The Rockies Roll On in NLCS; Red Sox, Indians Knotted at One Each in ALCS
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Diamondbacks reliever Jose Valverde totally lost his control in the 11th inning of a 2-2 game, giving up a lead-off single to pinch-hitter Ryan Spilborghs and walking 3 others, with the final walk being to centerfielder Willy Taveras to force in the winning run for Colorado as the Rockies won their 19th of their last 20 games by a 3-2 score to take a 2-0 lead in games in the NLCS.
Rockies rookie starter Ubaldo Jimenez, who tossed a fine 1 run, 3 hit effort in 6 1/3 innings against the Phillies in the Rockies’ 2-1 sweep game, matched Diamondbacks veteran lefthander Doug Davis for 5 innings as Colorado led by 2-1.
The Rockies bullpen held the lead until closer Manny Corpas hit centerfielder Chris Young with a pitch in the 9th with one out, gave up a centerfield single to shortstop Stephen Drew moving Young to 3rd base. Leftfielder Eric Brynes then grounded into a force out with Young scoring on the play to tie the game. Corpas remained in the game pitching a scoreless 10th inning and was credited with the win with Valverde charged with the loss.
The teams were off on Saturday as the venue switches to Colorado for games three through five beginning on Sunday with Livan Hernandez (11-11) going for Arizona against Josh Fogg (10-9) for the Rockies.
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The ALCS began on Friday as the Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians split their first two games.
On Friday, Josh Beckett pitched 6 effective innings giving up 2 runs on 4 hits and striking out 7 while veteran Cleveland lefthander C.C. Sabathia was pounded for 7 Boston runs, 1 in the first inning, 4 in the third and 3 more in the fith inning as the Sox routed the Indians by a 10-3 score. The top 4 hitters in the Boston batting order accounted 7 of Boston’s 12 hits while leftfielder Manny Ramirez and 3rd baseman Mike Lowell drove in 3 runs each with rightfielder Bobby Kielty and catcher Jason Varitek driving in 2 runs each.
AP sports writer Jimmy Golden records 3rd baseman Mike Lowell’s reactions to the drubbing of Sabathia for Yahoo sports;
“I’ve never seen anything like it. They’re unbelievable,” said Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell, who drove in three runs batting behind the two sluggers. “Especially going up against a pitcher like C.C., to get on every time is unbelievable. … I think it’s normal for other pitchers not to want them to beat you, but for them to get on base like they did today is a little bit ridiculous.”
Ramirez went 2-for-2 with an RBI single and three walks — two of them with the bases loaded — and [David] Ortiz went 2-for-2 with two walks and a hit-by-pitch. Ramirez also had two crowd-pleasing catches in left field: one going back, one coming in.
Ortiz has reached base 16 of 18 times this postseason, going 7-for-9 (.778) with eight walks and a hit-by-pitch. Ramirez has reached base 11 of his last 12 times since Game 2 of Boston’s first-round sweep of the Los Angeles Angels; he’s 5-for-10 with seven RBIs in the playoffs overall.
On Saturday, both 2nd year pitcher Fausto Carmona and veteran Curt Schilling were pounded during their 4 and 4 2/3 innings respectively and the two teams battled to a 6-6 tie after 9 innings.
But then Red Sox relievers Eric Gagne as well as lefthanders Javier Lopez and Jon Lester totally fell apart in the 11th inning as Cleveland plated a record 7 runs to knot the series at one with a 13-6 win.
AP’s Jimmy Golden recaps the inning for Yahoo sports;
Trot Nixon spent 13 years in the Red Sox organization trying to prove he could hit lefties.
That ought to be pretty clear to everyone now.
The longtime Boston outfielder snapped an extra-inning tie with a pinch-hit single, and the Cleveland Indians scored a record-setting seven runs in the 11th to beat the Red Sox 13-6 early Sunday and even the AL championship series at a game apiece.
Eric Gagne came in for the 11th. The trade deadline acquisition fanned Casey Blake to start the inning, then gave up a single to Grady Sizemore and walked Asdrubal Cabrera.
Nixon, the seventh overall pick in the 1993 draft, singled to right-center off Javier Lopez.
“I didn’t hit it hard, but I hit it where I needed to,” Nixon said.
It was his seventh postseason hit against a lefty in 132 at-bats.
“I’ve struggled at times against left-handers,” Nixon added. “But I felt good. I felt like the first pitch I saw, I saw real well. You know, for some reason, I just felt a calmness out there in the batter’s box.”
The Indians… weren’t done.
After a run-scoring wild pitch and Ryan Garko’s RBI single chased Lopez, Jon Lester came on and gave up Jhonny Peralta’s RBI double and a three-run homer to Franklin Gutierrez — the outfielder who squeezed Nixon out of the starting lineup — that made it 13-6.
The seven runs for Cleveland were the most by a team in one extra inning in postseason history.
Tom Mastny got the win and deserved it: He retired David Ortiz, Ramirez and Lowell in order in the 10th — a task few pitchers would relish.
“I really didn’t have a choice, did I?” Mastny said with a smile. “It’s what we play for. It’s exciting. It happened to be the heart of their order.”
Gagne, who has been just awful since the Red Sox acquired him from the Texas Rangers at the MLB trade deadline, was charged with the loss. Indians closer Joe Borowski recorded the save.
The two teams are off on Sunday as the venue switches to Cleveland for games three through five beginning on Monday as Boston’s rookie Japanese phenom Daisuke Matsuzaka (15-12) is opposed by Jake Westbrook (6-9).
For the scores, boxscores and recaps on Sunday’s and Monday’s games, click here and here.
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