ALCS 2004 - Game 4:

Today has been a lazy day. With three of Shaina's teenage friends from camp visiting overnight, plus a teenage cousin, a near-teen cousin, and a first grader cousin as well, I stayed up way later than I wanted to last night. Knowing that there was no way all those kids were going to go to sleep before 3 AM, and figuring that that's not really that much later than I am up on a lot of nights, I figured I should be the responsible parent and keep myself awake. But we had to get an early start this morning, taking kids to the bus depot and meeting in-laws, neices and nephews for breakfast, and this afternoon revenge came home to roost. I fell asleep about eight times during the Pats game. After the Pats got their 17 - 0 lead, I was just conscious enough to keep aware of the fact that they were staying ahead. At least, though, I'm wide awake for tonights game :-)

Picking up with the commentary from the third inning. Nothing much to comment on from the first two, other than Matsui being thrown out at the plate. Both pitchers, Derek Lowe and El Duque, look fairly strong. Good pitching, especially starting pitching, has not been the hallmark of the past couple of games. It hasn't been for all three games for the Red Sox, though to be fair Schilling was hurt.

Two outs in the top of the third, Lowe gives A-Rod a pitch right down the middle and Rodriguez continues on the tear he was on last night (two doubles and a homer in five at-bats) and puts it over the green monster, knocking in Derek Jeter who had singled. 2 - 0 Yankees. It was eerily silent in Fenway Park until someone on Landsdowne street threw the home run ball back over the wall, twice! Damon threw it back out the first time, and the umpire pocketed it the second time, otherwise it might have gone on forever. The inning didn't go forever, as Lowe got Sheffield on strikes to end it.

The Sox went down in order in the bottom of the third, bringing up Hideki Matsui to lead off for the Yankees. Godzilla had had a multi-record night last night, going 5 for 6 (tying Paul Blair as the only player with five hits in a post-season game), including two doubles and two home runs, plus a record-tying 5 RBIs (tying himself from just a few nights ago, amongst others), and 5 runs scored. He doubled in his first at-bat (before being thrown out at the plate), but this time around he grounded to second. Maybe he's human after all, although is 1.238 slugging percentage for the series so far sure doesn't seem human. Posada singled, but the Yanks went quietly otherwise, and the Sox went quietly in the bottom of the inning. The Sox are going to have to do something soon though, because the Rivera didn't pitch last night and if the Yanks win tonight they'll hvae several days off, so Torre probably won't hesitate to bring him in in the 8th.

Tony Clark leads off the top of the 5th with a single and Cairo sacrificed him to second, Jeter grounded out (not having a particularly good series, but still the team leader), bringing up A-Rod, who also grounded out to end the threat. El Duque gave up a leadoff walk to Millar in the bottom half, but Mueller forced him out at second. Millar followed by Mueller. The Sox should go with that lineup more often, just because it's cool. Bellhorn walked, putting two men on for Damon with one out. Damon, 1 for 15 for the series, and a .304 hitter for the season, is due. The count goes full on Damon. El Duque's clearly weakening, but the Yanks aren't warming anyone up in the bullpen yet. Damon hits a grounder to Jeter, forcing Mueller at second, but he beat Cairo's relay to first, keeping the inning alive, and bringing up Cabrera with runners at first and third and two out. Admittedly, Cabrera has worked out well for the Sox -- they caught fire right after they picked him up, but you've got to admit that in this particular situation the Sox would probably rather have had Nomar. Then again, Nomar really wasn't producing, and Cabrera smacked a single through the right side on a 2 and 2 count, scoring Millar and bringing Manny Ramirez to the plate with runners on first and second. The Yankees are finally getting a little bit concerned, with Heredia and Sturtz starting to warm up in the bullpen, and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre paying a visit to the mound. Hernandez walked Ramirez, but the Yanks stick with Hernandez to face the always dangerous David Ortiz. Ortiz singled to right center, bringing in Damon and Cabrera. Hernandez owns Varitek however, and ended the inning by striking him out for the third time in the game, but now it's a 3 - 2 lead for the Sox -- only the second time they've been in the lead in a game in this series, and the Yankees have pulled out more come-from-behind wins this season than any other team.

Even after game one, I thought this series might go to seven games. I never expected the Yankees to take the first three. Now that they have, I think that, even down by a run after five, they really want to pull off the sweep.

The heart of the batting order is due up for the Yanks in the top of the sixth, starting with Sheffield, who also had an amazing night last night, but Sheffield grounded out and it was Matsui who continued on his tear, hitting a one out triple to the triangle in center field. That's all for Lowe, who by keeping the Yankees to three runs over 6 and a third innings, has been more effective than any Boston pitcher yet in this series. Matsui has 7 hits in his last nine at-bats: a single, three doubles, a triple, and two home runs. It's unquestionably an MVP series for him. Timlin came on to pitch for the Sox, with Bernie Williams at the plate and one out, and Williams hit a slow infield chopper that Cabrera tried to bare-hand but it skipped away from him. Matsui scored -- his sixth run in two days, and Williams was safe at first. A wild pitch put Williams on second. Posada walked, bringing Sierra to the plate. Williams is ruled out trying to get to third on a pitch that got away from Varitek, and the replay showed that he never quite got his foot to the base. Good play by Mueller, and a good call by the umpire. Posada got to second, however, and Sierra got him to third with an infield single. Another infield single by Tony Clark scored Posada, giving the lead back to the Yankees 4 -3. Timlin walked Cairo, loading the bases and bringing up the top of the order. The Sox infield finally gets an out on Jeter's grounder to second, ending the inning. The Yankees are relentless. Last night it was the homers, and if this score holds up it will be three infield hits that make the difference tonight.

The Yanks brought out Tanyon Sturtze to pitch in the bottom of the 6th. He got Nixon to fly out to left, then gave up a single to Millar, but Mueller grounded into a double play to end the inning. Unless the Sox do something in the 7th, they'll probably be up against Mariano Rivera in the 8th and 9th. Meanwhile, the same hitters who beat up the Sox last night, A-Rod, Sheffield, Matsui, and Williams are due up for the Yanks in the top of the 7th. Timlin walked A-Rod on four pitches -- not the way to open up the inning, even when your back isn't to the wall, Keith Foulke, the Sox's closer is warming in the bullpen, with Sheffield at the plate. If Billy Martin were managing the Yanks, Sheffield, who is 0 for 3 today after going 4 for 5 with a walk and 4 RBIs yesterday, would be bunting to get A-Rod to second with only a one run lead and none out... but Torre doesn't play that way. (I would manage more like Martin, but I don't have all of Torre's championship rings, do I?... Still, Sheffield popped out to Varitek, failing to advance A-Rod, so there you go: he should have bunted :-) Keith Foulke, Boston's closer, came in in relief, to pitch to Matsui. It's the third time in this series that Foulke has had to come in with the Red Sox behind. Foulke got Matsui to ground weakly to first. A-Rod moved to second, but now with two outs, and Williams struck out to end the inning. Foulke did his job, keeping the Sox just one run behind.

Time is running out for the Sox though. They went down in order in the bottom of the 7th. Cabrera flied to Williams, who made a nice sliding catch, possibly the defensive highlight of the series, for the final out. Sturtze actually looked quite strong, so who knows? Torre might leave him in, at least to start the 8th. But I have a feeling that if even one Red Sox hitter gets on base, Rivera will be in. He's warming up during the top of the 8th, and apart from Eric Gagne, nobody's more automatic than Rivera. OK, he's blown a few this year, including to the Sox, but in post-season play, nobody is more automatic, period. Posada walked to start the 8th, but was forced at second by Sierra. I didn't think Sierra still had the legs to beat out a double-play ball. Clark struck out, but Foulke's pitches are erratic: a couple up high, and a couple in the dirt. He got Cairo to pop out to shortstop to end the inning, but he'll still have to deal with the top of the order in the 9th.

OK... I was wrong. Rivera came in to start the 8th, facing Manny Ramirez, Oritz and Varitek. Ramirez singled through the left side to start things off. Rivera does have a maddening habit of making things interesting before he shuts the door. Ortiz was called out on strikes, bringing up Varitek who is 0 for 3 tonight, all on strikeouts. This time he made contact, with a high bouncer to first that Clark handled unassisted. Ramirez advanced to second, with two outs, bringing Nixon to the plate. Nixon also grounded to first. The Sox are down to one more chance, with the bottom of the order coming up. The only thing left to give them some confidence: Rivera didn't break any bats in this half inning, so he's not as strong as usual.

The Yanks would definitely like to get an insurance run in the top of the 9th, and with the top of the order up, there's a good opportunity. Foulke walked Jeter to start the inning. Is that the third consecutive inning that the Sox pitchers have given up a lead-off walk? Yep, it is. A-Rod popped out to Bellhorn at second though. Again, Billy Martin would have bunted. He wouldn't have cared that it was A-Rod. That brings up Sheffield, and he tagged a liner to left, but Ramirez was right there to catch it. So, it's up to Matsui to see if he can add to the lead, but he struck out. Foulke has done his job. He's kept the Yankee lead to one run, and the Sox do still have a chance, even if it's the bottom of the order versus Rivera.

The clock just ticked to midnight. If yesterday wasn't the Sox's day, perhaps today is. Millar walked to open the bottom of the 9th inning, and Roberts came in to pinch run for him. Mueller is the one who beat Rivera back in July. (It happens infrequently enough that anyone beats Rivera that we do tend to remember who it is.) Roberts looks like he wants to steal second. Mueller should be bunting, but he isn't. Roberts does steal second. Now, it's clearly a bunting situation, but NO! Mueller shows bunt and takes a strike, then singles up the middle, scoring Roberts and tying the game 4 - 4. Blown save for Rivera. As I said during game 1, anything can still happen. I can feel Sox fans all across New England suddenly beginning to believe again. Mintkievich pinch hits for Bellhorn, and he does bunt, getting Mueller to second. Damon hits a weak grounder to first, but Tony Clark misplayed it. Everybody's safe. First and third, one out, and Cabrera up. Cabrera out on strikes, but that brings Manny Ramirez up. Damon steals, or rather walks to, second, eliminating the force but inviting Rivera to pitch around Ramirez. Rivera went 3 and 0 on Ramirez, then threw two strikes to fill up the count, then after a foul he threw ball four up and in, loading the bases and bringing up Ortiz, but Ortiz popped to second, ending the inning.

Extra innings, all tied up 4 - 4. Foulke is done. Embree, who looked strong in games one and two, will pitch in the top of the 10th. Aaron Boone is gone this year, so the Yankees will need a new extra inning hero to beat the Sox today. Williams leads off, and Embree throws a couple of strikes right off the bat. Maybe the Sox will finally start off an inning without putting the leadoff Yankee on base. They do! Williams lines out to right. Posada follows with a fly to center, bringing up Sierra. A ball and two strikes against Sierra, and the crowd at Fenway is as loud as they've been all night, but Sierra hits a Texas League single into short right center. Clark, however, flied out to deep center, ending the inning.

Tom Gordon's in to pitch the bottom of the 10th for the Yankees, facing Varitek, who lines out to Jeter. Nixon grounded out to second, bringing up Pokey Reese, who came on to play the field after Roberts pinch-ran for Bellhorn in the 9th. Reese was called out on strikes. Gordon pitched a strong inning, and the Fox announcers mentioned what every Boston fan must surely know: the longer this game goes, the more it favors the Yankees because of the Sox's depleted bullpen.

Cairo starts the 11th off with a two strike single to right off of Embree, bringing up Jeter. It's a clear bunting situation, and Jeter telegraphed it on an Embree pick-off move to first. Nevertheless, he lays down a good one, halfway between the mound and first, getting Cairo to second. The yearly Phil Rizutto bunting clinics at Yankee spring training pay off again. Ooops! Forget about Williams' catch in the 7th as the defensive highlight of the series! Cabrera dove to snag an A-Rod line drive for the second out. Great play! Of course, that just brings up Sheffield, and he's due. After three balls, Embree intentionally walked Sheffield, who is simply to dangerous to face in a 3 and 0 situation with first base open, but that brings up Matsui. The Sox change pitchers, bringing in Mike Myers, a submarine sidearmer, to face Godzilla, who took him deep yesterday. Myers walked Matsui on four pitches to load the bases, and the Sox go to the bullpen for Leskanic. I don't think much of the way most major league managers handle their pitchers these days, and Francona's pitching decisions in this series may be some of the strangest I've ever seen, but it worked. Leskanic, who was totally ineffective yesterday, got Williams to fly out to center, ending the inning with the bases loaded.

It's 1 AM now. This is getting a bit ridiculous. There are going to be a lot of tired people in Boston tomorrow. I'm sure a higher percentage of New Yorkers have gone to bed than Bostonians. In the bottom of the 11th, Tom Gordon continue for the Yankees. Mueller flied to left, Mientkievicz, who came in for Millar at first, lined out to first baseman Tony Clark. Damon drew a walk, bringing up Cabrera. Damon stole second on the 1 and 1 pitch, with no throw. First base is open, but Ramirez is on deck, followed by Ortiz. Cabrera bounced out to shortstop, ending the inning, and the folks on Fox had a little fun, playing an Alan Parsons sound bite: "Games people play, in the middle of the night..."

Posada started the 12th against Leskanic with a single to right. Sierra grounded out to the pitcher, effectively an unintentional sacrifice bunt, moving Posada to second. Clark flew out to Ramirez in left, bringing up Cairo. who struck out. We go to the bottom of the 12th, with Ramirez, Ortiz and Varitek coming up. Fox has dug up an obscure factoid: the only team down 3 games to none in postseason play to come back and win the 4th game in extra innings was the 1910 Cubs. Ramirez lines a single to left to start the inning against new Yankee pitcher Paul Quantrill. I have a bad feeling. Quantrill does not look sharp. He isn't sharp. The 1 and 1 pitch is inside and it bounces before the plate. Ortiz jacks the fourth pitch out of the park in right field. Game over. On to game five! Later today. Like I said... anything can still happen.