October 10, 2008

ALCS 1: Red Sox 2, Rays 0

Red Sox - 000 010 010 - 2  7  0
Rays - 000 000 000 - 0 4 0
Matsuzaka took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and the bullpen trio of Hideki Okajima, Justin Masterson and Jonathan Papelbon shut the door on the Rays.

In the fifth inning against Shields, Jason Bay walked and raced to third on Mark Kotsay's pop fly double down the left field line. Jed Lowrie's fly out to right scored Bay with the night's first run. (The Red Sox had threatened in the first. Dustin Pedroia walked with one out and went to third on Kevin Youkilis's two-out ground-rule double to right, but J.D. Drew struck out.)

Boston made it 2-0 in the eighth when Pedroia singled with one out. He stole second before David Ortiz walked and then he scored on Youkilis's double off the tip of Carl Crawford's glove in shallow left.

Dice walked three Rays in the first, but wiggled out of trouble, retiring retired 16 out of the next 17 batters. He started the seventh by allowing two singles, but with runners at first and third he got a fly ball to short left, a strikeout and a fielder's choice.

Matsuzaka allowed two more singles to start the seventh and was pulled. Jeemer got Carlos Pena to hack on 3-0 and fly out to Drew in right-center. Then Masterson got Evan Longoria to hit into a 6-4-3 DP. Bot set down Tampa in order in the ninth: K, PF5, K.

NLCS: The Philles held off the Dodgers 8-5 to take a 2-0 lead in the series.

***

BR Preview
Daisuke Matsuzaka (Red Sox 23-6 in his starts)
James Shields (Rays 22-11 in his starts)
Red Sox                  Rays
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF Akinroi Iwamura, 2B
Dustin Pedroia, 2B B.J. Upton, CF
David Ortiz, DH Carlos Pena, 1B
Kevin Youkilis, 3B Evan Longoria, 3B
J.D. Drew, RF Carl Crawford, LF
Jason Bay, LF Cliff Floyd, DH
Mark Kotsay, 1B Dioner Navarro, C
Jed Lowrie, SS Gabe Gross, RF
Jason Varitek, C Jason Bartlett, SS
***


It Is On!

Tampa Bay and Boston met 18 times during the regular season. The Rays won 10 games, the Red Sox eight. Eleven of the 18 games were decided by three runs or fewer, six by one run (the Rays won all six of those), two in extra innings. Home records: Rays 8-1, Red Sox 7-2. ... And they brawled on June 5.

Rays vs. Red Sox in 2008
     Winner/Score  Park

0425 Rays 5-4 (11) Trop
0426 Rays 2-1 Trop
0427 Rays 3-0 Trop

0502 Red Sox 7-3 Fenway
0503 Red Sox 12-4 Fenway
0504 Red Sox 7-3 Fenway

0603 Red Sox 7-4 Fenway
0604 Red Sox 5-1 Fenway
0605 Red Sox 7-1 Fenway

0630 Rays 5-4 Trop
0701 Rays 3-1 Trop
0702 Rays 7-6 Trop

0908 Red Sox 3-0 Fenway
0909 Rays 5-4 Fenway
0910 Rays 4-2 (14) Fenway

0915 Red Sox 13-5 Trop
0916 Rays 2-1 Trop
0917 Rays 10-3 Trop
Dice vs Rays
     IP    H  R BB  K  BF  PIT
0602 5 2 1 2 5 22 101 Rays 7-6
0909 5 8 3 4 5 28 102 Rays 5-4
0915 5 3 1 2 7 21 101 Red Sox 13-5
Shields vs Red Sox
     IP    H  R BB  K  BF  PIT
0427 9 2 0 1 7 29 99 Rays 3-0
0503 3.2 10 7 2 3 24 98 Red Sox 12-1
0605 1 3 4 0 2 8 27 Red Sox 7-1
0630 6.1 5 2 1 5 24 104 Rays 5-4
Speaking of numbers, does 9 really equal 8?

The Red Sox added Mike Timlin to the roster for the ALCS. Gil Valezquez -- who was added mid-DS in place of Mike Lowell -- was left off. ... The Rays added pitcher Edwin Jackson and subtracted Eric Hinske.

Joe Maddon, on the evenness of the two teams:
I think you can expect a lot of what you saw during the regular season; I do. There will be a lot of tight games, I think. Both sides have got good starting pitching and bullpens. Offensively, they probably have a little bit more hitting ability overall, but we have that ability to hit in the clutch. ...

[I]n a seven-game series like this, you truly have to play it one at a time ... it's really magnified at this particular juncture. ...

They're probably saying the same things — it's pretty even based on the familiarity with the two groups, the number of times that we have played against one another, the close games we have played against each another; the fact that we've finally broken through up there a little bit and they got their win down here. It's really a very balanced situation and it's going to come down to the pitching once again. ... It's going to be a grind-it-out kind of series.
Fox:
Boston and Tampa are young, tough, hungry, and athletic. They're everything the New York Yankees are not.
The Rays bullpen has been lights out against the Red Sox in Tampa. In the nine Trop games, the quintet of Grant Balfour, J.P. Howell, Dan Wheeler, Trever Miller, and Chad Bradford has made 18 appearances, pitching 18.2 innings. They have allowed only 11 hits and 7 walks (0.96 WHIP) and one earned run (0.48 ERA), while striking out 15.


Red Sox Blog Watch: Firebrand lists "the five most important moments" between the Rays and Red Sox in 2008 ... Over The Monster reports on the surprise press conference at which a teary-eyed John Henry vowed the Red Sox would "return to its roots" and "start losing again" ... Paul SF previews the series at YFSF and he agrees with me: Sox in 6 ... Survivng Grady presents a special edition of "Ellsbury 'n' Elf" ... Out in CF notes that the rays at the Florida Aquarium are being fed "little Red Sox-shaped snacks".

Globe predictions:
CHB:        BOS 7 - LAD 5
Cafardo: BOS 7 - PHI 7
Benjamin*: BOS 7 - LAD 5
Massarotti: TBR 6 - LAD 6
Kilgore: TBR 6 - LAD 7
*: Benjamin was the only Glober to pick the Red Sox over the Angels.
Michael Silverman, Herald: Red Sox in 7. ... David Pinto, Baseball Musings: "Flipping a coin might be just as good. The Red Sox are my favorite, but with just a 51% chance of winning the series." ... Yahoo ran 10,000 AccuScore simulations of the ALCS: The Red Sox won 53% of them.

The Hardball Times: Why the Rays will win / Why the Red Sox will win. ... Christina Kahrl has BP's preview: Rays in 6. ... The Globe's Eric Wilbur has collected a lot of media predictions here.

Not sufficiently fired up yet? Well .....

How about now?

679 comments:

«Oldest   ‹Older   601 – 679 of 679
Rob said...

ONE.

Benjamin said...

K.

Jere said...

sit

Amy said...

One down! K!

Tony said...

Woof. Take a seat, chump.

amy, I don't want to sound like a music snob (even though I really am), but you are missing a lot.

A Conformer said...

I have a problem. I see the Angels acting entitled against the Sox and now I see the same attitudes from the raymonds. These teams are forgetting that this Sox team was built for the postseason. They are not the same team as in the regular season. Just because you did well against a team that was probably resting someone or leaving pitchers in longer. You did well against a team without any doubt that they would be in the postseason. Now you get hurt when you can't do as well against this new team in their element.

So what's the problem?

Benjamin said...

Are Sager's suits always so terrible? (Besides that mustard one he wore when the Sox clinched the ALDS.)

Rob said...

Phil, that's his shtick.

Amy said...

Thanks, Tony. I don't need consolation actually. I accept my limitations!

Benjamin said...

DRAYSBAY is at 1168 comments so far.

Rob said...

Apparently Red Sox fans hated the decision to throw Dice-K in game 1.

andy said...

The problem is these guys think they are so good and the Angels still haven't admit they are not as good as the playoff RedSox.

s1c said...

Apparently Red Sox fans hated the decision to throw Dice-K in game 1.

Not this Sox fan

Rob said...

TWO!

Benjamin said...

Two.

A Conformer said...

Garza looking like a cartoon villain there. Wile E Coyote, maybe?

Tony said...

I respect that, amy. Nothing wrong with limitations.

Craig Sager simply is not cool enough to wear those suits.

2 outs!

Jere said...

2 down

Amy said...

TWO!

allan said...

for me, cave has seemed like a raging self-parody at least as far back as 1986, when i was doing college radio. not a fan at all....

Rob said...

"So far tonight, experience has trumped exuberance."

Actually more like...Our guy out-pitched your guy.

A Conformer said...

"So far tonight"... he does realize it's the 9th inning and there are 2 out, right?

nick said...

experience trumps exuberance? cause, y'know, the red sox couldn't care less. I guess that's why they have all that pretend clubhouse jumping around.

andy said...

There is a guy in my neighborhood with a huge Angels logo in his garage. Every day I drive by with my window down and yell Go Angels. Everyday since Monday that is.

SoSock said...

Experience has trumped exuberance?
He apparently did not see any of the post-game after the ALDS win.

Jere said...

oh that is great. They show a stat saying 12 of 22 teams who won ALCS game 1 in 7-game ALCSs went on to take the series. And Caray says, "as you can see, winning game one, very important."

Lord Lynch said...

Evening all. What have I missed?

s1c said...

one more strike here bot.

Rob said...

No midnight goes by during a Red Sox game without Castig referring to it as the witching hour.

Rob said...

FIRST ROUND OF DIRTY WATER IS ON ME!!!

Amy said...

I do love when we win the first game on the road. Sort of kills that home field advantage stuff.

laura k said...

dirty dirty dirty water!

i hope the next game is on the radio up here. i can't take another night of these asshole announcers.

good night all! on to the next win.

Benjamin said...

WATER!

A Conformer said...

FUCK YEAH! Sit down, young exhuberant Rays!

Sarah Haendler said...

Suck it, DEVIL Rays. We're the fucking Red Sox.

Rob said...

4 down, 7 to go.

Amy said...

WE WIN GAME ONE!!

s1c said...

Dirty dirty water!!!

Jere said...

DW/T/JTTW/etc etc

allan said...

iwamura looking like someone ran over his dog - not good for game 1 of a 7 game set

andy said...

Wow TB does that feel like every other year right there?

Tony said...

Sit down, bitch!

Big win!

andy said...

Tek is thinking about Heidi ass right now.

Amy said...

Eat your heart out, Chip Caray.

s1c said...

yeah baby, now over to NESN to get the exuberant Remdawg and TC!!!

Rob said...

Sager likes to say Dice Kay as well.

Lord Lynch said...

Nice one.

Back to bed.

A Conformer said...

Tek refuses to look at Sager- he doesn't want to be blinded.

Tomorrow's game is VERY winnable.

Tony said...

By the way, how pathetic was the crowd trying to get up for Navarro in the 9th? Maybe the mics were bad, but the crowd noise was decidedly underwhelming. No such problem at Fenway!

andy said...

youk is thinking about my ass right now.

Sarah Haendler said...

eah baby, now over to NESN to get the exuberant Remdawg and TC!!!

What is this NESN you speak of? I am jealous of you and your NESNy goodness.

andy said...

Uncle Youk

Sarah Haendler said...

Awww. Nunky Youk.

Benjamin said...

Kid still standing with a "Florida is a colony of Red Sox Nation" sign.

nick said...

I love granny's hat!

s1c said...

I am jealous of you and your NESNy goodness.

shhh, don't tell bh, you might get me in trouble.

Yeah, baby, here comes Soxtober!!!

Lord Lynch said...

Good God. We get Rick Sutcliffe over here.

Hay-zeus....

andy said...

How pathetic was that crowd all year and all postseason? A bunch of faking front runners.

Sarah Haendler said...

Sweet dreams, Lord Lynch - and everyone else!

Rob said...

I love me some NESNy goodness.

Remy looks sort of strange in gray.

A Conformer said...

So I'd say the secret to winning a Daisuke start is not to take a big lead in the first. He needs to have his back against the wall.

Patrick said...

WOW!!! I will stew in the dirty water until I'm pruny and wrinkled. Or at least until tomorrow.

Hell yeah!

Rob said...

Remy: "I've been calling him Houdini all season long, and he was Houdini again tonight."

nick said...

redsock said...

for me, cave has seemed like a raging self-parody at least as far back as 1986, when i was doing college radio. not a fan at all....


allan rockin' his truepunk roots. though it's stupid to say, I do prefer the music he made when he was doing junk. And I do think he falls into self-parody area at times, but I still like 'im.

Pepe Lepew said...

Blogger Amy said...

Thanks, Tony. I don't need consolation actually. I accept my limitations!

Sat Oct 11, 12:01:00 AM

I know absolutely *nothing* about country and western.
Except that Shania Twain is Canadian.

Tony said...

Dice was AMAZING tonight after the 1st inning. Absolutely incredible. Quite possibly his best start for the Sox. He's the story of the night, bless his overpaid heart.

SoSock said...

Way cool -
well, tomorrows be-at-the-field-at-6am day, so off to the sack for me.
I have to say before I go - having Jeemer and Masterson come in after Dice put those 1st 2 on in the 8th and get out of it clean has really given me a sense of calm about the rest of this series.
I was confident before, but "nervous confident". I'm just downright comfortable now.

Manana!

A Conformer said...

Dice was AMAZING tonight after the 1st inning. Absolutely incredible. Quite possibly his best start for the Sox. He's the story of the night, bless his overpaid heart.

Overpaid? Seriously?

Tony said...

Overpaid? Seriously?

Yeah, you're right. Last year he felt way the fuck overpaid. This year he's no more overpaid than anybody else with a huge deal.

Still wish he'd cut down on the fucking walks, though.

A Conformer said...

redsock said...

for me, cave has seemed like a raging self-parody at least as far back as 1986, when i was doing college radio. not a fan at all....

allan rockin' his truepunk roots. though it's stupid to say, I do prefer the music he made when he was doing junk. And I do think he falls into self-parody area at times, but I still like 'im.


Maybe it's because I'm really not a punk fan. I love his gospelly stuff, and his poetry (his sang poetry, I mean- I've never read the written one), and his voice is just enchanting to me.

nick said...

I'll be at work tomorrow night. may your exuberance swell and carry the sox to boston on the crest of a wave of dirty water.

g'night.

Patrick said...

But Daisuke aimed and smote him with the arrow in he throat, and the point passed clean through his delicate neck, and he fell sidelong and the cup dropped from his hand as he was smitten...

Thus the party ended for Tampa Bay

Benjamin said...

Remy's suit may be grey, but his face is bright pink.

Benjamin said...

Time to stroll over to DRaysBay.com.


that was a awful, awful game
now Kaz HAS to win
ugh
by joeybw on Oct 11, 2008 12:05 AM EDT reply reply 0 recs


Is it ironic that the post-game is brought by cap'n morgan?
by walkoffwalk on Oct 11, 2008 12:10 AM EDT reply reply 0 recs

I think the Rays did the best they could, but Boston's starting pitching really scares me
they don’t seem to make many errors on defense. their pitchers aren’t fing up
Pena and Longo aren’t producing. I think we can do it, but this game did not inspire me with confidence
by plasticman on Oct 11, 2008 12:11 AM EDT reply reply 0 recs

I would LOVE to be proved wrong in my fears. You hear that Longo!!!
by plasticman on Oct 11, 2008 12:12 AM EDT to parent up reply reply 0 recs


Mostly upbeat, though.

M@ said...

Latecomer here -- I was watching on and off through the game. A long game for so little offense. Tense stuff, but glad to see Boston pull it out.

I noticed that the announcer said "no-hitter" literally a second before the first hit on Dice-K. And I was worried about jinxing things! :)

s1c said...

How about those Sox!!!

Jere said...

Tappin' into the Tappen market: Tappen updates us on what's next on SportsDesk. Cut to commercial that starts, "Hi, I'm Kathryn Tappen for Delta Dental..."

Zenslinger said...

Had a ball watching this at The Bar. I felt like it was a very evenly played game. Couple of things happened for us when they needed to, and didn't happen for them. It doesn't make me think we're going to just crush them, but it's still a win, and the pitching matchups could be seen as an improvement for us from here on in.

allan said...

It was huge that Dice was able to go 7 and save the pen a couple of extra innings of work.

«Oldest ‹Older   601 – 679 of 679   Newer› Newest»