May 23, 2008
Oakland 5, Boston 2
The easy excuse wold be jet lag. Crossing the country after playing a night game the night before in Boston gives the Red Sox convenient cover for dropping a winable game against the A's.
Leading 2-1 in the sixth inning, manager Terry Francona made one of his mistakes this season when he left Tim Wakefield in to face Bobby Crosby. With the bases loaded, Wakefield's patented knuckleball did quite knuckle enough and Crosby easily desposited the ball into the stands for a grand slam.
"When it left my hand, I knew it was trouble," Wakefield said after the game. "I thought I had enough to get through Crosby and end the inning, but when it stayed over the middle, I knew it was trouble, just didn't see him putting it that far."
Brandon Moss had put the Sox ahead in the top of the 5th with his second home run of the season, a two run shot off Oakland starter Shigeki Noguchi.
W: Noguchi (5-1) L: Wakefield (7-1) SV: Street (8)
Player of the Game: Bobby Crosby (1-4, HR, 4 RBIs)
Around the League:
...Baltimore released SP Matt Albers (9GS, 2-3, 5.36 ERA, 1.49 WHIP w/ Norfolk) and SP Steve Trachsel (6 GS, 0-4, 8.04 ERA, 2.18 WHIP)...Chicago White Sox SP Joe Saunders (6 GS, 2-1, 6.00 ERA w/ CHA) was placed on the 60-day DL with a torn back muscle. He is expected to miss 2-3 months...Geovany Soto (CHN) hit three home runs against the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 10-5 victory...