« Buchholz fans nine, PawSox win 3-2 in 10 innings
Main
Baseball Today: Thursday, August 2 »

Sox Game Story: Sox come from behind, win 5-4

BOSTON - The offensive peaks and valleys that all teams inevitably go through over the course of a season remains one of the big mysteries of the game of baseball, says Red Sox skipper Terry Francona.
``Sometimes you have to be more patient than you want to be,’’ he was saying prior to last night’s game against the Baltimore Orioles. ``It’s just the way the game is. You just can’t figure that out all the way - how guys can get hot, how they don’t. It’s just why the game’s so amazing. Just little things affect a lot of different things. It’s amazing. Then when you do it right and it clicks, it’s fun to watch.’’
It took the Sox seven innings last night, but they finally ``clicked’’ for four runs in that frame, staging a 5-4 come-from-behind win over the Orioles at Fenway Park.
Filling in for Kason Gabbard, who was slated to start last night before being sent to Texas as part of Tuesday’s four-player trade, Julian Tavarez went five innings, giving up three runs – all of them earned – on seven hits.
The Orioles took the lead against the right-hander, who had been moved to the bullpen on July 22 upon Jon Lester’s return, with a two-out solo blast by Nick Markakis in the first inning.
A two-out RBI double high off the left field wall by Chris Gomez drove in Jay Gibbons in the second. Gomez then scored on Brian Roberts’ line-drive double to left to make it 3-0.
Boston got one run back in the third. After reaching on a lead-off walk, Coco Crisp advanced to third when Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada committed a throwing error on Julio Lugo’s infield hit. Crisp then scored on a sac fly to left by Dustin Pedroia.
Boston had its share of opportunities to push more runs across early on but couldn’t convert on any of them.
Hitless in his first seven plate appearances of this series, Manny Ramirez hit into an inning-ending double play with Dustin Pedroia on third base in the first.
Wily Mo Pena twice failed to come through with runners on first and second in the fourth and sixth innings, hitting inning-ending grounders to short both times.
But Boston would atone for those missed chances with its four-run rally in the seventh.
Julio Lugo started things off by drawing a walk, which Pedroia followed with a liner to center field.
David Ortiz then drilled an offering by lefty reliever John Parrish off the scoreboard for a double that scored Lugo.
Baltimore intentionally walked Manny Ramirez to load the bases, then brought in right-hander Chad Bradford to face Kevin Youkilis.
Battling through a seven-pitch at-bat, Youkilis doubled to center, driving home Pedroia and Ortiz to give the Sox their first lead.
After Gomez made a sharp diving play on a shot down the third base line by Mike Lowell, Jason Varitez delivered a run-scoring single up the middle to make it 5-3.
Hideki Okajima surrendered a solo blast over the green monster to Tejada in the eighth.
But Jonathan Papelbon made sure that’s as close as Baltimore would get, retiring the side in the ninth to record his 24th save.



-------CAROLYN THORNTON

Posted by Thom Cahir  at 11:16 PM | Permalink