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[Aldo Cella]

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Meltdown: O's blow five-run lead in 9th
By: Paul Folkemer  5/13/2007
Look, folks. I don't want to write this recap any more than you want to
read it. But let's rip off the Band-Aid and get through this thing
together.
The Orioles suffered one of the most eye-popping, heartbreaking,
unwatchable collapses in franchise history, blowing a five-run lead with
one out in the ninth in a devastating 6-5 loss to the Red Sox.
Everything was in place for the O's to pull off the feel-good series
win: Jeremy Guthrie had the most sensational performance of his
big-league career, overpowering the Red Sox in 8 1/3 shutout innings
while the Birds gave him a 5-0 lead. But in the ninth, the wheels came
completely off the bus. Ramon Hernandez dropped a popup that would've
been the second out, Sam Perlozzo made a curious decision to turn to the
bullpen, and Danys Baez and Chris Ray utterly melted down. Ray issued
three walks and then dropped a throw to first base on what would've been
the last out of the game, instead plating the tying and winning runs. I
would be in shock right now, but, well, if any team can pull off this
dramatic a collapse, it's the O's. Bad teams find a way to lose.
We'll start by recapping the first eight innings. Yay, first eight
innings! I like you the best! Starter Josh Beckett was looking to
improve to a perfect 8-0 this season. The good news: Beckett didn't win.
The bad news: this game's ending assured he would stay perfect.
The O's jumped on Beckett with two runs in the first. Brian Roberts and
Nick Markakis led off the game with a walk and single, respectively,
then tried a double steal with Ramon Hernandez at bat. Catcher Jason
Varitek's throw to third sailed wild, so Roberts rushed home with the
game's first run. Beckett nearly kept Markakis stranded with a couple of
strikeouts, but Aubrey Huff (playing third base for the first time as an
Oriole, with Melvin Mora getting the day off) smoked an RBI single up
the middle to make it 2-0.
Beckett wouldn't get a shot at win number eight, because torn skin on
his throwing hand forced him to leave the game after the fourth. Torn
skin? Ouch! The O's added a run against reliever Kyle Snyder in the
fifth, when Jay Payton doubled, moved to third on Snyder's wild pickoff
throw, and scored on a Corey Patterson groundout to second.
The O's tagged Joel Pineiro for a run apiece in the seventh and eighth.
In the former, Miguel Tejada capped a two-out rally with an RBI single.
In the latter, a Jay Gibbons shot to the right side deflected off the
glove of diving first baseman Eric Hinske, allowing a runner to score
from second. The Orioles had a comfortable-- or so you would think-- 5-0
lead. Of course, the O's also stranded seven runners on base from the
sixth inning through the eighth…but who cares, right? We've got enough
runs. Everything's fine.
Everything was certainly fine with starter Jeremy Guthrie, who tossed
the most dominant game of his major-league career. He was simply
brilliant, mowing down nearly every Sox hitter he faced without so much
as breaking a sweat. Fastball, curveball, slider-- anything Guthrie
threw up there, the Sox couldn't hit it. Through the first three
innings, a Kevin Youkilis double provided Boston's only baserunner, and
Guthrie left him stranded.
In the next three innings, Guthrie managed to induce some key outs from
the heart of the lineup. After a one-out walk in the fourth, Manny
Ramirez grounded into the inning-ending double play. J.D. Drew opened
the fifth with a double, but three easy grounders later, Guthrie was out
of the jam. In the sixth, the Sox put two runners aboard for David
Ortiz, who at that time represented the potential tying run. No problem
for Guthrie. Ortiz grounded sharply to Roberts, who flipped to second to
start the rally-killing double play.
Guthrie was on the verge of something special. He prolonged his
dominance by tearing through all six batters he faced in the seventh and
eighth, starting and ending that span with strikeouts (his first two of
the day). The most amazing thing? Guthrie threw only 85 pitches in eight
innings, which is a remarkable total, especially the patient Red Sox.
So now we head to the bottom of the ninth. Make sure you're sitting
down. Get out the blinders and the earmuffs. Mothers, hide your
daughters. Actually, remember how they used to have students prepare for
a possible nuclear bomb strike by having them curl up in the fetal
position and hide under their desks? Yeah, go ahead and do that. Even
then, you still might not be prepared for the nightmare worst-case
scenario that quickly unfolded.
Guthrie returned to the mound, seeking a complete game shutout. He got
off to a good start on a Julio Lugo groundout. Okay! So, to recap: it's
5-0 Orioles. They're two outs away from victory, with nobody on base.
Only the most incompetent, distressingly bad team could pull defeat from
the jaws of victory in this situation.
Well, may I introduce the Orioles! Coco Crisp lifted a pop fly between
third and home. Should be the second out. But there was miscommunication
between Hernandez and third baseman Chris Gomez (a defensive
replacement, ironically). Ramon ended up trying to make an awkward
catch, but the ball popped out his mitt. Crisp was aboard on the error.
PESSIMISTIC PAUL: "Oh, geez! This is where the wheels start to come off,
I tell you."
OPTIMISTIC PAUL: "Don't be such a worrywart! They still have a five-run
lead with one out in the ninth."
PESSIMISTIC PAUL: "You do realize this is the Orioles we're talking
about, right?"
OPTIMISTIC PAUL: "Good point."
That prompted a Sam Perlozzo visit to the mound. Even though Guthrie had
thrown only 91 pitches, the skipper opted to play it safe (ha!) and
bring in a fresh arm with Ortiz coming up. Guthrie left to a small
ovation even from some Red Sox fans, who I guess appreciate quality
pitching when they see it. Or, more likely, they were just thrilled that
Guthrie was finally out of the game and the Sox could get to work on the
O's bullpen.
Instead of bringing in a lefty to face Ortiz, Perlozzo turned to
right-hander Danys Baez. Hey, if you're paying a reliever over $6
million a year, the least he can do is get two outs without turning a
five-run lead into a total catastrophe, right? But no-- Ortiz ripped a
double off the center-field wall, plating Crisp (with an unearned run)
to ruin the shutout.
Okay, no sweat. It's still a 5-1 lead. The even better news: Sox manager
Terry Francona had removed Ramirez from the game in the top of the
ninth, replacing him with the less daunting Wily Mo Pena. Baez, though,
couldn't take advantage. He fell behind Pena 2-0, then allowed a sharp
single to left field. What an awful outing for Baez. Of the five pitches
he threw, three were balls, and the other two were scorched for hits.
Perlozzo couldn't get Baez out of there fast enough. Now that it was a
save situation (with the potential tying run on deck), he asked closer
Chris Ray to get the final two outs. Before giving up four runs? That
shouldn't be too difficult, you'd think.
Unfortunately, Ray tends to have an outing every so often in which he
can't find the strike zone with any regularity. Today was one of those
times, and he couldn't have picked a worse occasion. He started with a
walk to Drew, and suddenly, the possible tying run was at the plate (and
Ray has already allowed two grand slams this year). And then he
committed an absolutely inexcusable sin by walking Youkilis-- after
getting ahead in the count 1-2. Unbelievable. Ortiz was forced home with
Boston's second run.
It only got worse. Jason Varitek roped a double to right field. Pena and
Drew scored, and Youkilis moved to third. Just like that, it was a
one-run lead-- with the tying and winning runs both in scoring position,
and still just one out. It's like a nightmare you can't wake up from.
The most painful part was seeing Guthrie, who pitched so brilliantly,
perched on the top step of the O's dugout, staring blankly, as his
bullpen gave away his hard-earned win.
Wait till you see how this one ends! The O's intentionally walked Hinske
to set up a force at home-- and it paid off when Roberts fielded an Alex
Cora grounder and threw out Youkilis at the plate. Two outs! Bases
loaded! O's still clinging to a one-run lead!
Could Ray escape? No. And he has nobody but himself to blame. Lugo, the
10th batter of the inning, bounced one to Kevin Millar at first. He
tossed to first for what should've been the game-ending out. Oh, it
ended the game, all right. In the wrong way. Ray…dropped the ball!! He
dropped it!! NOOOOO!!!! Varitek scored, and Hinske was right behind him,
streaking to the plate with the winning run. Simply unfathomable.
Well, there you have it. The Red Sox scored six runs with one out in the
ninth, pulling off a miraculous (and from our perspective,
gut-wrenching, heartbreaking, and sickening) comeback. You know, there's
such a thing as playing scared. Being so intimidated by your opponent,
and by the atmosphere, that you lose confidence or make dumb mistakes.
That's simply what happened to the Orioles today. They gave this game
away on a silver platter. If Hernandez doesn't drop that popup, the
rally is over before it begins. If Perlozzo doesn't pull Guthrie, he
probably finishes the game unscathed. If Ray just holds on to that flip
to first, the O's hold on and win. Absolutely everything had to go wrong
for the Orioles to blow that game…and it did. Sometimes I wonder why
I'm even a fan.
J.C. Romero was the surprise winner in relief; he's 1-0. Ray fell to
3-3. Orioles lose, 6-5.
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