Recoup
| Game 12: April 19, 2009 | |||
| Orioles | 1 | L: Koji Uehara (2-1) | 6-6, 4 game losing streak |
 Red Sox | 2 | W: Jon Lester (1-2) H: Ramon Ramirez (2) S: Takashi Saito (1) | 6-6, 4 game winning streak |
| Highlights: The Baltimore starting pitcher’s family name, Uehara, is comprised of two symbols: 上原 that mean “above the field.” I can’t quite figure out what Koji means because each of the two symbols, 浩治, have a multitude of meanings. “Kō” can mean wide expanse, abundance, or vigorous and “ji” symbolizes govern, rule, reign, be at peace, conserve, heal, and a few other concepts. Uehara did keep it above the field: he had 13 fly ball outs compared to 3 ground outs. The visiting pitcher had a terrific day, but Lester’s was better. | |||
Elmo needs some coaching from John Farrell. That must have been the most distressing delivery I’ve seen since Dontrelle Willis. Don Orsillo noted that Elmo used go over the top but his arm slot has dropped to three-quarters. Jerry Remy conjectured that the promising young pitching monster might be suffering from the ill effects of rotator cuff surgery.
Not that Farrell doesn’t have his hands full. Brad Penny needs to figure out how to pitch in the American League, Daisuke Matsuzaka and John Smoltz need to keep to their respective rehabilitation schedules, and surveil Jonathan Papelbon in accordance with his exacting health program.
One thing to mark off Farrell’s list is “fix Jon Lester.” Lester bounced back from mediocre outings with a gem: seven sparkling innings, four hits, no runs, two walks, and four strikeouts. Throw in a pickoff of Ty Wigginton in the top of the second and it was the type of performance expected of Lester.
Fenway fans are not in midseason form yet. In the first inning Chad Moeller reached into the stands and made an unimpeded catch of Dustin Pedroia’s foul ball into the seats. By the second, however, the crowd knew what they had to do and hindered Moeller’s reach when Kevin Youkilis popped a ball into the seats behind the home side of the on deck circle.
Youkilis pinballed the very next pitch into the left field corner for a double. Felix Pie, Nick Markakis, and Brian Roberts couldn’t catch up to Mike Lowell’s wind-buffeted fly ball to shallow right-center, allowing Youkilis to cross home for the first run of the game.
Double play tandem Nick Green and Pedroia paired up for the only other Red Sox run in the fifth. Green attacked the first pitch he saw, doubling to left and scoring on Pedroia’s line drive single. This run turned out to be the margin of victory for the Red Sox.
Takashi Saito made for an interesting save. Consecutive singles and an RBI ground out brought Baltimore within a run of breaking their three-game skid, but Saito refocused to tally the final two outs.
Funny how when talking heads leave NESN the remaining personalities are loathe to acknowledge that they still exist. Not the girl that visited the booth in the fourth. Miss DiPietro has a degenerative eye disease that will eventually leave her blind, but she aspires to be a sportscaster. She was so inspired by the women formerly of NESN that she named her mouse Hazel Mae and her guinea pig Tina Cervasio.
You can make up ground in the American League East, but you just can’t make that up.
