Unfortunately for the Boston Red Sox and Tim Wakefield, he’s going to have to wait until his next start to try again for his 200th career win. Maybe seven will be his lucky number because six certainly wasn’t on Friday night in a 15-5 loss to the Oakland Athletics.
Things started badly as the first batter he faced in Jemile Weeks hit a leadoff double. But he settled down and retired the next three batters he faced. He took the mound in the top half of the 2nd inning with a 1-0 lead courtesy of an Adrian Gonzalez RBI single.
Two batters into the 2nd though, the game was tied at 1 all and three batters later, the A’s found themselves ahead for good at 2-1.
The 4th inning turned out to be the straw that broke Wake’s back. The scary thing about it that all of the damage against him in that inning came with two outs.
He got the leadoff hitter David DeJesus to ground out. He then walked Kurt Suzuki and followed that by getting Cliff Pennington to pop out. From there it was all downhill.
There’s a rule when you’re facing Wakefield. If it’s low, let it go. If it’s high, let it fly. Well the A’s let it fly because Wake had trouble keeping the knuckleball down. Scott Sizemore blasted a two-run homer on a high knuckler. Then he struck out Weeks but a passed ball by Jarrod Saltalamacchia allowed him to reach first.
Wake walked former Red Sox center fielder Coco Crisp and then left a knuckler up to Hideki Matsui who made him pay with a two-run double. Another knuckler up in the zone to Josh Willingham was blasted out of the park and just like that it was 8-1.
That inning would be the last time that Wake touched the Fenway Park mound last night.
The offense gave us a glimmer of hope when Dustin Pedroia, who no longer wants to be called the Muddy Chicken, led off with a homer. David Ortiz followed that up with a home run of his own to cut the lead to 8-3.
But while Scott Atchison was keeping them in the game with three solid innings of relief with only one run allowed, the Red Sox could only manage one run on Marco Scutaro groundout after Jacoby Ellsbury tripled to lead off the 6th.
The struggles of Matt Albers continued as he allowed four runs in just an inning of work. And with the doubleheader today due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Irene in the New England area later tonight, Terry Francona went to Darnell McDonald to pitch the 9th.
Things didn’t turn out too well for DMac as he struggled with his control, really no surprise there, and gave up two more runs. The Red Sox would get a run in the 9th but at that point it was just too late.
With the way Andrew Miller has pitched as of late, you have to wonder if Wake stays in the rotation. Wake hasn’t been bad but he hasn’t been great in his last six starts trying to get that elusive 200th win. Right now it’s all about the business of winning games to win the division and for me at least, Miller is the one who gives them the best chance.
That might not be the popular thing to say but baseball wise, it’s the right thing to do. Whether or not Tito does it is another thing though.
With the doubleheader starting at noon today, we’ll be back in a short while with the lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and more for the first game of the doubleheader.. But for now enjoy the overnight links from the media by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.
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Crawford’s diary: Yes, I’m having a bad year [Carl Crawford – ESPN Boston]
Role play: Loss highlights struggles of trio of Sox [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]
Bare knuckles [Boston Globe]
Youkilis set for rehab Tuesday [Boston Globe]
Tough wall to scale [Boston Globe]
Wake left spinning [Boston Herald]
McDonald offers relief [Boston Herald]
Is vet’s time running out? [Boston Herald]
Wakefield blown away by A’s, 15-5 [CSN New England]
Wakefield focused on team, not milestone [CSN New England]
Sox notes: Albers struggles; McDonald pitches [CSN New England]
Rapid reaction: Athletics 15, Red Sox 5 [ESPN Boston]
J.D. Drew ‘feels good’ after first rehab start [Full Count]
Closing Time: Tim Wakefield’s wait for 200 continues [Full Count]
David Ortiz continues to own lefties [Full Count]
Tim Wakefield: ‘That win will eventually happen, hopefully’ [Full Count]
Darnell McDonald: ‘I’ll be ready [to pitch] for the playoffs’ [Full Count]
Lowrie: ‘I’m not getting the results I expect from myself’ [Full Count]
Video: Tim Wakefield’s Inconsistent Night Costs Him in Latest Attempt to Pick Up Win No. 200 [NESN.com]
Video: Tim Wakefield Frustrated He Couldn’t Work Deeper Into Game in Loss to Oakland [NESN.com]
Weary Red Sox Pounded by Rested A’s, Look Forward to Rebounding During Doubleheader [NESN.com]
Darnell McDonald Makes Pitching Debut, Doesn’t Hit Anybody in the Face [NESN.com]
Position-players pitching for the Red Sox: A history [Projo Sox Blog]
A’s pound Sox, deny Wakefield 200th win [Providence Journal]
Lavarnway may prove to be a great catch for Red Sox [Providence Journal]
Miller’s performance a reminder of star-potential [Providence Journal]
Red Sox Journal: Harden thought he was Boston-bound [Providence Journal]
McDonald finds out pitching’s not that easy [RedSox.com]
For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSN New England, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal, RedSox.com and WEEI websites.
And if you must check out the enemy news, head over to the Oakland Tribune and San Francisco Chronicle websites.
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Photo credit: Getty Images
