Lead
| Game 44: May 24, 2009 | |||
| Mets | 5 | L: Tim Redding (0-1) | 23-20, 1 game losing streak |
 Red Sox | 12 | W: Tim Wakefield (6-2) H: Manny Delcarmen (2) | 26-18, 1 game winning streak |
| Highlights: Mother Nature knew that the Red Sox offense would be red hot against the likes of Redding, so she attempted to cool off their bats with a quenching rain in the bottom of the first inning. | |||
Dan Shaughnessy was part of the pre-game show. He was so orange I mistook him for a new Mets mascot. He fulfills all of the criteria required for team mascots: outsized head, frozen and bizarre facial expression, and outrageous hair style, all of which combine to frighten young and old alike.
Dwight Evans accompanied Don Orsillo in the booth. I thought Dennis Eckersley might have been benched by NESN for swearing during Friday night’s game, but the Hall of Famer does have a contract with TBS to analyze select Sunday games.
Evans is a peach of guy but his voice is better suited to golf than baseball. He was so soothing I barely realized that the Red Sox were pummeling the Mets. Nearly every Boston batter notched a hit yesterday. Every hitter except David Ortiz. The sympathy in Evans’s voice was apparent with each plate appearance by Papi. Today Ortiz will sit against Francisco Liriano, as Terry Francona finally sussed out that it is difficult for a southpaw slugger to face lefties in multiple games after given a few days off.
Tim Wakefield wasn’t his shutdown self but his teammates provided so much run support he didn’t need to be flawless. The third inning started off with a Luis Castillo single; a cassingle, if you will. The Mets tied with David Wright’s line drive single to left and took the lead on Jeremy Reed’s liner to right. Visiting fans drowned out the devotees of the local nine.
The fifth inning comeback started off on a sour note. Kevin Youkilis seemed to have hit a leadoff home run but after video review Joe West stated that the call of foul ball stood. Youkilis flied out to right and Jason Bay gave the ball a ride to center. With two outs under his belt Tim Redding couldn’t stay in the game to get the required innings for the win. Boston scored three runs as Sean Green allowed all of his inherited runners cross the plate, including George Kottaras. The back-up catcher scored thanks to another Green, Nick, who got himself caught in a rundown between first and second so that Kottaras wouldn’t be out at home.
Kottaras had a career day: 3-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI. Youkilis was denied a homer in the fifth but powered a no-doubter in the seventh with two on and two out. Kottaras is the real Greek, by the way, though not a god of walks. More days like this and he could be named the god of second catchers.
The Blue Jays continued their skid, losing their sixth straight game and the division lead. With this win and the losses by Toronto and New York the Red Sox now lead the AL East. It’s a slim margin, but it’s the lead nonetheless.
