Rocky
| Game 64: June 13, 2007 | |||
 Rockies |
12 | W: Josh Fogg (2-5) | 33-33, 1 game winning streak 6-11-4 series record |
| Red Sox | 2 | L: Curt Schilling (6-3) | 41-23, 1 game losing streak 15-5-2 series record |
| Highlights: Mike Lowell atoned for his run-scoring error in the second (his 12th of the season) with his 12th homer of the season in the bottom of the same inning. The only other Red Sox run came with three consecutive singles by Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz, and Manny Ramirez in the third. | |||
Well, that was a brief stint for Dustin Pedroia leading off. Using his numbers against Josh Fogg (5-11 with two home runs), Terry Francona started Alex Cora at second instead of the rookie and had the utility man batting eighth. Julio Lugo remained in the nine-hole but Coco Crisp led off, meaning the lineup’s poorest producers were back-to-back.
Fogg was born in Lynn, Massachusetts on December 13, 1976. When I went to Tuesday’s game I noticed he and Chris Iannetta, who was born in Providence, were soaking in Fenway’s atmosphere. For Fogg it seemed that playing in his birth state inspired him to transcend his 1-5 record and 5.06 ERA. By the time Fogg left the hill in the fifth the Red Sox had helped him reduce his ERA to 4.95.
The Red Sox pitchers, both starter and key relievers, did not come through in high leverage situations. Curt Schilling relinquished a three-run bomb by Brad Hawpe into Thome territory in the fifth.
In the sixth Todd Helton took the box with two out and ducks on the pond. Francona called on Javier Lopez, who can usually be relied upon for a weak tap to the infield for final outs. Instead Helton lined to a region of left field where Manny Ramirez’s usually effective tactic of playing shallow foiled the outfielder. The shot cleared the bases.
Joel Piñeiro tried to disembark from the J.C. Romero Cruise he’s currently enjoying and made a seventh-inning statement by hurling a perfect turn of relief with two strikeouts thrown in for good measure. But in the eighth he regressed to his mean and allowed yet another trio of runs, one of which plated on an errant pitch.
Iannetta hasn’t yet had an at bat at Fenway. Hopefully Clint Hurdle will let the rookie start in the final game of the series, not just so he can play in the park that he grew up loving but also because Yorvit Torrealba (or Torreabla, as Jerry Remy called him) has been particularly bothersome to Boston pitchers.
