September 7, 2007
...
Daniel Cabrera did something dangerous, throwing a pitch at Dustin
Pedroia's head after Crisp's fake dash toward home plate from third
base provoked the Orioles starter into a run-producing balk and
nearly set off a bench-clearing brawl during the Red Sox' 4-0 win.
Considering they were about to lose their 11th game in a row at home,
a franchise record, it stands to reason that it would not take much
to set off the Orioles.
It was the
sight of Crisp dancing down the third base line in the fourth inning, his feet
tapping out a dare even if there was no taunt on his lips. Coco's cha-cha so
unsettled the pitcher that he stopped in full windup, allowing Crisp to trot
home on the balk.
Cabrera's
next pitch went behind the head of the batter, Pedroia, which elicited a warning
to Cabrera from plate umpire Mike DiMuro. Sox players charged from the dugout,
with Kevin Youkilis and Bobby Kielty in the vanguard, barking at Cabrera, who
gave it right back. Catcher Ramon Hernandez was equally agitated and made a move
toward the Sox dugout, which prompted Boston relievers to vault over the bullpen
wall in their haste to join what had the makings of a full-scale skirmish.
Umpires restored order before anyone got too overheated. The only physical
damage inflicted was to Cabrera's shirt, ripped open as he tried to break away
from first base umpire Bill Welke. Cabrera was ejected not for taking target
practice at Pedroia, but for his aggressive actions afterward during the near
brawl.
Also tossed
was Sox backup catcher Kevin Cash, whose ejection was never announced and did
not become known publicly until Orioles manager Dave Trembley mentioned it in
his post game session. There was no official explanation for why Cash was
tossed, although he'd gotten enmeshed with Orioles backup catcher Paul Bako,
according to Youkilis, who overheard the umpire saying Cash was being run for
aggressive action.
The coolest
head in Camden Yards, meanwhile, belonged to Jon Lester, who may not be creating
the same excitement as the other kid pitcher in the Sox' arsenal, Clay Buchholz,
but quietly turned in his best outing of the season. Lester, now 4-0 in eight
starts, allowed just one base runner to advance to third in his seven innings.
Lester gave up only four hits, all singles, while walking two and striking out
four before yielding to Javier Lopez at the start of the eighth.
The Sox are
now as many as 30 games over .500 for the first time since ending the 2004
season with a 98-64 record. They maintained their 6 1/2-game lead over the
Yankees. With 20 games to play, they reduced their magic number to win their
first division title since 1995 to 15.
They scored
all the runs they needed in the second, when Youkilis walked and J.D. Drew,
buried by everyone but management, lined an opposite-field ground-rule double.
Jason Varitek singled home one run, and Crisp's sacrifice fly scored another.
Varitek
struck out with the bases loaded in the third but Crisp opened the fourth with a
single to right after first failing to bunt his way on. The bunt attempt, for a
reason known only to Cabrera, appeared to agitate the pitcher, and his mood
obviously did not improve as Crisp advanced on infield outs by Julio Lugo and
Jacoby Ellsbury. Then Crisp bluffed, and Cabrera crumbled.
There have
been some rough patches, but Jon Lester is now unbeaten in his last 11 starts
dating to last season, going 6-0 with a 5.55 ERA in that stretch. He has allowed
two or fewer runs in three of his last four starts, going 3-0 with a 2.84 ERA in
that span. The shutout was the 13th by the Sox staff and eighth on the road,
most in the majors.
J.D. Drew
had one of his better nights in a while, hitting a ground-rule double, walking
twice, and making a terrific catch in the right-field corner in the ninth. Doug
Mirabelli is day to day after straining his left hamstring running out a hit
Thursday. Francona said the team should know more in another day how long
Mirabelli might be out, but said there are no plans to add another catcher.
