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Game 85: July 9, 2009 Royals8W: Luke Hochevar (5-3)H: John Bale (7)H: Juan Cruz (6)S: Joakim Soria (14)37-48, 1 game winning streak Red Sox6H: Manny Delcarmen (5)BS, L: Justin Masterson (1, 3-3)51-34, 2 game losing streak Highlights: David Ortiz’s 300th homer skidded along the top of the wall and dropped back onto the field. Too bad a fan didn’t catch it, then we could explore the vagaries of human nature: would they attempt to negotiate a price or accept other memorabilia? Then again, with Jose Guillen’s questionable character, Ortiz probably had to hand over a few game-used bats and a signed jersey to get his home run ball. In his 12-year career, Jose Guillen has been on 10 teams. Mike Scioscia suspended Guillen and excluded him from the playoff roster in 2004 for “inappropriate conduct.” Not that the Red Sox need help against the Angels when it comes to the postseason, but the suspension made it even easier for Boston in the ALDS. Guillen’s name surfaced in the Mitchell Report and is an associate of Angel Presinal, who is banned from major league clubhouses.If the Red Sox fall short of winning the division by one game, remember this night. Remember...
Game 8: April 11, 2007 Mariners 3 W: Felix Hernandez (2-0) 3-2, 1 game winning streak1-0-0 series record Red Sox 0 L: Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-1) 4-4, 1 game losing streak1-1-0 series record Highlights: Not only did Matsuzaka make his Fenway Park debut, but so did phenomenon Felix Hernandez. In his two-season career, the Mariners’ right-handed pitcher has allowed just seven more home runs than his age (he turned 21 on April 8). For Jason Varitek’s birthday all he got was a $52M pitcher that weathered seven innings while surrendering 8 hits, 3 earned runs, a walk, and 4 strikeouts. “Make” (pronounced mah-kay) means “loss” in Japanese. The light of the flashbulbs used during Matsuzaka’s first at-home mound appearance must have disrupted optical telescopes as far away as Mauna Kea. The last time a pitching outing at Fenway was a true spectacle was June 28, 2006, when Pedro Martinez returned as a Met. As much as Schilling begs for adoration and Beckett attempts to recreate Clemens, there hasn’t yet been a starting pitcher that generates the idolization and excitement that Pedro did. Until Daisuke Matsuzaka, that is. (Jonathan Papelbon comes extremely close, but he has gone the way of the...
Game 7: April 10, 2007 Mariners 3 L: Jeff Weaver (0-1) 2-2, 2 game losing streak1-0-0 series record Red Sox 14 W: Josh Beckett (2-0) 4-3, 2 game winning streak1-1-0 series record Highlights: McGruff the Crime Dog prowled Lansdowne Street for miscreants. Harry Connick, Jr. sang “America the Beautiful” but not the national anthem. How dare! J.D. Drew hit his first home run of the season, a two-run blast over the center field wall in the second inning. My first home opening day game was somewhat disappointing. The Red Sox did not score in bottom of every inning; they actually put up goose eggs in the sixth and eighth. Beckett, although he pitched seven innings and struck out eight, did not throw a complete game shutout, let alone the no-hitter I was expecting. The half-hearted attempt at a benches-clearing brawl in the eighth was hapless. Brendan Donnelly and Jose Guillen’s conflict has its roots in Guillen’s dismissal from the 2004 Angels playoff roster (in which Donnelly supposedly played a role) and Guillen’s subsequent outing of the relief pitcher’s use of pine tar. There is more embittered emotions between Tom and Jerry than these two minor players. But, it did...
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Photo courtesy of the Boston Public Library’s Sports Temples of Boston.