Empyreal Environs

Game 36: May 14, 2005
Red Sox (22-14), 6
Mariners (14-22), 3
W: Mike Myers (1-0)
H: Matt Mantei (5)
H: Mike Timlin (10)
S: Keith Foulke (9)
H, L: Ron Villone (8, 0-2)
BS: J.J. Putz (2)

Grand slam, thank you ma’am. Er, Trot, that is. Bill Mueller, the leadoff hitter of the 7th inning, got on base by hitting a single. Mark Bellhorn then doubled Mueller in with the count at 1-2. Johnny Damon grounds out, but Edgar Renteria subsequently singled, also on a 1-2 count. You have to love how they perform on 2-strike counts. Then David Ortiz is hit by the first pitch thrown by Villone. It made me wonder briefly if it was some sort of perverse retaliation for the foul (as he believed) ball that Ortiz hit against him in the Seattle series at Fenway Park. No one would be so stupid as to load the bases for what he perceived as a slight, right? Certainly one would have to pay for such idiocy.

The price was 4 runs, but they were not driven in by Manny Ramirez, who could have hit his 4ooth home run. Instead, it was Nixon on a 0-1 pitch hitting his 8th grand slam and giving the Red Sox the lead in the American League for grand slams with 5.

Wade Miller was basically cruising until the 6th inning. He got the first 2 outs easily, but then gave up 2 consecutive home runs to Richie Sexson and Raul Ibanez. Miller got the count to 1-2 on Bret Boone, one of the accursed spawn of the Boone family, when Boone hit a single. (Is the Boone home run not supposed to hurt any longer because of 2004? I guess it need not bother me as much, but it still does.) Miller ended with 5 hits, 3 earned runs, 2 walks, and 2 strikeouts.

Next time Mantei, Myers, and Timlin make appearances in the same game, I want Matt to say, “Hi, I’m Matt, and this is my brother Mike, and this is my other brother Mike.”