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June 29, 2007
BOSTON _ Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield needs to roll a seven.
That may not sound too good, but if the knuckleballer can consistently work into the seventh inning there’s a very good chance the Red Sox will win. That was the case ltonight as Wakefield worked 6 2/3 innings to help Boston to a 2-1 margin of victory over the Texas Rangers as the Red Sox returned home to Fenway Park after their recent 10-day nine-game road trip.
When Wakefield reaches the seventh inning, no more than that, he’s 6-2 this season.
The work load may just be coincidence, but the Red Sox needed his solid outing in a big way last night. He improves to 8-8 after allowing just one run on seven hits, including four walks and four strikeouts.
It wasn’t all Wakefield, however, who proved crucial for Boston as it snapped three-game losing skid.
With the veteran tiring, reliever Manny Delcarmen began to warm up in the bullpen. When Texas put two men on in the seventh via a two-out single by Kenny Lofton and a walk to Jerry Hairston, Francona decided Wakefield was done for the night and signaled for the right-hander.
Delcarmen walked the first batter he faced – Michael Young – to load the bases with clean-up hitter Sammy Sosa stepping into the box.
This was a pivotal point for Delcarmen, who has spent the majority of the season with Triple-A Pawtucket, and he responded.
With the bases loaded and a 3-1 count on Sosa the 36,756 fans at Fenway Park stood, got really loud to back the young hard-throwing righty and Delcarmen delivered – big time.
He threw a high 96-MPH fastball that Sosa fouled back. Delcarmen challenged the slugger again, and again Sosa fouled a 95-MPH offering back to the screen. Delcarmen finally won the battle when he blew the next pitch, another 96-MPH fastball, past Sosa for the out to end the threat as Boston retained its one-run lead.
Delcarmen, who needed an outing like this one, gave a fist pump as he hopped off the mound and was congratulated by his teammates when got to the dugout.
From there everything fell into place nicely for the Red Sox. Lefty reliever Hideki Okajima worked a perfect eighth inning and closer Jonathan Papelbon earned his 19th save of the season.
It was your typical Red Sox victory of the season with solid starting pitching, effective bullpen work and just enough offense to get the job done.
Basically, it wasn’t craps.
Posted by Joe McDonald 
at 9:53 PM | Permalink
