Empyreal Environs

Game 140: September 5, 2007
Blue Jays	6	BS: Brian Wolfe (2) W: Jeremy Accardo (4-3)	71-68, 1 game winning streak 21-16-7 series record
Red Sox	4	H: Bryan Corey (1) BS: Manny Delcarmen (1) L: Hideki Okajima (3-2)	84-56, 1 game losing streak 29-12-5 series record Magic number: 17
Highlights: Jacoby Ellsbury continued to impress on both sides of the ball. From the two-hole the rookie outfielder drove in a run and scored after running out a double past a lurching Troy Glaus. He also slammed the door on the fifth-inning rally with a sliding haul of Glaus’s smoker to left. David Ortiz thought he caught Ellsbury Fever and tried to leg out a double on a clanger in the third but was thrown out to end the inning. In all but one inning Curt Schilling pitched capably; he lasted longer than Roger Clemens, at least, going six innings with eight hits, three runs, one base on balls, and two strikeouts. Delcarmen and Okajima served gopher balls late in the game to Troy Glaus and Vernon Wells respectively to snap the Red Sox’s four-game winning streak.

Seeing Matt Clement out and about made me grin. His career contribution to the Red Sox fell short of expectations (256 and one-third innings pitched, 18-11 record, 5.09 ERA), but he did make the All-Star squad in 2005 and seemed to be coming into his own with a new club and league.

Camped out on the stairs near Terry Francona, he seemed to be pleading his case to be allowed on the mound.

By the time the fifth inning rolled around, Francona may have seriously considered giving Clement a whirl. Curt Schilling went through the lineup once and the opposing hitters pounced on his first pitch strikes aggressively. Gregg Zaun was nearly clipped at home on a tight call at home but the Toronto backstop was called safe. A snappy toss from rookie firecracker Jacoby Ellsbury to cutoff man Mike Lowell to Jason Varitek was just shy of being the third out. A flock of Blue Jays flew around the bases on three consecutive hard-hit singles to give the visitors the lead.

And they ran, they ran so far away. But not so far that the Red Sox couldn’t keep up.

In the home half of the inning with none out, Alex Cora inexplicably bunted on a 2-2 count, giving away an out with two men on. Cora’s Baseball Genius credentials may well be revoked by Tony LaRusso and he had to make a withdrawal from the bank of fan goodwill. He did make a deposit into his account in the second inning with a wide receiver-like catch of Aaron Hill’s pop fly that seemed destined to drop fall in no man’s land for at least one run. That it was Hill who was robbed was terrific comeuppance as this particular second baseman’s signature moves are to rob David Ortiz of hits and knock in a timely and cheap RBI singles.

Julio Lugo flipped a single into shallow left to load the bases and Ellsbury followed up with a high sac fly to the left-center gap. Vernon Wells migrated a great distance to snatch the ball and Varitek tagged up to bring his team within a run.

Varitek made up for his near-golden sombrero performance in the sixth with a two-run longball with the much-pummeled Kevin Youkilis on first thanks to yet another plunking. He leads the team with 14 HBPs in 482 at bats. Cora trails with nine, but he has only notched 188 ABs.

Boston’s bullpen showed weakness after a stint of near-perfection. Hideki Okajima surrendered a bomb to dead center to Vernon Wells, a shot that was reminiscent of the first home run he gave up to John Buck in Kansas City. In the post-game show Tom Caron theorized that Okajima might be fatiguing while Dave McCarty opined that the Blue Jays had seen so much of the lefty that they knew his tendencies.

The splits show that Okajima has pitched five innings over five games against the Blue Jays, tied for fourth in innings against a particular team. The Yankees have seen the southpaw nine and one-third innings, the Orioles and Rangers seven and one third, and the Angels join Toronto with five innings each.

Despite the loss, Boston is well on its way to its first division title in 12 years. The sooner the team clinches the more rest it may be allotted, but it until then it is a delicate balance between keeping the competitive fire lit and burning out.