Baltimore took longer than usual to show why they’re a last-place team. But in the end, they literally threw away a chance to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Red Sox. A throwing error by the pitcher in the bottom of the ninth broke a 4-4 tie by allowing Alex Cora to score the game-winner. The win for the Sox puts them just three-and-a-half games behind the Rays, who play the Yankees tonight. Although the Sox aren’t likely to get any help from the pinstripes with Carl Pavano (dubbed “American Idle” by the NY media) starting.
The Sox have taken two-out-of-three games in their last four series, flirting with sweeps in three of those but losing the final game. Despite being down 4-0 after six, the Sox were not to be denied. The comeback started with a Dustin Pedroia home run in the seventh. And if this surprises anyone, where the f@&k have you been? Later in the inning, a bases-loaded walk to Coco Crisp by reliever Rocky Cherry (a name straight out of a Saturday morning cartoon) scored Jason Bay, and that’s when any doubts you had began to slip away.
In the top of the eighth, Javier Lopez walked Aubrey Huff and was yanked in favor of Masterson. After stealing second, Huff ran into an out at third, and Masterson got a double-play to end the inning. The Red Sox immediately capitalized in the bottom of the eighth with an Ortiz walk and, you guessed it, a Pedroia double. Kotsay tripled them in to tie the game, and the O’s finished themselves off in the ninth, and the elusive sweep was complete.
The Pedroia train just keeps on rolling. Three more hits, and RBI and two more runs scored. Has it ever happened that a Rookie of the Year won the MVP the following year? Because this could happen.
