Sox Tie Record While Blowing Out Tribe

Many baseball purists love a good, old fashioned pitcher's duel. For five and a half innings Thursday night, that's exactly what we got. Tim Wakefield and Jeremy Sowers were both spinning gems, with the scoreboard showing Cleveland on the winning end of a 2-1 score. Then, in the bottom of the sixth, all hell broke loose. Twelve Red Sox would cross homeplate before Sowers and the subsequent mash unit of Indians pitchers could record a single out, tying the major league record. Terry Francona has a simple philosophy for his offense: keep the line moving. Apparently, his troops are good listeners. Julio Lugo and Jason Bay each had two hits in the inning. Lugo led off the record-tying frame with a single and scored on Bay's double to deep center. Jeff Bailey's double a few batters later plated two more runs. Batter after batter reached, and before you knew it, Lugo was stepping into the box yet again. This time he would reach on an infield single and score on Bay's eighth homer of the year, a three-run shot which landed just over the bullpen in right centerfield. Matt Herges would finally stop the bleeding, recording three consecutive outs, capped off by J.D. Drew grounding out to second base to mercifully end the inning.

One thing became painfully clear during that inning: Cleveland has one AWFUL bullpen. Masa Kobayashi, who took over for Sowers, threw 12 pitches and didn't record an out before giving way to Herges. The first batter Herges faced was Bay, who greeted him quite rudely, depositing his offering over the fence. It makes for a long, long year for Tribe skipper Eric Wedge, who looked like a hostage victim by the end of the inning. The crazy part is, Boston was without it's everyday leadoff, three-hole and cleanup hitters, who were all sidelined with various ailments. Jacoby Ellsbury is nursing a tight hamstring, David Ortiz reported a stiff neck, and Kevin Youkilis is still suffering from a sore oblique muscle. In a division that is decidedly up for grabs, the bullpen will be key. Time will tell if Indians GM Mark Shapiro can find the arms to bridge the gap to closer Kerry Wood, and make a run at the American League Central Division crown.

The Sox take aim at the Tampa Bay Rays this weekend. The first of three games takes place tonight at Fenway, with Brad Penny (2-1, 7.61 ERA) facing James Shields (3-2, 3.51 ERA) in a rematch of last Sunday's Red Sox loss in Tampa. First pitch is at 7:10.

One other note: The baseball world received some bad news this morning. Dom DiMaggio passed early today, with his family by his side. The cause of death has not been reported, only that he had been ill recently. I had the privilege in the past of meeting Mr. DiMaggio and speaking with him on a few occasions. He was a genuinely nice and friendly man, very down to earth and easy to talk to. While he never had the notoriety of his older brother Joe, he was a hell of a ball player in his own right. A .298 career hitter and one of the best defensive centerfielders of his day, The Professor played in seven All Star Games. Sleep well, Dom. You will be missed.