Red Sox Rally to Tie World Series at Two Games Apiece

Boston shows grit in what is shaping up into a thrilling Fall Classic

By Russ Reed

AP / Winlow Townson

Once again, the Boston Red Sox had their backs to the wall. Down 1-0 in the top of the fifth inning with their starting pitcher effectively out of gas, the Sox looked like they were destined to fall down 3-1 to the Cardinals with a Game 5 in St. Louis.  Not to mention that all of this was happening after losing Game 3 in the bottom of the ninth on an obstruction call.  But Boston showed as much resiliency as they have all season and fought back to knot up the series.

David Ortiz, one of the most clutch players in postseason history, sparked Boston’s offense by hitting a leadoff double into the right-center gap.  After back-to-back walks, struggling shortstop Stephen Drew drove in Ortiz on a sac fly to left field to tie the game at one.

The injured and fatigued Clay Buchholz was then relieved by Felix Doubront, who pitched two innings of relief the night before.  Yet Doubront was solid, surrendering only one run in 2 2/3 innings.

In the midst of that stretch, Jonny Gomes got his first hit of the World Series, and it couldn’t have been any bigger.  Interestingly enough, Gomes wasn’t even supposed to start Game 4, but Shane Victorino’s late scratch from the lineup opened up the leftfield spot with Daniel Nava having to move to right. 

With two outs in the top of the sixth, Cardinals starter Lance Lynn gave up a single to Dustin Pedroia and walked David Ortiz.  Lynn was then pulled for right-handed sinker-ball pitcher Seth Maness.  Maness had a 2-2 count on Gomes but left the fifth pitch of the at-bat up.  Gomes took immediate advantage and launched a three-run shot into the Red Sox bullpen beyond the leftfield fence.

But the three-run lead did not last for long.  After allowing his first hit of the night, Doubront was pulled for left-handed reliever Craig Breslow, who is having a rough World Series. Breslow surrendered a hit to the first batter he faced, which plated a run for St. Louis, and walked the next batter to put the tying run on base.  Breslow was then pulled without recording an out, but Junichi Tazawa got Matt Holliday to ground out to end the inning.

After a scoreless top of the eighth, Red Sox manager John Farrell sent scheduled Game 6 starter John Lackey to the mound to bridge the gap to closer Koji Uehara.  After getting Matt Adams to ground out, Lackey got Yadier Molina to hit a grounder to third, but rookie Xander Bogaerts threw wide of the bag and Molina advanced to second on the error.  To make matters worse, Lackey then threw a wild pitch that advanced Molina to third with one out.

However, Lackey settled down and jammed John Jay on a 2-0 count to get him to pop-up to short.  Then he got 2011 World Series MVP David Freese to ground out to Stephen Drew at short to end the inning without any damage.

Boston then went three up and three down in the top of the ninth, so Uehara had to come in to get the save.  Daniel Descalso led off the inning for the Cardinals and grounded out to second, and then Allen Craig came up to pinch-hit for the pitcher’s spot.  Craig hit a line shot into right that one-hopped the wall, but only managed a single due to his foot injury.  Yet, the tying run was now at the plate.

Rookie second baseman Kolten Wong was immediately sent in to pinch-run for the injured Craig.  

Uehara settled down and got leadoff hitter Matt Carpenter to pop out to second, and that would bring Carlos Beltran, one of the greatest postseason hitters of all-time, up to the plate.  But in a shocking turn of events, Uehara took the bat out of Beltran’s hands by picking Wong off at first base to end the game.

Of all the come-from-behind wins the Red Sox had all season, this one took the most guts in my mind.  After taking Game One, Boston literally threw the next two games of the World Series away and was in position to fall behind three games to one.  This win was a result of a complete team effort, but let us give credit where credit is due.

David Ortiz went 3-3 with a walk, scored two runs, and got his teammates going with an emotional speech in the dugout mid-game.  Jonny Gomes never got down on himself, took advantage of his opportunity to play, and fought in his at-bat against Maness until he got a mistake to capitalize on. 

Felix Doubront gave his team solid innings out of the bullpen back-to-back nights without surrendering much damage.  Starting pitcher John Lackey was willing to be available for an appearance out of the bullpen three games away from his scheduled Game 6 starts.  Finally, closer Koji Uehara didn’t panic after surrendering a hard hit, and had the presence of mind to pick off a young but dangerous base-runner.

After such a gutsy win to tie the World Series 2-2, tonight’s Game 5 has the feel of being a must-win.  For the Cardinals, a loss would mean that they would have to win two games in a row on the road in a hostile environment.  If the Red Sox drop Game 5, they also would have to win two in a row, and although they would have home-field advantage, they haven’t beaten the Cardinals twice in a row in this series thus far.  Buckle up folks, and get ready for first pitch in a few hours.

Battle of the Bullpens (Extra Point's 1,000 Post!)

The World Series may come down to who can win in the late innings.

By Russ Reed

I don’t think anyone saw this type of season coming for Koji Uehara, including the man himself.  The 38-year-old Japanese closer had an incredible season for the Boston Red Sox, displaying incredible control and pitch-sequencing to make up for his lack of an electric fastball.  Uehara walked only nine batters in 74.1 innings pitched in the regular season, a remarkable achievement.

AP Photo

In addition, Uehara has performed slightly better in the postseason, as hard as that seems.  After posting a 1.09 ERA and a 0.57 WHIP during the regular season, he bettered each mark thus far in October with a 1.00 ERA and a 0.56 WHIP.  Uehara went on to win MVP of the ALCS, recording three saves, a win, and nine strikeouts.  His only blemish of the postseason came on a walk-off, solo-home run from Tampa Bay’s Jose Lobaton in Game 3 of the ALDS.

However, the entire Red Sox bullpen has picked it up since the start of the postseason.  The Boston bullpen, made up of seven pitchers including Uehara, have combined for a 0.84 ERA, 28 strikeouts and a .209 batting average against in 32 innings of relief this postseason.

The Red Sox hit only .202 as a team in the ALCS, and if the struggles continue, it will put a lot of pressure on the bullpen to keep up the stellar work in the World Series.  In addition, the return of Allen Craig for St. Louis will add more fuel to the fire.  Sources say Craig will be used in a DH role in games at Boston and will most likely come off the bench in home games.  If that’s the case, there will be a lot of pressure on Red Sox relievers on the road in the late innings of close games.

On a similar note, the Cardinals’ bullpen could also have a big impact on who ends up winning the title.  In the ALCS, the Red Sox struggled mightily against Tigers starters.  But Boston did end up scoring 11 of its 19 runs off of Detroit’s bullpen.

And as good as Detroit’s starting rotation was, St. Louis is as good, and might be better.  The Cardinals have a proven postseason starter in Adam Wainwright, and NLCS MVP Michael Wacha has done an incredible job.  The rookie right-hander has gone 3-0 in 21 innings pitched with 22 strikeouts and a 0.43 ERA.

Given this, the Red Sox could easily struggle once again with starting pitching and might have to rely on roughing up the Cardinals bullpen to win games.  Yet, that might not be so easy, as high-velocity arms in the St. Louis bullpen has posted a combined 1.80 ERA in 30 innings of work and held opponents to a .177 batting average in the postseason. 

The five highest-octane arms have an average fastball velocity ranging from 90.4 to 97.6 mph.  Both rookie closer Trevor Rosenthal and setup man Carlos Martinez can touch triple-digits, and have a bunch of capable situational relievers as well, including lefties Kevin Siegrist and Randy Choate.

This may turn out to be a battle of the bullpens, but whatever the case may be, I cannot wait for Wednesday night and the start of what I anticipate to be a very competitive World Series.

Red Sox Rally To Tie ALCS 1-1

A grand slam from David Ortiz sparked a 6-5 walk-off victory

By Russ Reed

Photo by AP

Just when it seemed like Boston would be heading to Detroit down 0-2 in the series, the Red Sox once again battled back to pick up the win, something that has become a hallmark for them this season.

Boston was down 5-0 after 5 ½ innings when Clay Buchholz got smacked around in the top of the sixth, once again getting dominated by the opposing pitcher.  

One night after Anibal Sanchez and a host of Tigers relievers combined to no-hit the Red Sox through 8 1/3 innings, Detroit’s Max Scherzer seemed to be doing them one better.  Scherzer, who has been picked by most people to win the AL Cy Young at the end of the year, no-hit Boston through 5 2/3 and had struck out 10 batters up until that point.

But with two outs in the top of the sixth, Shane Victorino put Boston in the hit column with a line-drive single to left field.  Then, Dustin Pedroia put the Red Sox on the board by crushing a double off the Green Monster to score Victorino.  But David Ortiz then struck out to end the inning, and the score remained 5-1 until the bottom of the eighth inning.

Those hits ended up being Scherzer’s only blemishes of the night, as he finished with 13 strikeouts through pitching seven innings.  Once again, the game was put in the hands of Detroit’s bullpen, but this time, they couldn’t finish the job.  Jose Veras came in to start the bottom of the eighth and got Stephen Drew to ground out, but Will Middlebrooks doubled down the left field line to try and get something going for Boston.

Then, manager Jim Leyland then decided to bring lefty Drew Smyly into the game to face left-handed leadoff hitter Jacoby Ellsbury.  Smyly walked Ellsbury and was promptly replaced by right-hander Al Albuquerque.

Albuquerque was able to strike out Victorino, but Dustin Pedroia delivered a single into right field.  However, Middlebrooks was held at third, and a pressure-packed stage was set for Big Papi.  To make it even more interesting, Leyland brought in his closer, Joaquin Benoit, to try and pick up the four-out save.  The rest is history.

Ortiz took the first pitch he saw from Benoit and laced it on a high-line toward right field.  Nine-time Gold Glove Award winner Torii Hunter was in right field for the Tigers, sprinting hard to try and make a play on the ball.  Hunter timed it very well and leaped to make a play, but the ball just glanced off the very tip of his glove into the Red Sox bullpen.  Tie ballgame!

Ortiz had done it again, this time with the first postseason grand slam of his career.  Ortiz’s career is defined by his clutch play during the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees, where the Red Sox became the first team in MLB history to erase a 3-0 series deficit.  This grand slam ranks right up there not only among his clutch moments in the postseason, but also all of the clutch moments in Boston’s postseason history.

However, the game was far from over.  But Red Sox closer Koji Uehara, who has virtually been unhittable this season, shut the door on any possibility of a Tigers retort in the top of the ninth.

Then, more magic ensued from Fenway.  Rick Porcello was put in the game to try and extend it to extra innings, but he surrendered a leadoff infield single to Jonny Gomes.  But former Red Sox shortstop Jose Iglesias, a slick fielder brought in an inning earlier to replace the more offensively-inclined Jhonny Peralta, threw the ball into the stands trying to get Gomes on a bang-bang play, so Boston’s leftfielder advanced to second on the error.

With Jarrod Saltalamacchia at the plate, Porcello threw a fastball into the dirt and it got by catcher Alex Avila, and Gomes hustled to third base.  Then, Saltalamacchia stung a single past Iglesias with the infield in and Boston walked off with the dramatic 6-5 victory.

After their league-leading offense got dominated for 16 innings, the Red Sox responded by putting up five runs in the last two innings to salvage a split before heading back to Detroit for Game 3.  This was all the more important considering they will have to face 2011 Cy Young and MVP Justin Verlander.

Verlander dominated in Game 5 of the Division Series against the Athletics, pitching eight innings of shutout ball while surrendering only two hits and striking out 10.  

In addition, Verlander no-hit Oakland through 6 2/3 innings, something Tigers starting pitchers are apparently becoming accustomed to. But, Boston counters with John Lackey, who was their most consistent starter throughout the regular season.  Lackey rebounded nicely after missing all of 2012 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, and helped pitch the Red Sox to the number-one seed in the American League. 

As a bonus for Boston, this won’t be Lackey’s first postseason rodeo.  As a 24-year-old rookie, he won Game 7 of the 2002 World Series for the Angels and pitched in the postseason for LAA in 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2009. 

I would like to apologize in advance to my family and friends, but I will be glued to the couch on Tuesday and won’t be answering any phone calls.  In a matter of two innings, this series just got a heck-of-a-lot more interesting.

Rays Try to Stay Alive in ALDS Game Three

Boston will look to eliminate Tampa Bay with series sweep.

By Russ Reed

Photo by USATSI

All of the momentum the Rays had coming into their Division Series matchup with the Red Sox has seemingly been crushed.  Boston pounded out 19 runs against Tampa Bay’s top two pitchers.  Matt Moore surrendered eight runs in 4 1/3 innings pitched in game one, and after dominating the Rangers in the play-in game a week ago, ace David Price struggled.  Last year’s Cy Young Award-winner gave up seven runs in seven innings.

But, Tampa Bay does have two things working in their favor.  First, despite what the Red Sox said about Tropicana Field earlier in the season, it still is the Rays’ home park.  Although fans might not have packed the stands in the regular season, the atmosphere certainly changes in October.  The 2008 ALCS against Boston is a prime example of how the home field gives Tampa Bay more of an advantage in the postseason.

The second is having Alex Cobb on the hill tonight.  Cobb was absolutely stellar in his last start, the A.L. Wild Card game in Cleveland.  His stuff was electric and got himself out of multiple jams.  This is all the more impressive considering Cobb was hit in the head by a line drive against the Royals on June 15 and missed two months.  Since returning on Aug. 15, he’s gone 5-1 with a 2.41 ERA.

However, the Rays have to square off against Clay Buchholz.  Many people were concerned if Buchholz would return to form after missing over three months with a neck strain.  But, the 29-year-old right-hander has looked as sharp as he was at the start of the season.  He went 3-1 with a 1.88 ERA in September, bringing his season totals to 12-1 with a 1.74 ERA.

And as I mentioned earlier, Boston’s offense is red-hot.  David Ortiz had his first multi-home run game in the postseason in Game 2, at age 37.  Plus, the top of the lineup is setting the table for the heart of the Red Sox order, as Jacoby Ellsbury batted .556 in the first two games and Shane Victorino hit .500.

Tampa Bay will have to play a near-perfect game to avoid elimination tonight.  

However, with their hottest pitcher on the mound at home, the odds of winning tonight increase tremendously.

Notes:  First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. ET, and the lineups for each team have been released.

Boston Red Sox:

1.     Jacoby Ellsbury, CF

2.     Shane Victorino, RF

3.     Dustin Pedroia, 2B

4.     David Ortiz, DH

5.     Mike Napoli, 1B

6.     Daniel Nava, LF

7.     Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C

8.     Stephen Drew, SS

9.     Will Middlebrooks, 3B

SP – Clay Buchholz, RHP

Tampa Bay Rays:

1.     David DeJesus, LF

2.     Ben Zobrist, 2B

3.     Evan Longoria, 3B

4.     Wil Myers, RF

5.     James Loney, 1B

6.     Desmond Jennings, CF

7.     Matt Joyce, DH

8.     Yunel Escobar, SS

9.     Jose Molina, C

SP – Alex Cobb, RHP

Saltalamacchia is back behind the plate for Boston after David Ross caught John Lackey in game two.  Middlebrooks moved back to the nine-hole, where he hit in game one, after hitting seventh in game two.

For Tampa Bay, Myers has bounced all around the lineup.  The rookie right-fielder hit third in game one, second in game two, and now moves to the clean-up spot.  Joyce gets the start at designated hitter after Delmon Young started the first two games of the series in that spot.  

Young has gone 3-9 with 2 RBI in the DH spot this postseason, including a clutch home run against the Indians in the Wild Card game.  However, Young has also left four on-base during the same three-game stretch.