If tonight's game were a movie, it'd be
The Royal Tenenbaums -- stuffed with quality dark humor good enough for genuine laughs in the beginning, and just downright depressing in the second half.
The first few innings for the Sox played out as a comedy of errors. I chuckled when Jose Contreras gave up four runs in the first two innings, including a throwing error on what should've been a 1-4-3 double play. I snorted when Rob Mackowiak bounced back to Kelvim Escobar with runners on second and third with one out, extending the non-homer run drought to 39 innings.
Darin Erstad was a one-man show in his return to Anaheim, losing a routine flyball in the twilight for a double that led to two runs, and then sliding past the bag when the start of a possible 5-4-3 triple play pulled Erick Aybar off the bag, ensuring that the Angels would at least get two outs.
But Jermaine Dye ruined everything when he doubled off the left field wall to drive in the only run. After that, the Sox resumed their streak of flat-out boring performances. Dye's double was the only extra-base hit. Sox pitchers paid zero attention to baserunners, allowing non-burners like Casey Kotchman and Mike Napoli to steal bases easily. The only time A.J. Pierzynski had a chance, he gunned down Vladimir Guerrero.
By the time Scot Shields retired three of the last six hitters with backwards Ks, the game had sucked all the life out of me. Just like the movie.
But hey, Ryan Sweeney had his first hit of the season. That's kinda cool, I guess.
Record: 12-14 |
Box score |
Play-by-play