After what transpired at Fenway Park on Sunday afternoon, there’s absolutely no way that Kyle Weiland forgets about his MLB debut for the Boston Red Sox against the Baltimore Orioles.
Weiland’s afternoon started by seeing him retire four straight batters. He then walked Matt Wieters and made his first mistake of the afternoon when he left a fastball over the plate for Derek Lee who crushed it for a two-run homer to tie the game up at 2. Looking a bit rattled, he gave up a ground-rule double to Mark Reynolds and then an infield single to Nolan Reimold.
After that he gave up three more runs that inning on single, two of them of the infield variety. They weren’t hard hit balls by no means, those had come earlier in the inning. They just happened to find the right spots.
Weiland settled down though for the next two innings although he did hit Reynolds and walked Robert Andino. The 5th inning though was a much different story.
Adam Jones led off the inning with a triple. Weiland then hit Vladimir Guerrero and was promptly ejected due to the fact warnings had been issued earlier in the game after Jeremy Guthrie had hit Kevin Youkilis on a changeup.
Now I’ve never seen Weiland pitch before so I can’t compare his stuff from the minors to his big league debut yesterday. But from what I’ve read about his stuff, you can see that he has what it takes to pitch in the big leagues. It may not have been the debut he was looking for but he did show his resolve after settling down. Where he fits in going forward is anyone’s guess but there’s no doubt he may be able to help the club down the stretch.
Weiland can thank the offense though for keeping him in the game and actually giving him a chance to win before his ejection.
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Trailing 6-2 entering the bottom of the 2nd, the Red Sox offense exploded for four runs against Orioles starter Mitch Atkins on three home runs.
After a J. D. Drew groundout, Marco Scutaro got the party started with a solo home run. Then after Jacoby Ellsbury flew out, Dustin Pedroia hit a solo shot in the Monster seats. Adrian Gonzalez followed that with a double and then Youk chased Atkins from the game with a two-run homer that tied the game up at 6.
In the 4th inning, Pedroia doubled with one out and went to third on a Gonzo single. Guthrie then hit Youk with the changeup that prompted the warnings. There was definitely NO intent by Guthrie to hit Youk but given what had happened over the past few days, home plate umpire Marty Foster felt otherwise. After that happened, Guthrie would walk David Ortiz to force in the eventual winning run.
The Red Sox would add another run in the 7th on an Ellsbury single.
Enough can’t be said about the job that the Red Sox bullpen did on Sunday afternoon, especially Alfredo Aceves.
Aceves came in for Weiland after his ejection with the runner on third in Jones. All Aceves did that inning was strikeout Wieters and Lee then get Blake Davis to fly out. Aceves then set down the side in order the following two innings as well before giving way to Daniel Bard, who threw a 1-2-3 inning in the 8th.
Jonathan Papelbon came on in the 9th and worked around a two-out walk to J. J. Hardy by striking out Nick Markakis for his 20th save of the season.
If anyone thought the whole beanball incident was over on Sunday, Michael Gonzalez made sure to let everyone knows the Orioles weren’t happy. Sure Weiland had hit Reynolds and Vlad but there was no intent there just like when Guthrie hit Youk. But what Gonzalez did was uncalled for and should get him suspended.
Gonzalez had come in and struck out the first batters he faced. Then with Big Papi at the plate, he got the first strike on a foul ball. Gonzalez then decided he was going to try and send Big Papi and the Red Sox a message by throwing behind him. Of course this got him ejected from the game. I guess the funny part of it all is that he couldn’t even hit Big Papi.
I’m sure the Orioles were frustrated but doing something stupid like that is what causes injuries. I could see that happening if there was intent earlier in the game but their clearly wasn’t. Instead of moving forward with it all, the Orioles didn’t and to me that just shows the class of their organization. And right now there is none.
If you want me to rub some salt in the Orioles wounds, here ya go. The Orioles are now 18 games behind the first place Red Sox. The win yesterday did allow the Red Sox to enter the All-Star break with the second best record in MLB and they maintained their one-game lead over the New York Yankees.
One more final note in this long-winded post. During the game yesterday, Jon Lester was added to the AL All-Star roster as a replacement for Felix Hernandez. But with Lester on the DL, he was replaced by Ricky Romero. Lester will go to Phoenix though and be a part of the pomp and circumstance.
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It’s happened before: Why Ellsbury’s amazing return is not entirely surprising [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]
Rally caps Red Sox’ first half [Boston Globe]
A tossed salad for Weiland [Boston Globe]
This honor gets him going [Boston Globe]
Middlebrooks has the will, finding way [Boston Globe]
Playing it forward [Boston Globe]
Kyle Weiland tossed, but Red Sox rally to win 6th straight [Boston Herald]
Studs and Duds: Plenty of ups and downs at halfway point [Boston Herald]
Star turn for Jon Lester [Boston Herald]
Red Sox still can hit historic highs [Boston Herald]
Players hit break, speed away [Boston Herald]
Umpire’s plate full as tensions bubble again [Boston Herald]
Theo Epstein on Red Sox at break: ‘I think we’re in good shape’ [Clubhouse Insider]
Jason Varitek to Orioles: ‘Kiss my rear end’ [Clubhouse Insider]
Sox sweep O’s, 8-6 [CSNNE.com]
Varitek: ‘Orioles can kiss my rear end’ [CSNNE.com]
Weiland learns the hard way in MLB debut [CSNNE.com]
Nation STATion: All-Staroids [CSNNE.com]
Notes: Weiland’s debut ejection first since ’08 [CSNNE.com]
Red Sox Report Card: Mid-year review [CSNNE.com]
SoxProspects: HR-hitter Brentz finding groove [ESPN Boston]
Rapid reaction: Red Sox 8, Orioles 6 [ESPN Boston]
Lester gets All-Star nod [ESPN Boston]
Francona on pitch to Ortiz: Somebody could get hurt [ESPN Boston]
Tito was right: Weiland’s debut memorable [ESPN Boston]
Despite setbacks, 2011 Boston Red Sox have lived up to preseason hype. [ESPN Boston]
The Globe’s Michael Vega on the Red Sox’ sweep of the Orioles [Extra Bases]
Sox-Yanks collision course? [Extra Bases]
Terry Francona just wants to get away… to Mohegan Sun [Full Count]
Closing Time: Red Sox 8, Orioles 6 [Full Count]
Terry Francona is just a little suspcious of Mike Gonzalez [Full Count]
Middlebrooks making a powerful statement [Full Count]
Jason Varitek: We have young players, too so ‘kiss my rear end’ [Full Count]
Ex-Sox prospect Fuentes: Being traded for Gonzalez ‘was huge’ [Full Count]
These Calls Make You Wonder [Hartford Courant]
Red Sox Put Exclamation Point on Wild First Half With Come-From-Behind Win Over Orioles [NESN.com]
Boston closes out first half on a high note [Providence Journal]
Weiland’s debut is one for the history books [Providence Journal]
Umpires were out of control in Sox-Birds tiff [Providence Journal]
For minor-league players, eating healthy is hardly easy [Providence Journal]
Red Sox Journal: Shopping smart at the trade deadline [Providence Journal]
Break comes at a good time for Red Sox [RedSox.com]
Red Sox, Rays to start second half with key battle [RedSox.com]
While on course, Red Sox still had their share of pleasant surprises [Tony Massarotti – Boston Globe]
For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSNNE, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal, RedSox.com and WEEI websites.
And if you must check out the enemy news, head over to the Baltimore Sun website. You can also check out our Bloguin brother, the Oriole Post.
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