Empyreal Environs

The Red Sox, Jerry Remy, and Don Orsillo were at the top of their game today.

Orsillo and Remy proved they could do play-by-play of sports with more action in the aftermath of Cody Ross’s sixth inning home run. The ball soared over the left field wall into the parking lot. One pursuer fell on the ramp (“took a diggah” in Remy’s Somerset parlance) and it appeared that one attendant had solitary claim to the ball. That attendant got caught up in laughing at his fallen competition and was out-hustled by the man with “Staff” emblazoned on his back.

With all the hubbub around Orsillo’s catch of the monstrous hammerhead shark the duo continued the theme yesterday by characterizing themselves as sea creatures. With very little hesitation Remy said “hermit crab,” a perfect fit. He fessed up that this was a suggestion from the truck. Orsillo said he was a sea turtle because of how he awoke the amorous feelings such a creature on a Red Sox cruise scuba dive.

Fourth starter Felix Doubront pitched like starters one through three should be: 6 innings, 3 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks, and 5 strikeouts. The sole run Cleveland scored came in the sixth when Doubront’s pitch count went above 100 and his effectiveness wavered. Lou Marson led off the frame with a sinking line drive to right that Ross dove after and missed.

It wasn’t Ryan Sweeney backing up the play but Dustin Pedroia. The second baseman ran like a hellion from the infield to gather the ball and relay it to the keystone sack for at least a chance to get Marson out.

Marson advanced to third on Michael Brantley’s ground out. Adrian Gonzalez flipped to Doubront, who dutifully covered first. On the next play, however, Doubront spectated when Jason Kipnis’s grounder skipped to Gonzalez. Doubront’s delay allowed Marson to score.

Marson’s run at least erased his part in Daniel Nava’s fourth inning score. Nava led off with a liner to left and took third on Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s ground-rule double to right. Mike Aviles arced a low fly ball to left and Nava was inching up the line. When Nava saw that the ball was going to be caught he returned to third to tag up. Shelley Duncan’s throw to Marson was in time and on target but Nava got his foot on the plate. The Cleveland catcher simply lacked Variteknique.

For the second out of the ninth Alfredo Aceves fielded Asdrubal Cabrera’s tapper and threw a seed to Gonzalez, nearly taking the first baseman’s mitt off. Gonzalez must have been happy the game of hot potato (“puhdayda” for those in New Bedford and surrounding towns) was over and Aceves struck out Carlos Santana for the final out.

Game 33: May 12, 2012
Cleveland Indians 18-15	1	L: Zach McAllister (1-1)
		2B: Lou Marson (2)
Boston Red Sox 14-19	4	W: Felix Doubront (3-1) H: Andrew Miller (1) H: Vicente Padilla (5) S: Alfredo Aceves (7)
		2B: Dustin Pedroia (12), David Ortiz (14), Jarrod Saltalamacchia (7) HR: Cody Ross (6)