With swinging arms and high leg kick, Paul Byrd will conjure up nostalgic feelings for years gone by with his old-time windup.
In his Red Sox debut last night at Fenway Park, however it was opposing starter Roy Halladay who made the 448th consecutive regular-season sellout think back to times past, namely, the Deadball Era. Halladay’s complete game last night marked the fifth time an opponent has thrown one against the Sox this season. It was also Halladay’s second complete game against the Sox this year. Paul Byrd, who was acquired from the Cleveland Indians last Tuesday for future considerations, pitched well in his Red Sox debut, but he was no match for Halladay, who dominated the Sox with a complete-game, seven-hitter to lead the Toronto Blue Jays to a 4-1 victory. Byrd (7-11) allowed four runs on 10 hits in 7 1/3 innings and was hurt by a pair of home runs that accounted for three of the visitors’ runs. He still became the first Red Sox starting pitcher to go seven-or-more innings without a strikeout or walk since Bret Saberhagen on July 31, 1998 at Anaheim, California. Byrd entered the game on a roll, having gone 4-0 with a 1.24 ERA in his final four starts for Cleveland, including a complete-game, six-hit victory over Halladay in Toronto exactly one week earlier.
Halladay (14-9), who leads the majors with eight complete games, undoubtedly wanted to purge the bad taste left in his mouth from his last Fenway start back on April 29. He pitched his fourth consecutive complete game that day, only to have it tarnished by a Kevin Youkilis game-ending, RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, which gave the Sox their first, 1-0 walkoff win in more than 28 years. The Red Sox, who scored 37 runs in the preceding, three-game series against Texas, never had a realistic chance last night. Halladay got into a minor jam with two outs in the first inning, but got J. D. Drew to line out to center fielder Vernon Wells to strand a pair of runners. He didn’t allow another runner to advance past first base until Dustin Pedroia lined his first pitch of the ninth over The Wall for the second baseman’s 11th homer of the season.
Nation Notes: Bartolo Colon, who came out of his start Friday for Pawtucket after just one inning due to an illness, will be kept on normal rest before his next start. Tim Wakefield (shoulder tightness) played catch yesterday for the first time since going on the disabled list. Wakefield felt good after throwing 30 pitches at 60 feet.
