Erase
| Game 94: July 18, 2007 | |||
 Royals |
6 | W: Odalis Perez (5-8) H: David Riske (10) H: Jimmy Gobble (8) H: Joakim Soria (9) S: Octavio Dotel (10) |
41-53, 2 game winning streak 11-17-3 series record |
| Red Sox | 5 | L: Julian Tavarez (5-8) | 56-38, 2 game losing streak 19-9-4 series record |
| Highlights: Again, nobody died. But there were several people I wanted to have killed. One who deserved to live: Jason Varitek gunned down Alex Gordon on his steal attempt of the keystone sack to close the fifth and he drove in a run in the fourth. Other candidates for a stay of execution below. | |||
It’s 1978 all over again! The end is nigh!
Whenever panic seizes me, I visit Baseball Prospectus’s Postseason Odds page. As of today, the Yankees have a 16.87621% chance to clinch the AL wild card and a 23.70733% of making the playoffs. Hooray, Monte Carlo simulations! Boo, irrational worry about dropping one series against the club lurking in the basement of the league.
If the static columns of Baseball Prospectus don’t inspire, click over to Baseball Race and play the 2004 AL season.
Despite the close loss, a few players shone on both sides of the dish. Manny Ramirez failed to power the tying and winning runs in the ninth but he did go yard in fifth to dead center. Beset by liners over his head, Ramirez played slightly deeper and made a lunging nab of David DeJesus’s line drive in the first.
Dustin Pedroia went 3-for-5 but his hits came without runners on. DeJesus was again the victim on Pedroia’s running catch and pivot of a bounding ball that seemed destined for shallow center. The throw to first was slightly off as it was cleared out so quickly, but Kevin Youkilis extended to complete the play.
Not that the positive aspects of this game matter anyway. Prepare to have your hearts ripped out still beating and trampled upon by David Ortiz’s signature cleats. This season is over!
