Projo Sox Blog

BY JOE McDONALD
Journal Sports Writer

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Emotions were running high in Game Two of the ALCS at Tropicana Field very early in the morning on Sunday.

The Sox and Rays were tied at 8-8 in the bottom of the 11th inning when Boston reliever Mike Timlin issued back-to-back walks to lead off the frame. First he walked Dioner Navarro before Ben Zobrist stepped into the batter's box.

The Sox' veteran right-hander had an 1-and-0 count on the batter when he threw a fastball down in the zone that appeared to be a strike, but home-plate umpire Sam Holbrook called it a ball. Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell began to chip form the dugout, which is a no-no.

Holbrook ejected Farrell for arguing balls and strikes.

"We had a disagreement," Farrell said simply.

Timlin also felt he made his pitch, but eventually walked Zobrist to put runners on the first and second. The Rays' Jason Bartlett grounded out as the runners advanced, before B.J. Upton provided the game-winning sacrifice fly to give Tampa a dramatic 9-8 victory.

"With all due respect, everybody is under a lot of pressure," said Timlin. "We all makes mistakes and we all miss the ball. I missed the plate and missed the glove, but in my opinion he might have missed a couple. It's tough. There's a lot of pressure going on. We're all human."

 Tags  ALCS John Farrell Mike Timlin Red Sox

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