Youkilis, Red Sox avert sweep, club Mets
The Boston Red Sox benefited from two three-run home-runs; Mike Lowell rounds the bases after nailing the first. Kevin Youkilis capped an offensive explosion with another late. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis crushed a high fastball from New York Mets starting pitcher Tim Redding, deep to left field. Hit right down the line, the ball appeared to curve fair, around the pole. The fans in the Green Monster’s seats signaled fair, celebrating the presumptive home-run. The call by the umpires, however, did not please Youkilis, the rest of the Red Sox, nor their fans. Third base umpire and crew chief Joe West signaled the ball foul. Boston manager Terry Francona stormed out of the dugout, pleading that West confer with the rest of the umpiring crew. Overcast skies hovered over Fenway Park, which made it that much more difficult to find the baseball amidst the gray. The umpires huddled and didn’t come to a consensus. So, the play was reviewed, as it can in this day and age. West, minutes later, came out of the tunnel and signaled a foul ball. Youkilis was in disbelief, but he would get his revenge innings later.
Returning to the plate, with his Red Sox behind 5-3, Youkilis flied out for the first out of the inning, clearly frustrated heading back to the dugout. Jason Bay followed with a flyout of his own. Two out, nobody on, and no sign of life. Boston lost the first three games of the series, the third coming on a home-run by catcher Omir Santos off closer Jonathan Papelbon, and was on the verge of being swept for the first time at home this season.
J.D. Drew kept the inning alive and Redding, ultimately, from qualifying for the win. His third of four hits on the day, a single, was ripped into right field. Mike Lowell, who hit a three-run home-run earlier, caught on, continuing the trend set by Drew,, hitting a lining a single to left-field. Rookie catcher and knuckleballer Tim Wakefield’s personal catcher George Kottaras was next. He took advantage of a laboring Redding, nailing the third offering, a lifeless cut-fastball into the right-field corner. Drew scored easily, but the slow-footed Lowell was forced to halt at third base.
Mets manager Jerry Manuel had seen enough from Redding, bringing in Sean Green to face Red Sox shortstop Nick Green. In the battle of the Green’s, Nick won. He didn’t waste any time, feasting on a first-pitch fastball, nailing it to right-field, scoring both Lowell and Kottaras. Boston, rejuvinated, grabbed the lead back.
Much to the surprise of TBS announcers Skip Caray, Buck Martinez, and Dennis Eckersley, Wakefield took the mound to start the sixth inning. As a knuckleballer, it is difficult, for Francona, to distinguish when he should be pulled. How successful knuckleballers are is a matter of placement. The knuckleball is an intriguing pitch primarily because it is unpredictable. Throughout his career, Wakefield has either been hit hard or unhittable. In this game alone he was both. So, holding a lead, Francona trusted Wakefield’s unhittable knuckleball would appear again. Francona, a genius, was right, as he is a majority of the time. Wakefield breezed through the inning, throwing only seven pitches to obtain three outs.
His offense rewarded him, scoring with two-out once more. David Ortiz struck out, as he has done too much this season, putting the pressure on Youkilis to keep another inning alive. Youkilis obliged, earning a walk after a seven-pitch battle with the hard-throwing-but-don’t-know where-it’s-going Brian Stokes. Bay nubbed the first pitch of his at-bat, a 96-miles per hour heater, past a diving Ramon Martinez, scoring Dustin Pedroia, who had walked earlier in the frame. Drew followed with a double, notching his first four-hit game since last July, driving in Bay as Boston’s eighth run for a three-run lead.
Manny Delcarmen relieved Wakefield. Rumors swirled that he was a possible trade candidate that would bring Nick Johnson from the Washington Nationals to the Red Sox. Interviewed about the inquiry by the Nationals after General Manager Theo Epstein shot down the rumor, he said that “because I feel I’m part of the team and used to being here” he “wouldn’t be too happy” if he was sent packing. He responded on the field as well, pitching as he has throughout this young season, throwing two scoreless innings, thwarting any chance New York had of completing the sweep.
While Delcarmen pitched impressively on the mound, Youkilis redeemed himself at the plate. He made sure a fastball right down the pipe from Stokes would stay fair, decking the offering out of the stadium for a three-run home-run. This should have been his second of the game, but he isn’t complaining. After a three-game hiatus, Boston was victorious. For a team trailing the Toronto Blue Jays and with the New York Yankees breathing down their neck, a win, no matter if controversy temparily hinders the chances of it coming to fruition, is much needed.
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