ALCS Game 2: Red Sox @ Yankees (Live Thread)

Yahoo! Sports ^ | 10-13-04 | Various

[GraniteStateConservative]

TONIGHT'S LINE-UPS

J. Damon cf
M. Bellhorn 2b
M. Ramirez lf
D. Ortiz dh
K. Millar 1b
T. Nixon rf
J. Varitek c
O. Cabrera ss
B. Mueller 3b


D. Jeter ss
A. Rodriguez 3b
G. Sheffield rf
H. Matsui lf
B. Williams cf
J. Posada c
J. Olerud 1b
M. Cairo 2b
K. Lofton dh

Game Time: 8:05 pm EDT
TV: FOX
Pitching Matchup: P. Martínez vs. J. Lieber

Pedro Martinez called the New York Yankees his ``daddy'' after a loss at Fenway Park on Sept. 24, not knowing that the comment would garner more attention and stir more controversy than just about anything the right-hander has uttered during his brilliant career.

He'll have a chance to render the phrase virtually meaningless, and more importantly, get the Boston Red Sox even when he takes the mound for Game 2 of the AL championship series at Yankee Stadium.

Martinez suffered a pair of critical defeats to the Yankees in September, both of which damaged Boston's chances of overtaking first place from New York in the AL East. After a 6-4 setback at Fenway three weeks ago, Martinez admitted that the Yankees had his number.

``What can I say -- just tip my hat and call the Yankees my daddy,'' Martinez said after allowing five runs and nine hits over 7 1-3 innings.

``I can't find a way to beat them at this point. ... They're that good. They're that hot right now -- at least against me. I wish they would disappear and not come back.''

Martinez did not comment before his Game 2 start in the ALDS against Anaheim, and was silent again during Tuesday's interview session in which the scheduled starters for the next day usually meet with the media.

However, manager Terry Francona wasn't the least bit concerned with Martinez's absence from the interview room.

``He's going to show up on the mound; that's what I care about,'' Francona said. ``Whether he talks to you guys or not, I know it probably frustrates you, you can talk to me. I don't personally care. I want him to pitch really, really well.''

Francona also didn't put too much stock in what Martinez had to say after his last loss to the Yankees.

``I thought he was a little frustrated that night,'' Francona said. ``You see so many times players say something after a game or they think something else, or they are half-dressed going somewhere in hurry, they say something that they probably wish ten minutes later they would not have said. I guess I put more credence in his pitching the last ten years than I do one sentence when he was a little frustrated.''

Martinez's two losses to the Yankees last month dropped his all-time record against the defending AL champions to 10-10 with a 3.24 ERA. In last year's ALCS, Martinez suffered a Game 3 loss in Boston in a game best remembered for a benches-clearing incident that ended with Martinez hurling then-Yankees bench coach Don Zimmer to the ground.

In the memorable seventh game of that series, Martinez carried a 5-2 lead into the eighth inning before wilting as New York rallied to tie the game and win it on Aaron Boone's walk-off homer against Tim Wakefield in the bottom of the 11th.

The Yankees built an early 8-0 lead on Boston in Game 1 on Tuesday as Mike Mussina pitched 6 1-3 perfect innings and Hideki Matsui drove in five runs. But the Red Sox came back with seven runs, forcing Yankees manager Joe Torre to call on Mariano Rivera for the final four outs.

Rivera was in Panama earlier in the day tending to the funeral of two family members that were electrocuted in a pool at his home. After arriving at Yankee Stadium in the fifth inning, the Yankees' star closer worked out of a jam in the eighth and kept the Red Sox off the board in the ninth, preserving a 10-7 victory.

``My teammates needed me there,'' Rivera said. ``When I went to the bullpen in the fifth inning, I was ready.''

New York right-hander Jon Lieber will try to build on a solid performance in his first career postseason start when he opposes Martinez in Game 2. With the Yankees down 1-0 in their ALDS with Minnesota, Lieber allowed three runs over 6 2-3 innings in last Wednesday's 7-6, 12-inning victory.

Lieber hopes to recapture the form he had during a 14-4 home victory over Boston on Sept. 18. Like Mussina, he carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning before David Ortiz belted a two-out, two-run homer to get the Red Sox on the board.

Ortiz delivered a clutch two-out, two-run double off Tom Gordon in the eighth inning Tuesday, helping Boston cut New York's deficit to 8-7. But the Red Sox came up short after nearly getting starter Curt Schilling off the hook after the worst outing of his postseason career.

Schilling was pounded for six runs in only three innings, forcing Francona to use six relievers over the next five innings.

``Each game is going to be an emotional roller-coaster,'' Torre said.

Game 3 will be Friday night at Fenway Park.

Game 1 Thread

[GraniteStateConservative]

[GraniteStateConservative]

ping...

[Radix]

Has Mussina pitched as well all year as he did last evening?

I was flipping back and forth and he was perfect for 6 Innings or so. I blinked and then there were men on and it was almost tied up late in the game by Ortiz just as I put it back on. That ball missed being a homer by not very much.

I am not a big Sox fan as I was when I was a kid, but it appears that Red Sox nation is being set up again for another fall.

No hit perfect ball for six innings in the 1st game of a championship series? Wow!

[NutCrackerBoy]

Pedro should and will just pitch his heart out and let the chips fall where they may. I predict he'll go six full innings and give up four or five runs.

[rs79bm]

Thanks for the post. The Red Sox need to win one of the next two to make this a series. I expect them to win tonight, but if they don't, they need to go into Fenway Park and win the next two. That would be a 2-2 series tie. It really depends and which Jon Lieber shows up tonight. The overall average Jon Lieber that pitched with Pittsburgh and the Cubs, or the Jon Lieber that pitched reasonably well against the Twins.

[ProudVet77]

The word in Boston is that Schilling will need surgery after the season is over. They are going to try a different kind of brace on his ankle and he'll try to start game 5 if needed.

[Grut]

The Red Sox will choke; they may choke in the victory parade, but they'll choke.

[GraniteStateConservative]

Since we'll likely have Lowe in Game 5, it's Petey or bust. We lose tonight and it's over. We can win the ALCS only if we win 2 out of 3 @ Fenway. Then, we have Pedro and Bronson to steal a game in NYC.

[rs79bm]

I would think he probably would too. That kind of situation (pitching through injuries) is common with pitchers.

[GraniteStateConservative]

He ended up with a 5.40 ERA. He's pitched better. What he did before the collapse isn't in a vacuum. Pedro would have won Game 7 if you just count the first 7 innings.

[rs79bm]

Has Mussina pitched as well all year as he did last evening?

You have to give a little credit to Mussina, but for the most part the Red Sox were very impatient last night. They were swinging at balls well out of the strike zone, and this is somewhat unusual for a team that has made a name for themselves by being patient, working the counts, and making the opposing pitcher work. For example, Damon struck out on the first three pitches he saw to start the game, something unusual for a lead-off hitter that normally looks at a lot of pitches and works the count.

I credit some of it to the long lay off after sweeping the Angels and for getting out of their normally patient philosophy.

[TheRedSoxWinThePennant]

Lets get it started!!!!

[Founding Father]

Can you believe baseball is so stupid as to not stagger the games tonight?

[nutmeg]

nutmeg & zelig checking in. Let's hope for a better outcome for the Sox tonight!

[Freemyland]

Hey, where is that Manny Ortiz fella in the Sox lineup? :-)

[pcgTheDestroyer]

Schilling tore a ligament in his ankle in last week's start v. the Angels. It is currently rubbing across his ankle bone, twanging like a guitar string every time it moves across the bone. He's listed as "doubtful" for the rest of the series by ESPN. :-(

[oh8eleven]

Can you believe baseball is so stupid as to not stagger the games tonight?
Incredibly greedy and arrogant. "We don't need no stinkin' fans."

[GraniteStateConservative]

MLB is, of course, stupid enough to do most anything stupid you could imagine.

[who knows what evil?]

I don't care much for baseball anymore, but I hope the Yankees beat the Red Sox like a drum. Miserable New Englanders put a BIG SMILE on my face in the morning.