Phillies Baffled by Wakefield, Red Sox Solve Halladay in 8-3 Rout

by Ben Buchanan on May 23, 2010 4:22 PM EDT in Game Stories

In 3 of their last 4 games, the Red Sox' starter had gone 8 or more innings. Clay Buchholz went 8 against the Twins, giving up 2 runs, while Jon Lester allowed them only 1 earned while going the distance. And, of course, last night Daisuke Matsuzaka flirted with history, allowing just 1 hit in 8 scoreless. Today, Tim Wakefield kept the magic going, pitching his own 8 shutout innings, allowing only 7 baserunners.

On some days, that might no be enough against Roy Halladay. That was not the case today, as the Red Sox got to the Philadelphia ace early and often. The Sox scored an unassuming run in the 2nd when a J.D. Drew groundout plated Kevin Youkilis, who had reached third on a triple, and 2 more in the 4th when an error at 3rd allowed both Victor Martinez and Youkilis to score.

It was in the 6th inning when they really legitimately got to Halladay. Kevin Youkilis homered to left field to leadoff the inning. J.D. Drew followed it up with a double, and singles by Beltre, Scutaro, and Ellsbury combined for 3 more runs.

The Sox added an 8th run in the 9th inning, and Ramon Ramirez pitched an awful, messy 9th. But with as big a lead as the Red Sox had, it hardly mattered.

Winners of 5-of-their-last-6, the Red Sox head to Tampa tomorrow to try and gain some ground in the AL East.

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Buch pitches tomorrow.

"man, this team they just suck so bad"- gizmosandy
DFA Bogar
Twitter: @BoldandBrash

by BoldandBrash on May 23, 2010 4:27 PM EDT reply actions

Schizo Wakefield???

I tip my cap/hat to Wakefield for that was a very impressive performance today. If he wasn’t so schizo in his performances, I could actually become a Wakefield advocate like so many around here!

by NG on May 23, 2010 4:32 PM EDT reply actions

It's the nature of the pitch

Some days it baffles and other days it just hangs there and looks juicy. Today it was baffling, hard. Plus he was backed up by some great defense.

"We are not normal, We are Legends. People will tell their kids about us." - Deon Butler before Ohio State Game 2008.

by Rogue Nine on May 23, 2010 5:54 PM EDT up reply actions

Brilliant game all around, especially Wake

Of course I cant get past that survived abortion Ramirez. God I hate him. Sorry about the graphic words. Crude I know but it’s about the only accurate way to describe it. HOW DOES HE HAVE A JOB

I exercise strong self control. I never drink anything stronger than gin before breakfast

by DocOne on May 23, 2010 4:33 PM EDT reply actions

OK guys, I wont be here the next three gamethreads, cause I will be at the games! Here’s hoping for a sweep!

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by bestbostonsports on May 23, 2010 4:35 PM EDT reply actions

Have a great time in St Pete.

by went9 on May 23, 2010 4:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Thanks!

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by bestbostonsports on May 23, 2010 5:01 PM EDT up reply actions

Do you go to Ferg's before the game?

by went9 on May 23, 2010 5:06 PM EDT up reply actions

No clue what that is sorry. Only my second time there

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by bestbostonsports on May 23, 2010 5:27 PM EDT up reply actions

Just a very short walk North

of Tropicana Field is the coolest indoor/outdoor sports bar.
Tons of Sox Fans before and after the game. Good bar food too.
The place is an old gas station that guy named Ferg bought and it’s huge now.
Not to be missed by a Sox Fan while in St. Pete.

by went9 on May 23, 2010 5:33 PM EDT up reply actions

Cool thanks

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by bestbostonsports on May 23, 2010 5:35 PM EDT up reply actions

I've gone to almost every series since 2002.

Have a sick family member that needs my help this week so I won’t be able to enjoy it live. If you have any questions about the area let me know. I live three hours away but visit often for work and baseball.
Where are your seats?

by went9 on May 23, 2010 5:41 PM EDT up reply actions

Behind the sox dugouut a few a rows

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by bestbostonsports on May 23, 2010 5:43 PM EDT up reply actions

Wow. Real nice.

Have you checked out the Ray Tank in center field yet?

by went9 on May 23, 2010 5:47 PM EDT up reply actions

No not yet. I’ll have too check that out.

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by bestbostonsports on May 23, 2010 5:52 PM EDT up reply actions

Be sure to buy a dollar's worth of the pellets

so you can feed the Ray’s. It’s a weird feeling when they take the food from your hand in the tank.

by went9 on May 23, 2010 5:58 PM EDT up reply actions

Haha that sounds cool

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by bestbostonsports on May 23, 2010 6:10 PM EDT up reply actions

Im only 45 minutes away, I went there last year.

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by bestbostonsports on May 23, 2010 5:45 PM EDT up reply actions

Wakefield- big win.

Wake: 16 FO, 6 GO, 1 SO, 0 runs in that bandbox. How did all those FO stay in the park?

Let’s get ’em in St Pete.

by went9 on May 23, 2010 4:35 PM EDT reply actions

Most of them really weren't drive.

They were hit from underneath.

"man, this team they just suck so bad"- gizmosandy
DFA Bogar
Twitter: @BoldandBrash

by BoldandBrash on May 23, 2010 4:36 PM EDT up reply actions

driven

"man, this team they just suck so bad"- gizmosandy
DFA Bogar
Twitter: @BoldandBrash

by BoldandBrash on May 23, 2010 4:37 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah the box score is a bit misleading

Lots of pop-ups.

Oh, if a man tried to take his time on earth, and prove before he died
What one man's life could be worth--oh, I wonder what would happen to this world.

by LegendaryTadpole on May 23, 2010 4:39 PM EDT up reply actions

I feel better knowing it was Wake’s call not to finish the game.

by cheekmeister on May 23, 2010 4:39 PM EDT reply actions

Retire Wakefield's number

nuf ced.

Building Fenway from the ground up - Virtual Fenway

by Sean O on May 23, 2010 4:41 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

+1

Galactus does as he pleases. Because Galactus is drunk.

@#$%ing Twit: @blogtard

by Bloggy on May 23, 2010 6:51 PM EDT up reply actions

7-6 TB

Let’s go Astros!

"man, this team they just suck so bad"- gizmosandy
DFA Bogar
Twitter: @BoldandBrash

by BoldandBrash on May 23, 2010 4:42 PM EDT reply actions

Another performance by the wily veteran.

It’s days like this that keep the Sox bringing him back year after year.

17 wins to go.

And perhaps it’s time to start the discussion about a six-man rotation?

Fenway: "An alternate and better universe, disguised as a ballpark." --Thomas Boswell

by lone1c on May 23, 2010 4:47 PM EDT reply actions

don't know if it's necessary

Someone will always be injured/ineffective. I don’t see any reason to delay a Lester or Buckles start because everyone else has been sucking.

Building Fenway from the ground up - Virtual Fenway

by Sean O on May 23, 2010 4:50 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeh, Matsuzaka san really sucked last night.

by went9 on May 23, 2010 5:01 PM EDT up reply actions

c'mon

He still has a 5.76 ERA after last night. Beckett and Lackey haven’t been good at all. Lester and Buckles are the only 2 who have been consistently good.

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by Sean O on May 23, 2010 5:18 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeh, and what was Lester's ERA in April.

Another member of the " Knee Jerk Nation".

by went9 on May 23, 2010 5:23 PM EDT up reply actions

What the hell is your problem?

Why are you picking a fight for no reason?

Building Fenway from the ground up - Virtual Fenway

by Sean O on May 23, 2010 5:25 PM EDT up reply actions

Who's fighting?

Just calling ’em the way I see ’em.

by went9 on May 23, 2010 5:28 PM EDT up reply actions

+1

I realize there’s a lot of tension going around lately, but I think people who presume to judge others’ fandom do so without any authority.

Big genital waggle in their general direction.

Wait 'til next year...

by nuthinboutnuthin on May 23, 2010 11:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Sean’s a big boy. He can take a little ribbing with all the trash he talks in his comments.
It’s his choice to hate the Team Epstein. No big deal. I’d like to hear who he would replace the Epstein Team with?
Comments like this one after the lose to the pinstripes last week:

well, let’s see right now Hermida: never was
Macdonald: never was
Drew: awesome
Beltre: washout? not sure
Scutaro: Never was
pedroia: awesome
youk: awesome
Martinez: washout
Varitek: washout
Ortiz: washout
Lowell: washout
Lackey,Beckett, Zaka: washouts
Lester: awesome
Wakefield: can’t say anything negative about Wakes

Building Fenway from the ground up – Virtual Fenway
by Sean O on May 18, 2010 1:08 PM EDT up reply actions

And the follow up on the rest of the team:

Ellsbury: never was, at least not yet
Cameron: washout
Buckles: we’ll see.
Papelbum: goldbricking ‘til NYY contract
Bard: we’ll see.
MDC: washout or never was? hard to tell.
Okaji: love him, can’t complain regardless of failure.
Ramirez: was he good enough to be a washout?
Schoenweis: he’s a nice guy with a sad story.
Hall: had that one good season
Van Every: AAAA

Building Fenway from the ground up – Virtual Fenway
by Sean O on May 18, 2010 5:16 PM EDT up reply actions

When you trash 20 of the 25 man on your team in May, to me thats Knee Jerking and not giving the team any time to evolve. Waggle away.

by went9 on May 24, 2010 3:12 PM EDT up reply actions

He called Vic Martinez a washout....that alone, is fucking comical

by RockEmSoxEm on May 24, 2010 3:26 PM EDT up reply actions

Really, almost troll like.

by went9 on May 24, 2010 4:35 PM EDT up reply actions

Dice-k looked different. He used his fastball a lot more.

He could be turning the corner.

"man, this team they just suck so bad"- gizmosandy
DFA Bogar
Twitter: @BoldandBrash

by BoldandBrash on May 23, 2010 5:56 PM EDT up reply actions

Not really many more fastballs.

Better location and movement.

by went9 on May 23, 2010 6:06 PM EDT up reply actions

It doesn't necessarily have to be a true 6-man rotation

But Wakefield shouldn’t be left holding the bag here. He can be a starter—maybe just a little less frequently then every fifth day.

Fenway: "An alternate and better universe, disguised as a ballpark." --Thomas Boswell

by lone1c on May 23, 2010 5:06 PM EDT up reply actions

that's essentially his role

Just when we’re going long periods with all the other guys healthy, he might as well be pitching somewhere

by wolf9309 on May 24, 2010 10:13 AM EDT up reply actions

And keep in mind that none of the Phillies have seen Wake very much,

and you know that hitting a knuckleball your first time seeing it can’t be easy. Wake pitches a great game, and credit to him, but the AL East is a lot more dangerous to him.

And, going off of that, if we do get all our starters back and healthy, I would like to see Wake do more spot starts against teams that haven’t seen him before. Interleague play is perfect for him, but also just deliberately start him against teams that haven’t batted against him recently to give rest to the rest of the staff.

by ThePanda on May 23, 2010 4:58 PM EDT up reply actions

The counterargument is

That he went 8 scoreless innings against one of the best offenses in the NL.

Yes, he’s at a relative disadvantage in the AL East compared to other divisions, but so is every other pitcher on the staff.

Fenway: "An alternate and better universe, disguised as a ballpark." --Thomas Boswell

by lone1c on May 23, 2010 5:00 PM EDT up reply actions

+1

David Ortiz 2010: 120 RBIs, 35+ HRs. Jason who?

by BHeebs on May 23, 2010 5:27 PM EDT up reply actions

Yes you are right
Damn Lester would kick ass in the NL

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by bestbostonsports on May 23, 2010 5:30 PM EDT up reply actions

How many times have the Phillies ever seen a knuckleballer?

Somewhat curiouslyl. My point is just that the knuckleball is unlike any other pitch, and if you’ve never seen it, it’s going to have extra effectiveness. The AL East sees the Red Sox a lot, and so will be able to probably get (have gotten) Wake multiple times, each time through having a better idea of how to hit it.

Basically, he gets extra effectiveness from unfamiliarity, more than the normal pitcher. This can be leveraged by starting him against teams who haven’t had him before.

by ThePanda on May 23, 2010 8:36 PM EDT up reply actions

I don’t think the effect is THAT large. I mean, I’ve seen him get lit up before by teams he doesn’t face frequently and stifle teams that see it all the time.

"We are not normal, We are Legends. People will tell their kids about us." - Deon Butler before Ohio State Game 2008.

by Rogue Nine on May 23, 2010 8:40 PM EDT up reply actions

I wonder what the stats are, as I'm just going off intuition.

It would be interesting to see if there’s a correlation between the nth at-bat and batting statistics and then to compare that to other pitchers.

by ThePanda on May 23, 2010 9:12 PM EDT up reply actions

Tim whacked 'em back in '06

And even managed a single of his own. It was the only game I saw CBP at or near capacity, due to the huge numbers of Sox fans present.

Building Fenway from the ground up - Virtual Fenway

by Sean O on May 23, 2010 8:44 PM EDT up reply actions

Lars is 1-3 2B so far in game one of the doubleheader.

"man, this team they just suck so bad"- gizmosandy
DFA Bogar
Twitter: @BoldandBrash

by BoldandBrash on May 23, 2010 6:02 PM EDT reply actions

2-4 2B

"man, this team they just suck so bad"- gizmosandy
DFA Bogar
Twitter: @BoldandBrash

by BoldandBrash on May 23, 2010 6:07 PM EDT up reply actions

I am still amazed Wake outdualed Halladay....

So this years checklist.

Offense- Great
Defense- Getting better
Starting Pitching- Turning a Corner
Bullpen- O god….

Lets take a series from TB! It’s Buchholz, Lester, Lackey? I say we take the first two and drop game 3.

I LOVE PEDROIA!!! ITS MAN LOVE!

by kraken613 on May 23, 2010 6:07 PM EDT reply actions

Let's take 3,

but that will be hard because Garza is almost a guaranteed win against us.

"man, this team they just suck so bad"- gizmosandy
DFA Bogar
Twitter: @BoldandBrash

by BoldandBrash on May 23, 2010 6:09 PM EDT up reply actions

Garza career vs the Red Sox:

Link
http://www.baseball-reference.com/play-index/p-pvb.cgi?n1=garzama01#choice=&bats=&minPA2=0&year_game=career&post=1&opp_id=BOS&orderby=PA&orderbyb=Name&minPA=0&orderbydir=DESC&orderbydirb=ASC&n1=garzama01&as=pitcher

We can get this guy.

by went9 on May 23, 2010 6:16 PM EDT up reply actions

Garza kills us.
Hoping we can beat him Wednesday. The Lackey-Garzaz matchup worries me

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by bestbostonsports on May 23, 2010 6:19 PM EDT up reply actions

Wake-Halladay worried me also.

"man, this team they just suck so bad"- gizmosandy
DFA Bogar
Twitter: @BoldandBrash

by BoldandBrash on May 23, 2010 6:48 PM EDT up reply actions

Me too but we hit Halladay sometimes.
Garza, never

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by bestbostonsports on May 23, 2010 6:54 PM EDT up reply actions

Garza May 10, '09

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS200905100.shtml

by went9 on May 23, 2010 8:16 PM EDT up reply actions

Garza Sept, 13, '09

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS200909131.shtml

Another positive thought to take to St Pete.

by went9 on May 23, 2010 8:44 PM EDT up reply actions

TIMMY!

Galactus does as he pleases. Because Galactus is drunk.

@#$%ing Twit: @blogtard

by Bloggy on May 23, 2010 6:53 PM EDT reply actions

Doubront is pitching game 2 of the doubleheader.

So far: 1 IP- 2K

"man, this team they just suck so bad"- gizmosandy
DFA Bogar
Twitter: @BoldandBrash

by BoldandBrash on May 23, 2010 6:55 PM EDT reply actions

cool thanks

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by bestbostonsports on May 23, 2010 7:00 PM EDT up reply actions

It's in a rain delay now.

"man, this team they just suck so bad"- gizmosandy
DFA Bogar
Twitter: @BoldandBrash

by BoldandBrash on May 23, 2010 7:05 PM EDT up reply actions

ugh
whats the score?

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by bestbostonsports on May 23, 2010 7:06 PM EDT up reply actions

0-0

I hope it doesn’t ruin Doubront’s start.

"man, this team they just suck so bad"- gizmosandy
DFA Bogar
Twitter: @BoldandBrash

by BoldandBrash on May 23, 2010 7:09 PM EDT up reply actions

Me too
They lost 18-1 earlier, a continuation of last night.
Boof sucked. Is he on the 40-man?

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by bestbostonsports on May 23, 2010 7:10 PM EDT up reply actions

Don't know

"man, this team they just suck so bad"- gizmosandy
DFA Bogar
Twitter: @BoldandBrash

by BoldandBrash on May 23, 2010 7:14 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

yeah he is

I believe he’s also out of options though, meaning if he doesn’t turn a corner fast before his rehab stint is up, he won’t be on the 40 man much longer.

by wolf9309 on May 24, 2010 10:17 AM EDT up reply actions

It does. Dustin Richardson too, as he was inserted into the game and removed without facing a batter.

Presumably they assumed they were gonna start up, and warmed Dustin, but then they got bogged down again.

USG

by Ben Buchanan on May 23, 2010 8:49 PM EDT up reply actions

UGH
These annoying Phillies fans keep coming to my website

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by bestbostonsports on May 23, 2010 7:14 PM EDT reply actions

Are they in the message boards or something?

"man, this team they just suck so bad"- gizmosandy
DFA Bogar
Twitter: @BoldandBrash

by BoldandBrash on May 23, 2010 7:18 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Nah, comments.
And I had this poll during the Bruins series of who was gonna win, and they kept picking Flyers.
I had a few other problems with commenters.
They made fun of it non stop at BSH.

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by bestbostonsports on May 23, 2010 7:19 PM EDT up reply actions

Ask 'em where they were

back in 2006 when CBP was empty every night.

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by Sean O on May 23, 2010 7:19 PM EDT up reply actions

haha
My website has only been up since 2008

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by bestbostonsports on May 23, 2010 7:20 PM EDT up reply actions

Still

You never heard about/anything from the Phillies back then, because nobody cared about the team.

Building Fenway from the ground up - Virtual Fenway

by Sean O on May 23, 2010 7:20 PM EDT up reply actions

Yep I know what you mean
Oh God. My poll now is who will win the AL East, and I swear they voted Orioles.

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by bestbostonsports on May 23, 2010 7:21 PM EDT up reply actions

Its true!

I’ve been at Penn State for 4 years. 2006, 2007 NOTHING, no Phillies fans anywhere. Then 2008 happened and I swear the campus was painted red every day, they even had a mini riot downtown after the clincher even though 80% of the people couldn’t name anyone on the team besides Howard, Utley and Rollins.

"We are not normal, We are Legends. People will tell their kids about us." - Deon Butler before Ohio State Game 2008.

by Rogue Nine on May 23, 2010 7:24 PM EDT up reply actions