Pretty Ugly
Win is a win is a win is a win.
Even if it is a brutal back-and-forth affair that forced Terry Francona and Cito Gaston to all but empty their bullpens. Attendance at the Rogers Centre is so sparse that there were more pitchers tonight than fans in the stands.
Who can blame anyone that stayed away from this 25-run bout? Jason Varitek batted righty with the bases loaded in the third and lined a single up the middle to plate two runs, giving his personal pitcher Josh Beckett a 3-0 lead. In the very next inning the Red Sox backstop switched his batting stance but again had ducks on the pond. Bill Murray-like, Varitek lined a single to Vernon Wells and rendered the score 8-6.
For some relief from Beckett’s pitching I switched to the Bruins game as he was pulled in the fourth. I turned just in time to see David Krejci’s score his second goal of the game and lingered just long enough to witness Nathan Gerbe counter with a Sabres goal just 22 seconds later.
The teams turned the domed edifice into a kids’ playground with the merry-go-round of relievers and the see-saw of the score, all on the approved safety surface of the Rogers Centre. Home plate umpire Ed Hickox played the role of half-attentive playground attendant, failing to call Kevin Youkilis safe at home in the first on J.D. Drew’s ground ball to right.
It seemed like the kind of game in which the home team would eventually prevail by virtue of it batting last, but Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon held Toronto at bay for the final two innings.
| Game 20: April 26, 2010 | ||
 Red Sox9-11 | 13 | W: Scott Schoeneweis (1-0) H: Manny Delcarmen (1), Daniel Bard (4) S: Jonathan Papelbon (6) |
| 2B: Marco Scutaro (2), Adrian Beltre (4), Darnell McDonald (2), Dustin Pedroia (8) | ||
| Blue Jays 10-10 | 12 | L: Shawn Camp (1-1) |
| 2B: Vernon Wells (9), John Buck (5), Lyle Overbay (5) 3B: Fred Lewis (1), Alex Gonzalez (1) HR: Jose Bautista (4), Lyle Overbay (2) | ||
