Questions--How Often Do You....?--Peter

Tonight's game was one where you could ask any number of questions beginning with the phrase, "How often do you" and then finish it with some very unusual fact of baseball that occured tonight. However, the question I had hoped and expected to close with, "give up 17 hits and an
error and win" was not to be.

That's the position the Sox were in in the bottom of the ninth with two outs when Polanco barely blooped a single over Julio Lugo's head to drive in the winning run. That 18th hit, the most allowed by the Sox in a game all season, left me instead with a different finish to my question, something along the lines of, "score nine runs, including three homers, a quartet of doubles and three stolen bases and lose". There we were. After trailing 8-4 after five, we had gone ahead 9-8 in the 8th. Okajima had held the lead in the Bengals' half of the 8th and there we were in the Tigers' final at bat with The Saver on the mound, throwing his usual assortment of light rays. Unfortunately, with two strikes Joyce got a leadoff single. Then, the usually sure handed Lugo bobbled a grounder that would at least have gotten the lead Detroit runner, if not led to a twin killing, by Renteria, yes, the same guy who briefly shorted for the Bosox in 2005. Then, Granderson, a great guy to watch if you want to see someone who's truly one of the best young all-around offensive ballplayers, drives in a run with a ground out. With that, and all that quickly followed, it was all downhill for the Sox in the fateful 9th.

Papelbon simultaneously got his first blown save in 11 attempts, as well as his first loss of the season. The aforementioned three homers, two by Yooouk and one by Lowell, as well as the cluster of two-baggers and the three steals, including a deuce by Ellsbury, were all for naught. Tigers, 10-9. End of latest win streak.

If there were any good news out of this, it's the way the Sox came from behind after being down 4-0 and then 8-4 to take the lead. Also, Jacoby's two swipes were his 22d in as many chances in his major league career, the most by any Sox player since 1920. That's 88 years, in case any of you out there are counting. Other items: Lowell's shot was his second in as many nights, a further sign that, along with a 3-5 evening, he's out of his slump. Papi continues his climb from subterranean depths with a 2-5 night, including his 28th ribbie of the year.

On the negative (beside the final score and the way it was arrived at): Jenn's Mr. Hyde, you know him as Tavarez, showed up for the Sox in the middle of the game, pitched only a single inning, the 5th, and left having surrendered three runs on four hits and what seemed at the time a very discouraging deficit, the previously mentioned Tigers 8-4 lead. It was particularly discouraging as the Sox had just climbed to within 5-4 in their half of the previous inning.

Well, tomorrow's another day along America's northern border. Good thing about this loss is that everyone else in the division save for Toronto also lost, so the Sox are still 4 1/2 up on the 'Stripes and still lead the division by the same margin that they did before play. By the way, speaking of the 'Stripes, they dropped below .500 on the season and their ace, Wang, took his first loss of the year.