Platitude
| Game 36: May 7, 2008 | |||
| Red Sox | 9 | H: Hideki Okajima (7) BS, L: Jonathan Papelbon (1, 2-1) |
22-14, 1 game losing streak |
 Tigers |
10 | H: Bobby Seay (2) H: Zach Miner (2) BS: Francisco Cruceta (1) W: Todd Jones (1-0) |
15-20, 1 game winning streak |
| Highlights: Outstanding outings by Kevin Youkilis (two homers with three runs batted in) and Mike Lowell (a game-tying four-bagger in the seventh) kept Boston in contention despite lamentable showings by Clay Buchholz and Julian Tavarez. Is the nightlife in Detroit particularly compelling? I only ask because of the lack of coordination by a pair of players. In the first inning Jed Lowrie tripped on this way towards to first when running out a ground ball to result in a double play. Buchholz slipped when pursuing Gary Sheffield’s infield grounder and touched the ball just before it crossed the foul like, rendering it fair. Buchholz also balked for the first time in his major league career in the first inning. | |||
Buchholz and Tavarez combined for five innings, 14 hits, and eight earned runs. On the positive side, there was only a single base on balls relinquished. Buchholz gave Miguel Cabrera a free pass in the third amongst the carnage of run-scoring base hits.
Instead of being cowed by trailing the home team, the Red Sox picked away at the mountain of runs the Tigers built by scoring in five consecutive innings. The runs came in every conceivable way: Kevin Youklis homered in the fourth and sixth while Jed Lowrie sacrificed in the fifth, joined by David Ortiz’s opposite field shot to plate Jacoby Ellsbury.
Mike Lowell found an opportune time to blast his second longball of the season. With the score 8-5 in the Tigers’ favor in the seventh inning the third baseman added to the ever-growing collection of Zach Miner souvenir gopher balls. This was a peculiarly deep homer, clearing not only the left field wall but also the bullpen. More importantly Lowell’s three-run shot knotted the game at 8-8, making Red Sox fans doubly happy.
Pinch-hitting Dustin Pedroia took the box in the top of the eighth with two runners on an two out. His mighty hack sent a grounder beyond the reach of a diving Carlos Guillen. The go-ahead run was tallied and Boston seemed to be in the midst of a patented Red Sox comback.
The trio of David Aardsma, Javier Lopez, and Hideki Okajima bridged the gap between the early-game duds and the late-inning stud by heaving three scoreless innings.
In the bottom of the ninth one could only helplessly bystand, shake one’s head, and murmur, “That’s baseball.” By merely standing on the same spot of the field as Edgar Renteria Julio Lugo inherited the former’s error-prone ways. Notably it was Renteria’s ball that Lugo flubbed.
Ivan Rodriguez bunted over both baserunners and Curtis Granderson drove in the tying run on a ground out. The solid Placido Polanco was next at dish, determined to improve on his four-hit evening.
Polanco’s Texas Leaguer beyond the reach of the fully-extended Lugo pushed Renteria over home plate for the win and the end to Detroit’s five-game losing streak.
That’s baseball.
