May 15, 2007
...
In the
third inning of tonight's 7-2 loss to the Tigers, right fielder J.D.
Drew, for whom they haven't made a baseball card big enough to list
all the times he's been on the disabled list (seven), nearly impaled
himself on the fence in front of the bullpen in a futile attempt to
catch Brandon Inge's home run off Tim Wakefield. Drew remained in the
game but came out in the top of the eighth for Eric Hinske with what
was described as a lower back bruise. The fact that he didn't
immediately head to the clubhouse is encouraging, but with Drew's
fragile reputation, warranted or not, he will be closely watched. He
left the clubhouse before reporters arrived last night.
Tim
Wakefield’s nemesis Magglio Ordonez nailed him again with a three-run home run,
the Sox had no answer for Justin Verlander, the 24-year-old right-hander who won
17 games last season to become the Rookie of the Year. He overpowered the Sox
with his high-90s fastball and devastating changeup.
Wakefield had just one bad inning, the third, but it was enough. Inge's home run
with one out tied the score, the Sox having taken a 1-0 lead in the first on
singles by Kevin Youkilis, Manny Ramirez, and Drew, who came into the game
batting just .140 (8 for 57) over his previous 17 games.
Curtis
Granderson followed Inge's home run with a single to center and stole second.
Placido Polanco lined to second for the second out, but Lowell, who was playing
to pull, couldn't hold onto Gary Sheffield's sharp bouncer to his left,
Sheffield reaching on an infield hit.
That
gave Ordonez a chance to unload, and he did, clearing the Green Monster with a
three-run home run, his eighth of the season. Only Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees
has more RBIs (39) than Ordonez (37) against Wakefield, and Ordonez is batting
.441 (15 for 34) against him. The Tigers have hit at least one home run in each
of the last 10 games, their longest such streak since 2000.
Wakefield kept the Tigers from adding to their lead until the eighth, when he
was lifted after walking Sheffield to open the inning. Brendan Donnelly entered
and was ineffective, giving up an RBI double to Pudge Rodriguez and RBI singles
to Craig Monroe and Sean Casey.
Youkilis
answered in the bottom of the eighth with a home run off the back wall in center
and the Sox stirred in the ninth on Hinske's bloop double between two
outfielders and Coco Crisp's chopped single over the head of reliever Fernando
Rodney. But Mirabelli, who earlier had made a barehanded, juggling catch of a
foul fly that popped out of his glove, had no more circus moves left. He popped
out to end it.
Kevin
Youkilis, who singled and hit a tape-measure home run off the back wall in
center, has hit in nine straight games, matching his career-best streak.
Youkilis is batting .474 (18 for 38) in that span, with nine RBIs, and overall
is batting .333, the highest average among Sox regulars and among the American
League's top 10. Last season, his first in the big leagues, Youkilis was batting
.317 at the end of May and .301 July 8 before hitting .253 in his last 65 games
to finish at .279.
Josh
Beckett was scheduled to see a hand specialist last night, but manager Terry
Francona said he was encouraged that Beckett again played catch and did a little
throwing off the mound. Beckett is expected to miss his start Friday but could
avoid being disabled.
Pawtucket held lefty Kason Gabbard to five innings and 65 pitches Monday night;
he is an option to take Beckett's spot; Devern Hansack and, to a lesser degree,
Runelvys Hernandez are other options.
Mike
Timlin played a short game of catch after getting an encouraging exam from Dr.
Thomas Gill regarding the inflammation in his shoulder. Still, Timlin said he is
at least four or five days away from throwing off a mound, and his return could
be an off-and-on proposition.
Young
relievers Manny Delcarmen and Craig Hansen have made three appearances each
since the notorious May 5 meltdown in which they collaborated to blow an
eight-run lead in the ninth inning. They have thrown four scoreless innings
apiece.
