2003 Postseason Replay: Tejeda's Blast Erases Blunder

Miguel Tejeda's second home run of the game capped off a titanic offensive struggle as he drilled an 11th inning walk-off two-run bomb to give the Oakland A's a 10-9 Game 2 victory over the Boston Red Sox. The win knots the ALDS at a game apiece as the series now shifts to Fenway Park. Both teams broke out the bats in daunting fashion as the clubs combined for 19 runs on 31 hits. Twelve of those 31 hits went for extra bases including 6 doubles and 6 home runs. For Tejeda, his stunning blast expunged the goat horns that were cast upon him due to his throwing error in the top half of the inning which gave Boston a fleeting 9-8 lead.

Boston actually had no business to be in a position to take Game 2 as starter Derek Lowe was battered for 7 hits and 6 runs in only three innings of work. Tejeda opened the scoring with a three-run homer in the bottom of the first. A's right fielder Jose Guillen tacked on another run in the second with a solo blast, and Ramon Hernandez lined a 2 run double in the third for a commanding 6-0 Oakland advantage. Lowe had only one start in the actual 2003 ALDS, and it was a brilliant 7 inning scoreless outing in Game 3 which ended, ironically, with the Red Sox winning in the 11th inning courtesy of a two-run walk-off homer by Trot Nixon.

Oakland starter Tim Hudson had a lot of traffic on the bases in his first three innings but Boston was unable to deliver in the big hit stranding 5 base runners. Hudson miraculously left the game after six innings with a 6-4 lead despite allowing 10 hits and granting 2 free passes. In the fourth, Hudson's luck ran out as the Red Sox carved into the 6 run deficit led by catcher Jason Varitek. After Kevin Millar and Bill Mueller both singled off Hudson, Varitek smacked a drive into the gap in right-center to score both baserunners. Leadoff hitter Johnny Damon sent Varitek in to count with an RBI single and suddenly, the lead was cut in half. Damon added another RBI single in the sixth to draw the Red Sox within two runs.

Up to this point, the Boston bullpen had thrown up zeroes to enable the offensive to get kick-started. Casey Fossum and Scott Williamson combined for 3.1 innings of shutout baseball surrendering only 2 hits. Fossum seemed to be simply mopping up as he entered in the fourth tossing 2 sparkling innings. Williamson followed him in the sixth and pitched into the seventh before being lifted in favor of Alan Embree.

In the seventh inning, this contest seemed to enter the "Twilight Zone" starring both teams' centerfielders. Boston's Nomar Garciaparra laced a single to begin the inning off A's reliever Jim Mecir. Then Manny Ramirez crushed a Mecir offering over the left field wall to bring Boston all the way back tying the game 6-6. A's manager Ken Macha had seen enough of Mecir and went with Ricardo Rincon to face David Ortiz. After David Ortiz was retired on a ground out, the first bizarre twist of the inning was revealed. Kevin Millar drove a towering blast to A's centerfield Eric Byrnes who misread the routine fly ball and saw it pass over his glove and bounce over the wall for a two-base error. Trot Nixon was retired on a ground out, but Boston made the most of their extra out as Bill Mueller crushed a Rincon fastball to dead center for a two-run tater to give Boston its first lead of the game.

Mueller homers to give Boston the lead

It was then Johnny Damon's turn to make a peculiar play. Eric Chavez went to work to get the A's off the mat after blowing a 6 run lead. Alan Embree came on for Williamson to face the lefthanded bat of Chavez, but he pounded a ball to the right-center field wall. Damon went back and seemed to be in position for the catch but instead caught it off the wall. as can been seen in the highlight reel, Damon then went through a spasmodic jump and then a double pump on the throw back in. This was a user error by yours truly, and when the dust settled, it was scored an inside the park homer for Chavez as I got into a button mashing panic. 

As Oakland was inching their way back into this contest, John Halama certainly was the unsung hero for the A's. After the failures of Rincon and Mecir, Halama came on in the eighth and was nails over 4 innings. He handcuffed the Red Sox offense and did not allow an earned run on 4 hits. Halama served as a spot starter for the A's that season, appearing in 35 games and 13 as a starter.

Chavez singles to tie game

Boston clung to an 8-7 lead going into the bottom of the ninth, but the bullpen ran out of steam. After blanking the A's in the eighth, Byung-Hyun Kim was left in for the ninth, but when he surrendered back to back singles to Mark Ellis and Scott Hatteberg, manager Grady Little opted for Mike Timlin who has appeared in every game in these playoffs. Eric Chavez completed the Oakland comeback by dumping a soft liner into left field to score Ellis and tie the game 8-8. Timlin was able to log two outs, but after a walk, Ramiro Mendoza was sent into the fray and managed to prevent further damage by inducing a ground out.

In the eleventh inning, Miguel Tejeda would run the gamut of emotions as villain and the hero. With one out and Manny Ramirez and Nomar Garciaparra on first and second respectively, David Ortiz rapped a routine double play grounder to first baseman Scott Hatteberg. As Tejeda relayed his throw, it tailed towards the home plate side wide of Halama who went to cover the bag. The ball rolled into the Boston dugout, and Nomar Garciaparra rounded third and chugged home to make the score 9-8.

Tejeda then flipped the narrative as the A's were down to their last out. Sawx reliever Mendoza had set down Ellis and Hatteberg, but when he allowed a single to Chavez, Grady Little saw Mendoza was tiring and sent Brandon Lyon to face Tejeda. Lyon's 2-2 fastball tailed back towards the middle of the plate, and Tejeda cranked a moonshot into the left-center field bleachers to give the A's the win in an implausible ending to this slugfest.

Oakland was fueled by the third and cleanup spots in their batting order. Both Chavez and Tejeda combined to go 6-11 and drove in 7 runs. Their cyber counterparts are intent on changing history as the same pair combined to go 3-45 in the five-game 2003 ALDS with only 2 RBI. The Red Sox virtual Bill Mueller also seems to be enjoying this 2003 replay. The 2003 AL batting champion is now hitting .416 in these playoffs which is an astounding improvement from his overall .105 BA in the actual 2003 series.