The Boston Red Sox had a 9-1 lead going into the bottom of the 5th when the skies opened up causing a rain delay of an hour and eleven minutes. Nearly two hours later, the Baltimore Orioles were walking off the field with an 11-10 win.
John Smoltz started the game out for the Red Sox and was staked to an early lead. That lead continue to grow before the rain delay with Smoltz looking sharp out on the mound. He had more confidence in his fastball and looked the guy the Red Sox were looking for when they signed him. Although they blew the game, he was not the pitcher of record as he left after the delay.
Justin Masterson took over for him and was dealing for the next two innings. He struck out four-of-six batters he faced. Then it looked he ran into the The Great Wall of China as he was charged with five runs. Hideki Okajima wasn’t any better as he didn’t record an out in the 8th inning, allowing four runs.
Takashi Saito wasn’t any better as he was charged with the winning run that came when Jonathan Papelbon blew the save.
The Red Sox bullpen has been one of the best, if not the best in all of baseball all season long so maybe they were due for a night like this. If it does continue, then of course there is cause for concern. But I don’t think that will happen.
The Red Sox are resilient bunch, especially under Terry Francona. While blogs and the media will talk about this game today, I’m pretty dang sure the Red Sox will already have forgotten what happened.
And btw, I’m pretty sure Josh Beckett is going to be one pissed off dude this afternoon. It’s not like he needs any more motivation.
With just under two days left in the AL All-Star voting, Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia need our help Red Sox Nation. Youk currently leads Mark Teixeira by 35,000 votes while Pedroia is just 6,830 votes behind Ian Kinsler. Let’s help them out and get them to the All-Star Game. Vote Red Sox.
And because I don’t want to see your National League votes wasted, please help out Ryan Zimmerman (3B) and Adam Dunn (OF) of the Washington Nationals. My friend Kristen would really appreciate it if you did that.
Old bawl game [Boston Globe]
Red Sox ’pen explodes [Boston Herald]
A monumental collapse for the Sox [Providence Journal]
Upon further review, Lowell lands on DL [Boston Globe]
Red Sox roster withstands injuries [Boston Herald]
Smoltz’ performance a bright spot for the Sox [Providence Journal]
Shining moment in the rain [Boston Globe]
Red Sox leveled by Orioles’ rally [Boston Herald]
Francona uneasy with ‘this time it counts’ approach to All-Star Game [Providence Journal]
State of the Sox: The Best One – Two [Lou Merloni – Wicked Good Sports]
John Smoltz gets lost in dark [Boston Herald]
Red Sox journal: Proceeding with caution — Lowell is on DL [Providence Journal]
Moving on [Extra Bases]
Always Saving The Day [Boston Herald]
Protect those arms [Tony Massarotti]
Optimistic Mike Lowell takes break on DL [Boston Herald]
Five Things We Learned: Why Red Sox Collapse Was Truly Historic [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]
For more slices of Boston Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, and Providence Journal websites.
And if you want to check out the enemy papers, head over to the Baltimore Sun and Annapolis Capital websites.
