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DANIEL NAVA |
A LOST YEAR WITH
BOBBY V ...
Daniel Nava and David Ortiz
beat
the Tigers and Jason Verlander
May 29, 2012 ... When
the Red Sox look back at tonight's momentous 6-3 victory over the
Tigers, which finally got them over the .500 mark for the first time
this season, they will no doubt point to Daniel Nava's fourth-inning
at-bat against Justin Verlander as not only the defining moment of
the game, but, perhaps, the season.
Although
David Ortiz led an 11-hit barrage by going 3 for 4 two doubles and a solo home
run, Nava delivered the crushing blow with two outs and the bases loaded in the
fourth. He hit a 100-mile-per-hour fastball for a bases-clearing double to left
off the American League's reigning League Cy Young winner and Most Valuable
Player. It was Nava's confrontation with Verlander that enabled the Sox to take
a 4-0 lead.
It provided
a comfortable working margin for Daniel Bard, who improved to 5-5 and lowered
his ERA to 4.56 after allowing two runs on five hits (including a pair of solo
homers by Jhonny Peralta and Prince Fielder) and issuing two walks with four
strikeouts.
Although
they played without second baseman Dustin Pedroia (torn thumb muscle), the Sox
lashed 10 of their 11 hits against Verlander. Verlander (5-3, 2.55 ERA) absorbed
his second consecutive loss after giving up five runs over six innings,
departing after throwing 105 pitches, 75 for strikes. He had a 16 2/3 innings
scoreless streak against the Sox snapped in the second when Ortiz hit a leadoff
double off the Wall, then advanced on Jarrod Saltalamacchia's sharply struck
single to left.
Mike Aviles
grounded into a force at second that wiped out Saltalamacchia, but enabled Ortiz
to score from third that gave the Sox a 1-0 lead. The Sox tacked on three more
runs against Verlander in the fourth. Kevin Youkilis led off with a single to
center and, after Saltalamacchia struck out, Aviles followed with soft single to
shallow center. Scott Podsednik singled to right, loading the bases for Nava.
Verlander
attempted to dominate early, pumping a pair of four-seam fastballs at Nava that
reached 98 and 100. Nava fouled off the first pitch and took the second for a
ball. After Verlander missed with a curveball, Nava laid off a 100-m.p.h.
fastball that also missed the strike zone. Verlander went to a 99-m.p.h. four-seamer
that ran the count to 3-and-2.
Nava stood
in and handled the best Verlander had to offer on the next pitch, a 100-m.p.h.
heater and sliced it to left for a double that cleared the bases. It was Nava's
first hit against him. Nava was happy to come through.
The Sox
scored in the fifth when Adrian Gonzalez singled to right, then scored from
first on Ortiz's double to center, giving him 18 on the season. Ortiz, however,
wound up getting thrown at third trying to stretch it. Verlander got out of the
inning by inducing Youkilis and Saltalamacchia to hit grounders to third.
Fielder
crushed a 1-and-2 pitch over the visitors' bullpen in right to cut Boston's lead
to 5-2. After Bard struck out Delmon Young on a 92-m.p.h. fastball, his 94th
pitch of the game, he was lifted by Valentine, who summoned Rich Hill. Hill
induced Brennan Boesch to ground to first, then walked Alex Avila before turning
it over to Scott Atchison, who gave up a single to Peralta, then got Santiago to
pop to second.
A 38-minute
rain delay prolonged the anticipation of a Fenway Park crowd of 37,216, many of
whom scattered when the deluge hit. But a few hardy souls remained to watch
Alfredo Aceves close it out in the ninth |
