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Red Sox, Rays go up 2-0 in ALDS

The team with baseball’s best regular season record is down 2-0 in the ALDS. Yes, the Los Angeles Angels are facing elimination and now have to travel to Boston to play Game 3, one of the toughest parks to play in as a road team in the MLB. The Boston offense rocked Ervin Santana for 5 runs (all earned) on 8 hits in 5 1/3 innings pitched. Right away in the top of the first inning, the Red Sox attacked with 4 runs, including a Jason Bay 3-run homer, his second of the 2008 Postseason. However, the Angels took the whole game to rally back with insurance runs. With the score 5-1 in the fourth, Chone Figgins hit an RBI single to left. Torii Hunter hit an RBI single in the 5th, scoring Mark Teixeira, Mike Napoli walked with the bases juiced in the 7th, and Mark Teixeira hit a much-needed sacrifice fly in the 8th scoring Chone Figgins to tie the game at 5-5. The Angels’ lights out closer, Francisco Rodriguez, who already pitched the 8th, came out to pitch the ninth inning. After permitting a double to David Ortiz and getting one out, K-Rod served up a 2-run bomb to center to J.D. Drew, who went 3-5 with an additional double and, and that turned out to be the decisive blast in the Red Sox’s 7-5 thrilling victory.

J.D. Drew

The Red Sox’s divisional rival also were looking to go up 2-0 in their series against the White Sox. The Rays put their ace, Scott Kazmir on the mound to start the game, while the White Sox started Mark Buehrle. After being involved in a verbal altercation with Grant Balfour the previous game, Orlando Cabrera led off the game for the Sox. Kazmir nailed him in the foot with the first pitch. It was obviously intentional because Scott Kazmir usually doesn’t have control problems. That would come back to haunt Kazmir, though. Scott then allowed a free pass to Nick Swisher and gave up a single to Jermaine Dye. Jim Thome, then, singled in Cabrera, and Alexei Ramirez brought home Swisher with a sacrifice fly. In a 2-1 game in the 5th with the Rays trailing, Rays’ 2B Akinori Iwamura sent a 2-run homer to left-center. Tampa Bay received great relief pitching from Grant Balfour, J.P. Howell, and Chad Bradford to close the door and seal a Tampa victory in front of 35,257 at Tropicana Field.

J.P. Howell

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