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POWERFUL CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM
Joel Piniero helps the Sox sweep the Giants
June 17, 2007
...
The situation was delicate. Seventh inning, three-run lead, bases
loaded and, though Barry Bonds had already been dispatched on a
four-pitch unintentional walk, Bengie Molina was at the plate. Not
quite the same as Bonds, who had already lofted home run No. 748 into
the record books, but a hitter near .300 on the season nevertheless.
And he would be facing right-handed reliever Joel Pineiro, the $4
million man whose effectiveness in tight situations has not been
often tested in his first season in Boston.
Molina's numbers, 5 for 28 (.179) with one home run, against Pineiro clearly
played a role in manager Terry Francona's decision to bring in the reliever
after Javier Lopez had issued four not-so-close balls in an effort to make Bonds
swing at junk or not at all. But so did the unavailability of Brendan Donnelly,
likely the first choice in that situation, who had before the game been put on
the 15-day disabled list. The strategy paid off with an inning-ending
double-play roller to shortstop, finishing all serious threats for the afternoon
in front of 36,137 Father's Day fans.
After a stretch in which the Red Sox scored two or fewer runs in eight of 11
games, the offense finally broke out. Seven of the nine starters got a hit,
including five hits in the pivotal five-run third inning. Nine runs helped and
so did J.D. Drew. After going 0 for 5 in his first chance in the leadoff spot,
he has gone 5 for 11 atop the order in the next three games. The rest of the
lineup followed suit. Drew started the third with a walk, followed by a bunt
single by Dustin Pedroia and a ground-rule double by David Ortiz. After Manny
Ramirez was thrown out on a grounder bobbled by second baseman Ray Durham, Kevin
Youkilis singled home Ortiz and Mike Lowell doubled off the wall to score
Youkilis. After Wily Mo Pena lined out to left, Mirabelli singled in Lowell,
giving five players (Ortiz, Ramirez, Youkilis, Lowell, and Mirabelli) RBIs in
the inning.
The Sox added another run in the next inning for an 8-3 lead, pushing Giants
starter Matt Morris, coming off two consecutive complete games, out of the game
after four innings. Ramirez added his second solo shot in as many games in the
seventh inning off Jonathan Sanchez.
Tim Wakefield (7-7) earned the win, giving up five runs on eight hits and two
home runs over 5 2/3 innings.
But
for baseball historians, the drama had already taken place by the time Wakefield
left the mound. With the Sox holding an 8-3 lead, Bonds' solo home run to lead
off the sixth inning against the knuckleballer was little more than another step
on his controversial path to breaking Hank Aaron's record. He homered into the
bullpen in right field, just beyond the glove of Drew, a home run that didn't
look close to going out as it popped up off the bat. And it landed in the
bullpen, followed predictably by a chorus of boos.
Coco
Crisp sat for the start of yesterday's game, ceding center field to Wily Mo
Pena, until he came in as a defensive replacement in the eighth. Francona said
the decision was made based on the bigger ballparks the team will face on their
upcoming trip, especially Petco Park in San Diego, which won't allow Crisp to
take much time off.
With
his 480th career home run, a solo shot in the seventh inning, Manny Ramirez tied
Jim Thome for 25th place on the all-time list. He also tied Willie McCovey for
36th place on the all-time RBI list with 1,555
This
was the Red Sox' sixth series sweep of the season. Ortiz, who went 2 for 3 with
two doubles and an RBI, left the ballpark in a black suit with his initials and
a sequined scorpion on the back. |
