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April 19, 2007
TORONTO -- He was only in the lineup because Terry Francona wanted to rest Julio Lugo's legs on the turf of the Rogers Centre.
And he went from fill-in to hero.
Alex Cora kept the game tied when he turned an outstanding double play with runners on first and third and one out in the eighth, and then he won it with an RBI triple in the top of the ninth as the Red Sox rallied from a 3-1, eighth-inning deficit -- against Roy Halladay, no less -- and defeated the Blue Jays, 5-3, in the rubber game of their three-game series today.
Eric Hinske had opened the ninth with a walk. Dustin Pedroia forced him at second when he failed to successfully bunt, and Lugo then went in to run for Pedroia.
And Lugo came all the way around from first when Cora belted a triple up the gap in left-center field, giving the Sox a 4-3 lead. They made it 5-3 moments later on a sacrifice fly by Coco Crisp.
Jonathan Papelbon pitched the bottom of the ninth, the first time he's pitched in back-to-back games this year, and recorded the save.
The Sox were trailing, 3-1, and looking doomed when they came to bat against Jays ace Roy Halladay in the top of the eighth. They had been held to five hits over the first seven innings and, with a makeshift lineup that had Mike Lowell on the bench, in addition to Lugo.
But Crisp opened the eighth with his second bunt single of the game. After Kevin Youkilis popped out, manager John Gibbons lifted Halladay -- whose pitch count was only at 95 -- in favor of left-handed reliever Scott Downs.
The controversial move seemed to work out when Downs struck out David Ortiz. Gibbons then called on right-hander Shaun Marcum to face Manny Ramirez.
That move didn't work nearly as well. Ramirez blasted a monstrous home run to dead center field, tying the game at 3-3.
The Jays ran at Mike Timlin, who came in to start the eighth, right away as Vernon Wells opened the inning with a double. Wells moved to third on a grounder by Frank Thomas and Timlin intentionally walked Lyle Overbay, setting up a double play.
It seemed they were going to get one when Aaron Hill grounded back to the mound. Timlin, however, bobbled the ball momentarily, then made a slightly wild throw to second that pulled Cora, who was covering from shortstop, to the first-base side of the bag. He was able to catch it, tag the base, and still get off a throw -- despite a very hard takeout slide by Overbay, who appeared to go out of the baseline to hit him -- that doubled up Hill at first, ending the inning.
The Sox had taken a 1-0 lead off Halladay in the second on a walk to Ramirez, a single by J.D. Drew, a fielder's-choice grounder by Jason Varitek that left runners at first and third, and a sacrifice fly by Hinske. A solo home run by Thomas leading off the bottom of the second tied the score, and the Sox squandered a golden opportunity (bases loaded, one out) in the third when Ramirez grounded into an inning-ending double play.
Still, Julian Tavarez -- making his first appearance since April 7 -- matched Halladay pitch for pitch through the first five innings. He faltered in the sixth, however, allowing a one-out homer to Alex Rios that gave Toronto its first lead. Adam Lind then singled, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a double by Wells, making it 3-1.
Click here for the box score.
Posted by Art Martone 
at 3:55 PM | Permalink
Fleicia Otis | April 19, 2007 11:17 PM link
the boston red sox i luv they rock