Taut
| Game 66: June 8, 2008 | |||
| Mariners | 1 | L: Sean Green (1-2) | 22-41, 2 game losing streak |
 Red Sox |
2 | W: Justin Masterson (3-0) H: Craig Hansen (4) H: Hideki Okajima (12) S: Jonathan Papelbon (18) |
40-26, 2 game winning streak |
| Highlights: Since they both started on the same day again, here’s a comparison of the Red Sox and Yankees starting pitchers. Masterson: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 0 HR, W Chamberlain: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 HR, ND I’ll pay a little more attention to the Yankees since their two wins against the last-place Royals have launched them into a tie with Toronto for third in the AL East. | |||
This was the J.D. Drew Theo Epstein expected to get when he shook hands with Scott Boras in January of 2007. This sort of production and this level of defense may well be worth $14M annually.
Drew was responsible for all the runs his team put on the board. In the bottom of the third Coco Crisp led off with a single that was not only the first Boston hit of the game but Crisp’s first hit off Erik Bedard in his career (oddly enough in his 13th plate appearance against the lefty).
Crisp on the basepaths proved a distraction to Bedard who walked Brandon Moss and Dustin Pedroia to load the bases. Bedard then nicked Drew on the hand, forcing in the tying run of the game.
Actually, this was the new and improved Drew, who stayed in the game despite the plunking. His sixth inning homer that dropped right in front of the batter’s eye would be the offensive difference in the game.
Drew’s grab of Richie Sexson’s fly deep to the right-center gap was fluid as his swing. Unlike the cataclysmic dives and labored gallops of the likes of Jim Edmonds and Rick Ankiel, Drew simply maneuvered himself to the spot where the orbit of the ball intersected with the crux of his glove and made a faultlessly timed leap. Had the catch not been made the two men that Justin Masterson had walked to lead off the second inning would have scored.
On the relief pitching side Craig Hansen worked out of a self-created predicament in the seventh. The old Hansen, i.e., the Hansen of last May, likely would have collapsed and surrendered the lead.
Some returns to form are welcome, however, like Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon’s uneventful eigth and ninth innings.
The tightly contested Red Sox game was good preparation for what the nail-biting final few minutes of the Celtics game. Leon Powe had the night of his career: 6 of 7 shots made, 9 of 13 free throws completed, and forcing Lamar Odom to the bench early. The Eastern Conference champions went into the fourth quarter with a 22-point advantage but the Lakers stormed back in the final quarter with an onslaught of threes to get within two points with 22 seconds left on the clock. The home team regained their bearings to win 108-102 and take a 2-0 advantage to Los Angeles.
I thought Sundays were supposed to be relaxing.
