Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Jacoby Ellsbury had a walkoff hit for the Boston Red Sox. Oh wait, that’s right. Because of my idiocy and x’ing out yesterday’s morning post after completely doing it and not saving it, I wasn’t able to post it.
Well if you missed his walkoff single on Tuesday night, he one upped himself by hitting a walkoff home run to give the Red Sox a 4-3 win over the Cleveland Indians. It’s just too bad that Tim Wakefield didn’t pitch the top of the 9th because that would have given him his 200th career win.
Wakefield didn’t get the opportunity because he left the game after 6 2/3 innings after giving up the tying run. And that came on one bad pitch to Ezequiel Carerra that he laced for a ground-rule double. That withstanding, he definitely pitched well enough to earn that win.
It was a strange sight to hear booing at Fenway Park for Terry Francona but that’s what he got when he pulled Wake from the game. But as Tito said in his post-game press conference, you have to worry about getting the team win.
“He hadn’t given up a lot of hits and he was getting outs,” he said of Wakefield, who finished his outing having thrown 99 pitches. “If we go to Carrera, then they probably pinch hit [Matt] LaPorta, so I thought Wake deserved the chance to pitch. Once they tied it, they had a lefty that they weren’t going to hit for so we went to the bullpen.”
They were able to get nine hits off of Indians starter Carlos Carrasco and did get to him for three runs. But other than on a David Ortiz single in the 1st that scored two runs, they were never really able to take advantage. They ended up leaving seven men on base and were just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
The only run they mustered in 4th with the bases loaded was when Marco Scutaro beat out a double play with Big Papi scoring.
Like Tuesday night when Franklin Morales was the hero out of the Red Sox bullpen, this time around it was Randy Williams. He came and got out of Wake’s jam in the 7th and then took care of business in the 8th despite a walk. He gave way to Jonathan Papelbon who was outstanding for the second night in a row and picked up his fourth win of the season and second in as many nights after Ellsbury’s heroics.
Don’t get me wrong, the Indians are a pretty good team. They aren’t the same exact team that beat up on the Red Sox earlier in the season. Nonetheless, they’ve been giving the Red Sox fits during this four-game set. But a win tonight will even up the season series at five games and would also make sure the Red Sox are in first place when the second place New York Yankees come to town on Friday.
I am heading off to Fenway for tonight’s game but I’ll have an abbreviated lineup post put up around 4 p.m. 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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Video: Jacoby Ellsbury’s Walkoff HR Wins It for Red Sox [SOX & Dawgs]
Video: Don Orsillo Beats Up Terry Francona’s Bobblehead [SOX & Dawgs]
Video: Heidi Watney is a Track Star [SOX & Dawgs]
Video: Don Orsillo Makes Unintentional Porn Reference [SOX & Dawgs]
Ellsbury sparkles in encore [Boston Globe]
Milestone eludes Wakefield’s grasp [Boston Globe]
Minor progress for Lowrie [Boston Globe]
An Ells of a deja vu [Boston Herald]
Tribe, not Sox, bring Ubaldo Jimenez to Fenway [Boston Herald]
Jacoby Ellsbury shows off star power [Boston Herald]
Ex-coach: Erik Bedard will give an old college try [Boston Herald]
Wake still must wait [Boston Herald]
Ric Flair shrine hangs above Pedroia’s locker [CSNNE.com]
Ellsbury walks off again in 9th [CSNNE.com]
Wakefield still stuck on 199 [CSNNE.com]
Ellsbury putting it all together now [CSNNE.com]
Notes: Sox bats streaking; Papelbon wins again [CSNNE.com]
Lowrie coming along [ESPN Boston]
Rapid reaction: Red Sox 4, Indians 3 [ESPN Boston]
Wakefield falls short again in bid [ESPN Boston]
Ask Nick: Will Bedard deliver? [Extra Bases]
A look at the Red Sox pursuit of Ubaldo Jimenez, Erik Bedard and others [Full Count]
Closing Time: Second consecutive walk-off win for Red Sox, Jacoby Ellsbury [Full Count]
‘One bad pitch’ thwarts Tim Wakefield in his attempt for career win No. 200 [Full Count]
Red Sox Mailbag: Uncertain Starting Rotation Could Open Door For Red Sox Minor Leaguers [NESN.com]
Video: Tim Wakefield Satisfied With Start Against Indians Despite Not Notching Win No. 200 [NESN.com]
Praise for Jacoby Ellsbury Reaches New Heights After Second Straight Game-Winning Hit [NESN.com]
Tim Wakefield Falls Short of Milestone, Red Sox Celebrate Anyway [NESN.com]
Another day, another walk-off hit for Ellsbury [Providence Journal]
Sox bullpen on pace to be one of the best [Providence Journal]
Red Sox Journal: Bedard’s year mirrored Buchholz’ [Providence Journal]
Contrary to popular opinion, Jacoby Ellsbury didn’t become a superstar overnight [Rob Bradford – WEEI.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 Akron Beacon Journal and Cleveland Plain Dealer websites. You can also check out our Bloguin brother Burning River Baseball.
Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.
Photo credit: Getty Images
