Sox 99 – July Pitching Woes

The Red Sox late July struggles continued, as they saw their wild card lead, once 7 1/2 games, totally disappear. The Florida Marlins, Baltimore Orioles and Detroit Tigers, hardly the class of their divisions, took 5 of 8.

Florida, whose 34-58 mark was the poorest in the majors, invaded Fenway on the 18th and gave Boston all they could handle before falling 11-9. The Sox survived a rare bad effort from Pedro Martinez, who lasted only 3 2/3 after surrendering 12 hits and 7 earned runs. Fortunately, the Townies also racked future Soxer Ryan Dempster and 4 relievers. Despite Pedro’s failure, Boston trailed only 9-7 after 4, with Damon Buford and Jason Varitek slamming homers and Brian Daubach doubling in a pair. The home squad was saved by the bullpen, as Rich Garces, Derek Lowe and Tim Wakefield (save 12) allowed 2 hits and no runs over the last 5 1/3. The winning hit was John Valentin’s two-run triple in the eighth.

Martinez was obviously hurting, and it was announced the next day that he would miss a start with a rotator cuff problem, and would eventually go on the DL. Meanwhile, the Marlins continued to batter Sox pitching in a 10-7 triumph, banging out 16 hits. They jumped to an early 7-0 lead off rookie starter Tomo Okha, and Boston never really threatened. They were also sloppy defensively, committing 3 miscues in the first two innings. One of the few bright spots was the continued strong hitting of rookie Trot Nixon, who went 3 for 3. The Sox did salvage game 3, as Brian Rose shut down the Marlins in a 7-1 triumph. The youngster went 7 frames, allowing 4 hits and a run to push his record to 6-2. Valentin and Varitek contributed homers.

The struggling Orioles then came in and took 2 of 3. The first was a 6-1 decision behind ace Mike Mussina, who raised his mark to 13-4. Bret Saberhagen carried a 1-0 lead into the seventh, but 2 unearned runs put the visitors in the lead. The O’s then teed off on Lowe, as the first 4 batters in the eighth reached, leading to the clinching rally. Jeff Conine’s double was the big blow. The next loss (5-2) dropped the Sox into a virtual tie with Toronto for second place. Starter Jin Ho-Cho pitched 5 strong frames, but collapsed in the sixth, giving up 5 on 6 hits, including a three-run blast by Sox nemesis Albert Belle. Scott Erickson pitched 6 solid innings to pick up the victory.

Pitching problems continued in Detroit, where the 41-56 Tigers took  2 of 3. They jumped to a 14-0 advantage after 6 with a barrage off Okha and another rookie, Marino Santana, and breezed in 14-5. Five Tiger players homered, as David Cruz had 4 rbi’s, and Jason Wood 3. A Jose Offerman blast was the only bright spot.

The Bengals team ERA was 5.12, and Boston took advantage with a barrage of their own featuring 7 homers-one shy of the team mark- in an 11-4 drubbing. The hot Nixon became the first Sox rookie since Fred Lynn in ’75 to smash 3 in a game. Nomar Garciaparra contributed 2, with Daubach and Troy O’Leary each parking one. Mark Portugal (6-7) went 5, allowing 7 hits and 3 runs, and Lowe went the final 4 for his fifth save. With Pedro still disabled, rotation problems continued in the final contest, as Rose was hit hard in a 9-1 defeat. Brian was pummelled for 7 hits and 4 earned runs in 4 frames. Tony Clark smashed a three-run job in the sixth off Mark Guthrie and solo blast in the seventh, while Dean Palmer (3 for 4) also hit one.

The Townies  were now 53-46 and in third, 8 behind the Yankees and one behind Toronto. They were 4-7 since the break with an ERA of 6.80. As they traveled to Toronto for a showdown series, the staff needed a boost.