Classic Baseball - Curtis and Co. Crucify Sawx

The fairytale ending was not to be for the 2007 Red Sox as they were relentlessly pounded by the 1998 Yankees  in a 12-4 ALDS Game 5 blowout. Boston had rallied after losing the first two games of the series in New York taking their two game set at home before succumbing in a most egregious manner in the deciding tilt in the Bronx.

Boston hedged their bets with rookie Jon Lester on short rest. New York alerted the visitors very early on that this was a mistake putting the youngster on the rack for a four spot in the opening frame. The Yankees' first two batters, Chuck Knoblach and Derek Jeter, both reached on singles and each advanced 90 feet on a Paul O'Neill ground out. Tino Martinez recorded the first RBI on the second consecutive ground out to Red Sox first sacker Kevin Youkilis scoring Knoublach. Bernie Williams began a two out rally with an RBI single to score Jeter and newly minted Hall of Famer Tim Raines followed with a single of his own. Player of the game Chad Curtis drilled a triple off Lester to clear the bases. Curtis was a nemesis for Boston throughout the series leading the Yankees with a .429 BA.

Boston tried to get back into it with a run in the second, but New York counter-punched in the third with two more runs to chase Lester After Williams singled, Tim Raines hit a chopper out in front of the plate and beat out an infield single. Both men moved up to second and third respectively on a Jason Varitek throwing error. Jorge Posada stroked an RBi single, and Scott Brosuis added a sac fly to make the score 6-1.

Again, the Red Sox attempted to make it a game with solo homers from Jason Varitek and Mike Lowell in the fourth to close the gap at 6-3. Tim Wakefield had given Boston two solid innings of relief after Lester's brief outing, but ran into trouble in the sixth. New York put things out of reach once and for all scoring three times. Scott Brosuis led off the inning with his second homer of the series. After his solo blast, Knoblauch and Jeter reached on singles once again. Javier Lopez was called on to face O'Neill, but Kevin Youkilis booted a Paul O'Neill grounder, allowing Knoblauch to score. Williams then slapped and RBI single to count Jeter. Five time all-star Bernie Williams was a perfect 4-4 in this game scoring 3 times to go along with his 2 RBI. He hit an even .400 in the series. Mike Timlin would be the third Sawx pitcher of the inning, and he retired the next two batters to end the inning.

Offensively, New York's best players delivered in this series. Along with William's exploits, Jeter hit at a .391 clip and Knoblauch chipped in with a pesky .318. Conversely, even though they had 3 homers between them, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz both failed to hit the .200 mark. 

On a personal note, this was painful to post, but no one can accuse me of being a homer. After that 4 run first, I was tempted to restart the game, but my conscious wouldn't allow it. That's now two Game Five losses. so I'll now turn my attention to my Sensational Seventies season with the '75 Red Sox and finish it up before another playoff foray.