The first game of the ALCS between the visiting Boston Red Sox and the home team Tampa Bay Rays proved to be quite different from game 1. The two games are like night and day when you compare them. In the first game, it was a true pitches duel. In the second game, it was a duel with lumber. The game would be won in the bottom of the 11th.
The entire 10.5 innings that were played before the bottom of the 11th have 
no bearing on this game as it seems that the Rays would match tit for tat in this slug fest. The pitching was horrible for most of the game. It got worse in the 11 for the Sox.
Mike Timlin would be on the mound for the Sox in the final inning. We would walk the first 2 batters that he faced in the 11th. The first batter, catcher Dioner Navarro, would be pinch ran for by the speedster Fernando Perez. His job was to score and that was it. He was pushed to second by the next batter. Perez would wind up on third on a ground out by Jason Bartlett. They would intentionally walk Akinori Iwamura. This would load the bases for B.J. Upton. Upton hit a shallow fly ball into right field where J.D. Drew would record the second out and then launch an awful throw to the plate allowing Perez to score the winning run.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
this is a nicely-laid out blog!
carnations last blog post..Sunday service
the umpires had way to much to do with game 2 – they have to call balls and strikes consistently. even the announcers said it was a joke.
PD, I can see it being an issue if the strike zone dances.
Carnations, thanks for dropping in.