The normally unflappable Daisuke Matsuzaka lost his focus for one inning and unfortunately for the Red Sox, it cost them the game. Yes, there are other things that didn’t happen that could have but Matsuzaka’s lose of command in the 4th inning was really what did the Sox in as they lost 2-1 to the Toronto Blue Jays.
A questionable non-third strike call on a pitch to Vernon Wells may have led to the unraveling because Vernon Wells took the next pitch and hit a single. Visibly upset, Dice-K then walked Frank Thomas on 4 pitches. Lyle Overbay singled past a diving Julio Lugo for a single that drove in Wells to tie the game at 1. Aaron Hill then worked a walk after a 9 pitch at bat. Then Greg Zaun walked on 5 pitches to drive in Thomas with the go-ahead and winning run.
Wily Mo Peña got the Red Sox on the board first, with an absolute bomb to center field. It ended up hitting above the old restaurant at the Rogers Centre. Peña, who started for J.D. Drew who was given the night off, was 2 for 3 in the contest with the lone RBI for the Red Sox. Coco Crisp was 2 for 4 and is now hopefully starting to show signs of life at the plate.
Other than the bad 4th inning, Matsuzaka was brilliant. In his 6 innings of work, he struck out 10 Blue Jays, walked 3 and gave up all 3 of the Blue Jays hits. Hideki “Darkman” Okajima continues to pitch well out of the bullpen as he struck out all 3 Blue Jays he faced.
The Red Sox will send Tim Wakefield to the mound tomorrow night and he will be opposed by former Sox pitcher Tomo Ohka.
