GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: TEXAS (32-46) at BOSTON (48-29)

AL: TEXAS at BOSTON

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TEXAS (1) AT BOSTON (2) - HOW THEY SCORED
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BOSTON 4TH: M Ramirez hit by pitch. J Drew hit a ground rule double to
left, M Ramirez to third. M Lowell grounded out to third. W Pena reached on
infield single to shortstop, M Ramirez scored. A Cora grounded into double
play, third to second to first, W Pena out at second.(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
TEXAS 0, BOSTON 1.

TEXAS 5TH: A Melhuse doubled to deep right. R Vazquez sacrificed to
pitcher, A Melhuse to third. K Lofton walked. K Lofton stole second.
J Hairston Jr hit sacrifice fly to center, A Melhuse scored. M Young grounded
out to shortstop. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, BOSTON 1.

BOSTON 5TH: D Mirabelli flied out to center. D Pedroia walked. K Youkilis
grounded into fielder's choice to pitcher, D Pedroia out at second. D Ortiz
walked, K Youkilis to second. K Youkilis to third, D Ortiz to second on wild
pitch by J Wright. M Ramirez grounded into fielder's choice to pitcher, K
Youkilis scored, D Ortiz out at third. (1 Run, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1,
BOSTON 2.</div>

 

Wakefield strong as Red Sox hold on vs. Rangers

<h3>BOSTON 2, TEXAS 1</h3>BOSTON (Ticker) -- After a tough road trip, Tim Wakefield andthe Boston Red Sox were glad to see the worst team in theAmerican League.

Wakefield had his knuckleball working through 6 2/3 solidinnings as the Red Sox bounced back and eked out a 2-1 victoryover the lowly Texas Rangers at Fenway Park on Friday night.

It was a big win for Boston, which went 4-5 on its recentnine-game West Coast road swing. The trip had been going welluntil the Red Sox were swept by the Seattle Mariners in threegames to end the jaunt.

However, they faced the last-place Rangers (32-47), who sufferedjust their third loss in in their last nine game despite owningthe AL's worst mark.

Boston got back on track thanks to Wakefield (8-8), who workedhis way into the seventh, allowing one run and seven hits, whilestriking out and walking four. But he needed a solidperformance from his bullpen to pick up the win.

Trailing, 2-1, the Rangers mounted a two-out rally in theseventh inning. Kenny Lofton reached on an infield single offWakefield and then stole second. Jerry Hairston walked,knocking Wakefield out in favor of reliever Manny Delcarmen.

Delcarmen immediately walked Michael Young, loading the basesfor slugger Sammy Sosa, who then struck out to end the threat.

Boston then turned to its lights-out, late-inning combination asdeceptive lefthander Hideki Okajima hurled a clean eighth, andcloser Jonathan Papelbon tossed a scoreless ninth for his 19thsave.

The star closer labored but struck out Young with the go-aheadruns on base in a tense ninth inning.

The Red Sox started the scoring in the fourth after MannyRamirez got hit by a pitch to lead off the frame. J.D. Drewthen blasted a ground-rule double to left field, sending Ramirezto third.

But Mike Lowell could not get the run home, grounding out tothird. Wily Mo Pena followed with an infield single, scoringRamirez with the first run of the game.

Texas answered one inning later thanks to Adam Melhuse, who ledoff the inning with a booming double to right field. He wassacrificed to third by Ramon Vazquez, and Lofton walked, stolesecond - his second of three in the game - to set up Hairston'ssacrifice fly to tie the game, 1-1.

Boston took the lead on a strange play in the bottom of theframe.

Dustin Pedroia was issued a one-out walk and was forced out atsecond on a fielder's choice ground ball by Kevin Youkilis.David Ortiz also walked, and both runners then moved up on awild pitch Rangers starter Jamey Wright (1-2).

Ramirez ripped a grounder off Wright, which bounded directly tothird. But Texas third baseman Vazquez decided to tag out Ortizrunning between second and third instead of throwing across thediamond to first - a force play - allowing the go-ahead run toscore.

Wright tossed five frames, yielding two runs and six hits, whilestriking out and walking three for the Rangers, who left 16runners on base.

 

AL: TEXAS at BOSTON

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TEXAS (1) AT BOSTON (2) - EVENT LOG
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Texas Starting Lineups -- K Lofton CF, J Hairston Jr 2B, M Young SS, S Sosa DH,
F Catalanotto LF, M Byrd RF, B Wilkerson 1B, A Melhuse C, R Vazquez 3B,
J Wright RHP.

Boston Starting Lineups -- D Pedroia 2B, K Youkilis 1B, D Ortiz DH, M Ramirez
LF, J Drew RF, M Lowell 3B, W Pena CF, A Cora SS, D Mirabelli C, T Wakefield RHP.

Umpires -- Andy Fletcher (HP), Mike Reilly (1B), Jeff Kellogg (2B),
Scott Barry (3B).

Gametime Weather: 79 degrees, Clear, wind out to center at 12 mph.


TEXAS 1ST: K Lofton singled to center. J Hairston Jr grounded into double
play, shortstop to second to first, K Lofton out at second. M Young singled to
center. S Sosa popped out to second. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0,
BOSTON 0.

BOSTON 1ST: D Pedroia grounded out to second. K Youkilis grounded out to
second. D Ortiz flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0,
BOSTON 0.

TEXAS 2ND: F Catalanotto grounded out to pitcher. M Byrd doubled to right.
B Wilkerson grounded out to first, M Byrd to third. A Melhuse flied out to
center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, BOSTON 0.

BOSTON 2ND: M Ramirez singled to left. J Drew singled to right, M Ramirez
to third. M Lowell grounded into fielder's choice to third, M Ramirez out at
home, J Drew to second. W Pena grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop,
M Lowell out at second, J Drew to third. A Cora struck out swinging. (0 Runs,
2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, BOSTON 0.

TEXAS 3RD: R Vazquez grounded out to second. K Lofton singled to left.
K Lofton stole second. J Hairston Jr walked. M Young grounded into double play,
shortstop to second to first, J Hairston Jr out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) TEXAS 0, BOSTON 0.

BOSTON 3RD: D Mirabelli struck out swinging. D Pedroia doubled to right
center. K Youkilis struck out swinging. D Ortiz flied out to center. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, BOSTON 0.

TEXAS 4TH: S Sosa struck out swinging. F Catalanotto flied out to left.
M Byrd hit a ground rule double to right. B Wilkerson grounded out to first.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, BOSTON 0.

BOSTON 4TH: M Ramirez hit by pitch. J Drew hit a ground rule double to
left, M Ramirez to third. M Lowell grounded out to third. W Pena reached on
infield single to shortstop, M Ramirez scored. A Cora grounded into double
play, third to second to first, W Pena out at second.(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
TEXAS 0, BOSTON 1.

TEXAS 5TH: A Melhuse doubled to deep right. R Vazquez sacrificed to
pitcher, A Melhuse to third. K Lofton walked. K Lofton stole second.
J Hairston Jr hit sacrifice fly to center, A Melhuse scored. M Young grounded
out to shortstop. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, BOSTON 1.

BOSTON 5TH: D Mirabelli flied out to center. D Pedroia walked. K Youkilis
grounded into fielder's choice to pitcher, D Pedroia out at second. D Ortiz
walked, K Youkilis to second. K Youkilis to third, D Ortiz to second on wild
pitch by J Wright. M Ramirez grounded into fielder's choice to pitcher,
K Youkilis scored, D Ortiz out at third. (1 Run, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1,
BOSTON 2.

TEXAS 6TH: S Sosa struck out swinging. F Catalanotto walked. M Byrd
struck out swinging. B Wilkerson lined out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) TEXAS 1, BOSTON 2.

BOSTON 6TH: J Drew walked. M Lowell singled to left, J Drew to second.
J Benoit relieved J Wright. W Pena grounded into fielder's choice to first,
M Lowell out at second, J Drew to third. A Cora hit by pitch, W Pena to second.
D Mirabelli struck out swinging. D Pedroia grounded out to third. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, BOSTON 2.

TEXAS 7TH: A Melhuse grounded out to first. R Vazquez struck out swinging.
K Lofton reached on infield single to second. K Lofton stole second.
J Hairston Jr walked. M Delcarmen relieved T Wakefield. M Young walked, K Lofton
to third, J Hairston Jr to second. S Sosa struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) TEXAS 1, BOSTON 2.

BOSTON 7TH: K Youkilis flied out to center. D Ortiz reached on infield
single to third. M Ramirez lined out to left. C Wilson relieved J Benoit.
J Drew flied out to left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, BOSTON 2.

TEXAS 8TH: H Okajima relieved M Delcarmen. V Diaz hit for F Catalanotto.
V Diaz grounded out to shortstop. M Byrd struck out looking. B Wilkerson flied
out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, BOSTON 2.

BOSTON 8TH: V Diaz in right field. M Byrd in left field. F Francisco
relieved C Wilson. M Lowell singled to left. W Pena popped out to second.
A Cora struck out swinging. J Varitek hit for D Mirabelli. J Varitek walked,
M Lowell to second. D Pedroia grounded into fielder's choice to second,
J Varitek out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, BOSTON 2.

TEXAS 9TH: J Varitek catching. J Papelbon relieved H Okajima. A Melhuse
struck out swinging. R Vazquez flied out to right. K Lofton reached on
infield single to first. K Lofton stole second. J Hairston Jr hit by pitch.
M Young struck out looking. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, BOSTON 2.</div>

 

Wakefield strong as Red Sox hold on vs. Rangers

<h3>BOSTON 2, TEXAS 1</h3>BOSTON (Ticker) -- After a tough road trip, Tim Wakefield andthe Boston Red Sox were glad to see the worst team in theAmerican League.

Wakefield had his knuckleball working through 6 2/3 solidinnings as the Red Sox bounced back and eked out a 2-1 victoryover the lowly Texas Rangers at Fenway Park on Friday night.

Boston manager Terry Francona was ecstatic with his performance.

"He was great, he got us to a point in the game where we couldmatch up," Francona said. "He was terrific but he had to bebecause we scored just two runs."

It was a big win for Boston, which went 4-5 on its recentnine-game West Coast road swing. The trip had been going welluntil the Red Sox were swept by the Seattle Mariners in threegames to end the jaunt.

"You could definitely feel the electricity here tonight andgetting a win after getting swept in Seattle is huge for us,"Red Sox starter Tim Wakefield said. "Hopefully, we can carrythe momentum through this series and into the next one."

However, they faced the last-place Rangers (32-47), who sufferedjust their third loss in in their last nine game despite owningthe AL's worst mark.

Boston got back on track thanks to Wakefield (8-8), who workedhis way into the seventh, allowing one run and seven hits, whilestriking out and walking four. But he needed a solidperformance from his bullpen to pick up the win.

"It was one of those nights that I didn't have my best stuff butI felt like I made the pitches when I needed to make them and Iwas very fortunate," Wakefield said.

Trailing, 2-1, the Rangers mounted a two-out rally in theseventh inning. Kenny Lofton reached on an infield single offWakefield and then stole second. Jerry Hairston walked,knocking Wakefield out in favor of reliever Manny Delcarmen.

Delcarmen immediately walked Michael Young, loading the basesfor slugger Sammy Sosa, who then struck out to end the threat.

"I was like, 'This is the toughest position for a pitcher to bein, 2-1 game and trying to save Wakefield's win,'" Delcarmensaid. "I fall behind 2-0, and Mike Lowell comes by and was likejust trust yourself, they are not going to hit your fastball,so I was just happy to get out of that inning."

"We had some opportunities but they has a bunch of opportunitiesthat they didn't cash in on either," Texas manager RonWashington said. "We had the right people up there and we hadto try to get it done with two outs, not that easy."

Boston then turned to its lights-out, late-inning combination asdeceptive lefthander Hideki Okajima hurled a clean eighth, andcloser Jonathan Papelbon tossed a scoreless ninth for his 19thsave.

The star closer labored but struck out Young with the go-aheadruns on base in a tense ninth inning in which he was restrainedfrom arguing with first base umpire Mike Reilly on a close playinvolving Lofton.

"That's just the situation where I'm not thinking, and I've gotnothing but 100 percent adrenaline running through me, and it'spart of the game," Papelbon said. "It was obviously a closeplay but I'm just happy with the outcome."

The Red Sox started the scoring in the fourth after MannyRamirez got hit by a pitch to lead off the frame. J.D. Drewthen blasted a ground-rule double to left field, sending Ramirezto third.

The Red Sox started the scoring in the fourth after MannyRamirez got hit by a pitch to lead off the frame. J.D. Drewthen blasted a ground-rule double to left field, sending Ramirezto third.

But Mike Lowell could not get the run home, grounding out tothird. Wily Mo Pena followed with an infield single, scoringRamirez with the first run of the game.

Texas answered one inning later thanks to Adam Melhuse, who ledoff the inning with a booming double to right field. He wassacrificed to third by Ramon Vazquez, and Lofton walked, stolesecond - his second of three in the game - to set up Hairston'ssacrifice fly to tie the game, 1-1.

Boston took the lead on a strange play in the bottom of theframe.

Dustin Pedroia was issued a one-out walk and was forced out atsecond on a fielder's choice ground ball by Kevin Youkilis.David Ortiz also walked, and both runners then moved up on awild pitch Rangers starter Jamey Wright (1-2).

Ramirez ripped a grounder off Wright, which bounded directly tothird. But Texas third baseman Vazquez decided to tag out Ortizrunning between second and third instead of throwing across thediamond to first - a force play - allowing the go-ahead run toscore.

"Just a weird play all together. It hits off his foot, so youknew you had to go because Manny was going to be close at first,and I turn around and they tagged David out," Youkilis said."There is no reason to jog on that play because you never knowwhat is going to happen."

"Tough play on that unless you got a view of the guy that hitit, and you know you can get him at first base, so I have toaccept Vazquez's judgment," Washington said.

Wright tossed five frames, yielding two runs and six hits, whilestriking out and walking three for the Rangers, who left 16runners on base.

 

AL: TEXAS at BOSTON

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
TEXAS 1
BOSTON 2 FINAL</div>