Home Cookin’

Waiting On Irene

Game 131 v. Oakland (8/26/11):

After a big 6-2 road trip, the Sox opened a nine-game homestand starting with three with the A’s. In anticipation of the impending hurricane, the Sox scrubbed Sunday’s game and rescheduled it as part of a doubleheader on Saturday. Scott Atchison was recalled from Pawtucket and Ryan Lavarnway was sent back down (he’ll definitely be one of the September callups).

In Friday night’s opener, Tim Wakefield (6-5, 4.97) still looking for his 200th win started against lefthander Gio Gonzalez (10-11, 3.24). With the lefty going, Carl Crawford took a seat and Mike Aviles started in left. The Sox picked up a run in the bottom of the first as Ellsbury doubled to left leading off and scored on Gonzalez’ base hit up the middle. Brandon Allen doubled to left leading off the second and scored on David DeJesus’ base hit to right. DeJesus moved to second on a wild pitch and to third on Kurt Suzuki’s ground out. Cliff Pennington drove in DeJesus with a line drive single to right and the A’s took a 2-1 lead. Jemile Weeks (who doubled in the first) followed with a base hit into the hole at short. But Crisp lined out to short to end the inning. In the fourth, Suzuki walked and scored on Scott Sizemore’s bullet into the Monster Seats. With two outs, Weeks struck out but reached on a passed ball. Crisp then walked and both runners scored on Matsui’s double to center. Willingham then homered into the Monster Seats, and just like that, it was 8-1 A’s. Pedroia made it 8-2 leading off the bottom of the fourth by knocking one off the “Sports Authority” sign above the Monster Seats. Big Papi then went back-to-back by lining a fastball over the Red Sox bullpen. Atchison replaced Wake to open the fifth. The knuckleball fooled no one tonight (4IP, 8H, 8ER, 2BB, 3K). Ellsbury tripled off the wall leading off the bottom of the fifth and scored on Scutaro’s grounder to short. With one out in the sixth, Gonzalez walked Aviles and Saltalamacchia. After McDonald popped out, Gonzalez was replaced by lefty Brian Fuentes, who retired Ellsbury on a foul pop to third. With two outs in the seventh, Suzuki walked, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on Pennington’s double off the wall. In the bottom of the seventh, Pedroia walked with two outs and Ortiz followed with a double to right. Fuentes was then replaced by Grant Balfour, who struck out Lowrie. Matt Albers came on to pitch the eighth and gave up a double to Weeks to start things. With two outs, Albers walked Willingham and then Allen doubled to right, scoring Weeks with the A’s 10th run. DeJesus followed with a double to left and both runners scored. Suzuki then singled to center and DeJesus scored. Albers had to take one for the team at that point…until Darnell McDonald came on to pitch the ninth and walked the first two batters. With two outs, Willingham hit a double high off the wall and both runners scored. The Fenway Faithful gave McDonald a standing-o after he recorded the final out. In the bottom of the ninth, Scutaro and Pedroia hit back-to-back singles and Reddick followed with a double to right, scoring Scutaro. Seeing as the Yanks got clubbed in Baltimore tonight, this was a throwaway game.

Game 132 v. Oakland (8/27/11):

The plan for Saturday was to play one game at 12 and the second at 5. “The best laid plans”, as they say…At least the first game started as scheduled. Jon Lester (13-6, 3.16) started against Guillermo Moscoso (6-7, 3.28). The Sox picked up a run in the bottom of the first as Scutaro doubled to left and scored on Pedroia’s single. Brandon Allen tied the score leading off the second with a towering homer to left. But the Sox came back with three runs in the bottom half as Reddick walked and scored on Varitek’s two-run shot into the Sox’ bullpen. Aviles then reached on an infield hit and scored on Ellsbury’s double to the gap in left center. The A’s made it 4-2 in the third as Weeks reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second and third and scored on Coco Crisp’s sacrifice to center. But the Sox kept pounding Moscoso in the bottom of the third. Gonzalez doubled to center leading off and Pedroia walked. Ortiz then drove in both runners with a double off the wall in center and moved to third on a bad throw. Crawford then hit a sacrifice fly to left and Ortiz came in to make it 7-2. In the bottom of the fourth, Aviles reached on a bunt single, stole second and scored on Scutaro’s single to right. In the fifth, the Sox made it 9-2 as Ortiz doubled to right and scored on Varitek’s base hit to left. Around the seventh inning, there was a brief rain delay (0:45) and then, a much longer one (2:15). By then, Lester was through (6IP, 3H, 1ER, 2BB, 4K). Wheeler pitched a clean seventh and Michael Bowden (just recalled from Pawtucket today) came on to pitch the eighth. The Sox’ management allowed fans who had tickets for the second game to enter for the balance of this game but the stands were 90% empty. In the ninth, the A’s loaded the bases and scored a run but everyone was happy to get this one over and done with.

Game 133 v. Oakland (8/27/11):

In Saturday night’s game (that started about two hours later than scheduled), Erik Bedard started against rookie Graham Godfrey. It continued to rain somewhat heavily at game time but the Sox were determined to play this game (there are no remaining common days off for Oakland and the Sox). In the top of the second, Bedard walked DeJesus (four walks already!) leading off and then Jemile Weeks lined a double to right with two outs. But Bedard came back to strike out Crisp, leaving two runners in scoring position. In between innings, the grounds crew continually came out to groom the infield with drying agent. Pedroia doubled off the wall leading off the second and then Big Papi hit a big fly into the Monster Seats. The Sox manufactured a run in the fourth as Pedroia and Ortiz hit back-to-back singles and Pedroia scored on Saltalamacchia’s grounder to second. In the top of the fifth, conditions became unplayable (again) and the tarp came back out onto the field. After an hour delay, it was time to play ball once more. Bedard was finished after four and Aceves pitched a clean fifth. In the bottom of the sixth, the Sox picked up another run as Lowrie reached on Pennington’s fielding error and scored on Saltalamacchia’s double to left. DeJesus walked leading off the seventh but Aceves retired the next three batters. Aceves pitched three innings of stellar ball before turning things over to Bard in the eighth. Papelbon entered in the ninth and struck out the first two batters before Pennington flied out to center to mercifully end the day. Credit to both teams for playing through miserable conditions, but it was great for the Sox to dig deep and come away with the sweep.

…For some folks in Western New England, Irene provoked a lot of flooding and damage to homes, property and roads. Eastern New England was pretty much spared Irene’s wrath, save for some downed branches and power lines. We send our prayers and best wishes to those whose lives were impacted by the hurricane that the flooding ceases and they can get their lives back to normal.

Bring On Dem Yanks:

Game 134 v. NY Yankees (8/30/11):

The Sox were 1 ½ games up in the East as they hosted the Yanks for three games. In the opener, CC Sabathia started for New York against John Lackey. A-Rod was out of the Yanks’ lineup after having suffered a thumb injury. The Yanks manufactured a run in the second as Cano walked and Swisher singled with one out. Eric Chavez then singled up the middle (on a ball that Pedroia nearly got to) and Cano scored the game’s first run. In the bottom of the third, Scutaro was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double and then Ortiz struck out after Pedroia singled to left. Granderson led off the top of the fourth with a walk and scored on Cano’s double off the wall. After Swisher walked, Chavez ripped a single up the middle and Cano scored to make it 3-0. Posada then grounded into a double play (for the second time tonight) to end the inning. With one out in the bottom of the fourth, Carl Crawford launched a bomb over the visitor’s bullpen to put the Sox on the board. Saltalamacchia followed with a base hit up the middle and McDonald followed with a single to right. Scutaro then doubled down in the leftfield corner and Salty came across to make it 3-2. After a visit from the pitching coach, Sabathia came back to strike out Gonzalez. Francesco Cervelli led off the fifth with a towering homer to left to give the Yanks a 4-2 lead. By the bottom of the fifth, Sabathia was over 100 pitches and laboring. With one out, Ortiz singled to left and Lowrie followed with a stinging double down the line in left. But Crawford lined out to second and Salty struck out. That’s two straight innings in which the Sox stranded runners on second and third. In the sixth, Crawford made a nice leaping catch of Cano’s twisting fly to left. In the top of the seventh, Cervelli was hit by a pitch and took exception. The benches emptied and there was a lot of shouting back and forth but order was quickly restored (for now). The Yanks’ pitching coach was tossed for abusive language but that was all. Gardner followed with a bunt single, putting runners on the corners. Jeter then grounded into a double play and Cervelli came in the back door to make it 5-2. Sabathia was finished after six and turned things over to Cory Wade. After Wade walked Ortiz with one out, Lowrie followed with a single and Wade was replaced by Boone Logan. Crawford singled to left to load the bases, leaving it up to Saltalamacchia, who struck out. McDonald followed suit and the Sox left ‘em loaded. That’s 13 runners left on base tonight. You can’t win if you can’t execute with RISP. Franklin Morales came on to pitch the eighth. Lackey pitched fairly well tonight (7IP, 7H, 5ER, 4BB, 3K). Cano and Swisher hit back-to-back singles with one out and Matt Albers entered in relief of Morales. Rafael Soriano entered in the bottom of the eighth to face the top of the Sox’ order and walked Ellsbury. Soriano then retired the next three batters on harmless fly ball outs. Rivera came on to pitch the bottom of the ninth and Ortiz led off with a double down the line in right. Lowrie then struck out. Salty was hit on the forearm with a pitch. Girardi (spoiling for a fight) came out to argue that Salty swung and missed and was ejected for his trouble. It didn’t matter as Reddick (pinch hitting) lined out to left and the Yanks came away with the 5-2 win.

Game 135 v. NY Yankees (8/31/11):

After leaving 16 runners on base last night, the Sox looked to right the ship on Tuesday night. Josh Beckett (11-5, 2.43) took the mound against Phil Hughes (4-4, 6.46). That was an inexcusable display by the offense last night. It was another picture perfect night for baseball at Fenway, with temps in the low 70’s and a slight breeze. Gardner singled leading off and moved to second on Jeter’s sacrifice bunt. Beckett came back to strike out Granderson and Teixeira to end the inning. Eduardo Nunez doubled to left leading off the third, barely making it to the bag before Crawford’s throw. Nunez moved to third on Cervelli’s grounder to second. With two outs, Jeter hit a short pop to center that Ellsbury slid to catch but the ball slid off the fingers of his glove and Nunez scored the game’s first run. In the bottom of the third, Scutaro singled leading off and Ellsbury lined a double down the line in left. Pedroia grounded out to third and Scutaro came in the back door with the tying run. After Ortiz received a free pass, Lowrie lined a base hit to right and Ellsbury came in to make it 2-1. In the bottom of the fifth, Gonzalez singled and Ortiz launched a bomb to straightaway center, his 28th of the season. In the top of the sixth, Beckett hit Teixeira with a pitch to open the inning. Teixeira then moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on Cano’s double to left. Swisher followed with a walk and then Chavez tripled down the corner in right, the ball rolled past Reddick all the way to the bullpen wall as both runners scored and the game was tied. Nunez hit a sacrifice fly to center and Chavez came in with the go-ahead run. With one out in the bottom of the sixth, Reddick walked and came around to score when Varitek hit a double down the line in left. With two outs, Hughes was relieved by Boone Logan. Ellsbury then lined a two-run shot into the Monster Seats to give the Sox a 7-5 lead. Pedroia then reached (with a headfirst dive) on an infield hit and moved to second on a wild pitch. Beckett was through after seven (7IP, 6H, 5ER, 3BB, 8K) and turned things over to Daniel Bard. Scutaro made a nice pick and throw of Cano’s stinging grounder to short. Reddick hit a ground-rule double to left leading off the bottom of the eighth and Varitek followed by taking a fastball into the Sox bullpen. Papelbon entered in the top of the ninth and struck out two as the Sox impressively came back to win in a big offensive night.

Game 136 v. NY Yankees (9/1/11):

Hard to believe, but it’s September already. The kids have returned to school and the weather has been refreshingly beautiful. In the finale, Jon Lester (14-6, 3.09) started against A.J. Burnett (9-11, 5.31). Prior to the game, the Sox announced a couple of moves. First, they acquired 1B/OF Conor Jackson from Oakland for minor league pitcher Jason Rice. Then, Felix Doubront was recalled from Pawtucket. Both would be available for this game.

Burnett has been struggling of late (0-2, 21.60 last two starts) but he has pitched well against the Red Sox in the past (especially when he pitched for Toronto) so one never knows which Burnett will appear. The Yanks’ highly-touted prospect Jesus Montero made his major-league debut tonight. After Jeter struck out leading off, Granderson singled to right. Teixeira followed with a single to center that Ellsbury couldn’t track down and then Cano doubled off the wall, scoring Granderson with the game’s first run. Swisher then struck out by chasing after a curveball that wasn’t even in the strike zone. Andruw Jones followed with a walk to load the bases as Lester was already up to 40 pitches. Montero then struck out but Lester threw 43 pitches in that inning. In the top of the second, Jeter and Granderson hit back-to-back singles after two were out but Teixeira fouled out to third. Lester only used 12 pitches to get out of the inning. Through the first four, Lester was already up to 92 pitches. Gonzalez led off the bottom of the fourth with a ground-rule double to right. Pedroia then homered to center and the Sox took a 2-1 lead. Cano doubled into the triangle with one out in the fifth. But Lester was able to get out of the jam by retiring Swisher and Montero. Lester was finished after five and had a decent outing after having struggled to get out of that first inning (5IP, 7H, 1ER, 3BB, 6K). Alfredo Aceves came on in relief and got Nunez to ground into a double play. Jeter followed with a single to left and Granderson followed with a walk. Teixeira was then hit by a pitch. Cano grounded out to third and Aceves dodged a bullet. In the bottom of the sixth, Pedroia singled with one out and stole second. Ortiz then walked. Boone Logan then relieved Burnett (who did pitch quite well tonight). After Logan, struck out Crawford, Cory Wade entered in relief, and he retired Lowrie on a fly ball to center. Jones walked with one out in the seventh and was run for by Chris Dickerson. Aceves then hit Montero with a pitch. Bard then relieved Aceves and allowed a two-run double to Russell Martin and the Yanks took a 3-2 lead. Chavez (pinch hitting) singled to right and Martin scored to make it 4-2. Rafael Soriano entered in the bottom of the seventh and allowed a walk but struck out Scutaro to end the inning. Felix Doubront entered in relief for the Sox in the top of the eighth. Gardner led off with a walk, but was caught stealing in a rundown. Doubront then struck out the next two batters. David Robertson came on to pitch the bottom of the eighth and allowed a walk but got through the inning with no trouble. Rivera came on to pitch the bottom of the ninth and he loaded the bases on a walk and two singles with two outs. Gonzalez stepped to the plate with the chance to do some damage but…struck out looking. Gonzalez howled that the pitch was out of the zone, but it was a perfect pitch by the greatest closer in baseball history. That was that, as the game took about four and half hours to play in a typical Yankee-Red Sox rivalry game.

The Rangers Come To Fenway:

The Sox wrapped up the homestand with three games against Texas, so there was little time to lick their wounds over losing two out of three to the Yanks. The day’s theme in the media was the length of Red Sox-Yankees’ games, which on average run about a half of an hour longer than any other games in MLB. There were all sorts of suggestions from pundits and fans over the airwaves about how to shorten the length of games. Last night, it took Jon Lester 43 pitches and a half an hour just to get through the top of the first. Andruw Jones had several at-bats in which pitchers threw seven or eight pitches and he kept fouling them off. About the only thing that made sense was having the umpires enforce the “30 second rule” between pitches. Part of what makes Yankees-Red Sox games unique is the drama that unfolds as the game progresses, far more so than for example when the Sox play the likes of Kansas City. The games are usually close and one team either wins or loses as the result of one big inning. The Yanks won twice this week solely on the strength of one big inning. If people want to whine and complain about the length of the games, that’s their prerogative but rivalry games are unique and should be enjoyed as such. If Red Sox-Yankees’ games have historically taken about four hours to play, why is there now a pressing need to change the rules. If the umps choose to enforce a time limit between pitches, that’s fine but the rule should be consistently applied across the board.

Game 137 v. Texas (9/2/11):

Tonight’s game marked the 700th consecutive sellout at Fenway, a streak that dates to May 15, 2003. In the series opener, Andrew Miller (6-1, 4.40) had the tough task of facing lefty Derek Holland (12-5, 4.30). There was definitely a hint of fall in the air at Fenway tonight. Kevin Youkilis came off the DL and was back in the starting lineup. With the lefty going for the Rangers, Conor Jackson made his Red Sox debut, starting in left field. Miller walked Kinsler to start the ball game, and then walked Elvis Andrus. Miller then balked the runners into scoring position. With one out, Lowrie dove after Young’s grounder up the middle and couldn’t reach it; a run scored and Young was safe at first. Beltre then hit a sacrifice fly to center and Andrus came in to make it 2-0. Ellsbury singled to right leading off the bottom of the first, but was picked off in a rundown. Yorvit Torrealba reached on an infield hit leading off the second. David Murphy then singled to right. Gentry then bunted over both runners into scoring position. Ian Kinsler then hit a three-run blast into the Monster Seats and the Rangers took a 5-0 lead. Miller tried to sneak a fastball past Kinsler but it hung out over the plate and Kinsler crushed it. After Miller walked Andrus, the manager dialed up the bullpen. Hamilton then singled up the middle. Miller then issued another walk and that was that (“what a DISASTAH!”). Michael Bowden entered in relief. With two outs, Bowden walked in a run and it was 6-0. Beltre knocked in another run with two outs in the fourth. With Matt Albers pitching in the fifth, Murphy tagged a long fly into the Rangers’ bullpen to make it 8-0. Boom! With two outs and a runner on first, Elvis Andrus then launched a two-run bomb into the Monster Seats and it was 10-0. Thankfully, there was no further scoring. Since this game was played in about three hours, there were no complaints about the length of the game…

Game 138 v. Texas (9/3/11):

On Saturday afternoon, Erik Bedard started against Colby Lewis, who was hammered by the Sox not long ago. The Sox loaded the bases in the bottom of the first but Lowrie lined out to second to kill that threat. In the second, Beltre walked and later scored on Murphy’s base hit to center. In the third, Kinsler and Andrus walked leading off and both runners scored on Young’s single and Beltre’s ground out. Those walks really came back to bite Bedard. In the bottom of the third, Gonzalez and Ortiz both singled to right with two outs. Lowrie then lined a base hit up the middle and Gonzalez scored to make it 3-1. Crawford then struck out with runners on the corners. That’s 6 LOB’s so far. Torrealba doubled off the wall leading off the fourth. With Torrealba on third, Gentry hit a pop bunt to Gonzalez that was turned into a double play. In the bottom of the fourth, Reddick singled to left leading off and came around to score on Saltalamacchia’s two-run homer to deep right. With one out, Pedroia singled to left and moved to second on a passed ball. Gonzalez then received a free pass and both runners advanced on another passed ball. Ortiz was intentionally walked to load the bases. Mike Aviles hit for Lowrie and drove in Pedroia with a base hit to right. Crawford then hit a grand slam to make it 8-3, Sox. Reddick and Saltalamacchia followed with back-to-back singles. Ellsbury then reached on an infield hit, with Reddick coming across with the Sox’ eighth run of the inning. In the bottom of the sixth, the Sox loaded the bases as Crawford doubled to center, Reddick singled to right and Ellsbury walked. Everybody came around to score when Pedroia hit a long double off the wall in center to make it 12-3. With Dan Wheeler pitching in the top of the eighth, Andrus doubled off the wall and scored on Hamilton’s single to right. After Young singled, Beltre drove in Hamilton with a single to left. Napoli then hit a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Young to make it 12-6. Franklin Morales replaced Wheeler after two were out and he retired Murphy on an infield pop. Esteban German hit a solo homer over the Monster Seats leading off the ninth. Hamilton singled and was (sort of) picked off first to end the ballgame. A replay indicated that Conor Jackson’s sweep tag missed the mark. The umpires must’ve made early dinner reservations…

Game 139 v. Texas (9/4/11):

The Sox were pummeled 11-4 in the series finale. John Lackey started against Matt Harrison. After scoring single runs in the second and third, the Rangers blew the game wide open in the sixth, scoring seven runs, capped off by Josh Hamilton’s bases loaded triple. Lackey lasted into the sixth when the roof caved in (5+IP, 8H, 6ER, 3BB, 1K). Felix Doubront came on in relief and was shelled. By the time he departed it was 9-0 and the game was long over. The Sox picked up a pair of meaningless runs in the seventh and eighth. In the ninth, Napoli and Kinsler each hit towering solo shots off of Michael Bowden to account for the 11-4 final. With this loss and the Yanks’ sweep of Toronto, the Sox fell 1 ½ games back in the AL East. What a depressing way to end the homestand.