Bash
| Game 120: August 12, 2008 | |||
| Rangers | 17 | H: Warner Madrigal (1) H: Jamey Wright (14) BS, L: Frank Francisco (5, 24) |
61-59, 1 game losing streak |
 Red Sox |
19 | BS: Manny Delcarmen (3) W: Hideki Okajma (3-2) S: Jonathan Papelbon (32) |
69-51, 2 game winning streak |
| Highlights: This was not the sort of bash Charlie Zink expected for his major league debut. By the time the dust settled, his four and one-third innings of work was but a footnote in a massive tome of offense dropped on the unwitting feet of both pitching staffs. Zink, an eminently likable young man, is, at 28, the oldest pitcher to have made his major league debut since Orlando Hernandez. He came from a working class background; his parents were wardens at Folsom State Prison. The facility is best known for hosting Johnny Cash as a performer twice. Coincidentally, Zink was in tandem with Kevin Cash. | |||
Last night the Red Sox and Rangers tied the American League record for most runs scored in a game. Back on June 29, 1950, the Red Sox and the Philadelphia Athletics clashed at Shibe Park and combined for 36 runs with the visitors winning 22-14. It was remarkable that the Athletics were able to score that much as at the end of the season the team sported a paltry 52-102 record.
David Ortiz pummeled a pair of three-run homers in the first and the Rangers didn’t help themselves with slipshod defense behind the hapless Scott Feldman. For Ortiz’s second homer, the second base umpire Scott Barry applied a peculiar Fenway Park ground rule somewhat incorrectly. The rule states, “A fly ball striking wall left of line and bounding into bullpen is a home run.” The sphere clearly caromed into the lower bleachers, not the bullpen, but the liberal interpretation of the rule seemed to be appropriate as Ortiz crushed that cookie of a pitch.
The umpiring crew gave a bit of a makeup call to the Rangers in the fifth by ruling that Coco Crisp didn’t catch Gerald Laird’s fly ball to deep center. The replay showed that Crisp squeezed the ball and dropped it in transition, but the officials stood stubbornly by their call. The visitors would go on to score six more runs (with Ian Kinsler contributing a three-run longball of his own) to the two they already had in the frame to bring the score to 12-10.
One man that was vulnerable to Feldman was Kevin Youkilis who, as patient as he is, struck out twice in the first. But it was Youkilis who put his team ahead in the bottom of the eight with a three-run jack to give his team the lead once and for all.
The grueling win came at a cost, however: Mike Lowell strained his oblique muscle and was placed on the 15-day disabled list. The gamer that he is, he continued to play with his hip issue and likely incurred this more serious injury by overcompensating with his torso. David Pauley will take Lowell’s spot on the 25-man roster, perhaps a bit too belatedly considering Clay Buchholz’s ineffectiveness.
I take notes throughout the course of the game; after the jump you can revisit the absurdity of this game. At least with the Red Sox prevailing it will be something that won’t be a misery to recollect.
top first: Oldest MLB player to make his debut since El Duque
Kinsler flied out to left field warning track
123
bottom first: Drew BB
Pedroia dropped a single into center
Ortiz homered, towering
Lowell singled up the middle
Bay off Vazquez’s chest, SS looked up in anticipation of turning the double play and failed to field the ball
Double steal by Lowell and Bay
Lowrie doubled off the top of the scoreboard with a clank
Crisp flied out
Cash BB. Batted around
Drew singled, another run scored, Cash advance
Pedroia singled off Feldman
Papi with a three-run homer, this time to Red Sox bullpen bleachers
Youk K twice in the inning
top second: Andy Karl and Dick Newsome, Flowers and
Sixth Red Sox player to make his debut this season
Parents worked for Folsom State Prison
Bradley BB
Byrd singled to opposite field, past Pedroia
With two out, Davis singled to right, two runs scored
Vazquez singled up the middle
bottom second: with two out, Lowrie doubled to center
top third: Young leadoff single to left
Bradley K
bottom third: Drew through the hole for a single
Pedroia to opposite field, too
Papi to Kinsler, grounder could have been DP but was bobbled, 2 out
Youk BB, Feldman gone
Bay grounder to Vazquez who gloved it but slipped out, another run scored
bottom fourth: Crisp beat out pitcher to first, Davis dropped ball when fielding
top fifth: Kinsler got ahold of a knuckler and caromed it off the left field wall to Crisp for a stand-up double. Kinsler advanced on wild pitch.
Hamilton RBI single past Youk
Bradley grounder that asploded on Lowrie
Byrd doubled to F.W. Webb sign, run scored but Hamilton waited to see if Crisp would catch it
Crisp dropped Laird’s fly ball, he claimed that it was on the transition that it was dropped. On replay it looked like a catch,second base umpire disagreed. Zink left the mound, two outs away from a decision
Lopez in: Davis singled to left for another run, dropped in front of Bay
Vazquez K, Aardsma in
Kinsler three-run jack off Aardsma
Young K
bottom fifth: Ortiz doubled, called fan interference
Youk to the wall of the bleachers; bounced to the Monster seats
Bay B
top sixth: Hamilton, Bradley, and Byrd: another run scored
Aardsma out, MDC in
Catalanotto doubled to plate another run
Sacrifice fly by Laird
Davis’s fly ball deflected off Youk to Pedroia who went home. Pedroia’s throw was high, game tied
Kinsler sac fly for the lead
bottom sixth: Madrigal in
Crisp BB, CS
top seventh: MDC still in
Hamilton leadoff double, plated by Byrd’s single
Okajima in
Ellison PH, flied out
Laird BB
David HBP
bottom seventh: Pedroia singled through the hole
Ortiz BB
Youk grounder to pitcher, relay to Vazquez missed by him, Pedroia score
Bay fielder’s choice
top eighth: Youk leaping grab of Kinsler liner, at the hot corner
Pedroia sliding stop of Young grounder
Hamilton K looking, doesn’t agree
bottom eighth: Frank Francisco in. Will he throw a chair?
Lowell strained right oblique muscle
Ellsbury BB on four pitches
Drew flied out to deep right
Pedroia lofted a double off the wall, Ellsbury burned it from first to score the tying run
Ortiz IBB. Francisco angry IBB throw for first pitch.
Youk three-run shot off Sports Authority sign
top ninth: Byrd reached on error, ball asploded
Boggs PH RBI double
Davis softly lined out to Pedroia
