Fowl
| Game 144: September 9, 2007 | |||
 Red Sox |
3 | W: Josh Beckett (18-6) H: Hideki Okajima (27) S: Jonathan Papelbon (35) |
87-57, 1 game winning streak 30-12-5 series record Magic number: 15 |
| Orioles | 2 | L: Chad Bradford (3-7) | 61-81, 1 game losing streak 17-27-2 series record |
| Highlights: Flipping channels between the Red Sox and Patriots proved difficult; mostly I saw Heineken, Bob’s Furniture, and Dunkin’ Donut commercials with flashes of sports action interspliced. I’m into nuggets, yo. | |||
Jerry Remy discussed Josh Beckett’s chances for the Cy Young this season and highlighted the fact that he has cut down his home runs allowed from 36 to 12 this season. As it so often happens, the baseball divinities took this as a challenge. The only runs Beckett allowed over seven innings of labor were two longballs by Melvin Mora and Nick Markakis.
As he does every game Dave Trembley tried to wring blood from a stone. Ramon Hernandez was hit by a pitch to commence the seventh. Beckett looked annoyed not because he was retaliating against the backstop, who was particularly feisty in the second game of this series, but rather because of Hernandez’s languid attempt to avoid the pitch.
Trembley pinch ran Brandon Fahey for Hernandez and sacrificed the runner to second. Then the Orioles field manager pinch hit Kevin Millar in Luis Hernandez’s place.
Maybe he just has something against Hernandezes.
At any rate, Millar grounded out to short and Fahey perched on third hoping for Brian Roberts to drive him home. All the while I imagined a profanity-ridden tirade by Earl Weaver on this particular sequence of plays.
The Red Sox did not have tremendous success against Jeremy Guthrie, who pitched remarkably well despite having on overly avid fan mirror his every warm-up stretch from the stands. Guthrie only relinquished two runs with two out in the third.
Fellow Rookie of the Year contender Dustin Pedroia laced a single to center and advanced to third on David Ortiz’s potent double against the scoreboard in right. Both runners scored on Mike Lowell’s dancing single up the middle by virtue of Tike Redman’s precarious throw to the infield and the accompanying misstep by Guthrie.
Coco Crisp stole the game not with his glove and had an unlikely accomplice in J.D. Drew. Drew led off the eighth with a single that plopped in front Redman. Kevin Youkilis lined out to Brian Roberts on a shot that should have found the outfield but was intercepted by the leaping second baseman.
Terry Francona sensed the game would be won or lost in this frame and sent in the signal for Drew to steal, which the outfielder did with Jason Varitek at the dish.
Varitek sacrificed deep enough to center to advance Drew. Crisp’s humpback to center knocked Drew home and Chad Bradford off the mound.
The rest of the Orioles lineup were eager to leave to park. Hideki Okajima dispatched three hitters with ten pitches while Jonathan Papelbon took 13. Divisional wins at Baltimore’s expense are cheap, however; expect the same lackluster play by them when they go against the Yankees for two more series.
