So, the Sox entered the ninth inning of today's game against the Royals having just tied it up with a four-run eighth. Meanwhile, Sox pitchers had a combined nine strikeouts, and with one more, everybody in the stadium would win a free 44-ounce drink from Circle K.
In came Oneli Perez, and there he foiled Sox fans on both fronts.
Perez was hammered to the tune of seven hits and five runs in two-thirds of an inning, and even though 11 batters came to the plate in the final inning, not one went down by way of a strikeout.
The Sox lost 10-5, and no free pop. Oh well.
Truth be told, nobody really came away looking good, except for Josh Fields, who showed some potential in two-strike situations. He crushed a homer after Dewon Brazelton had him down 1-2, he drew a walk when he was down by the same count to former Sox prospect Tyler Lumsden, then flew out deep to right field on an 0-2 count in his last at-bat.
Until the eighth inning, Fields had provided the only run, and the Sox had squandered a couple opportunities. Pablo Ozuna got things started by leading the first off with a single and stealing second, and then he advanced to third on Alex Cintron's groundout to second (which he appeared to beat out). But Paul Konerko struck out looking, and Jermaine Dye flew out to center to end the threat.
The same thing happened in the second, when Rob Mackowiak doubled and advanced to third when Toby Hall's bloop single dropped in with one out. But Brian Anderson hit a weak pop-out to Ross Gload, and Ozuna grounded out.
It wasn't until the eighth when the offense actually perked up. Royals pitchers only struck out four Sox, but they produced a whole lot of weak contact. Billy Buckner, who came on in the eighth inning, was the only pitcher the Sox could solve. Luis Terrero came up with a huge bases-loaded, two-run single, and Eduardo Perez followed up with the same two batters later to tie up the game.
And while Oneli looked rough, Sox pitchers on the whole didn't dominate. Nick Masset looked the best -- Ross Gload scored after leading off Masset's second inning of work with a triple, but Gload was the only baserunner he allowed. David Aardsma dominated his first inning and struggled in the second.
Jose Contreras, who started the game, struck out six hitters in his first
inning three innings, and when the Royals weren't hitting him, they were hitting him, if that makes any sense. Either good contact, or none at all. Go figure.
OUTFIELDER DERBY:
Brian Anderson had a lousy game at the plate going 0-for-4, whereas Rob Mackowiak and Luis Terrero won points, getting a hit apiece and making some nice plays defensively. Mackowiak made a couple of nice running catches on drives that would've confused him in center, and Terrero made a great throw to the plate and nearly gunned down a runner from right field. Cole Armstrong couldn't apply the tag.
More photos and video later.