AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISIONAL SERIES
Boston Red Sox vs. Oakland Athletics 
Game 1: Pedro Martinez vs. Tim
Hudson, Network Associates Coliseum
ORTIZ'S 2 HRS, 5 RBIS PUSH BOSOX PAST A'S
Singleton's Dropped Fly Costs Oakland
OAKLAND, Oct. 1 (AP) - David Ortiz hit a pair of home runs, including a
tie-breaking seventh inning grand slam, and the Boston Red Sox went on to defeat
the Oakland Athletics, 8-4, in the opening game of the American League
Divisional Series at Network Associates Coliseum. Cy Young Award candidate
Tim Hudson of Oakland absorbed the defeat. Pedro Martinez was credited
with the win. Ortiz's grand slam, the key blow in the game, followed a
critical error by A's center fielder Chris Singleton.
The Red Sox scored first when Ortiz led off the second inning with the first of
his two home runs. The A's countered with two in their half of the same
frame when Scott Hatteberg drew a lead-off walk and, one out later, coasted home
on Ramon Hernandez's wind blown home run to right field.
Boston knotted the game with a run in third when Johnny Damon and Nomar
Garciaparra led off with consecutive singles and moved to second and third on
Todd Walker's hit-and-run ground out. Damon then scored on a Manny Ramirez
ground out.
The Red Sox took a 3-2 lead in the fourth when Kevin Millar led off the inning
with a long home run to left field.
The A's retied the game in fifth. Jermaine Dye led off by reaching on a
two-base throwing error committed by Red Sox third baseman Bill Mueller.
Singleton's deep fly to center was run down by Damon but Dye tagged and advanced
to third. Martinez retired Mark Ellis on a weak pop fly to Walker at
second but made a mistake to Erubiel Durazo who lined a single to right-center
to score Dye with the tying run. Eric Chavez then singled Durazo to second
but Martinez fanned Miguel Tejada to end the inning.
The score was still tied when the game moved to the fateful seventh.
Hudson was still on the hill for Oakland and retired Jason Varitek on a fly to
center to begin the inning but then yielded a double to Damon and a walk to
Garciaparra before being lifted in favor of southpaw Ricardo Rincon with Todd
Walker due up. Walker hit a fly to shallow center field that Singleton
chased down and then dropped for a key error, filling the bases. With
Ramirez due up, A's manager Ken Macha brought Chad Bradford into the game and he
jammed Ramirez, forcing a pop that second baseman Ellis ran down in short
right-center. The bases remained loaded with two outs, bringing Ortiz to
the plate. On a 1-1 offering, the Boston designated hitter unloaded,
driving the ball deep down the right field line. The only question was
fair or foul. It was fair--about 15 feet inside the foul pole--for a grand
slam and four huge unearned runs, giving the Red Sox a 7-3 lead.
Chavez hit a lead-off solo home run in the eighth off Alan Embree to cut the
deficit to 7-4 but the Red Sox got the run back on Ramirez's two-out RBI single
off Chad Harville in the top of the ninth. Byung-Hyun Kim toosed a perfect
bottom of the ninth to close out the game for Boston.
10/1/2003, Bos03-Oak03, Network Associates Coliseum
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
2003 Red Sox 0 1 1 1 0 0 4 0 1 8 12 1 6 0
2003 Athletics 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 4 7 1 5 1
Red Sox AB R H BI AVG Athletics AB R H BI AVG
Damon cf 5 3 3 0 .600 Ellis,M 2b 4 0 0 0 .000
Garciaparra ss 4 1 2 0 .500 Durazo dh 4 0 2 1 .500
Walker,T 2b 5 1 1 0 .200 Chavez,Er 3b 4 1 3 1 .750
Ramirez,M lf 4 0 1 2 .250 Tejada ss 4 0 0 0 .000
Kapler lf 0 0 0 0 .000 Hatteberg 1b 3 1 1 0 .333
Ortiz,D dh 5 2 2 5 .400 Guillen,J lf 3 0 0 0 .000
Millar 1b 4 1 1 1 .250 Hernandez,Ra c 4 1 1 2 .250
Mueller 3b 4 0 1 0 .250 Dye rf 3 1 0 0 .000
Nixon rf 4 0 1 0 .250 Long ph 1 0 0 0 .000
Varitek c 3 0 0 0 .000 Singleton cf 2 0 0 0 .000
38 8 12 8 Byrnes ph 2 0 0 0 .000
34 4 7 4
Red Sox INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Martinez,P W 1-0 6.0 6 3 2 1 5 102 62 3.00
Embree H 1 1.0 1 1 1 0 1 18 11 9.00
Timlin H 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 9 8 0.00
Kim,B 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 13 8 0.00
9.0 7 4 3 1 6 142 89
Athletics INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Hudson,T L 0-1 6.1 8 5 3 3 3 108 74 4.26
Rincon,R 0.0 0 1 0 0 0 5 3 0.00
Bradford 0.2 1 1 1 0 0 14 8 13.50
Mecir 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 16 10 0.00
Harville 1.0 2 1 1 0 0 15 9 9.00
9.0 12 8 5 3 3 158 104
Bos: Kapler inserted at lf in the 9th
Oak: Byrnes batted for Singleton in the 7th
Byrnes moved to cf in the 8th
Long batted for Dye in the 9th
E-Mueller, Singleton. 2B-Damon(1), Garciaparra(1), Walker,T(1), Mueller(1),
Chavez,Er(1). HR-Ortiz,D 2(2), Millar(1), Chavez,Er(1), Hernandez,Ra(1).
RBI-Ramirez,M 2(2), Ortiz,D 5(5), Millar(1), Durazo(1), Chavez,Er(1),
Hernandez,Ra 2(2). K-Damon, Mueller, Varitek, Ellis,M 2, Tejada, Guillen,J 2,
Dye. BB-Garciaparra, Ramirez,M, Varitek, Hatteberg. SH-Guillen,J.
GWRBI: Ortiz,D
Temperature: 74, Sky: partly cloudy, Wind: out to right at 21 MPH.
Attendance: 48,038
Game Time: 3:01
Game 2: Jeff Suppan vs. Barry Zito, Network Associates Coliseum
A'S "MIRACLE" RALLY SALVAGES GAME 2
BoSox Pen Blows Late 4-Run Lead
OAKLAND, Oct. 2 (AP) - Flat on their back and seemingly headed for an 0-2
deficit in their American League Divisional Series, the Oakland Athletics
rallied for five runs over the final two innings to beat the Boston Red Sox,
9-8, in Game 2 at Network Associates Coliseum. What had been a quiet
sellout crowd came to life during the improbable comeback and was on its
collective feet in a state of near delirium when Chris Singleton's two out
single in the bottom of the ninth inning scored Scott Hatteberg with the
game-winning run.
It all looked positive for the A's early on. Starter Barry Zito retired
the first 12 Boston batters he faced. The Oakland offense, meanwhile,
jumped on Red Sox starter Jeff Suppan with a run in the second, when Hatteberg's
triple was followed by Jose Guillen's sacrifice fly, and two more in the third
when Jermaine Dye's lead-off base hit was succeeded by Singleton's home run into
the right-center field bleachers. The home run was particularly surprising
as Singleton had gone without a long ball in 345 regular season plate
appearances.
But in the top of the fifth, the Red Sox got back in the game. Manny
Ramirez became the first Boston baserunner when he drew a lead-off walk and,
after David Ortiz lined out to Hatteberg at first base, Kevin Millar recorded
the first hit when he dropped a single into left, advancing Ramirez to
second. Bill Mueller then tied the game when he deposited a hanging 1-2
curve from Zito into the left-center field seats for a three-run home run.
The Oakland crowd was shocked. The A's had thoroughly dominated the game
up to this point but the scoreboard showed a 3-3 tie.
Suppan, meanwhile, had recovered his balance, retiring Oakland in order in both
the fourth and fifth innings.
In the sixth, the Red Sox took the lead. Johnny Damon led off the frame by
tripling into the right field corner. Damon scored on Nomar Garciaparra's
ground out, giving Boston its first lead of the game, 4-3. One out later,
Ramirez upped the advantage to two when he crushed a Zito offering deep over the
center field wall, making the score 5-3.
The A's threatened to tighten things up in the bottom of the sixth.
Erubiel Durazo walked on a 3-2 pitch. Eric Chavez hit a potential double
play grounder to short, and the Red Sox forced Durazo at second, but Todd
Walker's relay throw to first was wild, allowing Chavez to reach second base
with one out. Suppan pitched carefully to Miguel Tejada, and eventually
issued a free pass, leaving runners on first and second. He then fell
behind Hatteberg, 3-1, but ultimately retired him on a fly ball to right with
Chavez taking third on the play. With Suppan showing signs of fatigue,
Boston manager Grady Little replaced his starter with Scott Williamson who
struck out Jose Guillen to end the inning with the Red Sox still on top, 5-3.
Zito retired the first two Boston batters in the seventh, but then fell
apart. Gabe Kapler dropped a single into center field and Jason Varitek
walked. A meeting at the mound ensued, but the decision was made to let
the left-handed Zito face Johnny Damon, who promptly rolled a single into right
field. Kapler scored, but Varitek was thrown out at third on a
questionable baserunning decision. Still, the Red Sox now led 6-3.
The A's edged closer in the bottom of the seventh. Ramon Hernandez led off
with a base hit and Williamson was replaced by southpaw Scott Sauerbeck.
Oakland countered by having Eric Byrnes pinch hit for Terrence Long but he flied
to center for the first out. Singleton, however, reached on an infield
hit, with Hernandez advancing to second. Mark Ellis then grounded a single
into left field, loading the bases. Durazo drew a walk on a very close 3-2
pitch, forcing in a run to cut the Boston lead to 6-4, but Chavez struck
out. Brandon Lyon replaced Sauerbeck and Tejada lined sharply to Millar at
first base to end the inning with the Red Sox still leading by two runs.
Boston appeared to put the game away in the top of the eighth. Garciaparra
greeted new pitcher Mike Neu with a single to left-center leading off the inning
and Todd Walker's hit-and run ground out advanced the runner to second
base. Ramirez reached on an infield hit, moving Garciaparra to third;
Damian Jackson came on to run for Ramirez. Ricardo Rincon replaced Neu on
the mound to face David Ortiz and struck him out. Chad Bradford then took
over face Millar, and induced him to ground to Chavez at third. But Chavez
couldn't come up with the ball cleanly. The error left all hands safe,
with Garciaparra scoring on the play to increase the Boston lead to three.
Bill Mueller then grounded a single through the middle, scoring Jackson to give
the Red Sox an 8-4 lead. Kapler struck out to finally end the inning, but
the damage had been done.
A sullen crowd barely stirred when Hatteberg opened the bottom of the eighth
with a single to right center. Guillen followed by lining to left for the
first out. But Ramon Hernandez drove an 0-1 offering from Lyon over the
right-center field wall for his second two-run home run of the series, cutting
the Oakland deficit to 8-6. Byrnes struck out for the second out of the
inning and Little replaced Lyon with Byun-Hyung Kim, his closer, with two outs
and the bases empty. Singleton banged out his third hit of the game, a
double to right-center, bringing the tying run to the plate. A's manager
Ken Macha played a hunch and sent Billy McMillon to the plate to pinch hit for
Ellis and McMillon rewarded him with a two-bagger to the gap in left-center,
scoring Singleton and putting the tying run in scoring position. Durazo
worked the count full and then bounced a single past Kim into center field,
scoring McMillon to tie the game sending the Coliseum crowd into a frenzy.
Chavez grounded out to short to end the inning but the A's had rallied for four
runs to tie the game.
Keith Foulke came on for Oakland in the top of the ninth and struck out Varitek
and Damon before retiring Garciaparra on a weak pop fly to short before heading
to the dugout to a standing ovation. The crowd was electric as the A's
came to the bat against Kim in the bottom of the ninth. Tejada lined out
to center but Hatteberg rapped out his third hit of the game with a single to
center. Kim jammed Guillen on the first pitch of the sequence and retired
him on a pop to first for the second out. But Hernandez slashed his fourth
hit of the contest, singling to left, advancing Hatteberg to second.
Byrnes then worked a walk, in an eight-pitch sequence, to fill the bases.
That brought Singleton to the plate and on the very first pitch from Kim he
lined a hit between Millar and Walker on the right side of the infield, scoring
Hatteberg and sending the Coliseum up for grabs.
The A's had accomplished something they had not done during the entire regular
season: rally from a deficit of at least four runs in the eighth inning or
later to win a game. The stirring comeback momentarily masked the fact
that Oakland's two Cy Young Award candidate starters--Zito and Tim Hudson--had
failed to suppress the Boston lineup in the first two games. The AL's top
pitching staff had been lit up to the tune of 16 runs allowed in the first two
games of the series. On the other hand, Boston's pitching staff had
struggled to control the #8 scoring offense in the American League; the Red Sox
bullpen had allowed 13 hits and two walks, along with six runs, in just three
innings of work in Game 2.
The series moves to Boston, following an off-day, for games three and four.
10/2/2003, Bos03-Oak03, Network Associates Coliseum
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
2003 Red Sox 0 0 0 0 3 2 1 2 0 8 9 1 3 0
2003 Athletics 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 4 1 9 15 1 10 0
Red Sox AB R H BI AVG Athletics AB R H BI AVG
Damon cf 5 1 2 1 .500 Ellis,M 2b 4 0 1 0 .125
Garciaparra ss 5 1 1 1 .333 McMillon ph 1 1 1 1 1.000
Walker,T 2b 4 0 0 0 .111 Menechino 2b 0 0 0 0 .000
Ramirez,M lf 3 2 2 1 .429 Durazo dh 3 0 2 2 .571
Jackson,D pr 0 1 0 0 .000 Chavez,Er 3b 5 0 0 0 .333
Nixon rf 0 0 0 0 .250 Tejada ss 4 0 0 0 .000
Ortiz,D dh 4 0 0 0 .222 Hatteberg 1b 5 3 3 0 .500
Millar 1b 4 1 1 0 .250 Guillen,J lf 4 0 0 1 .000
Mueller 3b 4 1 2 4 .375 Hernandez,Ra c 5 2 3 2 .444
Kapler rf 4 1 1 0 .250 Dye rf 2 1 1 0 .200
Varitek c 3 0 0 0 .000 Long ph 0 0 0 0 .000
36 8 9 7 Byrnes ph 2 0 0 0 .000
Singleton cf 5 2 4 3 .571
40 9 15 9
Red Sox INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Suppan 5.2 4 3 3 2 3 90 51 4.76
Williamson H 1 0.1 1 1 1 0 1 8 5 27.00
Sauerbeck H 1 0.2 2 0 0 1 1 22 15 0.00
Lyon H 1 1.0 2 2 2 0 1 13 11 18.00
Kim,B BS 1, L 0-1 1.0 6 3 3 1 0 34 21 13.50
8.2 15 9 9 4 6 167 103
Athletics INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Zito 7.0 6 6 6 2 3 98 60 7.71
Neu 0.1 2 2 0 0 0 13 9 0.00
Rincon,R 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 5 3 0.00
Bradford 0.1 1 0 0 0 1 13 7 9.00
Foulke W 1-0 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 11 8 0.00
9.0 9 8 6 2 7 140 87
Bos: Jackson,D ran for Ramirez,M in the 8th
Nixon inserted at rf in the 8th
Kapler moved to lf in the 8th
Oak: Long batted for Dye in the 7th
Byrnes batted for Long in the 7th
Guillen,J moved to rf in the 8th
Byrnes moved to lf in the 8th
McMillon batted for Ellis,M in the 8th
Menechino inserted at 2b in the 9th
E-Walker,T, Chavez,Er. 2B-Durazo(1), Singleton(1), McMillon(1). 3B-Damon(1),
Hatteberg(1). HR-Ramirez,M(1), Mueller(1), Hernandez,Ra(2), Singleton(1).
RBI-Damon(1), Garciaparra(1), Ramirez,M(3), Mueller 4(4), Durazo 2(3),
Guillen,J(1), Hernandez,Ra 2(4), Singleton 3(3), McMillon(1). K-Damon,
Ortiz,D, Kapler 3, Varitek 2, Ellis,M 2, Chavez,Er 2, Guillen,J, Byrnes.
BB-Ramirez,M, Varitek, Durazo 2, Tejada, Byrnes. SF-Guillen,J.
GWRBI: Singleton
Temperature: 76, Sky: clear, Wind: out to right at 8 MPH.
Attendance: 47,838
Game Time: 3:22
Game 3: Ted Lilly vs. Tim
Wakefield, Fenway Park
RED SOX, WAKEFIELD BLUDGEON A'S FOR 2-1 SERIES LEAD
Lilly Driven From Mound in 1st
BOSTON, Oct. 4 (AP) - The Boston Red Sox batted around in the first inning,
scoring five times, and cruised past the Oakland Athletics 9-1 in Game 3 of the
American League Divisional Series at Fenway Park. Boston now leads the
series two games to one. Red Sox starter Tim Wakefield allowed one run in
7 2/3 innings of work, striking out nine and retired 12 of 13 batters at one
point. Oakland starter Ted Lilly retired only one batter and was removed
from the game in the first inning.
The A's jumped on top in the top of the first when Mark Ellis drew a lead-off
walk from Wakefield, advanced to second on Erubiel Durazo's ground out and
scored on Eric Chavez's double. The two-bagger was the only hit for
Oakland until Scott Hatteberg doubled with two outs in the sixth.
The Red Sox wasted no time jumping right back into the game--and then some--in
their half of the opening inning. Johnny Damon drew a lead-off walk and
promptly stole second base. Nomar Garciaparra doubled him home to tie the
game. Todd Walker then singled to right, scoring Garciaparra to give the
Red Sox a lead they would never surrender. Manny Ramirez hit into a
fielder's choice, forcing Walker at second for the first out of the inning, but
David Ortiz resumed the hit parade with a double down the right field line,
chasing Ramirez to third. Kevin Millar looped a single to left, scoring
Ramirez and advancing Ortiz to third and Bill Mueller's base hit scored Ortiz,
giving the Red Sox a 4-0 lead, and sending Millar to second. That was the
end of the day for Lilly; he was replaced on the mound by knuckleballer Steve
Sparks who immediately wild pitched the runners to second and third. Gabe
Kapler's looping single scored Mueller and moved Kapler to third. Sparks
then struck out Jason Varitek and retired Damon, batting for the second time in
the frame, on a ground ball to finally end the inning.
Wakefield never gave the A's a hint of getting back in the game and the order
for doing so got a bit taller in the bottom of the fourth when Walker singled
with two outs, moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored on Ramirez's looping
single to right.
Despite the run surrendered in the fourth inning, Sparks was, on balance,
absolutely terrific, more or less saving the pitching staff for Oakland as they
hope to get back in the series in Game 4. Sparks worked 6 2/3 innings,
allowing just one run. He effectively gave the A's offense a chance to get
back in the game.
But Wakefield never allowed that chance to arise. Finally, in the top of
the eighth, he began to show signs of fatigue, plunking Miguel Tejada with two
outs and then issuing a four-pitch walk to Hatteberg. Boston manager Grady
Little removed Wakefield, who received a standing ovation from the crowd as he
left the field, in favor of Mike Timlin who ended the nascent uprising by
inducing Jose Guillen to roll into an inning-ending fielder's choice.
It wasn't needed, but the Red Sox added some insurance in the bottom of the
eighth. Facing newly installed reliever Jim Mecir, Kapler lined a double
off the Green Monster and moved to third on Varitek's sharp single to
left. Damon's fly out to left was too shallow to do any damage but
Garciaparra's ground rule double into the bullpen in right field scored Kapler
and advanced Varitek to third. Walker then capped the scoring with a
single to center, driving home both runners to account for the 9-1 final score.
Timlin set the A's down in order in the ninth to end the game.
The A's will have to decide whether to go with Tim Hudson on short rest or a
fully rested Rich Harden in Game 4. The Oakland pitching staff, which
easily led the AL in earned run average during the regular season, has been
battered to the tune of 25 runs allowed in three ALDS games by the Boston bats.
10/4/2003, Oak03-Bos03, Fenway Park
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
2003 Athletics 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 0 8 1
2003 Red Sox 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 x 9 14 0 7 0
Athletics AB R H BI AVG Red Sox AB R H BI AVG
Ellis,M 2b 3 1 0 0 .091 Damon cf 4 1 0 0 .357
Durazo dh 4 0 0 0 .364 Brown,A cf 0 0 0 0 .000
Chavez,Er 3b 4 0 1 1 .308 Garciaparra ss 5 2 2 2 .357
Tejada ss 3 0 0 0 .000 Walker,T 2b 5 1 3 3 .286
Hatteberg 1b 3 0 1 0 .455 Ramirez,M lf 5 1 2 1 .417
Guillen,J lf 4 0 1 0 .091 Nixon rf 0 0 0 0 .250
Hernandez,Ra c 3 0 0 0 .333 Ortiz,D dh 4 1 1 0 .231
Long rf 4 0 1 0 .200 Millar 1b 3 1 2 1 .364
Singleton cf 3 0 0 0 .400 Mueller 3b 4 0 1 1 .333
31 1 4 1 Kapler rf 3 1 2 1 .429
Varitek c 4 1 1 0 .100
37 9 14 9
Athletics INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Lilly L 0-1 0.1 5 5 5 1 0 24 14 99.99
Sparks 6.2 5 1 1 2 3 76 44 1.35
Mecir 1.0 4 3 3 0 0 26 16 13.50
8.0 14 9 9 3 3 126 74
Red Sox INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Wakefield W 1-0 7.2 4 1 1 4 9 121 71 1.17
Timlin 1.1 0 0 0 0 0 7 5 0.00
9.0 4 1 1 4 9 128 76
Bos: Brown,A inserted at cf in the 9th
Nixon inserted at rf in the 9th
Kapler moved to lf in the 9th
2B-Hatteberg(1), Long(1), Garciaparra 2(3), Ortiz,D(1), Kapler(1).
RBI-Chavez,Er(2), Garciaparra 2(3), Walker,T 3(3), Ramirez,M(4), Millar(2),
Mueller(5), Kapler(1). SB-Chavez,Er(1), Damon(1). K-Ellis,M, Durazo 2,
Hatteberg, Guillen,J 2, Hernandez,Ra 2, Singleton, Ortiz,D 2, Varitek.
BB-Ellis,M, Hatteberg, Hernandez,Ra, Singleton, Damon, Millar, Kapler.
HBP-Tejada. HB-Wakefield. WP-Sparks 2.
GWRBI: Walker,T
Temperature: 49, Sky: clear, Wind: in from center at 3 MPH.
Attendance: 34,021
Game Time: 2:28
Game 4: Rich Harden vs. John
Burkett, Fenway Park
BOSOX BATTER A'S PEN, MOVE ON TO ALCS
Garciaparra's 3 Hits, 3 RBIs Pace Attack
BOSTON, Oct. 5 (AP) - It wasn't nearly as easy as Game 3, but the Boston Red Sox
scored nine runs for the second consecutive contest, hammering the Oakland
bullpen to the tune of seven runs to defeat the A's, 9-5, at Fenway Park in Game
4 of the American League Divisional Series and will move on to face the Chicago
White Sox in the ALCS. The Red Sox scored 34 runs in the four-game series
against the team with the best pitching staff in the league during the regular
season.
The A's had waited until roughly an hour before first pitch to decide whether to
go with Game 1 starter Tim Hudson on short rest or a fully rested Rich Harden
and the decision, ultimately, was for the latter. It was controversial,
and Harden had a tough time on the mound, but ultimately he was effective,
allowing two runs in five innings of work and he left the game with the lead.
The Red Sox scored first, when Manny Ramirez drew a lead-off walk in the second
and, one out later, scored on Kevin Millar's double into the right field corner.
The A's tied the game in the top of the third when surprise starting left
fielder Billy McMillon homered into the bullpen in right field off Boston
starter John Burkett.
But the Red Sox regained the lead in the bottom half of the inning. Nomar
Garciaparra singled with one out and, after Todd Walker flied to center, Ramirez
lined a double to the left field corner. Running on contact with two out,
Garciaparra beat the relay throw to the plate and Boston had a 2-1 advantage.
The score remained 2-1 until the top of the sixth. Mark Ellis drew a
one-out four-pitch walk from Burkett and Erubiel Durazo drilled a first pitch
fastball over the Green Monster in left-center field to put the A's on top for
the first time, 3-2. Burkett retired Eric Chavez and Miguel Tejada to end
the inning, but from that point on it was a battle of the bullpens. That
was a battle that Oakland lost decisively.
With a string of left-handed and switch hitters due up and with only one true
southpaw reliever (Ricardo Rincon), A's manager Ken Macha called on lefty Ted
Lilly, who had thrown only 24 pitches the previous day when he was knocked out
of the box in the first inning. But Lilly walked Bill Mueller on four
pitches to open the bottom of the sixth and then Trot Nixon, who was nearly
lifted for a pinch hitter, rolled a single into left field, putting runners on
first and second. Jason Varitek flied to center, with Mueller advancing to
third, but then Lilly came up big and struck out Johnny Damon. With lefty
killer Garciaparra due up, Macha called on Mike Neu, who ostensibly did his job,
getting Garciaparra to roll weakly to short, but Miguel Tejada's throw to first
was late. It went as an infield hit and Mueller scored on the play to tie
the game. Todd Walker then lined a single to left. Nixon scored and
Garciaparra came home when McMillon's throw to the plate was wild, giving the
Red Sox a 5-3 lead. Ramirez struck out to end the inning.
Alan Embree came on to face Scott Hatteberg in the top of the seventh, but gave
up a base hit and was replaced by right-hander Scott Williamson, who retired
Jose Guillen on a pop fly. But Ramon Hernandez lined a double to right,
advancing Hatteberg to third. Scott Sauerbeck replaced Williamson and Eric
Byrnes came on to pinch hit for McMillon. A ground out to short scored
Hatteberg, cutting the Boston lead to 5-4. Jermaine Dye was called upon to
pinch hit for Chris Singleton, but Red Sox manager Grady Little countered with
Brandon Lyon. Macha kept the wheels turning by calling on Terrence Long,
who validated his skipper by dropping a single into center field.
Hernandez beat Damon's throw to the plate and the game was tied at five.
But the Red Sox wrecking crew of an offense couldn't be stopped. In the
bottom of the seventh, Millar doubled to right-center with one out and was
replaced by pinch runner Adrian Brown. Rincon took over on the mound for
Neu and retired Mueller on a fly ball but for the second time in the game, Nixon
came through against a left-hander, lacing a double to the gap in right-center,
scoring Brown and giving Boston a 6-5 lead. Varitek was walked
intentionally but Damon foiled the strategy by lining a single to right, scoring
Nixon and advancing Varitek to third. Chad Bradford was summoned to face
Garciaparra but the Red Sox shortstop rapped out another two-bagger, plating
Varitek and Damon. Garciaparra was thrown out trying to stretch the hit
into a triple, but Boston had scored four runs in the inning and took a 9-5
lead.
Thanks in part to an error, the A's put two men on base with two outs in the
eighth, but Mike Timlin came on for the Red Sox and retired Guillen on a
grounder to short to end the inning. It was the final gasp for Oakland.
After Keith Foulke entered the game for the A's in the ninth and did the
seemingly impossible--setting down the Red Sox in order--Byung-Hyun Kim came on
for Boston in the bottom of the ninth, yielded a two-out single to Long, and
then retired Mark Ellis on a ground ball to end the game and the series.
The Red Sox finished the ALDS with a .331 batting average and a .538 club
slugging percentage. They'll open the ALCS on Thursday, Oct. 9 against the
White Sox in Chicago.
10/5/2003, Oak03-Bos03, Fenway Park
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
2003 Athletics 0 0 1 0 0 2 2 0 0 5 9 1 5 1
2003 Red Sox 0 1 1 0 0 3 4 0 x 9 13 1 8 2
Athletics AB R H BI AVG Red Sox AB R H BI AVG
Ellis,M 2b 4 1 0 0 .067 Damon cf 4 1 1 1 .333
Durazo dh 4 1 2 2 .400 Garciaparra ss 5 2 3 3 .421
Chavez,Er 3b 4 0 1 0 .294 Walker,T 2b 5 0 1 1 .263
Tejada ss 4 0 1 0 .067 Ramirez,M lf 4 1 1 1 .375
Hatteberg 1b 4 1 1 0 .400 Kapler lf 0 0 0 0 .429
Guillen,J rf 3 0 0 0 .071 Ortiz,D dh 3 0 0 0 .188
Hernandez,Ra c 4 1 1 0 .313 Millar 1b 4 0 2 1 .400
McMillon lf 2 1 1 1 .667 Brown,A pr 0 1 0 0 .000
Byrnes ph 2 0 0 1 .000 McCarty 1b 0 0 0 0 .000
Singleton cf 2 0 0 0 .333 Mueller 3b 3 1 2 0 .400
Dye ph 0 0 0 0 .200 Nixon rf 3 2 2 1 .429
Long ph 2 0 2 1 .429 Varitek c 3 1 1 0 .154
35 5 9 5 34 9 13 8
Athletics INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Harden 5.0 6 2 2 5 5 85 48 3.60
Lilly H 1 0.2 1 2 2 1 1 12 7 63.00
Neu BS 1, L 0-1 0.2 3 2 1 0 2 20 11 9.00
Rincon,R 0.1 2 3 3 1 0 15 6 40.50
Bradford 0.1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 6.75
Foulke 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 15 9 0.00
8.0 13 9 8 7 8 148 82
Red Sox INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Burkett 6.0 4 3 3 1 3 81 52 4.50
Embree 0.0 1 1 1 0 0 3 2 18.00
Williamson H 2 0.1 1 1 1 0 0 3 2 27.00
Sauerbeck H 2 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0.00
Lyon BS 1, W 1-0 1.0 2 0 0 0 1 18 14 9.00
Timlin H 2 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0.00
Kim,B 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 15 10 9.00
9.0 9 5 5 1 4 126 86
Oak: Byrnes batted for McMillon in the 7th
Dye batted for Singleton in the 7th
Long batted for Dye in the 7th
Byrnes moved to cf in the 7th
Long moved to lf in the 7th
Bos: Brown,A ran for Millar in the 7th
McCarty inserted at 1b in the 8th
Kapler inserted at lf in the 9th
E-McMillon, McCarty. 2B-Hernandez,Ra(1), Garciaparra(4), Ramirez,M(1),
Millar 2(2), Nixon(1). HR-Durazo(1), McMillon(1). RBI-Durazo 2(5),
McMillon(2), Byrnes(1), Long(1), Damon(2), Garciaparra 3(6), Walker,T(4),
Ramirez,M(5), Millar(3), Nixon(1). K-Ellis,M, Chavez,Er, Tejada, Hatteberg,
Damon 2, Garciaparra, Ramirez,M 2, Ortiz,D, Millar, Varitek. BB-Ellis,M,
Damon, Ramirez,M, Ortiz,D 2, Mueller, Nixon, Varitek. HBP-Guillen,J.
HB-Burkett. WP-Harden, Burkett.
GWRBI: Nixon
Temperature: 60, Sky: clear, Wind: out to left at 22 MPH.
Attendance: 34,216
Game Time: 3:19