Bring on the Yankees! Big win for Boston sets tone for weekend series
April 15, 2004 * Boston Globe
Tomorrow evening the Evil Empire will meet the Rebel Alliance for the first time this season.
But don't think the Boston Red Sox were caught looking ahead to their first meeting with the New York Yankees. The Sox played some of their best baseball of the season early today in beating the Baltimore Orioles 12-2.
The win lifted Boston to 6-4 on the season going into the weekend's four-game set with the Yanks. Boston also beat the Orioles yesterday 6-5, a nice rebound after losing the series opener two days ago 5-3.
While the offense has been a roller coaster thus far for Terry Francona's team, all the parts seemed to be clicking in today's match-up. The Sox chased O's pitcher Sidney Ponson after three innings, jumping to a 6-0 lead. Then Jason Varitek lit up the Fenway sky with a grand slam in the fifth (a monster shot that covered 448 feet!).
All told, Boston cranked out 17 hits, while Pedro Martinez and company held the Orioles to five. Here are some highlights from a gaudy stat sheet:
David Ortiz 4-for-4, 1 RBI
Trot Nixon 3-for-5, 2 RBIs
Johnny Damon 2-for-4, 2 RBIs
Nomar Garciaparra 2-for-4, 2 RBIs, 1 HR
Ellis Burks 2-for-3
Pokey Reese (who missed 3 earlier games with injury) 2-for-3
Martinez improved to 3-0 and kept his ERA at a paltry 1.17. Ramiro Mendoza pitched 2 1/3 innings of no-hit relief.
In game two of the series, Bill Mueller hit the game-winning double in the bottom of the ninth, scoring the tying and clinching runs... Baltimore owned game one, getting the most out of five hits (five runs)... Byung-Hyun Kim gave up two critical walks. Baltimore capitalized with big run-scoring hits on the next at-bat both times.
Tomorrow's game with the Yankees will be broadcast live on Fox... The made-for-TV series opener will surely be a sellout at Fenway (so far all of the home games have been!)... Get ready for the rivalry!!
