Pinion
Game 49: May 29, 2006
Red Sox (30-19), 6
Blue Jays (28-22), 7
L: David Riske (0-1)
BS: Justin Speier (1)
W: B.J. Ryan (1-0)
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Three Red Sox players, Coco Crisp, Manny Ramirez, and Jason Varitek, hit homers in the fifth, sixth, and eighth. Crisp had his first four-bagger as a Boston player. Varitek’s three-run long jack tied the game in the eighth, but his team would not prevail.
But the Blue Jays were just as brawny, with Vernon Wells and Lyle Overbay launching souvenirs into the stands in the third and fourth innings. Matt Clement turned in another unsatisfactory outing, only pitching for three and one-third innings while giving up seven hits, six earned runs, two walks, and striking out none.
Sunday’s thriller of an ending that burned Rudy Seanez and Julian Tavarez forced Terry Francona to turn to his untested, younger, and fresher arms. They did not fail him. Jermaine Van Buren and Manny Delcarmen combined for three and two-third shutout innings. Francona may have faltered by deciding to go with David Riske on the mound, but Riske was facing the bottom third of the order. The Red Sox manager was probably expecting the game to go into extra innings and relied on Riske to shutdown Toronto, but his gamble did not pay off. Bengie Molina hit a leadoff double (actually, his second double of the at bat, as the third base umpire Larry Young missed a call down the line where the ball actually caused an eruption of chalk) and John Gibbons had Eric Hinske run for the catcher, thereby losing the designated hitter.
Gibbons’s gambit, unlike Francona’s, was successful. Aaron Hill sacrificed Hinske to third base and the pinch runner scored on a Shea Hillenbrand single, giving his team a 7-6 advantage. It was all closer B.J. Ryan would need to secure his first vulture win of the season.
