Green Means Go by Jared Carrabis
Nick Green, Sox walk-off with the win


First we saw the Mother's Day Miracle, now the Father's Day Frenzy.

Both the Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves were decorated in light blue wristbands in support of prostate cancer awareness on Father's Day. Tim Wakefield took the mound in search of his league-leading tenth win of the season, but the first inning of his outing wasn't pretty. The knuckleballer allowed back-to-back singles to open the first. Later in the inning with one away, Brian McCann ripped a double into right field that allowed both Nate McLouth and Yunel Escobar to score with ease.

Trailing by two before the Sox even had a chance to take a swing, the Boston offense began to play catch-up. Reigning MVP, Dustin Pedroia, kick-started the chipping away process with a lead-off double to left field; his 17th of the season. Later in the inning with one away, Kevin Youkilis hit a little knubber back to the mound that starting pitcher Jair Jurrjens couldn't handle. Jurrjens was charged with an error that moved Pedroia to third, who was later driven in on a sacrifice fly by Jason Bay.

With two outs, Ortiz swatted a 2-0 fastball against the wind and over the Green Monster for a two-run shot that put Boston out in front; 3-2. It seems as if though locking Ortiz in at the five hole has really put a charge into his bat and has essentially awakened a sleeping giant. Ortiz would finish the day with a 2-for-4 showing at the plate with 2 RBI, raising his average to .213.

The Red Sox tagged on another run in the bottom of the fourth when George Kottaras brought home Ortiz on a sacrifice fly. Wakefield pitched his way into the seventh inning and recorded the first two outs, but after he allowed an RBI single by Gregor Blanco to get the Braves within a run, Terry Francona went to his bullpen. More often than not in 2009, when a starting pitcher left the mound with a lead, no matter how slim or vast, that pitcher would later earn a victory. However, Wakefield wasn't on the fortunate side on Sunday.

In a situation where Francona would have loved to bring in a situational left-hander, he instead went to Ramon Ramirez, knowing that Hideki Okajima would be of greater value later in the game. Ramirez entered the game having held left-handed batters to a .170 batting average, but all four of the home runs that he has given up in '09 have come against lefties. Facing Nate McLouth, the newest Brave shot a line drive into right field to plate the tying run. The run was charged to Wakefield (6.2 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 2 K), as Ramirez was charged with his second blown save of the season.

Ramon Ramirez has struggled as of late, let's take a look:
June 10: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 HR, 22 pitches (Back-to-back HR)
June 12: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 HR, 20 pitches (R. Howard game-tying HR)
June 17: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 32 pitches
June 21: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 inherited runner scored (Blown save)

In the bottom of the seventh, Boston would reclaim the lead in controversial fashion. With George Kottaras standing at second base with a double, JD Drew fell behind in the count, 0-2. Atlanta reliever, Eric O'Flaherty hurled a 91 MPH fastball towards the plate that looked like a strike to him, but as Drew let it pass, home plate umpire Bill Hohn called the pitch a ball. And, of course, of the very next pitch, Drew smacked an 84 MPH slider to the opposite field to drive in Kottaras, giving the Red Sox their lead back.

Furious with the no-strike call, Braves' third baseman Chipper Jones was ejected along with reliever Eric O'Flaherty and manager Bobby Cox. Instead of letting the RBI single by Drew be the back-breaker in this one, the Braves instead chose to battle back in the eighth. With Hideki Okajima on the mound, Kelly Johnson ripped his 15th double of the season into left field. Later in the inning, former west coast foe Garret Anderson poked an RBI base hit into right field to tie the score up at five. Okajima was also charged with a blown save.

Jonathan Papelbon was summoned out of the bullpen in the ninth inning to preserve the 5-5 tie, but once again, he made things interesting. Papelbon recorded the first out with ease, but then went on to load the bases after a pair of walks and a single. With two outs and nowhere for Matt Diaz to go, Papelbon blew a 95 MPH fastball by the bat of Diaz to retire the side.

Jeff Bennett took the mound in hopes of sending this game into extras, but apparently Nick Green had plans after the game. Why can I make that assumption? The Red Sox' shortstop drove the first pitch out of the hands of Bennett past Pesky's pole and over the right field fence for the win. As Green rounded the bases after his fourth home run of '09, his teammates waited patiently at home plate to mob the Father's Day hero.

Things you'll need to know to impress your friends:

Green's walk-off shot was estimated to be about 320 feet down the right field line. While we're used to Youkilis and Bay hitting bombs well over the wall in left, no matter the distance, they all count the same in the eyes of the scoreboard.

On June 7, Nick Green's batting average was as low as .271. After a 1-for-3 day at the plate on Sunday, Green is now batting .293 on the year with 25 RBI and an .804 OPS. GM Theo Epstein might also be a little more appreciative if Green's walk totals were to rise just a tad (7 walks in 52 games).

Over David Ortiz's last 14 games, Big Papi is hitting .333 with 5 HR, 9 RBI, 2 doubles and 8 walks.

Quietly, JD Drew is having a very productive month of June. From June 2 until June 21, Drew has seen his OBP rise from .360 to .386 after Sunday's win. For the month, Drew is batting .293 with 2 HR, 8 RBI, and an OPS over 1.000 at 1.043. The lefty swinging outfielder has also amassed 14 walks, 3 doubles and a triple in 41 at bats during the month of June.

Daisuke Matsuzaka update:

Before the game on Sunday, the Red Sox announced that they have placed RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to June 20. The cause of time on the shelf is being called "Shoulder weakness." The MRI underwent by the right-handed starter showed no structural damage to his pitching shoulder, therefore the diagnosis is being called "Shoulder weakness", or "fatigue", if you will. The Red Sox weren't expecting Daisuke to accept a trip to the DL, as opposed to being demoted to the bullpen, but now Matsuzaka will be spending his time trying to regain his '08 form by tossing some innings with Pawtucket. Enter: John Smoltz.

Tuesday's pitching match-up:

As has been the case on almost every Monday of the month of June, the Sox will have an off-day to look forward to tomorrow. When the Sox resume play on Tuesday, they will find themselves in one of the loneliest, if not the loneliest ballpark in baseball. The Sox will be opening up a three-game set against Adam Dunn and the Washington Nationals with Brad Penny set to go in game one. Not that the Nationals will be much of a challenge regardless, the Red Sox are in good hands, as Penny sports a 12-5 record with a 2.54 ERA against the Nationals and the Expos dating back to the the franchises days in Montreal.

Boston will, however, have their hands full against lefty, John Lannan. Don't let his 4-5 record fool you. In his most recent start, Lannan pitched into the ninth inning, logging 8.1 innings of work, giving up just two earned runs on four hits at Yankee Stadium.

Happy Father's Day to all you dad's out there!
-Jared Carrabis

Final Score: Braves 5, Red Sox 6

Published on June 21, 2009

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