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October 6, 2007
By Joe McDonald
Journal Sports Writer
BOSTON _ It was a night when anything could have happened.
And it did.
Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka made his major-league postseason debut. The New York Yankees suffered another loss in Cleveland as the Indians are one victory away from advancing to the ALCS. And, a 17-year-old boy helped the Red Sox score the game-tying run.
Yes, Game Two of the ALDS between the Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Fenway Park had it all. In the end, the Sox’ Manny Ramirez hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning that could have easily landed in New Hampshire to give Boston a 6-3 walk-off victory.
“That ball was crushed,” said Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia. “He put a great swing on it and that’s why he’s one of the best right-handers of all time. He’s inside the ball all the time. His swing is short and powerful.”
So powerful that it gave the Red Sox a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series as both teams head to the West Coast for Game Three tomorrow.
After Ramirez crossed home plate and was completely mobbed by his teammates, the chants of “Man-ny. Man-ny. Man-ny” could be heard from the 37,706 in attendance.
“Wow!” said Red Sox shortstop Julio Lugo. “It was amazing. I saw the whole swing and the ball coming in. Knowing you hit the ball that far and it’s going to go out is a great feeling. It’s great for us. . . Manny has been the best RBI man in the last decade.”
With one out and Lugo on second base, the Angels decided to intentionally walk Red Sox slugger David Ortiz to get to Ramirez.
Big mistake.
After the game Ortiz was asked if he thought the ball had enough to get out.
“C’mon, man,” he said with a smile. “It probably hit a car on the highway.”
There were no accidents reported.
The Red Sox enjoyed near perfection in every aspect of the game during Game One of this series on Wednesday. It was everything the Red Sox could have envisioned to take the early lead in the series.
Last night was a close second thanks to Ramirez and a solid job by the Sox' bullpen.
The Red Sox knew exactly what Game One starter Josh Beckett could or would give them, which was a complete-game four-hitter. Matsuzaka, however, was a different story.
Anaheim wore Dice-K out and he was lifted in the top of the fifth inning with the Red Sox trailing by a run. Before Red Sox manager Terry Francona came out to get him, Matsuzaka allowed a one-out single to Macier Izturis, who then stole second and reached third on a wild pitch.
That was it for Matsuzaka’s postseason debut. He lasted just 4 2/3 innings and allowed three runs on seven hits, including 96 pitches (62 for strikes).
“It was a lot of pitches,” said Francona. “He had a lot of deep counts. Even when he worked and started ahead, he found a way to get himself back into hitter’s counts. But, the one thing I will say, he didn’t cave; he didn’t give in."
After Matsuzaka pitched his way out of a jam in the first inning, Boston responded in the bottom half of the inning when J.D. Drew provided a two-out two-run single to give the Red Sox the early advantage.
It didn’t last long.
The Angels, who couldn’t muster any offense during the impressive outing by Beckett in Game One, got to Matsuzaka in the second inning yesterday. The Angels pushed across three runs, including a pair of two-out RBI-doubles from Chone Figgins and Orlando Cabrera.
With the Angels leading by a run, 3-2, that’s when young Danny Vinik comes into play.
He's 17-year-old who caught the foul ball hit by the Sox' Manny Ramirez in the bottom of the fifth inning. Young Danny was sitting in the front row just behind the Sox' on-deck circle when Ramirez lifted an easy foul ball into the first row of seats. Vinik reached up and snared it to keep Angels catcher Jeff Mathis from making the play.
It proved crucial because Ramirez ended up drawing a walk to load the bases as teammate Mike Lowell hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 3-3.
“That was awesome,” said Pedroia. “I saw it from third base. That guy’s great. I don’t know what his name is, but he needs a tour around here. I heard he’s one of the owners’ sons; he’s probably sitting there on purpose.”
The Red Sox are sitting one victory away from going to the ALCS. Now, they’ll have ace Curt Schilling on the mound to attempt to close it out tomorrow in Anaheim.
Again, anything can happen.
Posted by Joe McDonald 
at 2:08 AM | Permalink
