Suppressed
| Game 52: May 24, 2008 | |||
| Red Sox | 0 | L: Josh Beckett (5-4) | 31-21, 2 game losing streak |
 Athletics |
3 | W: Justin Duchscherer (4-3) S: Huston Street (10) |
27-23, 3 game winning streak |
| Highlights: Some will moan, “Why can’t we get players like Duchscherer?” who had a perfect game through five innings last night. The righty was Red Sox property until June 12, 2001, when he was traded for Doug Mirabelli. | |||
One Boston team’s road woes continued while another’s lifted. The Red Sox were one-hit by a two-pitcher tandem last night while the Celtics conquered their Eastern Conference rival Pistons 94-80.
Once again Josh Beckett came up on the short end of a pitchers’ duel. Back on April 27 Beckett and the Red Sox lost 3-0 to Tampa Bay thanks to James Shields’s complete game shutout. Last night was all too reminiscent of that game, replete with a dominant performance from an improbably source accompanied by the ceaseless rumpus in the stands.
Fittingly the operatic Jim Joyce was calling balls and strikes. As the tension mounted, Duchscherer carrying his perfect game frame by frame into the night, Joyce punctuated each Boston batter’s strikeout with his orotund bellow.
Duchscherer was not afraid to come in on hitters, but he got too close with Jason Varitek at the dish to lead off the sixth. Varitek didn’t make a tremendous effort to avoid a slider inside and thus became the first Red Sox baserunner of the evening.
Bob Geren brought in his best outfield defenders in the top of the seventh, removing Jack Cust from the lineup in favor of Rajai Davis who then slid to center, Ryan Sweeney assumed right field, and Emil Brown crossed from right field to left. But even all those maneuvers could not hinder David Ortiz from finding the right-center gap for a line drive single with one out in the seventh.
The number of Red Sox men on base in this game was the same as the number of Oakland hurlers it took to shut out the visiting team: two. At least they saved their legs for the series finale this afternoon.
