Empyreal Environs

Is the first week of May too early to declare a game a defining moment?

It started off disappointingly with Clay Buchholz struggling to find the find the zone and keep the ball away from bats. The Twins were one batter shy of batting around; a single, two doubles, and two walks only resulted in two runs. Buchholz fought back to strike out Oswaldo Arcia and Aaron Hicks with the bases loaded.

The local nine scored a run an inning between the fourth and the eighth. The fourth frame featured Shane Victorino’s first home run of the season. Stephen Drew added to the tally with a fly ball to shallow center to plate Daniel Nava. Mike Napoli answered in the next frame with an RBI single of his own.

While Boston’s batters chipped away at the Twins’ lead Buchholz waved his first innings woes away and held Minnesota to two more runs. In the fourth the pair Buchholz had struck out to close the first, Arcia and Hicks, knocked in consecutive doubles. The M&M boys weren’t silent last night; Joe Mauer powered a ground-rule double and Justin Morneau sacrificed him in.

Boston infielders Drew and Dustin Pedroia countered with home runs in the seventh and eighth, respectively. Drew figured he had best touch them all rather than risk being called out at home again as he was in the fifth. Corey Blaser has ejected a player and a manager for calls at home plate, but Drew and John Farrell didn’t raise a ruckus.

That’s Pedroia’s job. He launched his first home run of the season off of the stanchions to give his team the lead.

The lead was short-lived, however, as Joel Hanrahan blew his second save of the season. Leave it to light-hitting second baseman Brian Dozier to exploit Hanrahan. Hanrahan did have an excuse, as he left the game the game in the ninth with an out remaining. He is now on the disabled list with a strained right forearm.

But for every goat anointed a hero can be crowned. With two down and Jarrod Saltalamacchia at second Drew clanged the ball off the wall.

Chaos isn’t a pit. Chaos is a ladder. Many who try to climb it fail, never get to try again. The fall breaks them. And some, given a chance to climb, they cling to the realm, or the gods, or love. Only the ladder is real. The climb is all there is.

Game 32: May 6, 2013 ∙ 11 innings
Minnesota Twins 13-15	5	H: Brian Duensing (5) BS: Casey Fien (2) L: Jared Burton (0-1)
		2B: Joe Mauer – 2 (8), Josh Willingham (7), Oswaldo Arcia (3), Aaron Hicks (2)
Boston Red Sox 21-11	6	BS: Joel Hanrahan (2) W: Clayton Mortensen (1-2)
		2B: Jarrod Saltalamacchia (7), Daniel Nava (6), Jacoby Ellsbury (7), David Ortiz (9), Stephen Drew (2) HR: Shane Victorino (1), Drew (2), Dustin Pedroia (1)