Now it's time for Game 2 of the 2008 American League Championship Series from Fenway Park in Boston. The date is Thursday, October 9:
Lineup Changes:
Twins- Justin Morneau is back at first base. Jason Kubel will serve as the designated hitter and bat fifth. Delmon Young moves down to sixth. Matt Tolbert will move to third base and bat seventh. Finally, Nck Punto is back at shirtstop and will bat eighth.
Red Sox- Jacoby Ellsbury moves from center field to right field. Jason Bay moves up to fifth, while Jed Lowrie moves up to sixth and Jason Varitek moves up to seventh. Mark Kotsay moves down to eighth, while Coco Crisp gets the start in center and will bat ninth.
Weather: 65 degrees, fair skies, southwest wind at 9 MPH.
Twins 1st: Denard Span drew a leadoff walk against Red Sox starter Josh Bexkett. Alexi Casilla lined a base hit up the middle to put runners at the corners, and a walk to Joe Mauer loaded the bases. Beckett retired Morneau on a fly to Ellsbury in shallow right for the first out, but Span came home when Kubel bounced into a force play that eliminated Span for the second out. Young struck out swinging to end the inning with runners still at first and third, but the Twins have scored first thanks to a hit, two walks, ad a force play. How will the Red Sox respond?
Twins 5th: Span grounded a leadoff single to right center. Casilla's fly down the line in left was caught by Bay for the first out, but Span stole second. Mauer's base hot past a diving Beckett and into center field brought Denard home, and it was 2-0 Minnesota. Morneau flew to shallow left center for the second out, and Kubel's pop behind short was caught by Lowie to end the inning. The Twins have added a run on two hits and a stolen base, and they lead the Red Sox 2-0 halfway through Game 2.
Red Sox 5th: Bay lined a leadoff single up the middle. Lowrie's double into the right center power alley moved Bay to third, but Varitek went down swinging for the first out and Kotsay bounced to third for out number two. That brought Crisp to the plate. Here's Dick Enberg with the count one ball and two strikes:
"This is the first inning where Blackburn's been in a serious jam. It's much different from Game 1 of the Division Series against the Blue Jays, where they hit him pretty hard right ut of the gate and had the Twins down 6-3 before the Twins made their big comeback capped by Kubel's three-run pinch-hit homer. Crisp getting the start in center today because J.D. Drew needed a day off, so Ellsbury moved to right. He's got a chance now to make (Red Sox manager) Terry Francona's confidence pay off. Runners will be going on contact with two out, and Beckett kicks and fires.......HARD LINE DRIVE GOING DEEP TO RIGHT, SPAN GOING BACK, AT THE TRACK, AT THE FENCE, BUT THIS ONES' OUTTA HERE! TOUCH 'EM ALL, COCO CRISP!...…All of a sudden, it's 3-2 Red Sox, and Fenway Park goes from murmurs to roars."
Ron Darling: "The Red Sox needed a wakeup call, and now they've gotten it. Blackburn was so good over the first four and two-third innings, but he makes his first major mistake of the night, and Crisp, who can surprise people with his power from time to time, lines this hanging slider over the wall in right. There you see Blackburn's reaction, ad there you see Crisp's reaction; he knows that his team has the lead."
Jim Kaat: "Blackburn has to go back to what made him successful. If he allows what's happened in this inning to affect him, the Red Sox can keep adding on with the offense they have and put this game away."
Ellsbury walked on five pitches to keep the inning alive, but Mauer threw him out trying to steal second to end the inning. The Bosox have taken the lead thanks to Crisp's three-run blast; after five, it's Boston 3, Minnesota 2.
Twins 6th: Young led off with a fly ball to left enter that dropped on the warning track and hopped over the fence for a book-rule double. Tolbert's seeing-eye single to right brought him home, ad we were even at three. Punto walked to put two men on, but Carlos Gomez took a called third strike for the first out. Spa walked on four pitches to load the bases, and Francona called on Manny Delcarmen to face Casilla. Alexi popped the ball up behind first base, where it was caught by Kotsay for out number two. That left Mauer as the last hope in the inning, and here's Dick with what happened:
"This is the action pitch: three balls, two strikes, bases loaded, two out. There are your runners: Tolbert at third, Punto at second, Span at first, and the crowd o n its feet at Fenway. Delcarmen nods to Varitek, checks the runners, and here's the payoff pitch/.....fly ball to right, Ellsbury coming in, has to hurry, AND IT DROPS IN FRONT OF HIM! THEY'RE COMING FROM EVERYWHERE! TOLBERT'S IN, PUNTO'S IN, AND HERE COMES SPAN TO CLEAR THE BASES! MAUER PULLS IN AT SECOND, WITH A BASES-CLEARING DOUBLE, AND THE TWINS LEAD 6-3!"
Morneau went down swinging to strand Mauer at second and end the inning, but the Twins have taken the lead with four runs on three hits and two walks, and we head to the bottom of the sixth with the Twinkies leading the Scarlet Hose 6-3.
Red Sox 7th: Lowrie led off with a single up the middle. Varitek was next, and here's Dick with the count two balls and no strikes:
"(Twins manager) Ron Gardenhire decided to let Blackburn come out for the seventh only after that long conversation that we saw, and Jesse Crain's getting ready quickly in the Minnesota bullpen. The Red Sox left Ortiz at third after his double in the sixth, and Gardenhire wanted that to be all for Blackburn, but the youngster talked him into another inning, and now he's given up a leadoff single ad is down two balls to Varitek."
Darling: "You have to admire Blackburn's toughness, but I think I'd have gone with my first instinct if I was Gardenhire."
Kaat: "If you let some pitchers have their way, they'd throw until their arm fell off, even in this day and age."
Enberg: "We'll find out soon enough who was right. Lowrie takes a short led off first, and here's the 2-0 pitch to Varitek........HAMMERED DEEP TO RIGHT! SPAN GOING BACK, HE'S AT THE WALL, BUT THIS ONE'S GONE, AND WE HAVE A ONE-RUN GAME!...…Varitek touches 'em all, and the hometown team's right back in it down 6-5, and Gardenhire won't be dissuaded this time."
Darling: "I guess Gardenhire was right the first time. Blackburn was struggling with both batters he faced in this inning, and this pitch had nothing on it. I'm not even sure what it was supposed to be, but it ended up going over the fence in right, and as Dick just said, we're looking at a one-run game."
Kaat: "This is why most managers don't allow discussion when they take a pitcher out of the game, to the point that some make the signal to the bullpen before they even get halfway to the mound. Gardenhire let himself be talked into something that he knew wasn't right by a gutsy kid who loves to compete, and now he has to be bailed out by his relievers."
Crain retired Kotsay on a comebacker,, Crisp on a fly to the warning track in center, and Ellsbury on a fly to left that was caught by Young on the left field line to retire the side. Varitek's first dinger of the series has cut the Twins' lead to 6-5 as we go to the eighth at Fenway.
That was all the scoring, as the Red Sox wasted a two-out single by Kevin Youkilis in the eighth and a one-out walk to Varitek in the ninth. Twins closer Joe Nathan recorded the final four outs. Our final score: Twins 6, Red Sox 5, and this series is tied at a game apiece.
Mauer was named Player of the Game by TBS due to his bases-clearing double in the sixth that put the Twins ahead to stay. He finished his evening two for three plus two walks with four runs batted in. Span also had a big day, as he scored three of the six Minnesota runs; he finished one for two and was walked three times.
Final totals: Twins 6-10-1, Red Sox 5-8-0.
W- Blackburn (1-0)
S- Nathan (1)
L- Beckett (0-1)
HR- BOS: Crisp (1), Varitek (1)
The series will shift to the Metrodome in Minneapolis for Game 3 on Saturday night. First pitch is scheduled for shortly after 7:30 PM Eastern, with Jon Lester starting for the Red Sox and Glen Perkins taking the hill for the Twins.
Next: We look at Game 3.
Thoughts?
Lineup Changes:
Twins- Justin Morneau is back at first base. Jason Kubel will serve as the designated hitter and bat fifth. Delmon Young moves down to sixth. Matt Tolbert will move to third base and bat seventh. Finally, Nck Punto is back at shirtstop and will bat eighth.
Red Sox- Jacoby Ellsbury moves from center field to right field. Jason Bay moves up to fifth, while Jed Lowrie moves up to sixth and Jason Varitek moves up to seventh. Mark Kotsay moves down to eighth, while Coco Crisp gets the start in center and will bat ninth.
Weather: 65 degrees, fair skies, southwest wind at 9 MPH.
Twins 1st: Denard Span drew a leadoff walk against Red Sox starter Josh Bexkett. Alexi Casilla lined a base hit up the middle to put runners at the corners, and a walk to Joe Mauer loaded the bases. Beckett retired Morneau on a fly to Ellsbury in shallow right for the first out, but Span came home when Kubel bounced into a force play that eliminated Span for the second out. Young struck out swinging to end the inning with runners still at first and third, but the Twins have scored first thanks to a hit, two walks, ad a force play. How will the Red Sox respond?
Twins 5th: Span grounded a leadoff single to right center. Casilla's fly down the line in left was caught by Bay for the first out, but Span stole second. Mauer's base hot past a diving Beckett and into center field brought Denard home, and it was 2-0 Minnesota. Morneau flew to shallow left center for the second out, and Kubel's pop behind short was caught by Lowie to end the inning. The Twins have added a run on two hits and a stolen base, and they lead the Red Sox 2-0 halfway through Game 2.
Red Sox 5th: Bay lined a leadoff single up the middle. Lowrie's double into the right center power alley moved Bay to third, but Varitek went down swinging for the first out and Kotsay bounced to third for out number two. That brought Crisp to the plate. Here's Dick Enberg with the count one ball and two strikes:
"This is the first inning where Blackburn's been in a serious jam. It's much different from Game 1 of the Division Series against the Blue Jays, where they hit him pretty hard right ut of the gate and had the Twins down 6-3 before the Twins made their big comeback capped by Kubel's three-run pinch-hit homer. Crisp getting the start in center today because J.D. Drew needed a day off, so Ellsbury moved to right. He's got a chance now to make (Red Sox manager) Terry Francona's confidence pay off. Runners will be going on contact with two out, and Beckett kicks and fires.......HARD LINE DRIVE GOING DEEP TO RIGHT, SPAN GOING BACK, AT THE TRACK, AT THE FENCE, BUT THIS ONES' OUTTA HERE! TOUCH 'EM ALL, COCO CRISP!...…All of a sudden, it's 3-2 Red Sox, and Fenway Park goes from murmurs to roars."
Ron Darling: "The Red Sox needed a wakeup call, and now they've gotten it. Blackburn was so good over the first four and two-third innings, but he makes his first major mistake of the night, and Crisp, who can surprise people with his power from time to time, lines this hanging slider over the wall in right. There you see Blackburn's reaction, ad there you see Crisp's reaction; he knows that his team has the lead."
Jim Kaat: "Blackburn has to go back to what made him successful. If he allows what's happened in this inning to affect him, the Red Sox can keep adding on with the offense they have and put this game away."
Ellsbury walked on five pitches to keep the inning alive, but Mauer threw him out trying to steal second to end the inning. The Bosox have taken the lead thanks to Crisp's three-run blast; after five, it's Boston 3, Minnesota 2.
Twins 6th: Young led off with a fly ball to left enter that dropped on the warning track and hopped over the fence for a book-rule double. Tolbert's seeing-eye single to right brought him home, ad we were even at three. Punto walked to put two men on, but Carlos Gomez took a called third strike for the first out. Spa walked on four pitches to load the bases, and Francona called on Manny Delcarmen to face Casilla. Alexi popped the ball up behind first base, where it was caught by Kotsay for out number two. That left Mauer as the last hope in the inning, and here's Dick with what happened:
"This is the action pitch: three balls, two strikes, bases loaded, two out. There are your runners: Tolbert at third, Punto at second, Span at first, and the crowd o n its feet at Fenway. Delcarmen nods to Varitek, checks the runners, and here's the payoff pitch/.....fly ball to right, Ellsbury coming in, has to hurry, AND IT DROPS IN FRONT OF HIM! THEY'RE COMING FROM EVERYWHERE! TOLBERT'S IN, PUNTO'S IN, AND HERE COMES SPAN TO CLEAR THE BASES! MAUER PULLS IN AT SECOND, WITH A BASES-CLEARING DOUBLE, AND THE TWINS LEAD 6-3!"
Morneau went down swinging to strand Mauer at second and end the inning, but the Twins have taken the lead with four runs on three hits and two walks, and we head to the bottom of the sixth with the Twinkies leading the Scarlet Hose 6-3.
Red Sox 7th: Lowrie led off with a single up the middle. Varitek was next, and here's Dick with the count two balls and no strikes:
"(Twins manager) Ron Gardenhire decided to let Blackburn come out for the seventh only after that long conversation that we saw, and Jesse Crain's getting ready quickly in the Minnesota bullpen. The Red Sox left Ortiz at third after his double in the sixth, and Gardenhire wanted that to be all for Blackburn, but the youngster talked him into another inning, and now he's given up a leadoff single ad is down two balls to Varitek."
Darling: "You have to admire Blackburn's toughness, but I think I'd have gone with my first instinct if I was Gardenhire."
Kaat: "If you let some pitchers have their way, they'd throw until their arm fell off, even in this day and age."
Enberg: "We'll find out soon enough who was right. Lowrie takes a short led off first, and here's the 2-0 pitch to Varitek........HAMMERED DEEP TO RIGHT! SPAN GOING BACK, HE'S AT THE WALL, BUT THIS ONE'S GONE, AND WE HAVE A ONE-RUN GAME!...…Varitek touches 'em all, and the hometown team's right back in it down 6-5, and Gardenhire won't be dissuaded this time."
Darling: "I guess Gardenhire was right the first time. Blackburn was struggling with both batters he faced in this inning, and this pitch had nothing on it. I'm not even sure what it was supposed to be, but it ended up going over the fence in right, and as Dick just said, we're looking at a one-run game."
Kaat: "This is why most managers don't allow discussion when they take a pitcher out of the game, to the point that some make the signal to the bullpen before they even get halfway to the mound. Gardenhire let himself be talked into something that he knew wasn't right by a gutsy kid who loves to compete, and now he has to be bailed out by his relievers."
Crain retired Kotsay on a comebacker,, Crisp on a fly to the warning track in center, and Ellsbury on a fly to left that was caught by Young on the left field line to retire the side. Varitek's first dinger of the series has cut the Twins' lead to 6-5 as we go to the eighth at Fenway.
That was all the scoring, as the Red Sox wasted a two-out single by Kevin Youkilis in the eighth and a one-out walk to Varitek in the ninth. Twins closer Joe Nathan recorded the final four outs. Our final score: Twins 6, Red Sox 5, and this series is tied at a game apiece.
Mauer was named Player of the Game by TBS due to his bases-clearing double in the sixth that put the Twins ahead to stay. He finished his evening two for three plus two walks with four runs batted in. Span also had a big day, as he scored three of the six Minnesota runs; he finished one for two and was walked three times.
Final totals: Twins 6-10-1, Red Sox 5-8-0.
W- Blackburn (1-0)
S- Nathan (1)
L- Beckett (0-1)
HR- BOS: Crisp (1), Varitek (1)
The series will shift to the Metrodome in Minneapolis for Game 3 on Saturday night. First pitch is scheduled for shortly after 7:30 PM Eastern, with Jon Lester starting for the Red Sox and Glen Perkins taking the hill for the Twins.
Next: We look at Game 3.
Thoughts?
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