Grinder Ball Rule #71: If at first you succeed, repeat.Last year, the Sox lost two of three in Tampa Bay – so after tonight’s result, it seems they’re just following the plan.
Except that after tonight’s result, the Sox fall out of first place – something they didn’t do at all last year. Damn.
Javier Vazquez started poorly and ended poorly, and the creamy filling wasn’t enough to offset the crappy cracker crust.
Unlike his other outings, Vazquez had a rocky start, erasing a 2-0 lead provided by a Paul Konerko RBI double and a Joe Crede sac fly. He didn’t have a lot of movement on his fastball, and as a result wasn’t as effective in setting up his off-speed pitches. It could’ve been worse after the Devil Rays tied the game with a Russell Branyan homer (his third in four at-bats off Vazquez), but he settled down until the seventh.
Javy couldn’t hold the lead Tadahito Iguchi provided with his fourth homer of the year, a solo shot. The big blow came on a 2-0 grooved fastball that Damon Hollins deposited over the left field fence to give Tampa a one-run lead. The Rays scored an important insurance run when Julio Lugo singled, stole second on Chris Widger’s one-hop throw, and scored on Carl Crawford’s RBI triple.
I wish Comcast would’ve shown the outfield alignment before the hit, because the ball seemed to hang up in the air a long time, and it was a lot closer to center than it was to right, and it landed just out of a diving Jermaine Dye’s reach.
That run would be crucial, because Dye would lead off the top of the eighth with a solo shot, his 10th of the year. They’d rally to put runners on first and second with two outs, but a pinch-hitting Scott Podsednik popped up the first pitch he saw to end the inning.
Pods had a fantastic game – not only did he make the third out in the top of the eighth, but he dropped the third out in the bottom of the eighth, when a flyball in foul territory popped out of his mitt and into the stands. Fortunately, Matt Thornton rebounded to get Toby Hall to ground out. He pitched well tonight, throwing in the high-90s, getting ahead of batters and pounding the ball inside.
Record: 26-14 |
Box score |
Play-by-play