Renteria, BoSox Catch Bombers
By Roger Rubin Daily News Sports Writer
September 25, 2005
BALTIMORE - This has not been a good September for the Red Sox or
their
shortstop, Edgar Renteria. The club blew a four-game lead in the AL
East in a
matter of 10 days and had spent three days looking up at the hated
rival Yankees
in the standings. Renteria, coming off a spectacular August, had been
hitting
.183 in this final month of the regular season.
But their fates both may have changed yesterday. Renteria
delivered a
broken-bat two-run single in the ninth inning off Baltimore closer B.J.
Ryan as
the Red Sox gutted out a 4-3 victory at Camden Yards and pulled back
into a tie
for the division lead.
Both the Yanks and Red Sox trail Cleveland by 1 1/2 games for a
wild-card
berth.
The win had nothing to do with grace or ease or a game plan. It
was pure
resourcefulness. A 2-0 Sox lead vanished in the seventh when Long
Island and St.
John's product Craig Hansen gave up a two-run home run to Melvin Mora.
They
managed to win when four players with terrible numbers against Ryan
somehow got
on base.
"I think a lot of teams lose that game," Boston manager Terry
Francona said.
"We're not a lot of teams.
"We're ahead, we're ahead, we're ahead and then we're not. We're
in the
visiting ballpark. At that point you have to do everything correct or
else you
have a decent chance of losing the ballgame. We did everything we
needed to do."
Boston is still a flawed team. After starter Matt Clement pitched
six ugly
but scoreless innings, the bullpen gave up the lead in the seventh and
then
allowed a run in the ninth. But the Red Sox overcame that and have
turned this
into an eight-game season with the Bombers.
"This was a special game," Johnny Damon said. "We're a lot closer
to where we
want to be than it's felt in the last couple days."
Said Clement: "It was nice to pick up a game on them. Hopefully
(today) we
can pick up another and put us back where we need to be."
In the ninth against All-Star Ryan, Trot Nixon, who was 2-for-14
against the
southpaw, managed an infield single between short and third. Then Tony
Graffanino (0-for-1 against Ryan) hit a flare single to right to put
runners at
the corners. Damon (3-for-19) managed a walk and Renteria (1-for-6)
blooped one
over the infield for two runs and a 4-2 lead.
"He's one of the best and we beat one of the best," Francona said
of Ryan.
"Guys that haven't hit him before hit him (today)."
Renteria has been harshly criticized during the season because he
hasn't
always played up to the four-year, $40 million contract he signed in
the
offseason. Early in the year he was booed mercilessly in Boston. But he
also has
a reputation for delivering in the clutch, which he did last night.
"It has been a more difficult season," he admitted. "It's tough
but we're not
finished yet."
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