Projo Sox Blog

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Mike Lowell slides safely home after being waved in from second base by third base coach DeMarlo Hale on a single by Jason Varitek in the fifth inning.

DENVER – Third-base coach DeMarlo Hale took a gamble Saturday night in Game Three and waved home Manny Ramirez from second base with one out. Ramirez was out at the plate, making the gamble look bad.

But that didn’t stop Hale from staying aggressive last night.

With slow-footed Mike Lowell on second base and one out in the fifth, Hale waved home the Sox’ third baseman on Jason Varitek’s roller through the right side. Hale was reading the speed of the ball and was armed with the scouting report on the approach to the ball and arm of right fielder Brad Hawpe.

Lowell chugged home and, sliding headfirst to the third-base side of home plate, he was able to elude the tag of catcher Yorvit Torrealba, who had fielded the low throw just a bit to the first-base side of the plate.

As Lowell was sliding past the plate, he was able to reach out with his left hand and drag it across the plate, giving the Sox a 2-0 lead.

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Jacoby Ellsbury’s considerable skills were on display again last night, right from the game’s second pitch.

Ellsbury lofted that 91-mph sinker from Aaron Cook down the left-field line, the ball dropping in fair territory by a few inches for a leadoff double.

It was further proof that Ellsbury, the Sox’ rookie center fielder, uses the entire field. In Game Three, Ellsbury smacked three doubles – one to left, one to center and one pulled just fair down the right-field line.

Ellsbury also showed good baserunning instincts, moving to third on Dustin Pedroia’s grounder to third baseman Garrett Atkins. The ball was chopped to third, forcing Atkins to come in for the ball, and as soon as he took a step in for the ball, Ellsbury knew he could take third without Atkins being able to make a play on him.

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Interesting strategy by Colorado manager Clint Hurdle in the first inning.

Obviously, Hurdle and the Rockies had no margin for error last night, facing elimination with a loss in Game Four of the World Series.

So with Ellsbury at third and one out, Hurdle brought in his infield as David Ortiz came to the plate.

Infield in? In the very first inning?

His thinking would seem to be two-fold.

First off, Hurdle was hoping to choke off the run so his Rockies wouldn’t fall behind early again, even by just one run. Also in his thought process had to be that his pitcher, Cook, is a sinkerballer, and if a grounder were to be hit at one of his infielders, Ellsbury would have to hold at third.

Cook got the ground ball he and Hurdle were seeking. But it was a relatively weak bouncer that had eyes. Ortiz’s grounder cleanly found the hole between drawn-in first baseman Todd Helton and second baseman Kaz Matsui. The ball rolled into right for an RBI single, putting the Sox on top, 1-0.

Had the infield been back, Ortiz would have been out, but Ellsbury still would have scored.

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Another interesting decision by Hurdle.

In the bottom of the fifth, with Colorado losing, 2-0, Hurdle let Cook bat, deciding not to opt for a pinch hitter in this situation. Cook was pitching a solid game, but, as per the cliché, there was no tomorrow for the Rockies.

Hurdle’s bullpen, though, was fried, and ineffective too often, no doubt part of Hurdles’s reasong for sticking with Cook.

Cook pushed a bunt single past Boston starter Jon Lester, on the Rockies’ third hit. But Lester stranded him at first.

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The Rockies also had a leadoff double in an early inning.

But unlike the Red Sox, they were unable to get him over and get him in.

A grounder to short kept Todd Helton at second base after he had opened the second with a ringing double to left-center. A long fly to center pushed Helton to third with two outs, but then, after a walk, Yorvit Torrealba grounded out to shortstop as Colorado, unable to execute the fundamentals, wasted Helton’s leadoff double.

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Clearly Ortiz was in the lineup for his bat – and glove.

Ortiz, generally Boston’s designated hitter, was playing first base because the pitcher bats in the National League park in the Series. And he flashed some leather in the second inning, picking a tough short-hop throw from shortstop Julio Lugo with a runner at second and none out in the second inning.

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Cook hadn’t pitched in a big-league game since Aug. 10. And, as a sinkerballer, he was worried that he would be too strong, keeping his ball from sinking.

Apparently, that was a case of wasted worry in the early going.

Over the first six innings, Cook generally had the Red Sox hitting the ball on the ground. Of the 18 outs he racked up, 13 came on grounders. He also fanned two. There was one flyball out and two popups. And even though he gave up two runs, both RBI hits – by Ortiz in the first and Jason Varitek in the fifth – were ground balls that found their way through the right side of the Rockies’ infield.

Two balls he got up, though, cost him. Doubles by Ellsbury and Lowell set up Ortiz and Varitek, respectively, for their RBI ground-ball singles.

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