Carl Crawford strode to the plate in the bottom of the 9th with the sacks full and one out. After fouling off the first Al Albuquerque (yes, that's his name) pitch, he lined the second one to center over the head of Austin Jackson, who was playing shallow and in from third strode Darnell McDonald, pinch-running for Papi, with the winning run. For the third time this season, Crawford authored a walk-off victory! Despite a batting average far below his career norm, the new Sox left-fielder is earning a reputation for coming through in the clutch.
Going into the top of the 8th, it didn't appear a walk-off would be necessary to win tonight's game. The Sox were ahead 3-1, courtesy of two long balls off of Verlander by JD Drew and Papi. However, Daniel Bard was feeling extra-generous and Tiger-friendly, as he allowed the first two hitters he faced to take him yard. Poof! The Sox' 3-1 lead vanished before Bard recorded a single out! Bard recovered and got out of the inning without allowing any more runs, but he erased Beckett from the decision. Beckett threw 6 innings of 1-run ball, but was taken out after only 83 pitches. As it turned out, he left the game with neck stiffness. Let's hope this does not linger; the Sox starting pitching is so thin right now they had to go out and sign Kevin Millwood (what, Paul Byrd wasn't available?).
After the Sox go down meekly in the bottom of the 8th, Pap comes in to try to preserve the tie. Things get interesting when he's hit in the leg with a line drive off the bat of Alex Avila. He was able to get the out at first, but the next two hitters, Inge and Jackson, singled and Scott Sizemore (no relation to Grady Sizemore) walked. However, Boesch and Cabrera whiffed to end the threat. That sets the stage for the bottom of the 9th. Youk walks and Jose Iglesias pinch-runs for him. Papi singles and Iglesias takes 3rd. Albuquerque pitches around JD Drew to get to Jed Lowrie. After fouling off a slew of pitches, Lowrie hits into a force play where Iglesias is thrown out at the plate. We know what happens next. Interestingly enough, the Sox' 2 big offseason acquistions are responsible for all 4 walkoffs so far this season--Crawford with 3 and Gonzalez with 1.
Yesterday, the Sox won a wet and foggy one courtesy of a Jarrod Saltalamacchia wall-ball double which scored Crawford, who had walked, from first. Clay Buchholz threw a career-high 127 pitches over 7 shutout innings. Unfortunately, the Red Sox' run came when Buchholz was no longer eligible for the win and he settled for an ERA-lowering no-decision. Their winning streak now stands at 6 games.
The weekend series will be one for the ages. The Chicago Cubs come to town for the annual May interleague preview series--the very same Cubs who have not visited Fenway in 93 years! Not since the 1918 World Series (the last World Series the Red Sox would win in the 20th century) have the Cubs played at the only ballpark older than their own (Wrigley Field opened in 1914, 2 years after Fenway Park in 1912). And yes, the Red Sox will face Gargamel--er, Garza this series. He'll be matched up against Wake on Sunday night on ESPN. Saturday night, on the FOX game, the Sox will wear 1918-style uniforms. Unfortunately, since I live in Northern VA, my FOX affiliate is showing the Yankees-Mets game. I really wanted to see those throwback unis!
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