August 1, 2008
Sox Rally Late, Take Opener from A's
Boston 4, Oakland 2
Manny Delcarmen couldn't keep the runner he inhereted from Jon Lester from scoring, but the Sox offense rallied back in the seventh to secure a 4-2 victory over the Athletics to take the opener of the three game series.
"I wouldn't go calling these must wins just yet," manager Terry Francona said, "but, with New York right behind us, every game takes on a higher sense of importance. Oakland is no team to overlook."
The Sox fell behind early in the second when Travis Buck lined a double down the left field line that score Rob Bowen from first with the game's first run. Lester was able to strand Buck at second with a pair of strikeouts by Danny Murphy and Rob Robnett. After not striking out a batter against Seattle, Lester has combined to strike out nineteen in his last two outings.
In the fourth, with one out, David Ortiz doubled to right-center for the first Red Sox hit of the game. After advancing to third on a Manny Ramirez ground out, Oritz scored one batter later on a single by J.D. Drew. A walk to Mike Lowell loaded the bases for Boston, but Dustin Pedroia grounded weakly to second to end the Sox threat.
In the fifth, Coco Crisp and Rafael Furcal hit back-to-back doubles to put the Sox ahead 2-1.
Lester, seeking his tenth win of the season for the sixth time, left in the sixth after retiring one batter with a runner on second. Manny Delcarmen relieved Lester and subsequently allowed the A's to tie the ball-game on a ground out and an infield single by pinch hitter Matt Murton.
In the eighth, the Red Sox rallied back to take the lead for good. Jason Varitek led off the inning with a single against Oakland starter Nick Blackburn. Coco Crisp followed with a single, moving Julio Lugo, who pinch ran for Varitek to third, with no outs. Rafael Furcal grounded into a fielder's choice to score Lugo before stealing second himself and scoring the insurance run on a double by David Ortiz. After an intentional walk to Manny Ramirez, Blackburn gave way to Alan Embree, who was able to induce a double play from Kevin Youkilis to end the rally.
Brian Wilson came on in the ninth to record his first save in a Red Sox uniform after being acquired from San Francisco to bolster the Sox bullpen in Jonathan Papelbon's absence.
W: Delcarmen (5-3) L: Blackburn (6-12) SV: Wilson (22)
Player of the Game: Jon Lester (6.1 IP, 4 Hs, 2 Rs, 2 BBs, 9 Ks, 100 PI)
Around the League:
...Mark Grudzielanek hit his 2,000 career hit in Kansas City's 15-14 win over Chicago...Detroit's Magglio Ordonez (.438, 5 HRs, 23 RBIs) was named July's AL Player of the Month. Ryan Howard (.342, 10 HRs, 19 RBIs, 18 Rs) won the award in the NL...Mariano Rivera (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 10 SVs, 12 K's, 13 IP, .143 oavg) of the New York Yankees was named AL Pitcher of the Month for July...The National League named Brad Penny (6 GS, 4-0, 3.44 ERA, 36.2 IP, 28 Ks) was named Pitcher of the Month...
Wizards Drop Shorthanded Revolution
Kansas City 3, New England 1
With four regulars out of action, the Revolution traveled to Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City for a key matchup of two Eastern Conference powers in the MLS.
The most glaring absence was leading scorer Edson Buddle, who has found a strong rhythm with Taylor Twellman up front for the Revs. Joining Buddle on the sideline were Jack Jewsbury and Wells Thompson due to red card suspensions and Gabriel Ferrari, who was on international duty.
The Revolution fell behind early after a quick score by Wizards' forward Ryan Pore in the fifth minute. Amir Lowery followed with a redirect on a corner kick to put Kansas city ahead 2-0 after 31 minutes.
Khano Smith scored his fourth goal of the season in the 57 minute to pull the Revolution within one, but a qucik strike from Carlos Marinelli put the gaol difference back up to two for the Revs.
The loss dropped the Revoluton (10-3-5) four points behind the Wizards (12-1-5) for first place in the Eastern Conference.