The offense for the Boston Red Sox once again did their jobs but that isn’t the big story of what happened in the 10-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night at Fenway Park. Actually there are two big stories.
It’s a tough call to figure out whether the benches clearing brawl started by David Ortiz and Kevin Gregg is a bigger story than the fact that Josh Beckett left the his start after five innings due to a hyperextended left knee after slipping on the wet mound at Fenway Park.
The benches had actually emptied on the pitch before the brawl happened in the 8th inning. The at-bat for Big Papi started with Gregg throwing a fastball inside on him. The second pitch was more of the same. On the third pitch, Gregg went even further inside and Papi started towards the mound with some words for Gregg. The benches emptied but the only thing exchanged were some words between the teams.
On the next pitch, Gregg threw a fastball that Papi popped up. Papi started running very slowly towards first only to have Gregg tell him to run to first. This got Gregg ejected immediately and then next thing you know Papi isn’t running towards first, he’s running towards Gregg. While it didn’t look that any punches actually hit anyone, Papi came close to landing an uppercut that would knocked Gregg into next week.
When order was finally restored for a second time, Papi and Gregg found themselves bounced from the game. Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia (not in the game) and Orioles reliever Jim Johnson also were ejected from the game although we aren’t sure what they did.
Big Papi didn’t talk to the media after the game. Gregg did and had some choice words for Big Papi as did a few of the other Orioles.
Beckett’s troubles started in the 5th when he slipped on the mound while throwing a pitch. While he stayed in the game to finish the 5th to become eligible for what would turn out to be his 8th win of the season, he didn’t come back out for the 6th. It was announced that he left with the hyperextended left knee.
After the game Beckett said that he would be fine and would go forward to making his appearance in the All-Star game on Tuesday. We’ll see how he feels today but hopefully it’s nothing and returns without incident. The last thing we need is another starter on the disabled list.
If not for those two stories, the big one of the night would have been the fact that the offense put up eight runs in the first to chase Orioles rookie Zach Britton from the game before the end.
Jacoby Ellsbury started the inning by flying out. Dustin Pedroia followed that with a single and went to second on an Adrian Gonzalez walk. Kevin Youkilis, who was named to the AL All-Star Team as a replacement for Alex Rodriguez after the game, brought in Pedey with a single. Big Papi quickly made it 4-0 with a monstrous blast into the seats in right field.
The Red Sox didn’t stop there though.
Jason Varitek reached on a walk and then went to third on a Marco Scutaro single. Darnell McDonald then cleared the bases with a double to push the lead to 6-0. Britton finally got the second out of the inning with a strikeout of Yamaico Navarro. In his second AB of the inning, Ellsbury got an RBI single to finally chase Britton from the game.
Pedroia reached off of Brad Bergesen after J. J. Hardy booted the ball. Gonzalez made Hardy and the O’s pay for the error as his single scored Ellsbury to make it 8-0. The inning finally ended after Youk grounded out.
The Orioles relievers settled down after that as the Red Sox would only get two more runs the rest of the way. One of the coming on a Pedroia home run off of Chris Jakubauskas in the 6th and on a Josh Reddick triple in the 8th that scored Pedey after a single earlier in the inning.
Definitely a crazy night at the Fens last night. We know Papi will most likely be suspended but I think we all hope Beckett is okay. As I said earlier, that’s the last thing the Red Sox need right now. When you think about the fact that Tim Wakefield and John Lackey would be the two healthy players in the Red Sox rotation right now that’s not a good thing. Nothing against Wake by the way as he didn’t even start the season in the rotation.
We’ll be back later today with tonight’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and any links from the day. But for now, enjoy the overnight links by clicking on the read more button below.
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Fighting words [Boston Globe]
Weiland a surprising choice [Boston Globe]
Plenty of twists in this game [Boston Globe]
Sox discovery sings at Fenway [Boston Globe]
Both blowout and battle [Boston Herald]
Time to worry? [Boston Herald]
Gregg: We’re not scared of them [Boston Herald]
Rookie Weiland set to pitch in [Boston Herald]
Sad end to one good gesture [Boston Herald]
Firepower leads Sox past Orioles, 10-3 [CSNNE.com]
Tempers, fists fly as Sox brawl with Orioles [CSNNE.com]
Red Sox notes: Beckett injures knee [CSNNE.com]
Rapid reaction: Red Sox 10, Orioles 3 [ESPN Boston]
Sox sign young Dominican shortstop [ESPN Boston]
Closing Time: Red Sox win again, but at what cost? [Full Count]
Beckett: Knee injury shouldn’t impact availability going forward [Full Count]
Nick Markakis calls David Ortiz swinging 3-0 ‘a little bush league’ [Full Count]
Red Sox take stock of brawl: ‘A lot of craziness’ [Full Count]
Video: Red Sox Hoping Kyle Weiland Can Continue Dominant Ways in Major League Debut on Sunday [NESN.com]
Video: Jason Varitek Says Bench-Clearing Brawl Part of the Game, Thinks Josh Beckett Will Be OK [NESN.com]
Josh Beckett Leaves Start With Hyperextended Left Knee, Terry Francona Says Move Was Precautionary [NESN.com]
Boston offense delivers its own beating in brawl-filled game [Providence Journal]
Red Sox players saddened by tragedy in Texas [Providence Journal]
Gregg, Ortiz hook up in wild brawl [Providence Journal]
Red Sox Journal: Weiland to make his debut on Sunday [Providence Journal]
As temperatures rise, so do ejections [Providence Journal]
Pedroia has knack for hitting balls outside zone [RedSox.com]
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.
Photo credit: Getty Images
