Masterstroke
| Game 33: May 10, 2007 | |||
 Red Sox |
8 | W: Tim Wakefield (4-3) | 23-10, 4 game winning streak 9-2-2 series record |
| Blue Jays | 0 | L: Roy Halladay (4-2) | 13-21, 9 game losing streak 4-5-3 series record |
| Highlights: The Red Sox tallied their third shutout of the season. Wakefield joined forces with Hideki Okajima and J.C. Romero for the five-hit win. Halladay pitched poorly for the second start in a row while B.J. Ryan had Tommy John surgery. If Canadians cared about baseball, they would be up in arms. | |||
The composition of the game was fleshed out early. Kevin Youkilis lined a double that recoiled against the right field wall as Alex Rios struggled to contain it. Perhaps unnerved by the presence of David Ortiz’s monstrous bat dangling over the scant 17 by 17 inch tableau upon which he must paint, Roy Halladay reeled off the rubber in a pickoff attempt at second. John McDonald wasn’t there to complete the scene, ruining the symmetry of the work.
Youkilis, he of the six stolen bases in his career, loped to third. He would score easily on Ortiz’s ground out to first.
The Blue Jays were poised to counter in the bottom of the first frame. After a flailing strikeout by Rios, Adam Lind and Vernon Wells singled. Tim Wakefield pitched gingerly to Troy Glaus, who walked on four balls. With the bases loaded and one out, Frank Thomas fit himself, just barely, into the batter’s box.
With one cut Thomas could give his ace a three-run advantage. Halladay could stretch that canvas just a bit wider and render the Red Sox batters in his typical compositions, such as Still Life with Bat On Shoulder While Observing Curveball Crossing Plate for Strike or Hacking at Sinker to Ground Into Room Service Double Play.
Instead Toronto’s designated hitter whiffed at a pitch inside. Glaus, tarrying too far off first, was picked off by Doug Mirabelli’s snappy throw to Youkilis for the final out.
Halladay’s inspiration deserted him in the third; the subject took control and overpowered him. Boston batted around, splattering hits like Jackson Pollock about the field and, in the case of Mike Lowell, one shot beyond the fences. By the time Halladay got the last out, the picture looked bleak for the home team, who would have to work their way out of a seven-run deficit.
They would have to do so against the masterful Tim Wakefield. The knuckleballer is the American League leader in ERA (1.79) and batting average against (.189), and Toronto would follow that trend to defeat.
