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June 17, 2008
By STEVEN KRASNER
Journal Sports Writer
PHILADELPHIA -- The Red Sox were up to their thieving best on the basepaths in Tuesday night's 3-0 victory over the Phillies.
Boston swiped six bases, tying a record the team set on May 30 this season in a game in Baltimore.
Three of the Sox' most likely stolen-base threats were able to contribute to the record-tying performance last night. Coco Crisp swiped a pair with Jacoby Ellsbury and Julio Lugo each contributing one. Dustin Pedroia racked up one on the back end of a double steal with Lugo, and the other came from a highly unlikely source -- Sean Casey.
Casey was at first base in the eighth inning when the count went full on Brandon Moss. The lumbering Sox first baseman took off on the pitch, Moss struck out, and Casey beat the throw from catcher Carlos Ruiz, claiming his first stolen base of the year. It was his 18th steal in 1,367th big-league game.
All was not perfect in the stolen-base department for the Sox, though. While Ellsbury successfully swiped second base in the ninth inning for his major-league-leading 34th of the year, the rookie got a little uncharacteristically greedy in trying to steal third, too.
Ellsbury was gunned down at third for the first time in eight attempts at stealing that bag. It was the final out of the inning, and it took the bat out of Mike Lowell's hands when he already had been in scoring position.
It was an attempt the Sox didn't need to make, intimated manager Terry Francona.
"One too many chances," said Francona. "It was the first time (Ellsbury) was kind of wild. (Stealing bases) is part of our game. That's been helping us. We're trying to be efficient. We like the idea of being safe. We don't want to run just to run. We want to run to win."
Ellsbury has been caught only four times. As a team, the Sox have been successful on 70 of 83 stolen-base attempts (84.3 percent), the top percentage in the league.
Posted by Steven Krasner 
at 10:48 PM | Permalink
