Boola Boola
In the bottom of the eighth Bobby Valentine summoned Craig Breslow to face Robinson Cano with one out and Nick Swisher leering at first base. Ryan Lavarnway, a Yale graduate like Breslow, was behind home throwing down signs for the southpaw, making them the first Bulldog battery since 1883. On September 15, 1883, Jack Jones pitched to Al Hubbard for the Philadelphia Athletics. Cano grounded into a 3-6-3 double play to end the inning.
For a while it seemed that long since Jon Lester tallied a win as he was without a victory in July. But August has been kind to Lester: his two starts thus far have been quality starts and wins.
Perhaps he took inspiration from Pedro Ciriaco, who seems made to play against the Yankees. The infielder went 4-for-4 with a run scored and a stolen base, not to mention the part he played in the double play that erased Swisher and Cano.
Not only was this an unusual game in that the Red Sox beat the Yankees but I found myself agreeing with Tim McCarver twice. He stated that he thought Stephen Strasburg shouldn’t be shut down and that Melky Cabrera shouldn’t be eligible for the batting title, which he currently leads, because of his violation of the banned substances policy.
A truly odd turn of events, indeed.
| Game 121: August 18, 2012 | ||
 Boston Red Sox59-62 |
4 | W: Jon Lester (7-10) H: Andrew Bailey (1), Craig Breslow (5) S: Alfredo Aceves (25) |
| 2B: Nick Punto (6), Dustin Pedroia (26), Pedro Ciriaco (7) HR: Adrian Gonzalez (14) | ||
| New York Yankees 71-49 |
1 | L: David Phelps (3-4) |
| 2B: Curtis Granderson (13) HR: Granderson (32) | ||
