Power Up

Confidence is the key.  Feeling confident and channeling that confidence into finding a groove is how to get out of a slump.  We’re not necessarily out of the woods yet, but we’re taking positive steps to get there.  We’ve had some nailbiter wins recently; it’s nice to to back to coming out on top and then staying on top.  It felt easy and effortless last night, like we started the season that way and never stopped.  Here’s to keeping that going.

Ellsbury singled on the game’s third; one out later, Pedroia walked, and Papi worked the count 2-2 thanks to two balls and two fouls.  He got a curveball he could hit, and he hit it.  He sent the ball beyond the fence in right center field for a three-run shot, just like that.

We went down in order in the second; Middlebrooks singled, but it didn’t matter thanks to Lavarnway’s double play.  Gomes walked in the third and scored on a single by Papi.  Middlebrooks’s walk was our only damage in the fourth.

Dempster gave up five runs on eight hits while walking six and striking out two over the course of four and two-thirds innings.  So, on average, he gave up more than one walk, one hit, and one run every inning.  That is not what I call a good start.

He issued two consecutive walks to lead off the second; both runners advanced on a groundout, and a force out was successfully converted at home.  But he gave up a single that scored his first run right after that.  He was able to pitch himself out of a bases-loaded situation in the third.  He gave up another run thanks to a double-single combination.

He ran into real trouble in the fifth.  He gave up a double that turned into a run two groundouts later.  He issued a walk that turned into a double thanks to a steal, and the runner scored on a single.  That first base-steal-single-run sequence then repeated itself.  And that was when Mortensen came in, gave up a single, and ended the inning.

Dempster was lucky that we scored three runs of our own in the top of the frame.  Gomes and Pedroia hit back-to-back doubles, scoring one run.  Papi grounded out, which moved Pedroia to third, and Napoli’s walk put runners at the corners.  Nava’s sac fly brought Pedroia home, Middlebrooks’s single moved Napoli to second, and he scored on a single by Lavarnway, who was thrown out at third.

So each team had scored three runs in the fifth inning alone.  Even if we hadn’t scored again for the rest of the game, and provided that the Twins didn’t either, we would have won.  Each team had scored in two other innings before the fifth; the Twins had scored two prior runs, but we had scored four, so we were already on top.  It stayed that way in the sixth; neither team scored, thanks in the bottom of the inning to the combined efforts of Mortensen and Breslow.

We blew the game wide open in the seventh.  Pedroia walked to lead it off, and after working the count 2-1, Papi had himself a multi-homer game! He hit the ball again beyond the fence in right center field, again with at least one man on base.  It was a fine piece of hitting.  And it was made even better when Nava went back-to-back.  The Twins made a pitching change that did no good; Nava hit a solo shot in the very next at-bat.  His ball also ended up beyond the fence in right center field.  I love back-to-back jacks; it’s so much fun reveling in the fact that, at first, you think it’s just a replay until you realize that we actually powered our way through.

So that was another four runs right there, and Breslow kept the lid on the Twins in the bottom of the inning.  We went down in order in the eighth, and Wilson did a fine job.  It looked like we might get yet another rally going in the ninth when Papi and Napoli worked back-to-back walks and Nava singled to load the bases with nobody out.  Middlebrooks struck out, and Papi did score on a sac fly by Lavarnway; I guess we weren’t finished quite yet.  The bottom of the inning was pretty uneventful.

So we ended up winning, 12-5.  It was a slugfest, all right, and we buried the Twins with our massive power.  Both teams had an almost equivalent number of hits and walks, but our hitters were better at taking advantage of our opportunities, and our pitchers were better at closing the deal; we’ve seen recently the effects that that can have first-hand.  That’s basically all there is to it.

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Humble Origins

We are recently masters of the difficult win.  We come from behind, we come back at the last minute, we barely eke it out.  But I’m proud of our slow-but-steady-and-successful showing of late; it’s the kind of confidence-building that we need to get ourselves back on track.  So this is a good sign; eventually we’ll be back to winning freely and easily.

Nava singled in the first and scored on a single by Papi.  We walked in each of the following three innings; in the fourth, the walk came after a single, but we didn’t capitalize on that opportunity.

Buchholz made a mistake in the third.  I suppose that he made two mistakes.  He gave up a double to lead off the inning and, one out later, he threw a bad curveball that missed.  How often this year have you seen Buchholz fire off a bad curveball and miss his spot? It’s a rare sight indeed.  I almost couldn’t believe it when I saw it.  But it was hit for a two-run home run.  He then issued two consecutive walks in the fourth but didn’t give up any runs; still, the sight of him issuing any walks, much less two in a row, was quite foreign.

As if that weren’t enough, he gave up two singles and a walk in the fifth, loading the bases with one out.  He pitched himself out of it thanks to a strikeout and a flyout.  But I can’t remember the last time he was in a bases-loaded situation.

Fortunately, it was smooth sailing after that, and Buchholz was back to his old self.  Also fortunately, we were able to tie the game at two in the seventh; Gomes walked, and when Ellsbury singled, it was deflected, and Gomes scored.

Drew doubled and Gomes walked in the eighth, but we didn’t score; Miller came in and held down the fort.  We went down in order in the ninth; Miller and Wilson combined to preserve the tie.

And then something wonderful happened.  For the third time in as many games, we were patient and resilient, and we came from behind.  And it was sweet.  We didn’t play well at all the last time we faced the Twins, but revenge is a dish best served cold, even in the month of May.  Pedroia singled, Papi walked, and Ciriaco came in to pinch-run for him.  Both runners advanced on Middlebrooks’s sac fly, and Drew loaded the bases thanks to an intentional walk.

The stage was set for another grand slam, or even another bases-clearing double.  But it seems like each come-from-behind win is more humble than the last.  Gomes was at the plate; he took a slider in the dirt and fouled off a fastball.  Then he got another slider, and he lofted it to center field.  It was obviously going to be an out.  But it was hit deep enough that Pedroia was able to come home.  One run on a sac fly in the tenth inning decided the game.

Uehara had a one-two-three tenth, and the final score was 3-2.  Buchholz’s final line featured seven innings, two runs on four hits, three walks, and nine K’s.  We totaled ten hits and walked a whopping seven times.  But Drew’s double was our only extra-base hit, and we went two for ten with runners in scoring position and left eleven on base.  In contrast, Minnesota was held to only four hits.  Throughout the game, we had one on base here, one or two on base there.  We just failed to close the deal and score; had we made good on all of our opportunities, we would have won the game long before the ninth inning rolled around.  Either way, though, we won; at least we’re getting on base again.

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In Confidence

We played a great game on Wednesday.  It was a slugfest, no doubt about it.  It felt really good to swing and win so easily, and it was a nice reminder of how potent we are when we’re on our game.  Our slump has been awful, and slumps that bad can potentially end overnight, but more often than not, they take a little bit of time to get a groove going.  They certainly take a lot of nailbiters.  We were losing for most of last night’s contest.  Most of the game felt like many of our recent ones.  But we waited it out, and it paid off.  Basically, it’s all an issue of confidence.

We went down in order in the first, second, and third.  Victorino doubled and scored on a single by Papi in the fourth.  Middlebrooks walked in the fifth, Pedroia singled in the sixth, and Napoli walked to lead off the seventh. Before the first inning was even over, I could tell that it was going to be a long night for Doubront.  When the game was over and the final line was in, he’d walked six.  Six.  That’s a season high, but forget about that.  No pitcher should ever walk that many batters in a single game.  It’s like giving out free hits.

Anyway, Doubront allowed a single and two walks, loading the bases with two out.  Fortunately, he managed to end the inning with a strikeout.  But the rest of his outing was a real grind.  He threw a bad fastball in the second that was hit for a solo shot in the second.  He gave up a walk and a single in the third but again escaped the jam unscathed.  He had a one-two-three fourth, his best inning of the night, but walked two in the fifth, again escaping.  He walked the first batter he faced in the sixth on four pitches and was then replaced by Mortensen.

Mortensen induced a force out and issued two walks that loaded the bases.  Between the walks, Salty passed a ball.  And when Mortensen gave up a single, the runner who reached on the force out, scored.  He was lucky that he gave up just the one run.  Miller came on after that and gave up a single that scored another run.  So two runs scored in the inning; Doubront was credited with the first, and Mortensen was credited with the second.

Breslow came on for the seventh and made it look easy.  Both teams went down in order in the eighth.

And then there was one.  Inning, that is.  Pedroia and Papi walked back-to-back to lead off the ninth.  Drew struck out, and we were thinking that maybe we really were the same team we were before Wednesday’s game when we were losing left and right.  But then Nava walked to load the bases, and Middlebrooks did something awesome.  He was down 0-2 but the pitcher just couldn’t close the deal.  He took a one-hundred mile-per-hour fastball for a ball and then got a changeup.  He stayed patient and read it like a book.

He didn’t hit a grand slam.  He doubled to left, but it was enough.  It cleared the bases.  It was one swing.  It wasn’t a home run.  But it put us on top.  And then Salty walked and Ellsbury grounded out to end the inning.

Breslow gave up two singles in the bottom of the ninth, but he bounced back, knuckled down, and prevented further damage.

In the end, the night was ours.  4-3.  We had been down to our final strike.  Look who just won two in a row.

In other news, the Bruins started out on the right foot against the Rangers, picking up the first game, 3-2, in sudden death.

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Drewin’ It Big

We doubled in each of the first two innings but didn’t get anything going until the third, which Drew led off with a walk.  Then Ellsbury doubled, Victorino flied out, and Pedroia and Papi hit back-to-back singles that scored a total of two runs.  One pitching change later, Napoli doubled and Gomes singled for two more runs.  Middlebrooks then flied out, and Salty walked to load the bases.

So there were two out in the inning, and we’d scored four runs already.  We’ve played some games recently where we’d have been lucky to score four runs in the entire game, let alone in one inning.  We were already ahead of the game, so to speak, both literally and figuratively.  And because we’ve been pretty quiet lately, having the bases loaded with two out in an inning during which we’d scored four runs was a pretty positive sign.

It was one of those moments where you think to yourself how epic and totally awesome it would be if Drew, who was batting next, were to hit a grand slam.  And you sort of laugh it off as a joke even though you’re completely serious because it really could happen.  And then you remind yourself that grand slams are rare for most batters and most teams, let alone a team that’s been playing like ours.  Grand slams are best enjoyed when unexpected, but I think they’re always unexpected because, even when you’re thinking about them, you’re also trying to remind yourself not to get your hopes up too much because, really, what are the chances?

As it turns out, sometimes chances are good.  Drew took a cutter for a strike and a curveball for a ball.  He got another cutter, which made sense, but the pitch didn’t move properly, and it missed.  Drew capitalized big time, and the ball left the park most certainly.  On one swing of the bat, we instantly doubled our run total.  We’d scored eight runs in the third inning alone.

And, in case you were wondering, yes, it was epic and totally awesome.  Did I mention that we had four straight hits with runners in scoring position?

After that, it was like nothing happened.  We went down in order in the fourth and fifth.  Drew doubled in the sixth and made it to third on a wild pitch, but Victorino left him there with a groundout.  We went down in order yet again in the seventh.  With one out in the eighth, Middlebrooks joined the home run club.  Nava had grounded out to lead off the inning, and the first pitch that Middlebrooks received also went over the fence in right center field.  Nobody was on base, but the hitting was no less real and fantastic. Ellsbury led off the ninth with a walk, but we had already wreaked all the damage that we were going to wreak last night.

The Rays singled in each of the first two innings, but to no avail.  I guess the third was the inning in which to hit for both teams, although by comparison the Rays hardly inflicted any damage at all.  Lester gave up a single, an RBI triple, and an RBI groundout one out later.  He gave up two consecutive singles in the fourth and had a one-two-three fifth.  He gave up a double and hit a batter in the sixth.  And he gave up a single to lead off the seventh.

Uehara came on for the eighth and gave up a single and a walk that amounted to nothing.  De La Torre came in for the ninth and sent the Rays down in order.

All told, Lester gave up two runs on eight hits with no walks and five K’s over seven innings.  Pedroia, Middlebrooks, and Drew each had two hits.  We had only three walks, but we collected ten hits, half of which were for extra bases.

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One And Done

It is an unfortunate sight indeed when a pitcher falls victim to the ugly specter of the one bad inning.  In the beginning, it looked as if Tampa Bay would be no stranger to this phenomenon.  In the end, however, they had the last laugh.  Their one bad inning was our one good inning; our one worse inning was their one better inning.

The game began on such a high note.  Ellsbury got hit by a pitch.  That, in and of itself, was obviously not the high note.  That was an unfortunate accident.  His getting on base was the high note.

Victorino then struck out, Pedroia singled, and then it was Papi’s turn.  He got two fastballs.  The first, a two-seam, he took for a ball.  The second, a four-seam, he sent beyond the right field fence.  It was a straight-shot rocket; if it had stayed in the park, it would have been one of those hard-hit line drives.  The ball couldn’t wait to get out of the park.  With that one swing, we scored three runs in the first inning alone.

It was the first and last time we scored.

We went down in order in the first, second, and third.  Drew doubled and Ellsbury walked in the fourth, giving us runners at the corners with two out, but all hope for a rally died out when Victorino flied out.  Pedroia walked to lead off the sixth, and Drew and Ellsbury both walked in the seventh.  But we didn’t turn those opportunities into rallies.  We went down in order in the eighth and the ninth.

Tampa Bay’s experience was about the same.  The only difference was that they scored two more runs than we did.

The Rays went down in order in the first and second.  Lackey gave up a single, a double, and a walk to load the bases with two out but bore down to end the inning on a groundout.  Lackey’s poison of choice was the fourth inning.  He gave up two consecutive singles and an RBI double before recording the inning’s first out with a strikeout.  But he was right back at it with a two-run single followed by another single, a flyout, and a second two-run single.  The fourth ended almost exactly as the third had: with Ben Zobrist grounding out on an off-speed pitch at the end of a five-pitch at-bat.

I’ll say something else about that second two-run single.  Pedroia and Napoli both had their eyes on it, but Napoli had that ball.  At least, he should have had it.  He should have had it, the game should have tied at three, and we should have forced it into extras if necessary and eventually won.  The fact that Napoli missed that catch and let the ball drop is egregious.  Make no mistake, folks.  It happened because of the roof.  That white roof is a criminal backdrop against which to try to pick out and track a baseball.  It’s awful.  This is not the first time this has happened, and it certainly won’t be the last.  But it should not be an issue.  Players, not ballparks, play ballgames.  And I do not fault Pedroia’s decision not to touch it; if it rolled foul, it’s possible that we wouldn’t even be having this discussion.  He had no way to know that the ball would stay fair.  In the end, however, he made a good effort, but there was nothing that could have been done at that point.

One out and one double into the fifth, Miller relieved Lackey; the frame ended with a strikeout and a caught thief.  After he allowed a single to lead off the sixth, Mortensen came in and gave up a walk but nothing else.  Two flyouts into the seventh, Breslow came on and ended that inning, recorded the first two of the next, and gave up a double.  Wilson came in and ended the eighth.

The final score was 5-3.  We spent three and a half innings under the assumption that it was us who would be celebrating the deleterious effects of the one bad inning.  We could not have been more wrong.  This game was essentially a pitcher’s duel.  The question not only was who would crack first but also who would crack worse.  We scored first but lost.

In other news, in one of the most suspenseful nailbiters I’ve seen on the ice lately, we have emerged victorious! We vanquished the Leafs, 5-4, and are moving on to the Rangers! Both teams each scored a goal in the first period.  The Leafs took the lead by one in the second and scored two in the third, but we scored three to tie it up, and Toronto fell in sudden death.  Wow.  I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to make quick work of the Rangers, that’s for sure.

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