Last night at Camden Yards, Daisuke Matsuzaka once again took the bumpy road home with five arduous innings but still led the team to a 7-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Matsuzaka (15-2) gave up two runs on six hits, five walks and a wild pitch, while striking out six. But he was toughest when it mattered most in the Sox’ seventh win in the last 10 games. He held the Orioles to only two hits in nine at-bats with runners in scoring position and stranded nine, including five at second or third base. Matsuzaka won for the sixth time this season when allowing five-or-more walks, the most for a Sox pitcher since Mickey McDermott won eight in 1953. He became the first AL pitcher to do so since Canton’s Bobby Witt won eight times in 1987.
Matsuzaka was backed by home runs from Jason Varitek (10) and Kevin Youkilis (team-leading 24th), while every Sox starter collected at least one hit. The Sox remained 4 1/2 games behind the first-place Tampa Bay Rays - 4-2 winners over the Angels - in the AL East, while evening their record against divisional foes at 23-23. They still remain well under .500 (8-15) against the AL East on the road.
Orioles starter Daniel Cabrera (8-8) fell to 2-11 lifetime vs. the Red Sox by allowing six runs on nine hits and three walks in only 4 1/3 innings. The Sox scored two runs in the first and never trailed. Jacoby Ellsbury opened the game with a base hit, stole second and went to third on catcher Ramon Hernandez’ throwing error. Dustin Pedroia followed with a walk and David Ortiz knocked in the game’s first run with a single to left. Two batters later, Jason Bay made it 3-0 with a sacrifice fly. Varitek, who homered off a right-hander for the first time since May 21 in Monday’s win here, repeated the feat leading off the second, slamming a 91-mph fastball into the right-center field seats. Varitek, who hadn’t cleared the fences in consecutive games since last Sept. 21-22, reached double figures in homers for the ninth time and tied Carlton Fisk’s club record (1972-78) for catchers by doing so in his seventh straight season.
Nation Notes: One day after being taken to Massachusetts General Hospital with pain and tightness in his chest, Red Sox great Carl Yastrzemski underwent successful triple bypass surgery last night. Josh Beckett, has been scrached from his scheduled start Saturday with what the pitcher termed “numbness” in his pitching hand. Beckett will be given three additional days of rest and make his next start Tuesday against the New York Yankees.
