Fearsome
| Game 106: August 5, 2009 | |||
| Red Sox | 4 | L: Brad Penny (7-6) | 62-44, 2 game losing streak |
 Rays | 6 | W: David Price (5-4) H: Lance Cormier (2) H: Dan Wheeler (12) S: J.P. Howell (12) | 60-48, 3 game winning streak |
| Highlights: Jason Bay homered for the first time since July 7. For the first time as a member of the Red Sox Victor Martinez went bridge. Nick Green had a first of his own: in the eighth he played left field for the first time in his career. Perhaps Terry Francona’s logic was that if Evan Longoria hit to that region it would fly over the fences anyway. | |||
The Rays quadrupled their quadrangulars. Carlos Peña lost one deep to right with Ben Zobrist on second. In the next inning Carl Crawford’s circuit clout soared to the seats near his defensive territory, plating Michel Hernandez.
When the otherwise comatose Pat Burrell can launch a ball into Souvenir City, as he did in the sixth, things aren’t going well for your pitching staff. Jason Bartlett added to the humiliation in the seventh with a solo shot to the sinister side.
Bartlett’s homer was payback for Jed Lowrie’s defensive gem in the first. The Red Sox shortstop snared his counterpart’s batted ball in shallow left and hurled to first baseman Victor Martinez. It was as if all the verbiage that goes along with a routine Derek Jeter out was played out in real life.
The Rays temporarily reverted to their Bad News Bears former selves in the seventh. Rocco Baldelli popped up on what should have been a routine play but ended up on second base because of Zobrist’s catching error. The former Ray came around to score, but there weren’t enough flubs by the Rays nor hits by the Red Sox to make up the deficit.
If Boston falls short of making the playoffs, look back at this two-game series sweep and imagine what might have been
