Boston Massacre Part III

10.14.2008
RED SOX PLAY DEAD AS RAYS WIN 13-4; RAYS LEAD SERIES 3-1

Tampa Bay bats blast out on a Indian Summer Night in Boston against the Defending Champs Just need Daisuke Being Beckett in Game Five on Thursday

(October 14, 2008) – Word of the Day for Game Four of the 2008 ALCS U-G-L-Y.

Game Four of the ALCS was Major League Baseball’s equivalent to Game Six of the 2008 NBA Finals. Just as Paul Pierce was pouring the Gatorade over Doc Rivers, the Los Angeles Lakers were sitting on the other bench with their jaws on the floor, looking stunned. Well that is exactly what the Sox looked like as the Rays kept piling on to, at one point, an 11-run advantage for a 3-1 series lead.

Yes the Sox have come back from the 3-1 hole twice before so you can not count the home-town team out. But these are not the Yankees in 2004. They are not the Indians from last year. Those teams were older and made up of veteran players. These Rays are young and naïve, having a striking resemblence to the 2008 NBA Champion Boston Celtics,

The Red Sox offense looks dead. Nothing seems to get them going not even a homerun from the most unexpected player on the team, Kevin Cash.

When Cash took an Andy Sonnanstine 2-1 pitch and gave fans in the first row of the Monster seats a souvenir, one would think it would get the Sox offense going. But it did not. David Ortiz is still in a horrific 0-for-10 slump. Jacoby Ellsbury has the big goose egg in the hit column and starting to resemble Donnie Sadler more than Nomar Garciaparra. And Jed Lowrie looks like the rookie he is in the ALCS.

This is Lowrie’s first year in the big leagues and every situation he encounters is new so it is not really fair to jump all over him but the others are fair game. Athough he is still considered a rookie by Major League Baseball, Ellsbury is no longer the inexperienced kid he was last year and needs to be held accountable for his lack of production at the plate. B.J . Upton looks more like a seasoned post-season veteran than Ellsbury does.

When hitters are going up against the knuckleballer most hitting coaches will tell hitters “if it’s high let it fly, if it’s low let it go.” The Tampa Bay Rays game plan for Tim Wakefield was they were not going to be passive against the knuckleball. In the first inning, the knuckleball was not quite working for him and the Rays jumped on.

Nothing was working for Wakefield as he walked Upton on four straight pitches right after striking out Akinori Iwamura on four pitches. Between Upton and Carl Crawford, the Rays were aggressive on the basepaths with two uncontested steals and a steal of third in Wakefield’s two and two thirds innings of work. Once Upton got on base there was no doubt about it, he was going to steal and was not waiting around, taking second on the first pitch to Carlos Pena without a throw from Cash.

Upton was not at second base for too long as Pena took an outside, 1-1 knuckleballer to the opposite field and landed in the second row of the Monster seats, giving the Rays the 2-0 advantage. Rookie Evan Longoria was not too impressed by Wakefield’s knuckleball tonight as he went back to back with the Old Time Baseball Game Alumni.

After an easy eight pitch second, things began to go back down hill when his diving effort on Crawford’s swinging bunt went for naught as the speedy left fielder was safe at first, prolonging the inning. Crawford stole his second base of the night before Willy Aybar hit his second homerun off Wakefield in 2008, to put the Rays up by five and it spelled the end for Wakefield. He went into the clubhouse with whip-lash after just 2.2 innings allowing five runs of six hits while walking and striking out two.

Justin Masterson came on in relief of Wakefield and caught Fernando Perez looking at strike three to end the terrifying third. The Sox were able to get one run back in their own half and it came from an unexpected hero. Making the start because Wakefield was on mound, Cash cashed in with a 2-1 shot over the the 37-inch high wall to close the gap to four runs and reigniting Red Sox Nation. But Andy Sonnanstine would once again turn Fenway into a funeral parlor by retiring the next 12 Sox batters. Sonnanstine kept the Sox off balance for 7.1 innings allowing four earned runs on six hits while walking one and striking out two.

The Rays offense would send the Fenway Faithful running to the exits like the ballpark was on fire in the seventh they scored five runs in the sixth against three Red Sox relievers. Manny Delcarmen started the sixth inning explosion by giving up a one out triple into right center by shortstop Jason Bartlett. Following an Iwamura walk, Upton lined a single into centerfield before walking Pena and Longoria to load the bases and end the night for Delcarmen.

Delcarmen turned the ball over to Javier Lopez, who gave up a base hits to Crawford and Aybar, scoring both Pena and Longoria. Dioner Navarro drove in the final run of the inning with a ground out to Kevin Youkilis at third before Perez ended the inning with a ground out to Dustin Pedroia at second to end the sixth inning monstrosity.

But even down 10 runs, the Red Sox were not going to give up even if maybe half their fans left the game in the sixth. Ortiz finally broke out of his slump with a lead-off rocket line drive down the first baseline. With Fernando Perez misplaying the ball in right field, it allowd Ortiz to slide into third with the triple. The first time the Sox had the lead off hitter on base all game. Youkilis would drive him in with a ground ball to shortstop for the second run of the game. Jason Bay followed Youkilis ground out with single into right field and when Coco Crisp worked a two-out walk, it appeared as if the Sox were putting something together. But Cash struck out stranding Bay and Cash on first and second, respectively. The Sox look like they are starting to come out of their offensive funk and might

Once again there was a little light at the long tunnel’s end as Pedroia and Youkilis appeared to putting some good swings together in the bottom of the eighth inning. Lowrie led to fthe inning with a base hit to center before advancing to second on J.D. Drew’s ground ball back to Sonnanstine. Pedroia drove in the Stanford alum, with a base hit up the middle while Youkilis lined a double off the Green Monster with two outs plating Pedroia from second.

Hopefully the Sox can continue to swing the bats as well as they did in the latter innings of Game Four, when they send Daisuke Matsuzaka to the mound in a re-match of Game One against James Shields. Matsuzaka has been the only effective pitcher for the Sox in the ALCS and he needs to come on and stop the bleeding in Game Five to prolong the Red Sox season. Matsuzaka is coming of a a Game One start where he pitched six no-hit innings and finished the game scattering four hits in seven strong innings while walking four and striking out nine. Shields pitched equally well in Game One pitching 7.1 innings allowing two runs on six hits while walking two and striking out six.

RAYS 13, RED SOX 4

WIN: Andy Sonnanstine

LOSS: Tim Wakefield

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The 3 Stars of the Game:

1. Carl Crawford, TAMPA BAY ---- 5-5 2 2Bs, 2 RBIs, 3 Runs-scored, 2SB

2. Willy Aybar, TAMPA BAY ---- 4-5 5 RBIs, Run-Scored

3. Evan Longoria, TAMPA BAY --- 1-4 HR, 2 RBIs

No surprise Lightning strikes Tampa Bay Area

10.11.2005

RED SOX DROP RAYS 2-0; SOX LEAD SERIES 1-0No surprise Lightning strikes Tampa Bay Area
Matsuzaka retires 16 of 17 Ray batters as clock nears midnight for Cinderella Rays

(October 11, 2008) – A Daisuke Matsuzaka outing can give even the healthiest person a heart attack but he is effective. In sports, it does not matter how you get the job done but just that you get the job done and Matsuzaka did just that in Game One of the ALCS against the Rays.

When he finally took to the hill in the bottom of the first, he tested the patience of everyone in the stadium right from the start. After walking fellow countryman Akinori Iwamura on five pitches, he got Upton to get under a hanging change up and fly out to left field for the first out of the inning. Sox fans inside the trop could breathe a slight sigh of relief, Matsuzaka got at least one out. He put Terry Francona’s patience to the test once again walking clean-up hitter and Haverhill-native, Carlos Pena but told everyone to “calm down,” quoting former Patriots line backer Rosevelt Colvin, as he caught rookie Evan Longoria starring at strike three. The Sox right hander then got Cliff Floyd to ground out Pedroia on two pitches to get out of the first inning jam.

“I don’t know how he does it,” Kevin Youkilis told Craig Sager after the game. “He gets out of jams better than any one I ever seen.”

After a rocky first inning, Matsuzaka settled down was un-hittable. The Sox right hander carried a no-hitter through the first six innings before Carl Crawford led of the seventh with rocket line drive into right field. If it were not for a Pena six pitch walk in the third inning, Matsuzaka would have retired 17 Ray hitters in row between the first and sixth innings.

“He just missed on a few pitches,” catcher Jason Varitek commented on Matsuzaka’s first inning, to Sager after the final pitch of the game. “He just settled in. We worked off his fastball and mixed in his change, cutter slider. Kept [them] off balance.”

Floyd followed Crawford’s single by dropping a gapper between Jacoby Ellsbury and Jason Bay. The speed-demon, Crawford, kicked it into another gear around second and easily cruised into third with no outs. It was the first opportunity since back in the first inning the Rays had a chance to get on the board. But once again in Matsuzaka-fashion, he weaseled his way out of two-on, no-out jam, getting Dioner Navarro to fly out to left, not deep enough for the speedy Crawford to score. He, then, struck out Gabe Gross for the second time on the night and got Bartlett to ground into a fielder’s choice, Jed Lowrie to Pedroia to end the threat.

Big Game James Shields got the pre-game jitters out of his system when he struck out Ellsbury on four pitches in the first inning but ended up walking the “Little Pony.” After David Ortiz flew out to B.J. Upton, the first pitch Youkilis swung at he lined a frozen rope down the first base line that bounced up into the stands for the ground rule double, forcing the hustling Pedroia to stop at third base. The Sox third baseman watched five pitches from Shields cross the plate before he decided to pull the trigger and rocket a double down the line.

With runners in scoring position in the first inning, the Sox were poised to get on the board early as J.D. Drew stepped to the plate. In the ALDS, Drew was 4-for-14 (.286) with a double, a homerun and three RBIS and the Sox were looking for him to come through once again. But Shields had the last word making Drew his second strike out victim of the night. The strike out really pumped up the Rays ace as he retired the next eight Red Sox batters before Youkilis lined a one out single to left in the fourth.

The Sox got on the board first in the top of the fifth when Shields gave up a six pitch walk to left fielder Bay. First baseman Mark Kotsay blooped a double down the left field line sending Bay to third and sending the ALDS Game Four hero, Lowrie, to the dish with no outs. After falling in the count 0-2, Lowrie lifted a fly ball to right fielder, Gross at the base of the warning track for the second out of the inning. But it was deep enough that Bay easily cruised home with the first run of the game, for either side, giving the Sox the 1-0 lead.

Manager Joe Maddon pulled the infield for a play at to plate to keep the deficit at one but thanks to Iwamura’s dazzling web gem at second on Jason Varitek’s ground out, the drawn in infield was not necessary. Shields got Ellsbury to pop out to shortstop Jason Bartlett to end the threat.

After giving up a one-out base hit into center off the bat of “The Little Pony” in the top of the eight inning, Maddon elected to go with the lefthanded J.P. Howell to pitch to the ever dangerous Ortiz. In relief of Big Game James, Howell walked Ortiz before Youkilis lined a sinking line drive that dropped just in front of the glove of Crawford, scoring Pedroia and sending Ortiz to third while chasing Howell from the game.

Just like that the book was closed on Shields. The Tampa Bay starter pitched 7.1 strong innings with the only run he allowed was on the sacrifice fly by Lowrie in the third inning while scattering six hits, walking one and striking out six on 100 pitches. And also Maddon had seen enough of his left hander, going to the bullpen once again to get Grant Balfour.

Now a pitcher with the name Balfour is the irony of irony. But in 2008, Balfour has been one of the Rays best pitchers and proved in relief of Howell and Shields. He did not get off to a good start as he hit Drew in the shoulder to load the bases but then got Bay to strike out swinging and Kotsay to pop out to Longoria at third to keep the Rays in the game.

Matsuzaka trotted out for his eighth inning of work with at 107 pitch count and gave up a lead-off base hit to Iwamura on a 3-1 count. The Rays second baseman would advance to second Varitek’s passed ball that went to the back stop. Looking for his first hit in the game, Upton lined a shot down the third base line that Youkilis did a nice job keeping in front of him but was unable to get the speedy Upton at first.

Allowing the lead runners to reach base in the eighth signaled the end of the game for Matsuzaka and on came his fellow country Hideki Okajima to face the left handed Pena. Okajima fell behind in the count to Pena but was fortunate the Rays first baseman swung at a 3-0 pitch and lined out to Drew, who made a shoe string catch, for the first out of the inning.

Okajima did his job but not without suspense and recorded the out on Pena. Francona made another trip to the mound and elected to go with the rookie right hander, Justin Masterson to face the probable Rookie of the Year in Longoria.

The total age of these two players adds up to the number on the back of Ellsbury’s jersey but they have both proved they are capable Major Leaguers. Masterson fell behind Longoria 2-1 but was able to get the Rays third baseman to ground out into the 6-4-3 Twin-Killing to end the inning. Once again Tampa Bay squandered an opportunity to either tie up the score or take the lead and they would not have an opportunity to do so in the top of the inning facing one of the best closers in baseball, Jonathan Papelbon.

The Sox will send Josh Beckett to hill tomorrow to face the other #19 in former Red Sox killer, left hander Scott Kazmir. Kazmir will try to even up the series for Tampa Bay before the series ships back to Boston.

RED SOX 2, RAYS 0

WIN: Daisuke Matsuzaka

LOSS: James Shields

SAVE: Jonathan Papelbon

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Game Notes:

What is Craig Sager wearing today?

For Game 1 of the American League Championship Series, Craig Sager has broken out a lavender sports jacket with a light purple, pinstriped shirt and bold tie.

The 3 Stars of the Game:

1. Kevin Youkilis, BOSTON --- 3-4 2 Doubles, RBI

2. Daisuke Matsuzaka, BOSTON --- 7IP, 4H, 0ER, 4BB, 9K

3. Carl Crawford, TAMPA BAY --- 1-3 Single in the seventh

Dustin Pedroia’s three RBIs push Sox back into first place in the AL East

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RED SOX OFFENSE OVER TAKES RAYS 7-3; MOVE TO 18-13
Dustin Pedroia’s three RBIs push Sox back into first place in the AL East

(May 2, 2008) – A two and a half hour rain delay did not delay the bats of the Red Sox or rookie pitcher Clay Buchholz. Following a complete game in his last outing against the Rays, the young gun failed to complete the sixth inning but still earned his second win of the season. In 5.1 innings, Buchholz allowed just one run on five hits while striking out six Tampa Bay hitters.

The Sox offense on the other hand scored more runs in tonight’s game than they did in their last five games combined and it all started with the number nine hitter Julio Lugo. In the second inning with one-out, Lugo lined a doubled past the outstretched left fielder Carl Crawford and came around to score on Dustin Pedroia’s two-out double two batters later. After getting Manny Ramirez to strike out, following a David Ortiz walk, to end the inning, it appeared as if Rays starter Edwin Jackson was settling down.

Although the start of the bottom of the fourth seemed to be going Jackson’s way, the Rays right hander ran into the Red Sox rookies. With two outs, Brandon Moss started the five run inning with his second homerun of his major league career to straight-away center over the head of Gabe Gross, who was replacing starting center fielder, B.J. Upton, who was out with a shoulder injury. Three batters later fellow rookie, center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury singled to left driving in catcher Jason Varitek from second base. Ellsbury would swipe his ninth stolen base of the season off of Rays catcher Dioner Navarro. The sophomore, Pedroia, followed with base hit of his own into left to drive in Ellsbury and Lugo.

Jackson’s night was done after four innings allowing six runs on nine hits while walking three and striking out just three. He was replaced by Kurt Birkins who came on to finish out the fifth inning after Jackson allowed a double to Mike Lowell and walked Kevin Youkilis. Birkins struck out Moss and got Varitek to do what he does best, yes ground into an inning ending double play.

But the Red Sox captain would redeem himself three innings later. After a lead off singled by Moss in the eighth, Varitek drove in the rookie with a double of his own. Unfortunately, David Ortiz grounded into a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded.

Although his line score says differently, Buchholz’s seventh outing of the season was not as smooth as his sixth but he was able to “minimize the damage.” Three times in the 5.1 innings he pitched, the 23-year-old allowed the lead off hitter to reach base (second, third and sixth). His best inning came in the third when he gave up a base hit to Akinori Iwamura and walked Crawford but struck out the next three Rays batters to end the inning.

Josh Beckett will take the mound in game two of the three game weekend series with Tampa Bay in what will be a re-match of last weekend’s final game, where the Rays won the game 3-0. If you recall, the Red Sox Ace pitched seven complete innings allowing two runs – one earned – on four hits while striking out a career single-game high, 13 Rays batters. Against Tampa Bay, Beckett started six games, earning a decision in all games he is 3-3 against the Rays with a 3.72 ERA with 51 strike outs in 38.2 innings.

He will be opposed by the right-handed James Shields who has filled the void of Tampa Bay Ace quite nicely with his 3-1 record, 2.54 ERA and 28 strike outs. Against Boston, in his last time out he threw his first complete game of his career allowing just two hits while striking out seven Sox batters. Against Boston in his career, Shields is 1-2 with a 3.26ERA and 31 strike outs in 30.1 innings.

WIN: Clay Buchholz (2-2)

LOSS: Edwin Jackson (2-3)

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Game Notes:

B.J. Upton is out of tonight’s line up for the Rays due to a left shoulder strain. The injury occurred in Tampa Bay’s 4-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday and forced him to exit the game in the middle of the fifth inning. This injury is not new to Upton, he suffered a similar injury on August 17, 2006. Upton gave Rays fans (yes there are Rays fans) optimism saying “this is the best its felt right after, so we shouldn’t think much of it.” Knowing this manager Joe Maddon does not expect his starting center fielder to miss the remainder of the series against the Sox.

Brandon Moss makes his third consecutive start in right field for the injured J.D. Drew. Drew is still being bothered by tightness in his left quadriceps. But Jacoby Ellsbury’s groin injury is apparently feeling better or maybe he just saw Coco Crisp playing halfway decent and thought “oh my god I have to get back in the line or I’m going to lose the job.”

The start of the game was delayed two and a half hours because of rain.

The 3 Stars of the Game:

1. Dustin Pedroia, BOSTON --- 3-5 Double, 3 RBIs

2. Brandon Moss, BOSTON --- 2-4 Homerun, RBI, Two-runs scored

3. Carl Crawford, TAMPA BAY --- 2-4 Double, RBI

Unexpected hero, Nathan Haynes, propels Tampa Bay to a 5-4 victory over Red Sox

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RED SOX UPSET BY RAYS 5-4 IN 11; MOVE TO 15-10
Unexpected hero, Nathan Haynes, propels Tampa Bay to a 5-4 victory over Red Sox

(April 25, 2008) –Originally entering the game as a pinch-runner for Carlos Pena, who pinch-hit for Jonny Gomes, in the bottom of the ninth, Nathan Haynes became the hero two innings later with a no-out single to right to score left fielder, Carl Crawford. Haynes’s single gave Rays reliever Scott Dohmann his first win of the season and brought Tampa Bay back to the surface with a 12-11 record.

Crawford led of the bottom of the inning with single off of Sox reliever Mike Timlin to left field. He, then, swiped second base with great ease on a 0-1 count to B.J. Upton putting the winning run in scoring position with no outs. Upton walked to give Haynes the chance to be the hero. The Sox were expecting the long time minor leaguer to lay down a bunt to move the runner along but he surprised everyone in the dome with a single just over the head of 5’9” second baseman Dustin Pedroia.

The Rays would get out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning when Upton drove in Crawford with a sacrifice fly ball to rookie Jacoby Ellsbury in centerfield. But the lead did not stay. Manny Ramirez started off the second inning with a base hit to right field. After getting Kevin Youkilis to fly out right fielder Gabe Gross, Rays starter Matt Garza would walk J.D. Drew, Sean Casey and Julio Lugo to plate Ramirez with the go-ahead run.

But the damage was not done yet. Kevin Cash, who was getting the start with the knuckleballer on mound, drove in Drew with the third run with a fly ball to Crawford in left. The sacrifice fly was Cash’s third RBI on the season. The young Ellsbury would follow Cash’s lead with a single to left to plate Casey. After letting three runs cross the plate, Garza was able to minimize the damage, getting Dustin Pedroia to pop out to first.

Being known for his effectiveness in domed stadiums, Tim Wakefield struggled against the Rays. This was a time where numbers can lie. Although he was able to pitch six complete innings giving up just three earned runs on six hits, walks were a problem for Wakefield. Watching the game, Wakefield appeared flat against Tampa Bay hitters. Although Cash’s two passed balls did not help Wake’s cause, it is not the reason for his poor performance. Even though Wakefield’s three walks in the second inning did not come back to haunt the knuckleballer, you just can not do that as a starting pitcher. Wakefield’s first and only one-two-three inning came in the fifth inning but not before the Rays would come back to take a short-lived lead.

The Rays got one run back in the top of the third inning after a one-out single by rookie third baseman Evan Longoria to drive in designated hitter, Jonny Gomes. Longoria would have drove in two runs but Cash “caught” Upton attempting to steal third – Gomes was safe at second on the double steal. In the next inning, it looked as if Wakefield would get his first one-two-three inning of the game – getting Gabe Gross to ground out to second and Jason Bartlett to fly out to center – but it was not to be. After second baseman Akinori Iwamora singled to right, Crawford hit his second triple of the game down the right field line to drive in the Japanese shortstop. Crawford would score on Lugo’s fielding error on Gomes’s ground ball to take the lead.

As noted before the lead was short lived when Cash drove in Drew, in the top of the sixth, with a base hit. Drew led off the inning with a base hit that was followed by a Jed Lowrie single. Lugo, then, reached on a fielder’s choice – shortstop to second – to get Lowrie giving Cash the opportunity to tie the game.

The Sox look to even up the series with Tampa Bay tomorrow night when Clay Buchholz takes the mound in search of his second win of the season against Rays right hander Edwin Jackson. Buchholz is coming of a Patriots Day 8-3 victory over Texas where he pitched six complete innings allowing five hits while striking out six Rangers. Jackson will be looking to take game two against the Sox and rebound from a 6-0 loss against Chicago. In last Sunday’s game the Tampa Bay righty pitched just 4.1 innings while allowing six earned runs, including a homerun, on seven hits while striking on four Sox batters.

WIN: Scott Dohman(1-0)

LOSS: Mike Timlin (2-2)

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Game Notes:

First series of the season against the Rays and Red Sox.

First baseman Sean Casey left the game in the middle of the second inning with a right hip flexor strain. He appeared to injure himself when scoring form second on Ellsbury’s single to left field.

Rays relievers retired eight consecutive Sox batters before allowing Cash’s infield single to third in the top of the ninth.

There were Web Gems in the outfield tonight. Both B.J. Upton and Carl Crawford made remarkable diving catches to save additional runs and extra bases off the bat of Ellsbury and Youkilis in the fourth and sixth innings respectively.

The Sox are currently 1-1 in extra innings games.

The 3 Stars of the Game:

Nathan Haynes, TAMPA BAY 1-1 RBI Single

Carl Crawford, TAMPA BAY 3-5 2 Triples, RBI, 3-Runs Scored,

Manny Ramirez, BOSTON 3-5 Run Scored