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| Game 140: September 12, 2009 ∙ 6 innings | |||
| Rays | 1 | L: Wade Davis (0-1) | 72-69, 9 game losing streak |
 Red Sox | 9 | W: Josh Beckett (15-6) | 82-58, 3 game winning streak |
| Highlights: It doesn’t quite make sense to me that Evan Longoria got credit for a hit and the game is officially six innings while Beckett only gets credit for five innings pitched, that is one of the quirks of baseball. | |||
According to official baseball statistics the pitches Jon Lester threw on September 11 never happened. That’s just as well since he started off the game in a forgettable fashion; the tarp protected the field and Lester’s statistics from a bases-loaded jam. Something I won’t forget is the shot of the enormous American flag on the Monster. Droplets of water on the camera lens looked like stars against the indigo sky behind the wall.
The Rays’ stater’s given name, Wade, was appropriate for the game conditions last night. There was standing water on the warning track and a few members of the grounds crew appeared to be acquiring gills. Davis showed remarkable resiliency in the second by striking out the side after allowing Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz to reach on bases on balls.
Whatever composure Davis showed evaporated in the third. Alex Gonzalez sparked an eight-run barrage with his leadoff line drive single to center. Dustin Pedroia, Victor Martinez, Youkilis, and Ortiz all followed Gonzalez’s lead and singled, granting the home team a 3-0 advantage.
Another run scored on Davis’s wild pitch to J.D. Drew. Already behind in the count 2-1 Joe Maddon called for the four-finger salute. With Jason Varitek on deck it was the shrewd tactic, but Maddon forgot he had Gonzalez laying in wait.
The Red Sox shortstop took the box again and lofted a bases-clearing double to the deepest part of the left field wall. He was the only Boston player to have an extra base hit in the inning. When Gonzalez gets two hits off you in an inning, it’s time for you to ride some pine.
Jacoby Ellsbury squared off against reliever Dale Thayer and singled to first baseman Willy Aybar. Aybar listlessly jogged after the ball, allowing Gonzalez to score from second.
In the fifth Josh Beckett’s adversary wasn’t just the Rays batters but the ever-increasing rain. With water cascading off the brim of his helmet Jason Bartlett wall-balled a two-out single to plate a run. Beckett induced a fly ball out off the bat of Carl Crawford. In the bottom of the fifth the Red Sox cannily hacked through their at bats for three quick outs, placing the fate of the game beyond the whims of Mother Nature.
