Shane Victorino Helps Red Sox Win First Extra Inning Game of 2013

On a nationally televised game on FOX Saturday afternoon at Fenway Park, the American East-leading Boston Red Sox (6-4) won a low-scoring nail-biter against the Tampa Bay Rays (4-6), by a score of 2-1 in 10 innings.

Sox ace Jon Lester went seven strong innings, allowing only 1 earned run while striking out 5, walking 1 and surrendering just 5 hits on 100 pitches. New manager (and former Sox pitching coach) John Farrell then turned to the bullpen (the purported major strength of this year's team), which did not allow a single hit the rest of the game.

Boston's first run came in the fifth when catcher David Ross hit a solo shot off of Rays starter David Price with 2 outs to tie the score 1-1 – Rays first baseman Sean Rodriguez had kicked off the scoring for the game and the Rays in the 3rd inning with a double off of Lester that center fielder Desmond Jennings scored on. But after the 5th inning, the bats for both sides were silenced for much of the rest of the game, until the 9th when they each squandered opportunities to break the tie.

The game went into extras (it being the first such game for both teams this season) and finally, in the bottom of the 10th, the Sox offense came alive. With 1 out, Sox star center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury singled to center off Rays reliever Brandon Gomes, and used his aggressiveness and speed on the bases to steal second. Rays catcher Jose Lobaton make a big error trying to throw him out, thus allowing Ellsbury to take third base. Then, Boston's new right fielder, the veteran Shane Victorino, drove in the game-winning infield single that easily allowed Ellsbury to score. The players were both then mobbed by their excited teammates and cheered on by the 33,000+ fanatics in attendance.

Speaking of fandom, the longest sellout streak in pro sports history came to an end on Wednesday night, with the Red Sox's consecutive games played in front of a full house at Fenway ending at 820. It bested the previous record of 814 set by the Portland Trailblazers from 1977-1995, according to the Huffington Post. Thus, you can find great Boston Red Sox tickets easier these days, with the seasonally cold (and sometimes rainy) April weather upon us. Through it all, the Sox plan to keep up its rather hot start to the season, with Clay Buchholz going against Alex Cobb on Sunday afternoon.

Photo credit: MLB (via Amazon.com)

Red Sox End Disappointing 2010 Season on High & Classy Note

For only the second time in Sox general manager Theo Epstein and manager Terry Francona's tenures, there will be no playoff baseball in Boston this year. Like 2006, they finish the season in third place in the AL East, and for similar reasons to that fateful season can blame it largely on a rash of injuries to key players, along with a mostly lousy bullpen (that Epstein did nothing significant to help before and during the season) and disappointing starters (Josh Beckett, John Lackey and Tim Wakefield).

But the 89-73 Red Sox had one, make it two last victories to celebrate last weekend: they won the last two games of the season against the Yankees to tie the season series at 9-9, and more importantly, prevented their arch rivals from winning the AL East division in the process, making Tampa Bay the champs and for a change, the Yankees the AL Wild Card representative in the 2010 postseason that starts on Wednesday.

Mike Lowell Day

But the real celebration that occurred this weekend was the Red Sox's tribute to retiring hero, cancer survivor and longtime third baseman Mike Lowell a half hour before the first game of a Sox-Yankees double header at Fenway Park on Saturday afternoon.

Mike Lowell, 8-3-10

With the whole Red Sox and (equally classy) Yankees teams looking on and applauding the festivities at the top of their respective dugout steps, they watched as Lowell's wife Bertha, their two kids and good friends Mike Redmond and (former respected Sox utility man) Alex Cora made surprise appearances to help out with the presentation of gifts. It was a warming, memorable moment for both fans and the participants on the field.

This article was first published in full at Blogcritics Magazine

Red Sox Win Seven-Game Homestand, Lose Key Bat For The Year

As usual, a lot has happened in Red Sox Nation since last I wrote – some good, some bad, and in one case, very bad.

On Tuesday, August 3, before the second of four games against the lowly Cleveland Indians, Mike Lowell was activated from the DL and put in the starting lineup. That’s the good news. The bad? First baseman Kevin Youkilis was placed on the DL and is now done for the year with a torn muscle/ligament in his right hand thumb.

The Return of Mike Lowell

This is no doubt a huge loss, but if it wasn’t for the fact that Lowell, a World Series MVP just a few years back is still here, with something to prove to the organization, I would say this is a blow the Sox would not be able to overcome. I’m not saying Lowell will put up Youk-like power numbers (though he did hit three bombs in one game while rehabbing recently), but he’ll at least give you some power, a good batting average and good defense. His very presence in the lineup and at first base means that weak-hitting Kevin Cash stays on the bench, so Victor Martinez can catch, instead of V-Mart starting at first base and Cash catching when Lowell isn't in the lineup.

Tuesday night was pretty special. Not only was it the only Red Sox game I bought tickets to and attended this season, it was the night Lowell got his first start coming off the DL at first base. And what did he do? After the first standing ovation as he came to bat, he took the first pitch he saw out of the yard to give the Sox a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. He got two more standing ovations in his next two at-bats, and cracked a big smile after making a diving play at first base later in the game.

With starter Josh Beckett looking like his old self, fooling Indians hitters for eight innings with mid-90s fastballs, sharp curve balls on 103 pitches and earning his third win of the year and first at Fenway Park this season, it was a perfect night to be at Fenway as the Sox won the game, 3-1.

This edition of my Dead Red column was first published at Blogcritics Magazine. Read the full article at that link.

Nomar Comes Home To Boston & Other Sox News & Notes

The following post appeared at Blogcritics Magazine yesterday, May 10, 2010. It's title has been changed for this post The following is an excerpt.

The Return of Nomar Garciaparra

On Cinco de Mayo, the Red Sox brought forever Sox fan favorite Nomar Garciaparra (who is of Mexican descent) back to Fenway to throw out the ceremonial first pitch to former Sox and Georgia Tech teammate Jason Varitek before the third Sox-Angels game of the week. With wife and superstar athlete Mia Hamm on the field watching, along with good friends and ex-teammates Trot Nixon, Lou Merloni, Tim Wakefield and Brian Daubach, it was a pretty cool and nostalgic pregame celebration much like Pedro Martinez’s (surprise) pregame first pitch on Opening Night.

Good for the organization for doing that for Nomar. Now let me say this.

The Boston sports media types (Dan Shaughnessy, Steve Buckley) still think they know better than the rest of us fans, but the fact is that Nomar never wanted to stop playing baseball in Boston, no matter how frustrated and bitter at the organization he was (for trying to trade him for A-Rod and others after the 2003 season and other reasons). He was eventually traded to the Cubs in July 2004 because at the time, the Sox were playing .500 baseball and the infield needed a major makeover defensively to help out the pitching staff (enter: Orlando Cabrera, Dave Roberts and Doug Mientkiewicz). It’s as simple as that.

Though no Sox fans were comfortable seeing Nomar forced out of town at the time, they accepted the new faces that came via Sox general manager Theo Epstein’s mid-2004 trades, and watched as they helped the Sox win a historic and long overdue Red Sox championship that fall. From then on, Sox fans and the baseball world altogether saw Nomar become the Ken Griffey Jr. of the infield — in that he had Hall of Fame talent but was always getting hurt — right until the end of his career in 2009 in Oakland.

At least Griffey did enough (in the 1990s) before his string of injuries in the 2000s to get into Cooperstown. The shortstop-turned-corner-infielder, on the other hand, with his career .313 BA, 229 HR, 936 RBI and 1747 hits in not even nine relatively full seasons in 14 years of play will unfortunately not get there. But in the Red Sox Hall of Fame, he will. And that will be even more of a cause for celebration for him than throwing out a first pitch.

Recent Red Sox News

When the Red Sox, behind Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-1) beat the Angels Thursday 11-6, it was the first time since the “Impossible Dream” team of 1967 that the Sox achieved a four-game sweep against them at Fenway Park. Also a first: the whole Angels lineup taking the first 14 pitches Dice-K threw before scoring four runs in the first inning of the game.


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