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ON THIS DATE (May 26, 2013) ...
By the end of the wild comeback, Fenway Park was in an absolute frenzy. The sellout crowd roared. Meanwhile, the Red Sox sprinted out of the dugout to corral Jacoby Ellsbury, who had just belted a walk-off two-run double with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift his team to an
improbable 6-5 victory over the Indians.
When Stephen Drew raced home for the run that ended the game, it was the first time Boston led all day. Boston trailed, 5-1, in the eighth. By the time they Sox came to the plate in the ninth, they were down 5-2. That marked the largest walk-off inning
at Fenway since the Mother's Day Miracle on May 13, 2007, when the Sox came from 5-0 down against the Orioles.
The ninth
started with a series of strong
at-bats against Indians closer
Chris Perez. Dustin Pedroia,
who seems to spark just about
everything in the Red Sox's
universe, opened the ninth with a
six-pitch walk. Up stepped David
Ortiz, who belted a double over
the head of Indians center fielder
Michael Bourn. That brought
the tying run to the plate, and a
sense of excitement in the dugout.
Pedroia scored on a grounder to
short by Mike Napoli. Ortiz stole
third for the second time this
week, and then scored on a
fielder's choice grounder by
Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Jonny
Gomes kept hope alive with a walk.
Drew, who gave Boston some life
with a leadoff triple in the
eighth, drilled a single to right
and Gomes raced to third.
Drew then stole second, putting
the potential winning run in
scoring position. Jose
Iglesias walked into the batter's
box and they were down to their
last out. Iglesias, who
isn't known for his plate
discipline, drew a gritty walk on
a 3-2 count. Up next,
Ellsbury worked the count to 2-1
on Perez, and the right-hander
suddenly had to come out with that
injury. Joe Smith was thrust
into a tough spot and Ellsbury
shortened his swing and ripped his
first pitch into the gap in
left-center. It one-hopped the
scoreboard in left-center to end
the game. The two-run double
was Ellsbury's fourth career
walkoff hit; three have come vs.
the Indians. |
