Red Sox 2008 Game 94 Recap

Final

Press Pass ✠ Box Score ✠ Play - by - Play ✠ Game Recap

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Minnesota	3	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0		5	14	1
Boston	0	0	4	0	2	1	7	4	X		18	23	2

W: J. Beckett (9-5)   L: L. Hernandez (9-6)
HR ➢   Bos: K. Cash (2), K. Youkilis (14)  Min: J. Morneau (13)

✫     - Manny - Third straight game that the "being" has came through.
✫✫    - Lowell - Followed Manny's double with a two run single.
✫✫✫   - Casey - Followed Lowells single with an rbi single himself.

⋔ Fork - Beckett - Just like Lester last night, the Ace of the staff stunk up the place by allowing 5 earned runs in 5 innings.

Game thoughts!

Just like his last game Beckett struggled right off the bat. Three runs scored in the first inning off the right-hander and the Sox were in the hole right away. The game just felt weird all day. After the first, just like in the Bronx, Beckett settled down and became the ace again. Well, until the sixth inning.

Thanks to Beckett competing, to use Mr. Terry Francona's favorite phrase, the Sox were able to scratch back into this game. Zeroes on the board in the second, third and fourth innings allowed the Sox to take the lead in the third.

With two outs Manny doubled in Lugo, Lowell then singled in Lugo and Manny and thanks to the Twins throwing error moved to third base. This allowed Casey to single in Lowell and the Sox were in the lead and would never look back.

The fifth inning saw Manny and Casey have two more RBI hits. At this point you just felt like the team would not be challenged the rest of the game.

The Twins made it a one run game in the sixth, but Youkilis got it right back in the bottom of the inning. So, the game was still close until the wacky, weird, and laugher of the seventh.

The bottom of the seventh started off simple enough. Lowell walked and moved to third on Sean Casey's ground rule double to right. Then the wacky happened.

Jason Varitek hit a sinking liner to center field. Denard Span slid for the ball, backhanding it as it one-hopped into his glove.

The base runners took off, but after the umpires belatedly signaled a catch, Span threw to second to double off Casey. Second baseman Alexi Casilla leisurely threw to third to get Mike Lowell, who had already crossed the plate.

Originally it was called a triple play, but then the Umpires conferred at Francona's request and correctly reveresed the call. Gardenhire went balistic was tossed and then the Sox just kept on adding on the runs.

Moss struck out, Lugo walked, Ellsbury singled, Pedroia hit a three run double, Youkilis doubled, Ramirez singled, Lowell hit a fielders choice and then Casey grounded out to first. Seven runs scored in the inning and the game was officially declared a rout as the inning ended with the Sox up 14-5.

Of course more wackiness happened in the top of the eighth. With Hansen pitching he walked the lead off hitter. Grind, grind, grinding my teeth on that one. Terry, sensing the game was wacky yanked Hansen after Span singled and brought in Delcarmen.

Casilla then hit into a double play, that should not have been a double play. Remember there are two on base and no outs which makes the infield fly rule a possibility. Casilla hits a soft pop up that goes up about twenty feet in the air and lands about a foot (Lugo allowed it to drop) on the outfield grass.

On the hop he throws to Pedroia at second forcing Span and Dustin, after looking at first base throw to third where Harris is tagged out by Lowell. Obviously the Umpires did not call the infield fly and the Twins went from runners on first and second with one out to a runner on first with two outs. Then Delcarmen did the same thing that Hansen did, he walked a Mauer. Look, you are up by nine runs in the eighth, do not walk people!

The bottom of the eighth saw the Sox add two more runs on a pinch hit homer run by Cash, a Moss triple, a Lugo ground out, a Pedroia single and then Youkilis hitting a home run. Cash's homer was a bomb as the ball ended up in the parking lot, an absolute bomb that was his first pinch hit home run. Thankfully the ninth ended with Timlin getting three outs only allowing a one out single by Young. The WATER WAS SO DIRTY.

Factoid - The 18 runs were the most for the Sox since Sox scored 25 against Florida in 2003.

Factoid - Season highs in winning margin, most runs in an inning, hits and runs.

♊ - Then don't strain your brain trying. Might break something.