Doc on Holiday
As if facing Roy Halladay four or five times a year when he was a Blue Jay wasn’t enough, he had to come up in the rotation during interleague when Boston faced its natural NL rival Philadelphia. Familiarity breeds contempt, and the acquaintance between Halladay and the Red Sox breeds runs.
Not only do pitchers like throwing at Kevin Youkilis but fielders, too. The first baseman arced the ball to center fielder Shane Victorino who let it ricochet out of his glove. Youkilis had a rough slide into the hot corner and his self-induced bumps were exacerbated by the relay throw cuffing him in the neck.
Weathering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune paid off when J.D. Drew drove Youkilis in for the first run of the game. Any additional runs would be a luxury against the perennial All-Star and former Cy Young winner.
In the fourth Adrian Beltre pounded a grounder towards Greg Dobbs with the bases loaded and one out for a tailor-made double play. Like Cristiano Ronaldo kicking the ball between Homer Simpson’s legs so did Beltre’s grounder go between Dobbs’s wickets. Two runs scored, an unusual luxury gifted from the Phillies’ ace.
Not satisfied with a three-run lead, the Phillies were like the Orlando Magic to the Red Sox’s Celtics in the sixth. Boston scored four runs, tipped off by a solo shot by Youkilis, continuing with a double by public enemy number one Drew, and finishing with singles by Beltre, Marco Scutaro, and Jacoby Ellsbury.
Chase Utley tripled off the top of the wall with one out in the home half of the sixth. He was stranded there when Youkilis scooped Beltre’s throw in the dirt for the final out, valiantly clutching the ball in at the heel of his glove while falling down and keeping his foot on the sack.
This could be the trip that kick starts the team into contention or it could be a deceptive temporary reprieve. Perhaps the American League should consider abolishing the designated hitter rule; the Red Sox are playing .667 ball without it and .524 with it. Being a former position player Tim Wakefield is handy enough with the bat and the National League format did garner him his first win in 2010. The Red Sox would be at worst a second place team in any of the divisions in the senior circuit.
| Game 45: May 23, 2010 | ||
 Red Sox24-21 | 8 | W: Tim Wakefield (1-2) |
| 2B: J.D. Drew (11), Victor Martinez (10) 3B: Kevin Youkilis (3) HR: Kevin Youkilis (9) | ||
| Phillies 26-17 | 3 | L: Roy Halladay (6-3) |
| 2B: Shane Victorino (6), Juan Castro (4), Jayson Werth (22), Raul Ibanez (9) 3B: Chase Utley (1) HR: Ross Gload (2) | ||
