Tim Wakefield retires 12 consecutive Mariners to lead Sox to the 11-3 victory

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RED SOX BLOW OUT MARINERS 11-3; MOVE TO 39-26
Tim Wakefield retires 12 consecutive Mariners to lead Sox to the 11-3 victory

(June 7, 2008) – On a hazy, hot and humid June day in Boston, the Seattle Mariners had more to deal with than the 92 degree heat. They also had to deal with Tim Wakefield’s fluttering knuckleball that baffled Seattle batters for seven innings. Wakefield provided Red Sox fans with another excellent outing, allowing just two runs on four hits while striking out six to pick up his fourth win of the season in the Sox’s 11-3 win. After the Mariners tied the score in the second, the 41-year-old veteran set down 13 of the next 15 Seattle batters, including retiring 12 in a row before catcher Kenji Johjima blooped a single in front of Coco Crisp in the seventh.

If J.D. Drew keeps hitting the way he is in the number three slot in the order, David Ortiz might have a hard time getting his spot back. Drew continued his red-hot hitting with a two-out rocket just past the outstretched glove of center fielder Ichiro Suzuki. As the ball rolled to the base of the wall, the Sox right fielder kicked it into another gear as he rounded second base and slide into third, safely with a triple. He knocked his seventh homerun just to the right of yellow line on the Green Monster off Seattle reliever, knuckleballer R.A. Dickey in the sixth. In his last eight games, no Red Sox starter has a higher batting average than Drew with a .542 average, three doubles, one triple, three homeruns and eight RBIs.

Manny Ramirez extended his hitting streak to 12 games by hitting his fourth homerun in three games with a monster shot over everything in left. His 14 round-tripper of the season scored Drew from third to give the Sox the early 2-0 lead and the RBI Man’s 46^th and 47^th RBIs of the season.

After Wakefield retired the side in order in, with a ground out to shortstop by Wladimir Balentien sandwiched between strike outs to Richie Sexson and Kenji Johjima, the Mariners came back to tie the game in the third. In the top of the inning, shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt led off the inning with a base hit into left and was followed by a dribbler down the third baseline by Suzuki, for his second hit of the game. Third baseman Adrian Beltre would drive in Betancourt and Suzuki with a ground rule double down the first base line after Jose Lopez advanced the runners with a ground out to third. But the game was not tied for long, as the Red Sox re-took the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth.

After Kevin Youkilis grounded out to shortstop to begin the Sox half of the fourth, rookie Brandon Moss walked and motored around from first on Alex Cora’s double to left center. Cora would also come around to score Boston’s fourth run of the game on Coco Crisp’s second hit of the game. Not only did Crisp reach bases twice in the game but he kept the Seattle defense on their toes, stealing his 9^th and 10^th bags of season.

Revenge is sweet, when you are on the giving end of it instead of the receiving end of it. Just as the Mariners blew out the Sox in Friday night’s 8-0 shut out, the Sox returned the favor today after batting around in the bottom of the eighth inning. Cora led of the inning with a base hit into right field. Julio Lugo would advance Cora to second with his only base of the game into right as well. Drew was a double shy of being the first Sox player since John Valentin after he drove in Cora and Lugo with another single to right. Ramirez received the hat trick of the game when he walked for the third time in the eighth inning to move Drew up to second and then was pinch ran for by Jacoby Ellsbury. Coming in as a defensive replacement in top of the inning, Mike Lowell lined a double down the third base line to drive in Drew and send Ellsbury to third. After Lowell’s base hit the game was over for reliever Mark Lowe but his line score was not. Not having an RBI all game, Youkilis did not want to feel left out and lined an RBI double to left to plate Ellsbury and Lowell against Ryan Rowland-Smith, who relieved Lowe. In just a third of an inning, Lowe allowed all five runs on four hits and one walk.

There has been a last minute change of starting pitchers for Seattle in tomorrow afternoon’s series finale against the Red Sox. Instead of right hander Jarrod Washburn getting the start against the 23-year-old Justin Masterson, the Mariners will opt for the left handed Erik Bedard. After an outstanding seven inning performance of two hit ball with eight strikes against Wakefield and the Sox on May, 28, Bedard failed to get out of the fourth inning in his next start against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In just 3.1 innings of work versus the Halos, the left hander allowed five runs – four earned – on seven hits while walking three and striking out one.

Making his 12 career start against Boston, Bedard will be opposed by Masterson, who is making the first start of his career against the Mariners. The former Aztec is 2-0 in his three starts this season with a 2.95 ERA, 14 strike outs, 9 walks, a 1.09 WHIP and a .175 opponent’s batting average. Masterson is coming off a 7-4 victory against the Tampa Bay Rays on June 3 where he went six innings allowing four runs on six hits while striking out five and walking two. Since being recalled for the third time this season on June 3, it marks the first time Masterson has stayed in the big leagues for more than a cup of coffee.

WIN: Tim Wakefield (4-4)

LOSS: Miguel Batista (3-7)

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Game Notes:

Going 0-for-12 on this current home stand, Dustin Pedroia got the day game after the night game off. Today will provide for a good mental health day for the sophomore second baseman.

Jonathan Papelbon came on to pitch the ninth inning to get some work in since he had not pitched since June 3.

Kevin Youkilis 233 consecutive games without an error has come to end when he dropped an easy throw from Alex Cora at second in the top of the ninth on a ground ball by pinch hitter Willie Bloomquist.

The 3 Stars of the Game:

1. Tim Wakefield, BOSTON ---- 7IP, 4H, 2R, 2BB, 6K

2. J.D. Drew, BOSTON ---- 3-5 3B, HR, RBI, 2 Runs-scored

3. Manny Ramirez, BOSTON ---- 1-2 HR, 3 BB, 2 RBIs, 2 Runs-scored

Yuniesky Betancourt’s solo homerun in the third was all the M’s needed to send the Sox back east

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RED SOX DROP RUBBER GAME TO MARINERS 1-0; MOVE TO 32-23
Yuniesky Betancourt’s solo homerun in the third was all the M’s needed to send the Sox back east

(May 28, 2008) – It was a staring contest between Boston and Seattle. The first team to blink would end up with another digit added to the right side of the standings. The Sox blinked first and head back east after winning just one game on their six game trip to the left coast, after a 1-0 loss at the hands of Erik Bedard and the Seattle Mariners. (Special editor’s note: That would make a wonderful tee-shirt idea: “The Sox went west and all I got was ‘Seattle’s Best.’”)

Upset about being pinch-hit for in the bottom of the ninth inning by Jeremy Reed, shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt put the Mariners on top with a one-out solo homerun in the third. The Seattle shortstop took the 1-1 high, knuckler for a ride and deposited it into the Red Sox bullpen in left. It was Betancourt’s third homerun and 19^th run batted in of the season.

The rubber game of was a pitcher’s duel between Seattle’s Southpaw, Erik Bedard and Boston’s knuckleballer, Tim Wakefield. Besides the one mistake to Betancourt, Wakefield’s knuckleball fluttered all over the strike zone, baffling Seattle batters for seven innings. It was evident that his knuckleball was working when he struck out the side in the Mariner’s half of the second. The Sox 41-year-old starter allowed scattered base hits but never gave the Mariners the opportunity to piece anything to together after Betancourt’s homerun. Wakefield would throw his 30^th complete game of his career allowing jut one run on five hits while striking out eight Mariners and walking none.

With Wakefield doing his part to make sure the Sox walked away with a series win, Bedard was doing everything in his power not to let that happen. Bedard matched Wakefield’s magnificent performance with an extraordinary performance of his own, even mirroring Wakefield’s second inning with three strike outs in the fifth. At one point during the game, the Mariners starter retired eight consecutive Sox hitters before walking Mike Lowell in the top of the seventh inning. His night would be over after getting Coco Crisp to fly out to left to end the inning.

After pitching seven strong innings of two-hit ball with eight strike outs while walking just three batters, Bedard turned the game over to Brandon Morrow. Morrow was the reliever who entered Tuesday night’s game with runners on first and second and nobody out, to strike out Manny Ramirez and Lowell back-to-back before getting J.D. Drew to fly out to left. Last night, Morrow fast a little trouble after walking the pinch-hitting Drew to lead off the inning. Shortstop Julio Lugo attempted to sacrifice Drew to second with a bunt but first baseman Miguel Cairo sniffed out that one and threw Drew out at second. The Seattle reliever would get rookie outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury to ground out to second before striking out Dustin Pedroia for the final out of the inning.

The Red Sox departed Seattle after the game for the “Land O’ Crabs” to face the Baltimore Orioles for a four game series beginning on Friday night. Josh Beckett will get the start for the Sox and will be opposed by the Orioles tall, lanky right hander, Daniel Cabrera. These two teams last met in a two-game series on May 13 and 14 where Baltimore walked away with their first two-game sweep in Baltimore since April 25-26 of 2005.

Beckett has not been too pleased with the start of his 2008 season. He started the season on the disabled list with a back and hip injury and since coming off the disabled list, the Sox ace is 5-4 with a 4.43 ERA, 65 strike outs and a 1.08 WHIP. Not the kind of start the 2007 ALCS MVP wanted to have. Beckett is coming of a 3-0 loss to the Oakland Athletics last Saturday where he pitched seven innings allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out nine.

Against the Orioles this year, Beckett’s outing was nothing to write home about. The last time he was on the Camden Yards mound, the Red Sox starter went 5.2 innings allowing five earned runs on 11 hits while walking two and striking out five. Oriole batters are hitting at a .707 clip against Beckett this year.

The normally short-fused Baltimore right hander, Cabrera is a surprising 5-1 on the season with a 3.70 ERA, 42 strike outs and a 1.29 WHIP. He is coming of a no-decision against the Tampa Bay Rays on May 25 where he went 5.2 innings allowing four runs on nine hits while walking six and striking out one. The Orioles would go on to lose the game to the first place Rays, 5-4. Against the Sox this year, Cabrera is 1-0 with a 6-3 victory on May 14 where he went seven innings allowing two runs on 10 hits while striking out three and walking no opposing batters. Although his line score looks good, Sox batters are hitting a nice .387 against him this year. Can’t you smell the sweet smell of revenge (it smells like chicken) with that statistic plus the fact that Baltimore has fallen down the AL East standings very quickly?

WIN: Erik Bedard (4-3)

LOSS: Tim Wakefield (3-4)

SAVE: J.J. Putz (6)

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Game Notes:

Jacoby Ellsbury “stole” his 20^th stolen base of the season. There are parentheses around stole because Bedard had a picked him off at first but first baseman Miguel Cairo threw wildly into left field allowing Ellsbury to reach second base safely. If Cairo made a good through Ellsbury would have been a dead duck.

Ichiro Suzuki reached base in the bottom of the eighth on fielder’s choice to second baseman Dustin Pedroia. Ichiro stole his 23^rd bag of the season to put him in a tie with Houston’s Michael Bourn for most stolen bases in MLB.

The 3 Stars of the Game:

1. Erik Bedard, SEATTLE --- 7IP, 2H, 0ER, 3BB, 8K

2. Yuniesky Betancourt, SEATTLE --- 2-3 Homerun, RBI

3. Tim Wakefield, BOSTON --- 8IP, 5H, 1ER, 0BB, 8K

Back-to-back homeruns by David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez help Sox to fifth win in a row

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RED SOX SHUT OUT THE TIGERS, AGAIN 5-0; MOVE TO 22-13
Back-to-back homeruns by David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez help Sox to fifth win in a row

(May 6, 2008) –As with any Tim Wakefield start, the game just flew by. Before you knew it, it was already the eighth inning the Tigers had just one hit off the Sox knuckleballer. At one point during the game Wakefield retired 17 consecutive Detroit batters. In his best outing of the season, the 14 year Sox veteran led the team to their 22^nd victory pitching eight complete innings allowing just two hits while striking out six Tiger hitters.

Just like last night the Sox jumped out to an early lead in the top of the second inning. Mike Lowell led of the inning by drawing a walk of Detroit starter Nate Robertson. Kevin Youkilis would follow Lowell’s walk with the double down the left field line sending the Sox third baseman to third with nobody out in the inning. Bob Ryan’s favorite outfielder, J.D. Drew, stepped up to the dish and drove in Lowell from third with a bounding ball up the middle and into center field. Back up catcher, Kevin Cash, who is better known for his glove rather than for his bat, slapped a double into left field to bring Youkilis and send Drew to second for the second run of the game. Center fielder Coco Crisp would ground to shortstop to plate Drew for the third and final run of the inning.

The Sox sluggers were in was Seventh Heaven in the top of the seventh. In the inning former Boston College and current Detroit Lions offensive tackle, Gosder Cherilus’s double, David Ortiz provided the fourth Boston run of the game with his seventh homerun of the season. After Ortiz’s homerun cleared the right field fence Tigers manager Jim Leyland had enough of Robertson and opted for right handed reliever Freddy Dolsi. Robertson left the game after pitching 6.1 innings allowing four runs on 10 hits while walking two and striking out just four Sox hitters.

Dolsi did not fair much better. The first batter he faced was the RBI Machine, Manny Ramirez. Not wanting to be out done by his country man and best friend, Ramirez also hit his seventh homerun on the season. Not coincidentally it was Ramirez’s 497^th career homerun. He is just three homeruns shy of the illustrious 500 homerun mark and 24 homeruns shy of tying Ted Williams at 521.

Mike Timlin came on to pitch the ninth in relief of Wakefield. He would give up a lead off single to Curtis Granderson getting Tiger fans excited but there excitement was quelled when second baseman Placido Polanco grounded into a 4-6-3 double play. Right fielder Carlos Guillen flew out to, defensive replacement Jacoby Ellsbury to end the ballgame and give the Sox their fifth straight win.

Clay Buchholz goes to the hill tomorrow when he faces the Tigers young starter Armando Galarraga. A kid with a 6’3” and 190 pound frame does not scream endurance but Buchholz has improved his game and his stamina immensely since the season began in Japan. He currently sits behind only Josh Beckett for the team lead in strikes with 33 (Beckett has 34) and pitched just his second complete game of his career a week a half ago in Tampa Bay.

Buchholz is coming of his second win of the season against the Tampa Bay Rays last Friday. The young gun pitched 5.1 innings allowing one run on five hits while walking four and striking out six in the Sox’s 7-3 victory over the Rays. Overall on the season, Buchholz sits at 2-2 with a 3.71 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. He will be opposed tomorrow night by Detroit starter Armando Galarraga.

Galarraga is 2-1 on the season with a 1.88 ERA with 15 strike outs and a 0.88 WHIP. In his last started against the Minnesota twins last Friday in Minneapolis, Galarraga pitched six innings allowing four runs, two of them earned on six hits while walking two and striking out two.

WIN: Tim Wakefield (3-1)

LOSS: Nate Robertson (1-4)

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Game Notes:

Coco Crisp gets the start in center field with the left hander on the mound.

The 3 Stars of the Game:

1. Tim Wakefield, BOSTON --- 8IP, 1H, 0ER, 6Ks

2. Manny Ramirez, BOSTON --- 3-5 Homerun, RBI, Run Scored

3. Kevin Cash, BOSTON --- 3-4 Double, RBI, Run scored