HOLY COW! Tigers win in 13
posted in 2007 season, Boston Red Sox |Tigers 3, Red Sox 2 (13 innings)
I would have been disappointed if they lost, admittedly, but the way both teams were playing, it would have been hard to be disappointed with the results either way. The Tigers blew several chances to end the game. The Red Sox made several stunning plays. The Red Sox blew several chances to take an extra-inning lead. The Tigers pitchers made some stunning throws. In all, it was an excellent baseball game and the Tigers came out on top on a Pudge Rodriguez walkoff hit to deep center-right field that drove in Gary Sheffield from second, which he stole after being hit by Jonathan Papelbon.
What may be most amazing is the fact no Boston player scored after David Ortiz in the first inning. With one out, Big Papi hit a home run off Jeremy Bonderman from the No. 3 slot in the batting order. The Tigers pitchers got the next 38 outs without allowing a run. The bullpen went five scoreless innings. More shockingly, Todd Jones(!) went two (!!!!!!) scoreless innings. Todd Jones never goes two scoreless innings. But after a leadoff double in his second inning of work that left everyone saying “Jim Leyland, you should know better!” Jones thankfully proved us wrong. Macay McBride, Zach Miner, Bobby Seay, Jason Grilli (!), they all kept shutting Boston down. Not without some drama, but when the inning ended, another 0 went on the scoreboard.
Boston, meanwhile, did more of the same. The Tigers were stymied other than a two-run double by Craig Monroe in the fifth inning. They loaded the bases in the 10th with one out, but Boston All-Star Hideki Okajimi proved his voters right and escaped. The Tigers loaded the bases with two outs later and again couldn’t score. So it was just that kind of back-and-forth game between the best two teams in baseball.
Bonderman’s team had the last laugh on the All-Star vote, and so did he, as he had nine strikeouts, including five through two innings. This is yet another reminder how blessed we are to be able to watch Bonderman follow Andrew Miller follow Justin Verlander follow Kenny Rogers follow Nate Robertson. What a quality and exciting rotation that is.
It would have been a thrill to watch if it was televised statewide, but thankfully, Dan Dickerson is an excellent announcer and really brought the game alive through my radio.
Can we read too much into this game? Maybe. It just as easily could have been a narrow loss. But just like the win that could have been against Cleveland, it wasn’t. The Tigers rotation and bullpen shut down an excellent Boston squad and tagged no less than Papelbon with the loss. The Tigers sent a message — to postseason prognosticators if not to the Red Sox — about what to expect in October, when barring injuries, this team will only be better. And a near-record amount of fans were on hand to see it as Detroit sold out Comerica Park an eighth straight day.
Bunt Singles:
- Placido Polanco left the game with a listed rib injury in the eighth inning. He was listed as day-to-day but isn’t in today’s lineup with a back injury.
- At ESPN.com Jayson Stark named Magglio Ordonez the AL MVP for the first half.
- The Boston Globe is liveblogging today’s afternoon contest.
