Empyreal Environs

Beltre Buster

The general manager of Delaware North Company Sportservices said of the Beltre Buster, “We don’t count calories.” The article also stated that, “Club officials declined to provided nutritional information on the new offerings.” It is fitting that Adrian Beltre has a monstrous burger named after him. The eponymous dish features a pound of beef and eight ounces of bacon. Beltre boasted a 4-for-5 outing with a bases-clearing double in the fourth. I hope all his teammates touched his head. The course of Don Orsillo’s attempt to eat the burger mirrored the Red Sox players in this game. First there is initial delight in being presented with a novel challenge, the division-leading Rangers. Then attacking the task at hand with gusto. Until at last the inevitable surrender. Game 29: May 3, 2013 Boston Red Sox20-9 0 L: Felix Doubront (3-1) No extra base hits Texas Rangers18-11 7 W: Derek Holland (2-2) 2B: Jeff Baker (2), Adrian Beltre (6), Ian Kinsler (8)...

5 May 2013 ∙ 7:32 AM ∙ May 2013 Game Comments ∙ Comments: 0
Tags: Beltre (Adrian) ∙ Rangers ∙ Remy & Orsillo hijinks

Slim Win

Clay Buchholz used to win games in which he pitched badly but in this start and his previous one he pitched well and the game was won by late-inning hitting heroics. Buchholz lasted seven innings and turned in a respectable line: 4 hits, 1 earned run, 3 walks, and 1 strikeout. The Red Sox capitalized on a leadoff walk by Cody Ross in the fourth. Two batters couldn’t advance Ross but Kelly Shoppach arced the ball to right field. David Murphy wandered an unsure path to the ball and couldn’t connect with the ball, resulting in a 1-0 lead for the visitors. Adrian Beltre had an adventurous evening. He stretched a hit into a double by seemingly evading Will Middlebroooks’s tag, but the replay showed he was out. Vicente Padilla knocked Beltre out of the game in the eighth with a pitch in the ear. Beltre tried to talk the coaching staff to keep him in the game but thankfully players don’t have a say in such matters. Elvis Andrus tied the game in the sixth. He laced a double to right field and scored on Josh Hamilton’s tap out to Mike Aviles. Aviles turned the tables on his counterpart...

25 July 2012 ∙ 8:10 PM ∙ July 2012 Game Comments ∙ Comments: 0
Tags: Aceves (Alfredo) ∙ Aviles (Mike) ∙ Beltre (Adrian)

Heads Up

Like Lucy pulling the football out from under Charlie Brown or the Roadrunner outsmarting Wile E. Coyote such is the relationship between between Victor Martinez and Adrian Beltre. After Beltre swatted a game-tying home run to the second deck in left in the fourth inning he held his helmet on as he was congratulated by his team in the dugout. Martinez has accomplices in his torment of Beltre. Bill Hall tried to pry off Beltre’s helmet but the third baseman didn’t succumb to Hall’s maneuver. Eventually, Beltre relaxed his guard. Seizing the opportunity Martinez sneaked behind Beltre and executed his signature head rub. This time the third baseman was armed and retaliated with a cup of water. The counterattack nearly resulted in a Manny-Youk situation had it not been for Marco Scutaro. The water didn’t cool down Martinez’s bat. The backstop roped a double down the right field line batting righty. Peackeeper Scutaro and Ryan Kalish scored on the corner shot. While the Red Sox were sweeping the mediocre Mariners Fenway hosted a pair of unique non-baseball events on September 14. The largest naturalization ceremony in United States history took place in Fenway during the day. Nancy Gertner, a Federal...

16 September 2010 ∙ 7:41 PM ∙ September 2010 Game Comments ∙ Comments: 0
Tags: Beltre (Adrian) ∙ Mariners ∙ Martinez (Victor)

Marco! Scutaro!

He doesn’t have calm eyes or a signature throw, but he’s no Lugo, either. His name will infest your brain with the chorus “Sussudio,” but he has filled the role of leadoff hitter in Jacoby Ellsbury’s absence admirably. Scu, scu, Scutaro! Whoa oh! The Red Sox shortstop tied the game in the seventh with a two-run homer off Mark Hendrickson. For a relief pitcher, Hendrickson is a pretty good professional basketball player. The towering reliever sparked an inferno – after the home run he walked J.D. Drew. Buck Showalter pulled Hendrickson in favor of Alfredo Simon who gave up an RBI double to Victor Martinez. Adrian Beltre didn’t cotton well to having David Ortiz intentionally walked ahead of him and lofted a shot that landed into the first row of the left field stands. The three-run shot padded the lead and Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon paired to protect it. Who can blame any Orioles pitcher for being terrible? They are shadowed by an odd female fan who mimics their every move as they warm up in their bullpen. One of Showalter’s first moves should have been filing a restraining order against her, but despite the oversight he has turned...

2 September 2010 ∙ 5:55 PM ∙ September 2010 Game Comments ∙ Comments: 0
Tags: Beltre (Adrian) ∙ Orioles ∙ Scutaro (Marco) ∙ Showalter (Buck) ∙ West (Delonte)

Blind Squirrels

Even they find nuts. But who knew they officiated MLB games? The Ameeker Pitch zone showed that all three of Felix Hernandez’s pitches to Adrian Beltre in the second inning were strikes, but Beltre stood in the box in disbelief. Rookie umpire Dan Bellino, who was filling in for Rob Drake, probably didn’t take kindly to Beltre’s display. Beltre and Hernandez, friends since they played together in Seattle, engaged in some between innings smack talk. The pitcher bet that he would strike Beltre out three times and the hitter bet that he would take Hernandez deep. Bellino ejected the Red Sox third baseman because of the conversation. Beltre tried to get Bellino to explain why he was ejected but the official wouldn’t tell him. Terry Francona joined in the conversation but didn’t get Bellino’s reasoning, either. Veteran umpire Angel Hernandez went so far as to protect Bellino, inserting himself between the seething skipper and the inexperienced arbitrator. Francona was ejected but it didn’t fire up the bats. There’s 16 Dan Bellinos on Facebook. The first one I found had the profile picture you see to the right. I can’t tell if the same man who ejected Beltre is in the...

26 August 2010 ∙ 8:50 PM ∙ August 2010 Game Comments ∙ Comments: 0
Tags: Bellino (Dan) ∙ Beltre (Adrian) ∙ ejections ∙ Hernandez (Felix) ∙ Mariners ∙ umpires

Afternoon Boon

Mariners manager Daren Brown decided to give third baseman Matt Tuiasosopo a break for the day game, thus giving Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy a brief reprieve from saying that name. I listened to part of the WEEI broadcast from the series opener to check that at least one Red Sox broadcasting team could say the name right, and to my delight Joe Castiglione and Dave O’Brien were spot on in their pronunciation. Hitters must be like musicians, not getting into the groove of things until late in the day. Josh Beckett and David Pauley exchanged zeroes until the middle of the sixth; the Red Sox had only three baserunners over those frames and the Mariners just two. Adrian Beltre broke the scoreless tie and nearly shattered David Pauley’s ankle in the process. With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the sixth, Beltre’s comebacker ricocheted off the former Red Sox starter and arced above the infield before dropping along the third base line. The trajectory was high enough to plate Marco Scutaro. Mike Lowell followed with a sacrifice fly to right and Daniel Nava doubled his team’s score by muscling a two-RBI single to shallow right....

25 August 2010 ∙ 6:17 PM ∙ August 2010 Game Comments ∙ Comments: 0
Tags: Beckett (Josh) ∙ Beltre (Adrian) ∙ Kotchman (Casey) ∙ Mariners ∙ Nava (Daniel)

Do It All Hall

Bill Hall helped turn both of Boston’s double plays and homered twice into the second deck. The utility man started off the season ice cold; April’s statistics were a disappointing .192 batting average, .364 on-base percentage, and .231 slugging percentage. Thus far in August Hall has .286 batting average and on-base percentage but sports a .629 slugging rate. Nearly everyone in the Red Sox lineup was mashing. Even without Hall’s four RBIs his team would have prevailed. The Blue Jays had no extra base hits and scored their first and only run in the first inning thanks to Travis Snider reaching on Mike Lowell’s error. Snider advanced to second on Yunel Escobar’s sacrifice bunt, got to third on a passed ball to Jose Bautista, and scored on Bautista’s sac fly to right. Clay Buchholz didn’t allow a Toronto batter past second for the rest of the game. His line wasn’t dazzling (8 innings pitched, 5 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts), but being able to get to the eighth without having to use any of the reliable relievers was a boon to the team. Dustin Richardson gave up back-to-back singles in the bottom of the ninth to bottom of...

12 August 2010 ∙ 6:20 PM ∙ August 2010 Game Comments ∙ Comments: 0
Tags: Beltre (Adrian) ∙ Blue Jays ∙ Buchholz (Clay) ∙ Hall (Bill) ∙ Richardson (Dustin)

Pinstripes Are Not Slimming

I had chalked this up to a loss even before the first pitch was thrown, but John Lackey pitched competently enough to keep the Yankees to a handful of runs and was supported by perfect innings by Manny Delcarmen and Felix Doubront. When two questionable relievers hold the line in a pressure-packed situation, you hope that the offense will come through and notch a run or two. The Red Sox shot out to an early lead in the second by virtue of Victor Martinez’s leadoff homer and consecutive doubles by Adrian Beltre and Mike Lowell. After the second inning the visiting batters managed a mere four baserunners: singles by Marco Scutaro and Beltre, a base on balls by J.D. Drew, and Darnell McDonald reaching on Ramiro Pena’s error. Pena filled in at third for Alex Rodriguez. In typical Rodriguez fashion the third baseman was scratched from the game because of a freak injury during batting practice. Rodriguez was too preoccupied saying hi to Joe Buck that he didn’t realize Lance Berkman peppered a ball straight at him. After the strike to the shin Rodriguez was shown rolling on the turf in agony, like Cristiano Ronaldo. X-rays were negative. The last-minute...

8 August 2010 ∙ 5:38 PM ∙ August 2010 Game Comments ∙ Comments: 0
Tags: Beltre (Adrian) ∙ Lackey (John) ∙ Marintez (Victor) ∙ Rodriguez (Alex) ∙ Scutaro (Marco) ∙ Yankees

Remove Helmet, Touch Head

Get your mind out of the gutter, not that head. I speak of Marco Scutaro and Victor Martinez, the tandem who launched a combination attack on Adrian Beltre’s head after his fourth-inning grand slam. The shortstop trotted up behind Beltre to remove the third baseman’s helmet and catcher massaged Beltre’s melon. As Beltre mans the hot corner he has a fast reaction time, but not even his reflexes could fend off that fiendish duo. Up until the fourth inning rookie Josh Tomlin was enjoying a perfect game. Scutaro sent a single over the third base bag with one out and Martinez and Drew walked to load the bases. Beltre’s fly ball cleared the Green Monster and the crowd erupted. Daisuke Matsuzaka has gotten over his first-half inconsistency and first inning jitters at last. In his eight innings on the mound the starter allowed 5 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts. That he got to the eighth was particularly beneficial with a four-game series against the Yankees looming. Even with a 6-1 lead Terry Francona couldn’t guide his team to a win without burning one of best relievers. Hideki Okajima took over in the ninth and struggled to...

6 August 2010 ∙ 6:02 PM ∙ August 2010 Game Comments & June 2010 Game Comments ∙ Comments: 0
Tags: Beltre (Adrian) ∙ Indians ∙ Marintez (Victor) ∙ Papelbon (Jonathan) ∙ Scutaro (Marco)

Coup de Grâce

Translated literally, “coup de grâce” means blow of grace or mercy. It refers granting the reprieve of a quick end to suffering of one who is on the verge of death, such as a shot to the head of a prisoner who wasn’t quite finished off by the firing squad. In short, it is the killing stroke, as Kevin Youkilis’s right thumb injury is to Boston’s playoff hopes. My friend and sports guru asked me, “Guess who texted his teammates and told them he was going to retire?” My first real guess was Mike Lowell. My second humorous quip was Jacoby Ellsbury, Of course the real answer was Brett Favre, but I feel badly for writing his name. Sports media to Favre is like your brain to “Mambo Number 5.” Once you hear it, it’s impossible to get out of your head. As entertaining as the thought that the returns of Ellsbury and Mike Lowell might make up for the loss of Youkilis, at some point the beleaguered team and fans have to appeal to the baseball gods as Roberto Duran did to referee Octavio Meyran: “No mas.” I’m already nostalgic about Adrian Beltre’s inevitable departure. No one else takes...

3 August 2010 ∙ 6:16 PM ∙ August 2010 Game Comments ∙ Comments: 0
Tags: Beltre (Adrian) ∙ Indians ∙ Lackey (John) ∙ Lowell (Mike) ∙ Youkilis

str8edgeracer Tweets Triumphantly

Motoring to Motor City next. Will work on the novel on the way there--feeling inspired after winning the Beantown series. 1 day, 6 hours ago Cameron knocked a dinger off Neftali but the rookie blew away the rest of the batters. Unbelievable heat! 1 day, 6 hours ago Again with the Nava kid, this time I walked him with two outs. Now it’s up to the bullpen 1 day, 5 hours ago Whew, got Beltre to strikeout with two runners on and two out. 1 day, 6 hours ago @ErinAndrews I walked that guy who has a crush on you, same one who hit a grand slam on the first MLB pitch he saw, but got out of it. 1 day, 6 hours ago Double steal by my boys in the fifth! Borbon and Andrus are like DEER. 1 day, 7 hours ago Got some runs to work with thanks to Cruz. Managed to get Youkilis out--he should have gone to the All-Star game. 1 day, 7 hours ago Getting into a groove--struck out the side in the third. 1 day, 8 hours ago Rough going in the 2nd--Beltre has always killed me. Hope he goes back to the NL...

19 July 2010 ∙ 7:12 PM ∙ July 2010 Game Comments ∙ Comments: 0
Tags: Beltre (Adrian) ∙ Cameron (Mike) ∙ Feliz (Neftali) ∙ Rangers ∙ Wilson (C.J.)

Baseball Bloopers

Jerry Remy covered play-by-play for Don Orsillo, who was out due to illness, for the first few batters until John Rish took over. Remy was as uncomfortable narrating the action as Daniel Bard was pitching in the ninth. Perhaps it was the recent spate of over-usage that caused the fireballer to blow the save and not some sort of mental inability to close out a game. Jonathan Papelbon will put himself on the free agent market once he is no longer arbitration eligible and Bard is currently the most likely candidate to replace him. Bard notched his third career save on June 8 but gave up two hits and two walks in the final game in this series against Cleveland for a disheartening defeat. The Indians led off the ninth with a base on balls for Trevor Crowe. Shin-Soo Choo’s double wasn’t deep enough to plate Crowe, but the speedy center fielder got within 90 feet of tying the game. Bard walked Austin Kearns on five pitches to load the bases, but recovered to strike out Travis Hafner and induce a pop out off the bat of Jhonny Peralta. Rather than improving his curriculum vitae with another save Bard added...

10 June 2010 ∙ 10:56 PM ∙ June 2010 Game Comments ∙ Comments: 0
Tags: Bard (Daniel) ∙ Beltre (Adrian) ∙ Branyan (Russell) ∙ Indians ∙ Marte (Andy)

Meet the New Boss

Juan Samuel took over from the dismissed Dave Tremblay as the Orioles skipper but the new overseer didn’t bring better results. Jerry Remy thought that Samuel might get more respect in the clubhouse since he was a former big leaguer, unlike Tremblay. But greater loyalty doesn’t hit with runners on base or get opposing batters out, both of which the Baltimore squad failed to do. The new Red Sox boss of the mound is Clay Buchholz. With Josh Beckett on the disabled list and John Lackey, well, lacking, Buchholz has joined Jon Lester as staff co-aces. Both of them have pitched the only complete games for Boston in 2010 thus far, Buchholz going the distance against the Orioles in the opening game of this series. He needed only 101 pitches to shut out Baltimore, finishing with 5 hits, no earned runs, 1 base on balls, and 2 strikeouts. Adrian Beltre’s onslaught against his own outfield continued. The third baseman knocked Jeremy Hermida out of the game when they collided on Nick Markakis’s foul pop out in the third inning. Josh Reddick was recalled and Scott Atchison optioned to Pawtucket to shore up the ever-dwindling outfield options. Kevin Youkilis is Mark...

5 June 2010 ∙ 12:01 AM ∙ June 2010 Game Comments ∙ Comments: 0
Tags: Beltre (Adrian) ∙ Buchholz (Clay) ∙ Hermida (Jeremy) ∙ Orioles ∙ Youkilis

To the Victor Goes the Spoils

Victor Martinez used the Oakland pitching staff as his personal batting practice pitchers, going 5-for-5 with four doubles and two runs batted in. In the fifth the backstop doubled off the left field wall and was driven in by Adrian Beltre’s three- run home run off the wall behind the first row of the Monster seats. Martinez’s ground-rule double to the center field bleachers in the sixth broke the 4-4 tie. The Athletics jumped out to a 4-0 lead, a lead that would have seemed insurmountable in April. But the Red Sox offense jolted to life, bailing out their starter. John Lackey pitched a sloppy six innings: 12 hits, 4 earned runs, 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts. Two players, Kurt Suzuki and Bill Hall, knocked in their first triples of the season. Suzuki’s third-inning hit was actually at best a double but was converted to a triple thanks to Darnell McDonald’s ill-advised diving attempt at a spectacular catch in center. Hall’s seventh-inning shot ricocheted high off the deepest part of the left field wall and then caromed over center fielder Rajai Davis’s head into the triangle. Had it been someone with Davis’s speed running the bases instead of Hall it...

1 June 2010 ∙ 10:59 PM ∙ June 2010 Game Comments ∙ Comments: 0
Tags: Athletics ∙ Beane (Billy) ∙ Beltre (Adrian) ∙ Hall (Bill) ∙ Martinez (Victor) ∙ Suzuki (Kurt)

Three Feet High and Rising

The Red Sox are finally meeting the lofty expectations fans had of them, against the team with the best record in the majors no less. The visiting baseball squad swept their opponents and secured third place in the AL East, a heartening turnaround from an underperforming team whose record was hovering around .500. Given the pitching match-up it seemed to be a game that Boston had little chance of winning, but Matt Garza’s command was as straggly as his goatee. The volatile Rays starter lasted just five innings with a disastrous line of 6 hits, 6 runs (all earned), 5 walks, 3 strikeouts, and 3 home runs. Prior to this game Garza had surrendered five home runs in 64⅔ innings pitched. Heidi Watney visited the catwalk and roof of Tropicana Field in a foiled attempt to end it all because of the Celtics’ precipitous fall. Or it was a just a photo opportunity granted by someone on the Trop’s grounds crew wishing to be featured in a segment on “The Ultimate Red Sox Show,” or maybe something more lascivious. Not only are the Celtics attempting to replicate the Bruins’ choke job by losing Game 5 113-92 but are sustaining concussions...

26 May 2010 ∙ 10:49 PM ∙ May 2010 Game Comments ∙ Comments: 0
Tags: Beltre (Adrian) ∙ Celtics ∙ Garza (Matt) ∙ Rays

One-Hit Wonder

Daisuke Matsuzaka must be walking on sunshine after his near no-hitter, an eight-inning gem in which he only surrendered a handful of baserunners. The pitcher allowed the pair of Placido Polanco and Raul Ibanez to reach first base twice on bases on balls but also struck out five. Had Matsuzaka had a 無安打 [Japanese for no-hitter, pronounced muanda], it would have been the fifth no-hitter caught by Jason Varitek. Instead, it was his seventh one-hitter. There is something about Varitek’s ability to bring out the best in his pitching, but that value was attenuated over recent seasons by his offensive decline. The balance between his backstop brilliance and part-time position has finally been struck in 2010. He got knocked down, but he got up again. The most memorable Red Sox one-hitter was Pedro Martinez’s 17-strikeout domination of the Yankees on September 10, 1999. Three years ago on June 7 Curt Schilling carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning. One out away from history he shook off Varitek and Shannon Stewart rapped a single to right. Jon Lester one-hit the Royals on July 18, 2006 and would battle back from cancer to no-hit Kansas City in 2008. In the first inning...

22 May 2010 ∙ 10:10 PM ∙ May 2010 Game Comments ∙ Comments: 0
Tags: Beltre (Adrian) ∙ Matsuzaka ∙ Pedroia ∙ Phillies ∙ Scutaro (Marco)

He’s So Nine

The right-left combination of Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester called to mind Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine in their heyday. Lester topped Buchholz’s eight-inning showing with a complete game and magnificent line: 6 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), no walks, and 9 strikeouts. The two-pronged, sustained pitching forays were exactly what the Red Sox needed after the skirmishes in the Bronx left the bullpen decimated. Francisco Liriano shut down the Red Sox on April 15, but the Red Sox batters demanded a tax rebate this time around. Liriano hadn’t allowed a home run until he faced Adrian Beltre in the second. The Red Sox third baseman lofted the ball into Boston’s bullpen for the first run of the game. Kevin Youkilis quickly tallied the second four-bagger off Liriano in the third inning with two on and two out. The umpiring crew didn’t need instant replay on the shot to dead center. Angel Sanchez, the shortstop who was called up to relieve Marco Scutaro and take Scott Schoeneweis’s place on the roster, must have been amazed watching his fellow infielder Dustin Pedroia doggedly chase down balls. The former MVP and Gold Glover dashed into shallow center to jump and snare Delmon...

20 May 2010 ∙ 9:42 PM ∙ May 2010 Game Comments ∙ Comments: 0
Tags: Beltre (Adrian) ∙ Lester (Jon) ∙ Pedroia ∙ Twins ∙ Youkilis

Feudal Societies

Jon Lester and Rajon Rondo have similar miens: unperturbed, humble, and focused. Some would mistake their subdued manner with a lack of intensity, but I perceive them to have that quiet confidence that smolders through their in-game accomplishments and not through post-game interviews or on-field shenanigans. Rondo notched his fourth career playoff triple-double (29 points, 18 rebounds, 13 assists) in his team’s 97-87 victory over the Cleveland LeBrons. The Celtics’ team trajectory seems to be comparable to the Red Sox’s state of affairs: an aging roster that is a few years removed from a championship that is good enough to make the playoffs annually with younger players like Rondo waiting in the wings to usher in a new wave of championships. If there are questions whether or not the Red Sox will make the postseason, it won’t be because of the reinvigorated Lester. The southpaw shed himself of his April woes and staunched the formidable Yankees offense with a 7 inning, 4 hit, 2 earned run, 2 walk, 7 strikeout performance. The third-inning five-run offensive onslaught by the Red Sox demonstrated that the team can string together hits. Leadoff hitter Marco Scutaro walked and advanced to third on Dustin Pedroia’s...

9 May 2010 ∙ 11:15 PM ∙ May 2010 Game Comments ∙ Comments: 0
Tags: Beltre (Adrian) ∙ Celtics ∙ Hermida (Jeremy) ∙ Lester (Jon) ∙ Rondo (Rajon) ∙ Yankees

Happy Cinco de Nomar

On May 5, the day number five Nomar Garciaparra was feted, the Red Sox returned to a .500 winning percentage. The Red Sox gave Garciaparra two Fenway wooden chairs number 5 (of course) and 6 (for his mentor Johnny Pesky). He also received a watch, a rather cliched retirement gift idea for such a singular player. Current Red Sox players Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz, and Tim Wakefield came out to hug him and former players Lou Merloni, Brian Daubach, and Trot Nixon made it to Fenway to be part of the celebration. The video retrospective documented the shortstop’s glove adjustments and toe taps. Before he threw out the first pitch he dashed to the infield and pocketed a handful of infield dirt. His pitch to Jason Varitek was delivered with his signature twist and side arm angle. At last the team’s philosophy of run prevention is playing out as planned. John Lackey delivered seven innings of two-hit baseball with two bases on balls and four strikeouts. The only run marring his line was Brandon Wood’s solo homer in the fifth. I hope when Lackey left the mound he looked over in Mike Scioscia’s direction and said, “This is mine.” Woods’s...

5 May 2010 ∙ 9:47 PM ∙ May 2010 Game Comments ∙ Comments: 0
Tags: Angels ∙ Beltre (Adrian) ∙ Garciaparra ∙ Lackey (John) ∙ Ortiz

Harm City

Adrian Beltre can’t blame the snakes in the grass at Fenway for his poor play at Camden Yards. The third baseman compounded Darnell McDonald’s initial error on Miguel Tejada’s liner to lead off the home half of the fourth by misplaying Ty Wigginton’s sharp grounder. With none out and two on, Beltre played the bounding ball to the side to facilitate a double play but the sphere shot past him. Tejada scored the first run of the game; when he crossed the plate the camera caught John Lackey yelling a profanity as the pitcher backed up home. That unearned run was the difference in yet another extra innings one-run affair. On the offensive side of the ball Beltre had a 3-for-5 showing but neither scored nor drove in a run. He led off the fifth with a single but was the final out when he slid past second base on Marco Scutaro’s strikeout. The Red Sox third baseman also led off the seventh with a single but second umpire Chad Fairchild ruled that Beltre interfered with Wigginton’s attempted double play. Replays showed that Beltre reached up while slithering over the keystone sack, but the maneuver was nothing outré. It was...

1 May 2010 ∙ 8:55 AM ∙ April 2010 Game Comments ∙ Comments: 0
Tags: Bard (Daniel) ∙ Beltre (Adrian) ∙ Drew (J.D.) ∙ Lackey (John) ∙ Orioles