batters to retire the side in the first, the roof caved in on Scherzer in the second. Ortiz singled to left leading off and Crawford followed with a single to right. Sutton then doubled to the gap in right-center and Ortiz scored the game’s first run. Josh Reddick then line a base hit up the middle and Crawford came in. With one out, Ellsbury hit a line-drive shot over the wall in right and the Sox were up 5-0. In the third, the Sox scored two more runs as Youkilis singled leading off and Ortiz walked. Crawford (en fuego) then rocked a triple to center and it was 7-0 Sox. Scherzer was finished after three as Jim Leyland turned to Adam Wilk to get some outs. The Tigers pushed across a run in the bottom of the fourth when Boesch was hit by a pit leading off and scored on Avila’s single with two outs. Wilk pitched pretty well before Reddick and Varitek each singled to open the sixth. With two outs, Gonzalez reached on the second baseman Sizemore’s fielding error and Reddick came across to make it 8-1. By then, the rain started to fall, and it was a persistent heavy rain that caused puddles to form in the infield yet the umps did not call for the tarp. With Ryan Perry pitching in the top of the seventh, the Sox tacked on another run as Ortiz launched a double to the deepest part of the ballpark (450') and scored on Crawford’s second triple of the day. Aceves was finished after six and had a very good outing (6IP, 5H, 1ER, 2BB, 6K). Matt Albers entered in the bottom of the seventh and made a great (and very fortunate) catch of Kelly’s wicked liner back to the box. Albers instinctively held up his glove near his head and somehow caught the ball. He was one lucky dude on that play. The Sox scored five more runs during the top of the eighth in a pouring rain as Ellsbury walked leading off and scored on Pedroia’s line drive double to left (10-1). Gonzalez then singled up the middle and Pedroia scored (11-1). With two outs, Crawford singled putting runners on the corners. Drew Sutton then doubled in Gonzalez (12-1) and Reddick hit a line drive single to right bringing in Crawford and Sutton (14-1). By the bottom of the eighth the condition of the infield was unplayable and the ump called for the tarp. Why on earth did he wait so long? The good news was that they waited less than an hour to pull the plug on this one. The Tigers weren’t going to mount an epic comeback anyhow, at least not on this day.

Game 51 at Detroit (5/27/11):

After winning the last two in blowout fashion, the Sox would face a buzzsaw on the mound in Rick Porcello (4-2, 3.08), so runs would most likely be at a premium on Friday night at Comerica. The Sox responded with Tim Wakefield (1-1, 4.50). Wake pitched very well on Sunday night against the Cubs but one never knows with the knuckleball. Prior to the game, the Tigers traded 2B Scott Sizemore to the A’s for lefty reliever David Purcey, who was lights out with Toronto last year.

Ellsbury singled to right leading off, stole second, advanced to third on a ground out and scored on a wild pitch. Austin Jackson singled to left leading off the bottom of the first and promptly stole second. With two outs, Miggy Cabrera lined a base hit up the middle and Jackson came across with the tying run. Victor Martinez elected to bat righthanded against Wake and hit a weak grounder back to the box. With one out in the bottom of the second, Jhonny Peralta took a knuckleball over the wall to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead. Leading off the third, Ellsbury hit a line drive homer to right. Pedroia then walked and Gonzalez bounced a base hit up the middle. Youkilis then ripped a double to the gap in right-center that bounced off the wall, scoring two runs and giving the Sox a 4-2 lead. With one out, Crawford belted a long homer to right and the Sox were ahead 6-2. Jackson walked leading off the bottom of the third and moved to second on a wild pitch. Leyland pulled the plug on Porcello after only three innings (75 pitches) and turned things over to hard throwing lefty Charlie Furbush, who pitched three solid innings of relief, allowing only two hits while striking out three. With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Ellsbury made a great diving catch of Avila’s line drive to the gap. Wake was finished after seven and had a remarkably efficient night’s work (7IP, 5H, 2ER, 2BB, 2K, 83P). Daniel Bard entered in the bottom of the eighth and retired the side in order. Daniel Schlereth entered in relief of Furbush in the top of the ninth and allowed a single to Pedroia but otherwise got through the inning thanks to the home plate umpire’s rapidly expanding strike zone. Papelbon entered in the bottom of the ninth and allowed a single to V-Mart leading off. Peralta followed with a double to the gap in right-center and Martinez scored all the way from first. With two outs, Papelbon struck out Inge and the Sox came away with another victory. Between Aceves and Wakefield, both pitchers have stepped up big-time to fill the void created by the injuries to Lackey and Daisuke.

Game 52 at Detroit (5/28/11):

On Saturday night in Motown, Clay Buchholz (4-3, 3.30) got the call against lefthander Andy Oliver (season debut). With the lefty going for the Tigers, Mike Cameron started in right and was plugged into the eight-hole. Buchholz pitched seven shutout innings against the Tigers on May 18th. There was a rain delay to start things as a large green and yellow radar blob was seen hovering around Detroit and its environs so, it appeared as if there’d be a rather lengthy wait. This is the Sox’ only visit to Detroit this year (and the Tigers have already endured a number of rainouts in the last two weeks) so, they have to scramble to get in the last two games this weekend. That blob just got bigger and uglier, so after waiting an hour and a half, the game was postponed and they’ll play a day/night doubleheader tomorrow…

…on to Sunday afternoon (5/29), where threatening skies and a big crowd greeted the teams. It was hot and humid in Detroit with more rain in the forecast. Prior to the game, Micahel Bowen was recalled from Pawtucket and Franklin Morales was placed on the DL with a “forearm strain”.

Ellsbury led off the game with a double to center, stole third and scored on Gonzalez’ sacrifice fly to center. The Sox ended up the inning with runners on second and third before Crawford hit a soft pop to short. Mike Cameron homered with one out in the second to put the Sox up by a pair. Pedroia then led off the third with a homer to left and things were looking good. Buchholz was strong in the early going but began to falter in the middle innings. Andy Dirks led off the bottom of the fourth with a homer to right. In the bottom of the sixth, Boesch hit a towering homer to right to make it 3-2 as Buchholz was really struggling at that point, prompting a visit at the mound by the manager and trainer. Miggy Cabrera followed with a double and scored the tying run on Jhonny Peralta’s base hit up the middle. Buchholz was finished after six (6IP, 6H, 3ER, 1BB, 3K) and turned things over to Matt Albers. Buchholz later complained of having a cranky back and a toe blister. The newly-acquired David Purcey entered in the top of the seventh and retired the Sox hitters in order. Albers pitched a great seventh and eighth, setting the stage for Big Papi’s heroics in the ninth. With Jose Valverde now pitching and one out, Ortiz was sent up to pinch hit for Saltalamacchia. Ortiz worked Valverde to a full count before stroking a fastball over the wall in right center to put the Sox up 4-3! Papelbon entered in the bottom of the ninth and mowed down the side in order, including a swinging strike three of Rayburn to end it. But it was the work of Matt Albers that was key to the victory.

Game 53 at Detroit (5/29/11):

This was the scheduled makeup game of Saturday night’s rain out. Josh Beckett (4-1, 1.69) was scheduled to start against the Tigers’ ace, Justin Verlander (4-3, 3.42). Unfortunately, another ugly green radar blob (with yellows and reds) was rapidly approaching the greater Detroit area in the minutes leading up to the game. The skies looked ominous and the tarp was on the field prior to the scheduled start and the conditions for playing the game appeared to be dicey. Neither team really wanted to reschedule this game for a later date as the Tigers already have a number of rainout dates stacked up already and that can wreak havoc on a team’s bullpen. After a delay of about an hour, they rolled up the tarp and decided to play some ball.

The Tigers scored a pair in the bottom of the first as Dirks walked with one out and scored on Boesch’s double to right. Cabrera followed with a single to right and Boesch scored. Beckett was already up to 48 pitches after two innings, while Verlander cruised through the first two, allowing only a leadoff single to Ellsbury. Through five, Verlander had limited the Sox batters to only two hits. Varitek doubled down the line in right with one out in the sixth before Ellsbury flied out to center and Pedroia flied out to deep right. Beckett was done after six (6IP, 5H, 2ER, 5BB, 5K) and turned things over to Rich Hill. Beckett was not exceptionally sharp tonight as his five walks were a season high. The Sox put a pair of runners aboard with two outs in the eighth before Verlander was relieved by Benoit. Pedroia followed with a weak pop fly to left. Atchison relieved Hill and Cabrera doubled to center leading off the bottom of the eighth when Ellsbury attempted to make a diving catch and the ball bounced short and past him. Kelly followed with a base hit up the middle and Cabrera scored the Tigers’ third run. Jose Valverde entered in the ninth to close things out and blew away Youkilis and getting Ortiz to ground out 3-1 to end it. Verlander was outstanding on this night and put the Sox’ bats into a deep sleep.

Still, it was a 5-2 week on the road and the Sox would be more than happy to take that every time.