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Marathon Into Monday
October 6, 2008
10.6.
08, 1:04 AM
Angels 5, Red Sox 4 / 12 Innings
Marathon Into Monday
Sox Battle Into Morning Hours, Come Up Short
Lester To Take The Ball In Game 4
By: Jared Carrabis
On the night after Manny Ramirez and the Los Angeles Dodgers eliminated the Chicago Cubs and just hours after Pat Burrell and the Philadelphia Phillies eliminated the Milwaukee Brewers both to advance to the National League Championship Series, the Boston Red Sox looked to defeat the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for the twelfth consecutive time in postseason play to join both the Dodgers and Phillies on the opposite side of the postseason bracket. The two teams met at Fenway Park for the first time in the month of October since just a year ago when Francisco Rodriguez had to make the ultimate walk of shame following a Manny Ramirez walk-off blast in Game 2 of the 2007 American League Division Series. Boston hoped for similar results on Sunday night, if not a walk-off home run, a simple win would suffice.
Making his first start for the Red Sox since September 22 against the Cleveland Indians at Fenway Park, Josh Beckett returned to the mound as the Game 3 starter for the Boston Red Sox in the American League Division Series. Josh Beckett entered the postseason a lifetime 6-2 pitcher in the postseason play with a miniscule ERA of 1.73. His postseason record ranges back to his days with the 2003 World Series champion Florida Marlins but in more recent memory, Beckett has been even more impressive in October. In Boston’s second successful title run in the span of four seasons, Josh Beckett was unbeaten at 4-0 with a 1.20 ERA.
On Sunday night Josh Beckett took the mound for the first postseason game at Fenway Park since Game 2 of the 2007 World Series in which Boston defeated the Colorado Rockies, 2-1. All eyes were on number nineteen as he threw his warm up tosses before a Varitek frozen rope down to second base. With the Fenway faithful geared up and ready to go, things did not go Beckett’s way right off the bat. On the first pitch out of the hand of Josh Beckett, Chone Figgins ripped a line drive to right field that was a ruled a ground-rule double after the ball was touched by a fan. Beckett recovered nicely by striking out Garret Anderson on a knee-buckling curveball for a called strike-three.
Beckett continued to regain form by striking out Mark Teixeira on a 3-2 cutter but that’s when things got a little wild for Beckett. Vladimir Guerrero showed some plate patience working a walk leading up to an infield single by Torii Hunter. With the bases loaded, Josh Beckett fell behind Juan Rivera 3-0 before throwing a 94 MPH fastball that would have been ball four that Rivera fouled off. With Rivera giving Beckett a break on the 3-0 pitch, the Texan flame-thrower threw the fifth ball of the at bat and this time Rivera did not bite as he walked in a run. Beckett got the next batter in Mike Napoli to ground out to end the inning but the Angels had struck first getting out to a 1-0 lead in the first.
The first inning mounted Josh Beckett’s pitch count to a hefty thirty pitches early on. Beckett’s second inning of work started with two quick outs getting Howie Kendrick to ground out to Mike Lowell and got Erick Aybar to ground out to Kevin Youkilis at first. Chone Figgins came to the plate for the second time in as many innings and collected his second hit off of Beckett in as many tries to stand at first base with two outs. Beckett surrendered his third walk of the night to Garret Anderson but retired Mark Teixeira to end the inning, no damage done. 51 pitches through two for Beckett.
In the bottom of the second inning, the Red Sox jump-started their offense the same way they have been all series long, with two outs. Following outs made by Jason Bay and Mike Lowell to start the inning, Jed Lowrie got things going for the Sox with a five-pitch walk. Batting from the right side against the left-handed starter, Joe Saunders, Jason Varitek lined a base hit into right field. During the regular season, Varitek hit .284 from the right side of the plate and .201 from the left side. Angels pitching coach, Mike Butcher, then made a trip out to the mound to settle down Saunders. The visit did no good as Joe Saunders walked the next better in Coco Crisp on four straight pitches to bring Jacoby Ellsbury to the plate.
The hot-hitting Ellsbury didn’t exactly smoke a ball in this at bat, but bat-to-ball contact and a little luck, he got the job done. With the seventh pitch of a full count cruising to home plate at 95 MPH, Jacoby Ellsbury blooped the fastball into shallow center field and with the help of some miscommunication between Torii Hunter and Howie Kendrick, Ellsbury’s serve into center field fell harmlessly into the green grass of Fenway. With everyone running with two outs, the verbal miscue on behalf of the Angels cost Joe Saunders three runs and the lead. No error was charged on the play and Jacoby Ellsbury became the first player in Major League history to have a 3-RBI single in postseason history.
With the momentum shifted in the direction of the Red Sox in a big way, it didn’t take long for the Angels to regain that momentum. With Vladimir Guerrero on board with a leadoff double, Mike Napoli came to the plate with two outs looking to get the Angels back in the game and boy did he ever. After working the count full, Napoli waited back on a breaking ball that Beckett left up high and hammered it off the “AAA Auto Insurance” sign for a 2-run bomb to tie up the proceedings. Beckett concluded the inning with his fourth strikeout if his outing.
Josh Beckett struggled some more in the top of the fourth inning giving up yet another hit to Chone Figgins who was 3-for-3 to start the night and 4 for his last 4 if you count the eighth inning triple he hit in Game 2. Mark Teixeira singled later in the inning with two outs and Josh Beckett walked Vladimir Guerrero right after. The walk to Guerrero was his fourth of the night. Beckett had walked a total of four batters combined in his previous five postseason starts. Josh Beckett escaped any runs being scored thanks to Dustin Pedroia playing Torii Hunter up the middle and fielding a groundball that was smacked right back up the middle by the Gold Glove outfielder but fielded perfectly by Pedroia.
The Red Sox failed to score in the bottom of the fourth inning and with Manny Delcarmen warming in the bullpen, no one expected Josh Beckett to come back out to the mound after throwing 91 pitches through four innings with four walks and a home run. Either Terry Francona really had a great deal of confidence in his starter or Josh Beckett was a better persuader than Johnnie Cochran in between innings in the Red Sox dugout. Whichever the case, the decision to send Josh Beckett back to the mound ultimately cost Boston the lead. Mike Napoli came to the plate and in his second consecutive at bat hit a 92 MPH fastball on a line into the monster seats for his second home run of the game. The two home runs were the only two hits off of Beckett in Napoli’s career. Beckett capped his not so true to ‘Beckett in October’ form outing by striking out Chone Figgins on a 93 MPH heater retiring the Angels’ third baseman for the first time all night.
The Red Sox clawed back in the bottom of the fifth inning like they have all season long. Jacoby Ellsbury continued his annual October lethal offense by leading off the inning with his third double of the series to raise is ALDS average to an even .500. Joe Saunders got two big outs in Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz and even got Kevin Youkilis to fall behind in the count, 0-2. Youkilis refused to leave Jacoby Ellsbury stranded at second base as his .374 average with runners in scoring position during the regular season continued in the postseason. Kevin Youkilis drove a double to deep center field scoring Ellsbury from second with ease to tie the game at four. The RBI was the first of the series for Kevin Youkilis.
Saunders would fire his last pitch after walking Jason Bay subsequent to the Youkilis RBI double. On to replace Joe Saunders was the flame-throwing Jose Arredondo. With two outs, Arredondo was given the task of retiring Mike Lowell. In the match up, Lowell saw five fastballs with speeds reaching 99 MPH on the radar gun. The Red Sox third baseman was overmatched and Lowell went down looking on a 96 MPH heater.
Manager Terry Francona elected to fight fire with fire as the hard-throwing Manny Delcarmen with a fastball ranging as high as 98 MPH was the first to emerge from the Red Sox bullpen (or the Black Pearl, whichever you prefer) in the top of the sixth. Delcarmen turned in a perfect frame of work retiring Garret Anderson, Mark Teixeira and Vladimir Guerrero consecutively needing just fifteen pitches to do so. Delcarmen came back out for the seventh inning and picked up right where he left off striking out Torii Hunter on a devastating 85 MPH changeup. Mike Napoli came to the plate looking for his third consecutive at bat with a home run but instead got hit by a 95 MPH fastball on the first pitch. Napoli stared out at Delcarmen but what can you expect after hitting two home runs and showing up the pitcher on both occasions. The pitch only nicked Napoli’s jersey so surely there was no intent to hit him (most likely just to come inside on him), but how surprised would you really be if you were Mike Napoli to get hit by a pitch? Not all that shocked I presume.
Hideki Okajima came on with two outs in the seventh to replace Delcarmen who was fantastic in his inning and two thirds of work. Okajima needed just two pitches to retire Erick Aybar and end the inning and got two outs in the top of the eighth inning before giving way to Justin Masterson. The sidearm slinging right-hander was given the daunting task of facing Vladimir Guerrero with Mark Teixeira standing at first base. The 2004 American League MVP worked the count full and on the seventh pitch of the at bat, Justin Masterson blew 97 MPH smoke by the bat of Vladimir Guerrero to preserve the 4-4 tie into the bottom of the eighth.
The Red Sox were rendered helpless against Scot Shields. Shields had previously given up six home runs to the Boston Red Sox in his last 16.1 innings pitched at Fenway Park but you would never be able to guess that after his perfect eighth. Justin Masterson stayed in the game in the ninth inning to face Torii Hunter in the top of the ninth having only thrown seven pitches in the eighth. Hunter took the breath out of the lungs of Red Sox fans by lining a ball into the left field corner to start the inning but gave all that oxygen back when Jason Bay fielded the ball cleanly and threw a one-hopper to Dustin Pedroia at second base to gun down Hunter at second in plenty of time. Score that play 7-4 and another costly mental mistake by Torii Hunter. Masterson retired the next two batters consecutively sending the Red Sox into the bottom of the ninth tied at four.
JD Drew didn’t get the start in Game 3 due to the soreness that still lingers in the back of the Red Sox right fielder and the cold Boston air was not a good mix for Drew. However, desperate times call for desperate measures and JD Drew was called upon to pinch hit for the captain, Jason Varitek. Varitek couldn’t have done much worse than Drew. Shields struck out the Game 2 hero on five pitches and proceeded to retire the rest of the side in order as we head for extra frames at the Fens.
Extra innings meant extra effort from manager Terry Francona. Sweeping the Angels isn’t necessarily a need for this team but it would ensure much needed rest for the Red Sox and it would enable the Red Sox to lineup their rotation to their choosing. The top of the tenth saw Jonathan Papelbon be summoned from the Black Pearl in a situation that he thrives in. Three up, three down for the Boston closer complete with a 97 MPH fastball to freeze up Chone Figgins on a called strike three to send the big bats at the top of the Boston order to the plate against the Angels’ closer, Francisco Rodriguez.
K-Rod opened the bottom of the tenth by striking out Dustin Pedroia who is now 0-for-the series. David Ortiz came to the plate with the chance to send the Red Sox into the American League Championship Series for the second time in his illustrious Red Sox career with one swing of the bat. Ortiz grinded out a grueling eight-pitch at bat and finally helped put a man aboard for Kevin Youkilis after letting ball four skip in the dirt. Youkilis fell behind 0-2 against the record holder for most saves in a season but fought off pitches until he got his and lined a base hit into center. The single brought Jason Bay to the plate with one out and Ortiz in scoring position. K-Rod got a big second out by throwing a breaking pitch out of the zone that Bay chased for strike three.
A seven-pitch battle between Francisco Rodriguez and Mike Lowell ended in a walk on a very close pitch on the outside corner to bring up Jed Lowrie. K-Rod fell behind Lowrie 2-0 but impressively kept his composure and was able to get Lowrie to line out to right fielder Gary Matthews Jr. to the utter aggravation of the Fenway faithful. In the top of the eleventh, Jed Lowrie shifted over to third and Alex Cora came into the game at short with Jonathan Papelbon on the bump for his second inning of work.
Jonathan Papelbon has walked just one batter since July 5 (36.2 innings including this postseason) and he would look to continue that trend in the eleventh by feeding six straight fastballs to Garret Anderson before striking the left fielder out on a 98 MPH bullet. The ever so rare walk came to Mark Teixeira with one out and Vladimir Guerrero followed up the base on balls with a rip back up the middle to put two men on for Torii Hunter. Papelbon buckled down and got Torii Hunter to fly out to Jacoby Ellsbury in right and with his pitch count nearing thirty pitches he showed no signs of fatigue. Jonathan Papelbon simply overmatched Gary Matthews Jr. striking him out on three pitches sealing the deal with 97 MPH heat and then pumping his fist in celebration like a man possessed. Completing his second scoreless inning of work in Game 3, Jonathan Papelbon has now pitched 19.2 scoreless innings in the postseason. Those 19.2 scoreless innings are second all time to Joe Niekro’s 20 scoreless innings in postseason play when he did so with the Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins (1980, 1981, 1987).
With K-Rod having done his job after two scoreless innings, Jered Weaver came out of the bullpen in his first career relief appearance in the bottom of the eleventh. With one out, Coco Crisp lined a base hit into center field. Jacoby Ellsbury was rung up on strikes to bring Dustin Pedroia to the plate looking to snap out of his hitless streak in the 2008 postseason. To make the situation even more vital, having done it twenty times during the regular season, Coco Crisp swiped second base to put a runner in scoring position for Pedroia. That first hit that Pedroia as well as all of Red Sox Nation has been longing for did not come in that at bat. The Boston second baseman grounded out on a hard on-hopper to third base, we head for the twelfth.
In the top of the twelfth inning, the Angels finally broke the 4-4 tie by manufacturing a run against Javier Lopez. The third hit of the night by Mike Napoli got things going for the halos and Napoli would advance to second on a sacrifice bunt by Howie Kendrick. Erick Aybar picked the perfect time to make his presence felt in the series by blooping a Texas leaguer into center field to bring Napoli around from second.
If the Red Sox were going to come back in the bottom of the twelfth they had just the right part of the order coming to the plate. David Ortiz led off the inning against Jered Weaver and against Weaver, Big Papi is a notable 8-for-17 with three home runs in his career. Weaver was aware of the great numbers Ortiz had against him and was careful in his pitch selections and locations that resulted in a six-pitch walk to Ortiz with only one fastball in the entire at bat. With Ortiz at first, Kevin Youkilis hit a ball just shy of the warning track for the first out. Jason Bay was next to bat for Boston and had never faced Weaver in his career and it showed. Weaver dealt him a couple of breaking balls for strikes and then froze Bay up on a straight fastball for strike three.
The Red Sox last hope came down to Alex Cora. On the second pitch of the at bat, Alex Cora slapped a fastball to third base and made the final out for the Boston Red Sox in a long and frustrating loss. So many missed opportunities along with eleven men left on base over the course of five hours and nineteen minutes of arduous baseball, the longest game in American League Division Series history. The players and their fans are going to have to take a closer’s mentality and shake this game off knowing that the Red Sox are still in the driver’s seat in this series and have Jon Lester going on five days rest at home in Game 4. The Red Sox won’t have long to dwell on this frustrating loss as the two teams clash again Monday night at Fenway Park at 8:37.
-Jared Carrabis
-Jared Carrabis
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