July 26, 2008
Sox Rally Late, Can't hang on in 10th
New York 8, Boston 6 (10)
After falling behind 3-0, it looked like another Red Sox loss were the offense never got itself started. Instead, the Sox bats woke up for six runs off of the Yankees only to see the bullpen collapse as New York rallied back to take the first two of the tree game series to pull within 3.5 games.
Dan Giese was strong again against the Sox. After pitching the Yankees to a 8-1 win earlier in the month at Yankee Stadium, Giese held the Sox to just two runs over six innings, before turning the game over to the bullpen.
In the seventh, the Red Sox ran five straight singles through the Yankee infield, to tie the game at three. With the bases loaded and Russ Ohlendorf on the mound, newly aquired Rafael Furcal grounded into a fielder's choice, picking up the go-ahead RBI. Jose Veras relieved Ohlendorf and allowed a two run single to David Ortiz before retiring Manny Ramirez on a double play to end the inning.
With the Sox holding onto a three run lead, manager Terry Francona turned the game over to his struggling bullpen. Justin Masterson was the first to enter the game, fresh off a callup from Pawtucket to fill Jonathan Papelbon's roster spot. After a pair of doubles cut the lead down to 6-4, Masterson managed to get Alex Rodriguez to fly out weakly to center before a single by Wilson Betemit brought New York back within one run.
Hideki Okajima came out of the 'pen next, walking the first batter he faced, Bobby Abreau, to load the bases for New York. Robinson Cano followed, but all he could muster was a weak pop up behind the plate that jason Varitek managed to corral for the second out. Okajima, however, wasn't as successful with Jason Giambi, walking the slugging lefty on four pitches to tie the ballgame at six. Jason Lane followed, but struck out looking to end the rally.
With Okajima out of the game, the Sox turned to Bryan Corey to start the 10th after the teams swapped 1-2-3 halves of the ninth. After a single to Betemit was followed by a double from Abreau, Francona called upon Javier Lopez, his fourth reliever of the night. Lopez pitched well, managing to keep the ball from leaving the infield, but a pair of groundouts by Cano and pinch hitter Austin Jackson were enough to put the Yankees ahead by two.
In the bottom of the tenth, Mariano Rivera worked his second perfect inning of relief to secure the victory for New York.
Jon Lester, who did not factor into the decision for the Sox, pitched seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out 10. The game marked the eighth time in ten starts that Lester has pitched at least seven innings. In addition, his ten strikeouts were a season high after not striking out a single batter in suffering the loss last time out against Seattle.
W: Rivera (1-4) L: Corey (1-2)
Player of the Game: Wilson Betemit (3-5, 2B, 2 Rs, RBI, BB)
Around the League:
...Boston signed CF Andruw Jones to a one-year, $1m contract...Boston traded SS Oscar Tejada, RF Brandon Moss, C Jonathan Still, 1B Bill Rowell, and 3B rob Mackowiak to Los Angeles for SS Rafael Furcal and C Carlos Santana...Tampa Bay traded SP David Price and $650k in cash to the Florida Marlins in exchange for 2B Chris Coghlan and 2B James Guerrero...San Francisco traded SP Kevin Correia to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for 1B Josh Rodriguez...Seattle released SP Eric Cyr...
Revs Bounce Back Against Dynamo
Despite playing the second half a man down after Jack Jewsbury was sent off in the 48th minute, the Revolution bounced back from their loss to Chivas by defeating Houston 2-1 on a late goal by substitute Khano Smith in the 81st minute.
Wells Thompson opened the scoring in the 30th minute, taking a rebound from a corner kick and depositing it into the net to put New England ahead 1-0.
"We played down a few guys tonight, which we weren't happy about," coach Steve Nicols said afterwards. "We have depth for a reason and being able to pull Khano and Sainey off our bench is a great option."
In a rare double carding, Jewsbury was sent off in the 48th minute after arguing a hard tackle by Thompson that resulted in a yellow card for the youngster. With Jewsbury (red card) out and Thompson (fifth yellow card) pulled for disciplinary reasons by Nicols, the Revolution pulled back into a defensive 4-3-3-1 formation to compensate.
After watching Houston tie the game in the 52nd minute, New England controled the flow of action for most of the second half, working the sidelines until Smith found a seem in the Dynamo defense late in the match. Working a give-and-go with Marshall Leonard, Smith broke in on Zack Wells and put the ball over the keeper to put the Revs ahead for good.
Thompson and Jewsbury will miss the next match for the Revolution after earning a mandatory one-game ban for their actions. The MLS disciplinary committee will meet soon to consider extending the ban on Jewsbury. The Revolution has decided to fine the midfielder one week's wages for the incident.
Bruins Complete Free Agent Shopping
Running out of roster spaces and cap room, the Bruins appear poised to enter training camp with their current roster, GM Peter Chiarelli said.
"We've added enough guys now, that it would be overkill to add more pieces."
The Bruins were still reported looking at signing Phoenix sniper Oleg Snapyrin and restricted free-agent goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, but interested has diminished as their roster has filled up.
"We want the guys we have to have a chance to prove themselves in camp. We have enough depth with the guys coming up from Providence like Bourque, Albert and Boyes to show themselves ready. The coaching staff has been great down there developing guys and now its time to prove themselves."
Prominent free agents still available include Saprykin, Scott Gomez, Joe Thornton, Nicklas Lidstrom, Marian Hossa, Paul Kariya and Jaromir Jagr. All are likely out of the Bruins price range at this point.