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Saturday's post-game notes

The postgame press notes, distriubuted after today's 5-3, 10-inning win over the Phillies . . .

RED SOX POST-GAME NOTES
BOSTON RED SOX 5, PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES 3
Saturday, June 24, 2006 / Fenway Park

GAME DATA

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
Philadelphia 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 12 0
Boston 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 9 0
Winning Pitcher: Jonathan Papelbon (2-1) Time of Game: 3:39
Losing Pitcher: Tom Gordon (2-3) Attendance: 35,564 (259th consecutive sellout since May 15, 2003)
Save: None Game Time Weather: 71 degrees, wind E 6 mph
Phillies Home Runs: None
Red Sox Home Runs: Mike Lowell (8), David Ortiz (22)
PITCH COUNTS

RED SOX
PITCHES STRIKES
Curt Schilling 116 76
Manny Delcarmen 5 2
Javier Lopez 4 4
Craig Hansen 14 6
Jonathan Papelbon 38 26
PHILLIES
PITCHES STRIKES
Brett Myers 115 71
Geoff Geary 17 13
Rheal Cormier 10 5
Arthur Rhodes 10 5
Ryan Franklin 8 6
Tom Gordon 10 7
BOSTON RED SOX (44-28)

ANOTHER WALK-OFF IN THE PARK: David Ortiz, for the 7th time in the regular season in his career, his 6th time as a Red Sox and the 2nd time in less than 2 weeks, connected for a walk-off home run, this time a 2-run homer off of Tom Gordon’s 2-2 pitch in the bottom of the 10th…Ortiz this season also hit a walk-off homer June 11 vs. Texas’ Akinori Otsuka, the first game of a doubleheader… for Ortiz, it was his 3rd regular-season walk-off homer in extra innings, his first since April 11, 2004 vs. Toronto . . . Ortiz now has 199 homers in his career, 22 of which have come this season…he leads the American League with 66 RBI.

STREAKING ALONG: Ortiz’s heroics helped the Sox extend their winning streak to a season-high 8 games, the club’s longest run since July 26-August 4, 2005 (also 8 games)…Boston last had a longer run August 24-September 3, 2004 (10 games)…the Red Sox are now 10-1 vs. the National League this season, winners of their last 8 in a row (a club interleague record)…the Red Sox are 19-2, a .905 winning percentage, in their last 21 interleague games beginning June 12, 2005.

(NO) DECISIONS, DECISIONS: Curt Schilling recorded his 3rd-straight no-decision after allowing 3 runs on 8 hits and a walk in 6.0+ innings, fanning 10…it was his 5th quality start in a row…he now has 4 no-decisions in his last 5 starts since recording his 200th career win May 27 vs. Tampa Bay…he remains unbeaten in his last 8 starts, going 4-0 with a 3.46 ERA (21 ER/54.2 IP)…the Red Sox are 7-1 in those 8 starts and 13-3 overall in Curt’s 16 starts this season . . . Schilling’s 10 strikeouts are a season high, his 92nd-career double-digit strikeout effort . . . Schilling struck out 6 batters in a row starting with the 2nd out of the 4th inning through the first out of the 6th inning, 2 shy of the club (and tied for the major league) record held by Roger Clemens April 29, 1986 vs. Seattle (Clemens’ first 20-strikeout game).

OFF THE TOP: Curt Schilling today allowed a pair of runs in the first inning on Bobby Abreu’s 2-run double, the first time this season he has allowed more than one run in the first inning…in fact, Schilling allowed only 3 first-inning runs in his first 15 starts before today (one run each on May 5 vs. Baltimore, June 2 at Detroit and June 8 at Yankee Stadium)…Schilling last allowed 2 runs in the first inning September 15, 2005 vs. Oakland, 19 starts ago.

8 TRACK: Playing in his 1,300th career major league game, Mark Loretta went 3-for-3 to extend his hitting streak to 8 games…he is batting .444 (16-for-36) with 3 doubles, 3 RBI and 5 runs scored during the tear…Loretta left the game in the 7th inning with a mild neck strain and is listed as day-to-day . . . Trot Nixon also extended his hitting streak to 8 games, batting .414 (12-for-29.

GETTING HIS PHIL: Mike Lowell connected for his 25th career home run against the Phillies, 12 more home runs than his next closest opponent (he has hit 13 homers against both the Braves and Mets)…3 of his 8 homers this season have come off Phillies pitching.

SIX-PACK: Manny Ramirez drove in a run with his first-inning sacrifice fly, his 6th game in a row with an RBI (9 RBI total in the stretch)…it is Manny’s longest consecutive game streak with an RBI since September 22-28, 2004, a 7-game run.

EXTRA, EXTRA: The Red Sox played their first extra-inning game at Fenway since September 16, 2005, a 10-inning, 3-2 win vs. Oakland…the Red Sox have won their last 5 extra-inning games at Fenway, as it has been 2 years to the day of their last extra-inning loss at Fenway (a 4-3, 10.0 inning loss to Minnesota on June 24, 2004).

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (35-39)

BOBBY'S WORLD: Bobby Abreu used career hit No. 1,501 to double home a pair of first-inning runs…he now has 799 RBI in his career…he has also now reached base safely in 22 consecutive games.

START ME UP: Phillies starter Brett Myers allowed 3 runs on 7 hits and 4 walks in 5.0 innings, fanning 5...last time out, defeated Randy Johnson and the Yankees 4-2 before today’s no-decision to Curt Schilling…is now 3-0 with a 2.52 ERA (11 ER/39.1 IP) in 6 starts during the day this season.

Posted by Art  at 9:38 PM | Permalink

Game on?

All signs point to today's game starting on time -- the first pitch is scheduled for 1:25 p.m. -- and here are the posted lineups:

BOSTON
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
Mark Loretta, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Manny Ramirez, LF
Trot Nixon, RF
Jason Varitek, C
Mike Lowell, 3B
Coco Crisp, CF
Alex Gonzalez, SS
----
Curt Schilling, P

PHILADELPHIA
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Chase Utley, 2B
Bobby Abreu, RF
Pat Burrell, DH
Ryan Howard, 1B
Aaron Rowand, CF
David Dellucci, LF
David Bell, 3B
Sal Fasano, C
----
Brett Myers, P

Posted by Art  at 12:33 PM | Permalink

Rain, rain . . .

The weather forecast in Boston isn't promising, but it wasn't promising last night, either, and the Sox and Phillies got in the game (albeit after about a 45-minute delay at the start). The tarp is currently on the field at Fenway, and it's raining. More as it becomes available . . .

Posted by Art  at 10:58 AM | Permalink

Saturday press notes

Saturday's pregame media notes, courtesy of the Red Sox' P.R. department . . .

UPCOMING SCHEDULE AND PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
DATE OPP. BOS TIME RED SOX STARTER OPPOSING STARTER TELEVISION
Sat., June 24 PHI 1:25 p.m. RHP Curt Schilling (9-2, 3.55) RHP Brett Myers (5-3, 3.77) FOX 25
Sun., June 25 PHI 2:05 p.m. RHP Tim Wakefield (5-8, 3.82) RHP Cory Lidle (4-6, 5.00) NESN
Tue., June 27 NYM 7:05 p.m. LHP Jon Lester (2-0, 2.76) LHP Alay Soler (2-1, 3.32) NESN
Wed., June 28 NYM 7:05 p.m. RHP Josh Beckett (9-3, 4.84) RHP Pedro Martinez (7-3, 3.01) NESN
Thu., June 29 NYM 7:05 p.m. RHP Curt Schilling LHP Tom Glavine (11-2, 3.33) NESN
---All games broadcast on 103/7 WEEI-FM and the Red Sox radio network and the Red Sox Spanish-language radio network---

20 HOMERS--AGAIN
Manny Ramirez reached the 20-homer plateau for the 12th consecutive season on Friday, a feat accomplished by just 14 other players in major league history:

MOST CONSECUTIVE SEASONS—
20 OR MORE HOME RUNS
No. Player Years
20 Hank Aaron 1955-74
16 Babe Ruth 1919-34
15 Willie Mays 1955-68
15 Barry Bonds 1990-2004
14 Eddie Matthews 1952-65
14 Rafael Palmeiro 1991-2004
14 Mike Schmidt 1974-87
13 Reggie Jackson 1968-80
13 Willie Stargell 1964-76
13 Billy Williams 1961-73
12 Carlos Delgado 1995-2006
12 Lou Gehrig 1927-38
12 Manny Ramirez 1995-2006
12 Frank Robinson 1956-67
12 Sammy Sosa 1993-2004

ABOUT THE SOX: The Red Sox have won a season high 7 straight games since losing in Minnesota on June 15…It is the 2nd longest current winning streak among major league teams (White Sox-8 straight) and the team’s longest since 8 victories in a row, July 26-August 4, 2005…Sox are 10-5 since June 8 and 13-8 beginning May 31 . . . At 43-28, Boston is a season best 15 games over .500 and has its best record after 71 games since 2002 (45-26/lost game 72)…Club was 41-30 and 2nd, 1 GB, after 71 contests a year ago . . . The Sox have held a 2-game advantage in the A.L. East for the past 5 days, their biggest advantage since a 2-game margin on May 28…Club has been in the top spot the last 7 days and has been in sole possession of or in a statistical tie for first place in the division for 70 of 81 days in 2006 . . . At Fenway Park, the Sox have won 4 straight, 10 of 12 and 15 of the last 20 games, the longer streak beginning May 4…Club’s .688 (22-10) home winning percentage is tied for 2nd in A.L. with Minnesota behind Chicago at .737 (28-10)…Team was also 22-10 after 32 home games in 2005 (lost game 33) . . . During this 7-game winning streak, Boston has outscored the opponents, 55-22 with a 30-8 advantage in the last 3 games…Sox have outscored foes by 6 or more runs in 3 straight games, 2nd time that has happened in 2006, the other May 6-9.

INTERLEAGUE PLAY: The Red Sox are 9-1 versus the National League this season, winning 7 straight since a loss in Philadelphia on May 21…This is Boston’s longest win streak ever in interleague play, the previous best being 6 wins in a row from June 19, 2005-May 20, 2006…Boston is tied with the White Sox for most wins and highest winning percentage (.900) in the majors in interleague play in 2006…Boston has won 13 of its last 14 and 18 of last 20 in interleague play starting June 12, 2005…Sox have .750 (21-7) interleague win % since start of 2005, matching White Sox for best in majors . . . Sox are 86-81 lifetime vs. N.L. in regular season, 49-36 at Fenway Park…Sox are 11-2 at home against N.L. teams since start of 2005, winning 5 straight and 10 of the last 11…Entering this series, team has won its last 9 home series in interleague play since dropping 2 of 3 to St. Louis, June 10-12, 2003…Since that time, Boston is 22-6 at Fenway Park vs. the N.L..

BATTING NOTES: The Sox scored in double figures for the 7th time this season on Friday, the 3rd in the last 5 games…Club has produced 30 runs and 46 hits in the last 3 games…Boston is hitting .345 (102-for-296) over the last 8 games and has a .302 (345-for-1144) average over the last 32 contests improve season mark from .274 to .287, 3rd best in the league and the highest since April 11 (.290)…Sox are batting .343 (213-621) with 124 runs in last 18 games at Fenway Park and lead the majors with a home batting average of .311 (340-1094) . . . Sox are batting .314 (315-1004) in interleague games since the start of 2005, the best average among major league clubs in that span.

WITH THE GLOVE: The Red Sox have gone 11 games without an error, a new club record for consecutive errorless games…The old mark of 10 was accomplished from September 26-October 5, 1986…Team’s last error was committed by Kevin Youkilis on June 11 (Game 1) vs. Texas…Club has 3 miscues in the last 19 games and 12 errors over last 46 contests beginning May 1…Boston leads the majors with a .991 fielding percentage with 23 total errors being 10 fewer than any other major league club (San Diego)…Are the fewest errors for any major league team through June 22 since research is first available beginning in 1960.

MANNY’S NIGHT: Manny Ramirez was 3-for-4 with a pair of homers and 5 RBI on Friday…Notes from that performance:
--Was his 3rd 2-homer game of 2006 and 46th career multi-homer game (44th 2 HR), tying Harmon Killebrew and Mickey Mantle for 13th all-time, 2 back of Juan Gonzalez.
--Has 455 career homers, 28th all-time, 7 behind Jose Canseco in 27th place.
--Has 41 homers in interleague play, tying Carlos Delgado and Rafael Palmeiro for 2nd most all-time behind Jim Thome (49)…Has 119 interleague RBI, 2nd to Delgado (128).
--Was his 24th multi-homer game with the Red Sox, passing Jimmie Foxx to move into 4th on team’s all-time list behind Ted Williams (37), Jim Rice (35), and Carl Yastrzemski (27)…Has 219 homers with the Red Sox, 8th all-time, 3 behind Foxx.

TUCKER SIGNED: Sox have signed LHP Rusty Tucker to a AA Portland contract…Started season at Birmingham in White Sox system…Is a native of Gloucester, MA and pitched at Univ. of Maine...Was drafted by the Padres in 2001 and was AA All-Star in 2003.

THE RED SOX AND PHILLIES
2006: Sox are 3-1 vs. the Phillies this season, matching most wins in a season against that club (3-0 in 1997 and 2005)…Boston won the 1st 2 in a 3-game series at Citizens Bank Park, May 19-21…Sox have won 7 of last 8 meetings beginning June 27, 2004.

AT FENWAY: Sox have won 4 of last 5 here and have won last 2 Fenway series since dropping 2 of 3 in 1999

ALL-TIME: Boston leads the all-time series, 16-13, 9-6 at Fenway and 7-7 in Philly…The clubs also faced off in the 1915 World Series with Boston winning the final 4 games in a row to capture the series 4-1.

CLIMBING FAST: Jonathan Papelbon has earned saves in his last 3 appearances and leads the A.L. with 23 saves, tying Doug Corbett (Minnesota- 1980) and Huston Street (Oakland- 2005) for 12th most ever by a rookie…Next on list is Dick Radatz (1962), who holds team rookie mark with 24 saves…ML record is 37 by Seattle’s Kazuhiro Sasaki in 2000…Has converted 23 of 24 save tries (95.8%), the best percentage in the majors among pitchers with at least 15 saves . . . Papelbon has pitched 19 scoreless innings in last 18 games since allowing only run this season on May 3 vs. Toronto…His 0.25 earned run average is the lowest in the majors among all pitchers who have worked at least 8 innings…Dennis Eckersley’s 0.61 era with Oakland in 1990 is the lowest earned run average in a season for a pitcher who has pitched at least 35 innings and at least 50 innings.

ALL EARNED: Since joining the Red Sox, Curt Schilling has been charged with just two unearned runs in 421.1 innings, both on June 14, 2004 at Colorado…Has gone 44 starts since that time, the longest streak in the majors since Schilling’s major league record 53 consecutive starts in 2001 and 2002.

BATTING FODDER: Boston’s clean-up spot produced 8 of the 10 RBI on Friday (Ramirez-5; Kapler-3) and has 60 RBI for the year, 3rd in the A.L. (Chicago-70; Cleveland-66)…The Sox shortstop tandem of Alex Gonzalez and Alex Cora are a combined 8-for-13 on the homestand, improving Boston’s 2006 batting average by shortstops from .253 to .272.

CURT SCHILLING
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

2006 AT FENWAY: 5-0, 2.50 ERA (10 ER/36.0 IP), 5 GS
2006 ON THE ROAD: 4-2, 4.13 ERA (30 ER/65.1 IP), 10 GS
2006 vs. OPP: .242 (95-384), 14 HR
2006 vs. LHB: .254 (49-193), 9 HR
2006 vs. RHB: .241 (46-191), 5 HR
WHIP: 1.06
SEASON HIGH K’s: 9, 4/30 at TB
CAREER HIGH K’s: 17, April 2, 2002 with ARI at MIL
LAST WIN (Has made 2 starts since)
-- 6/8/06 at NYY, 9-3 over Jaret Wright
LAST LOSS (Has made 7 starts since)
-- 5/10/06 at NYY, 7-3 to Mike Mussina
LAST COMPLETE GAME (Has made 36 starts since)
-- 8/3/04 at TB, 5-2 win…82nd career
LAST SHUTOUT (Has made 75 starts since)
-- 5/14/03 with ARI at PHI, 2-0 win…19th career
SHORTEST CAREER START
-- 1.2 IP, Sept. 12, 1988 with BAL at BOS (6-1 loss)

Posted by Art  at 10:40 AM | Permalink