Empyreal Environs

Game 154: September 22, 2006
Red Sox (83-71), 7
Blue Jays (80-73), 1
W: Julian Tavarez (4-4)
L: Ted Lilly (14-13)

Did Ted Lilly forget to pay his dues for the Red Sox Killers Club? He lasted just five and one-third innings with five hits, five runs (just two earned), four walks, eight strikeouts, and a single home run.

The roundtripper came early. Kevin Youkilis led off the second with a seven-pitch at bat. Lyle Overbay could have sat Mike Lowell if the first baseman gloved Lowell’s pop-up in foul territory. You can’t give a wily hitter like Lowell another chance; the corner infielder took Lilly deep over the obnoxiously electronic scoreboard-laden center field wall.

Dustin Pedroia is rather small of stature, so he couldn’t clear Alex Rios’s sliding body in the fourth inning. Despite the encumbrance, Pedroia managed to relay to Mark Loretta to complete the double play. The rookie second baseman is a gamer, as this video of his hazing attests.

His double play partner, Alex Gonzalez, had an outstanding offensive night. His two hits were doubles and both came after he had fallen behind in the count 0-2. He drove in Wily Mo Peña in the second and drove in two more runs in the sixth with the bases loaded.

Surprising performances from unexpected sources abounded. The formerly-maligned (even on this very site) Julian Tavarez pitched the second complete game of his career. He was absolutely radiant in his interview with Tina Cervasio. Short of beauty pageant contestants, I’ve never seen anyone happier while answering insipid questions.