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Xander Bogaerts thought he was throwing the ball to a regular-sized second baseman in the third inning. The flip went high and what could have been a double play to end the inning turned into two men on with one down. The Rangers scored with the next batter; Adrian Beltre scorched the ball up the middle and Shin-Soo Choo tied the game 2-2. The Red Sox managed to take the lead in the sixth inning when Bogaerts drove in Hanley Ramirez. But they squandered opportunities like Mookie Betts’s one-out walk and stolen base in the seventh inning. With a slim one-run lead Boston called upon Koji Uehara. Rookie Hanser Alberto shot the ball towards Pablo Sandoval who uncharacteristically let it slip by him. Alberto advanced on a sacrifice bunt and ground out. With a runner at third, Prince Fielder in the box, and Josh Hamilton on deck John Farrell called for the intentional walk. By the look on Hamilton’s face you can see how this game ended. If the Red Sox keep losing there may be some not-so happy endings for players, coaches, or front office personnel in the near future. Game 51: May 31, 2015 Boston Red Sox22-29 3...
This should have been the lasting image of Josh Hamilton: pitiably stumbling after the ball only to fall down and then dropping it again when trying to pick it up. How fitting it was that the antithesis of “the Natural,” Daniel Nava, hit that ball. Hamilton had it all and nearly threw it away while Nava had nothing and took whatever was thrown at him. Nava went 4-for-6 with 2 runs and an RBI. Hamilton was only 2-for-6 but it was his two hits that made the difference. With a comfortable lead of 7-3 John Farrell decided to save his best arms in the bullpen and let Alex Wilson take the mound in the ninth. After all, Andrew Bailey had just successfully stifled the Angels lineup for 1⅔ innings, Wilson should have been up to the task. Wilson tallied two outs but allowed two singles and hit Mike Trout to load the bases. Koji Uehara took over and surrendered a bloop single to Albert Pujols single to shallow center to narrow the lead to 7-5. Then Hamilton lined to right, plating Trout and probably lessening Uehara’s voter base to make the All-Star roster along with teammates Clay Buchholz, David Ortiz,...
Mike Scioscia may have his outfielders shagging fly balls and fielding balls on the bounce in earnest during batting practice today. Last night two players flubbed playable balls that led to Red Sox runs. In the second Jarrod Saltalmacchia floated a liner to left with two down and Jonny Gomes and Daniel Nava at second and first respectively. Had J.B. Shuck played the ball properly he could have caught the final out. At worst a single run would have scored if he didn’t let the ball by him, but the left fielder failed to gather the ball after the bounce and two runs scored. Saltalamacchia reached second on the error. Shane Victorino led off the seventh with a liner to center. C.J. Wilson secured the next two outs neatly enough: Dustin Pedroia flied out on two pitches and Mike Napoli whiffed on the fifth pitch he saw. Wilson would have exited the inning unscathed had Josh Hamilton properly played Jonny Gomes’s fly ball. Victorino scored from first to give his team a 3-2 lead and also chased Wilson from the mound. Mike Scioscia, the master of over-managing, for some reason didn’t intentionally walk pinch-hitting David Ortiz in the eighth with...
Game 121: August 13, 2008 Rangers 4 L: Luis Mendoza (3-6) 61-60, 2 game losing streak Red Sox 8 W: Jon Lester (11-4) 70-51, 3 game winning streak Highlights: Mendoza has bounced about the league as hitters bounce his pitches about parks. The Red Sox signed him as a minor league free agent in 2000. In 2005 the Padres claimed him off waivers on July 8 and the Red Sox claimed him right back on July 27. About a year later Boston found itself in need of major-league ready arms and traded Mendoza for Bryan Corey. Corey was an indispensable member of the bullpen band; since Corey was designated for assignment, the unit was never the same although it still had its appeal. Sort of like Genesis with Peter Gabriel and the following incarnation with Phil Collins. Speaking of drummers, Luis Mendoza was beat like a drum. Continuing from the first game of the series the Red Sox put up crooked numbers early in the game.Just as J.D. Drew picked up the slack when David Ortiz was ailing, Kevin Youkilis did a yeoman’s job at the plate covering for the injured Mike Lowell. Youkilis had Josh Hamilton sliding after...
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Photo courtesy of the Boston Public Library’s Sports Temples of Boston.