Empyreal Environs

Game 17: April 22, 2007
Yankees	6	H: Andy Pettitte (1) BS, L: Scott Proctor (2, 0-1)	8-9, 3 game losing streak 2-3-1 series record
Red Sox	7	W: Daisuke Matsuzaka (2-2) H: Hideki Okajima (2) H: Brendan Donnelly (3) S: Jonathan Papelbon (6)	12-5, 5 game winning streak 4-1-1 series record
Highlights: Red Sox had not swept the Yankees at Fenway in 17 years until last night. Terry Francona got an early birthday gift: his team bought him a broom to sweep their American League nemesis out of town. The Red Sox tied the record for consecutive home runs in an inning with four. Terry Francona’s father, Tito, was part of the only other quartet of hitters to launch four consecutive home runs off the same pitcher, Paul Foytack, on July 31, 1963. Tito’s birth name is John Patsy, so it’s no mystery why he went by an alias. J.D. Drew was also part of the Dodgers foursome that teed off against San Diego on September 18 last year. There were two other teams to accomplish this feat: the Milwaukee Braves on June 8, 1961 and the Twins on May 2, 1964. “Honruida” is a Japanese word for “home run.”

Baseball is said to be the most individualistic of all the team sports. Although the first act of every play is an intimate dialogue between the pitcher and catcher, in an instant an entire cast can be part of the scene.

And that is why, as much as the media want to place Daisuke Matsuzaka at the center of their dramas in every one of his starts, there is always the chance that their scripts will be instantly replaced with improbable improvisation, as it was last night.

For who would have thought that Matsuzaka’s first (supposedly) real challenge, his debut against his team’s decade-long antagonist, could be overshadowed? He had been upstaged by Felix Hernandez’s one-hitter in his first Fenway start. It would take something historic, something earthshaking, for the spotlight to waiver from the pitcher’s mound.

Wily Mo Peña did hit the left field wall fielding Melky Cabrera’s fly ball in the second inning, but surprisingly the resultant tremors registered only 3.7 on the Richter scale.

No, the watershed moment came in the third inning. Chase Wright, who has pitched about 20 innings at any level above Class A ball, did not have to be in the big leagues long to have his name forever etched in people’s minds and the history books. The 24-year old induced the first two outs easily enough: mirror fly ball outs off the bats of Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz.

Then Manny Ramirez rocketed a home run up and over the deepest part of the Monster, allowing Ramirez the chance to flaunt his “guts pose” [ガッツポーズ ], or home run pimp. J.D. Drew launched the next pitch into the short bleachers behind the home bullpen, just a few feet away from where Anne Quinn sits.

Mike Lowell proved outfielders don’t get all the long balls and curtain calls; his shot just cleared the Monster. Jason Varitek felt badly no one on the wall had a physical keepsake, so he made sure his four-bagger landed in the stands so a loyal patron could treasure his parcel of history.

The foursome’s performance gave the Red Sox their first lead of the game, but there would further plot twists. The leading adversary, Derek Jeter, led off the fifth with a game-tying homer. Another, less dramatic but still galling go-ahead run would plate in the sixth on a double play by Cabrera

One couldn’t tell by the actors Joe Torre called upon to participate that this was an April off-Broadway production. Andy Pettitte was brought in for relief in the sixth. Torre ran through every actual catching option to pinch hit until he was down to his third understudy, Josh Phelps.

The seventh inning featured a final late plot twist authored by the home team. Ramirez singled to the opposite field to begin the rising action. Drew heightened the drama by scraping a lofty double off the left field wall. His expert use of timing along Cabrera’s interplay along the warning track had the audience wondering until the last second if it would be a routine fly out, a spectacular jump or play off the wall, or a base hit.

Lowell brought the production to its climax with his three-run go-ahead circuit clout. Although Cabrera would gamely ground into another out in the eighth to bring his team within a run, with Jonathan Papelbon warming in the bullpen the outcome was all but preordained.

Despite the almost rote ending, this theatrical work will surely win worldwide accolades and will see repeated showings for the remainder of the season. Whatever reviews or spoilers you may have read about this work of theater should not sully your enjoyment. The cast and crew is adept at keeping the production ever innovative, vibrant, and provocative.