Baltimore Orioles 5 Boston Red Sox 6 (May 13, 2007)

Today was my long-awaited first trip to Fenway Park for a game, and if you look below, you'll see proof of my presence -- I'm rocking my 'Chair shirt too! I was eventually rewarded with a wild finish in which the Boston Red Sox (25-12, 1st in AL East) defeated the divison rival Baltimore Orioles (18-20, 2nd in AL East, 8 GB) 6-5 on a walk-off infield single/error by shortstop Julio Lugo and Baltimore closer Chris Ray (BS, 3, L, 3-3) after my girlfriend and I had moved down right next to Pesky's Pole. Ray's outing net him a whopping 0.950 drop in WPA.

W:	J.C. Romero	(1-0, 2.84, WPA 0.21)
L:	Chris Ray	(3-3, 4.34, WPA 0.14)
S:	N/A	N/A

Boston starter Josh Beckett got off to a fantastic start besides allowing two runs in the first. Through four innings he had struck out seven and was throwing absolute bullets. However, he was denied his 8th straight win as he left the game before the fifth because of irritation on his right middle finger (which he has since categorically denied is a blister) and was replaced by Kyle Snyder. The game went quickly downhill for the Red Sox from there, as Baltimore starter Jeremy Guthrie pitched remarkably well, going 8 1/3 1-run innings, holding the Boston batters to just three hits.

Hey, it's your friendly neighborhood Tylersalt!

Things quickly unraveled from there for the Orioles. Danys Baez came in and quickly gave up a wall-shot double to David Ortiz and RBI single to Wily Mo Pena, who had replaced Manny Ramirez. He was gone after five pitches and no outs, and was replaced by Ray, who really let things get away from him. He walked J.D. Drew and Kevin Youkilis to load the bases, then gave up a 2 RBI double to Jason Varitek. They chose to intentionally walk Eric Hinske, and Alex Cora grounded into a 4-2 fielder's choice. The tension and excitement in the park were palpable as Julio Lugo, the 10th man to bat in the inning, worked the count full. Bases loaded, 2 down in the bottom of the ninth, full count, home team down by one. That moment is why I love baseball. Lugo hit a grounder which crossed up the right side of the infield, and beat out Brian Roberts' toss to Ray, who then let it pass him. Varitek and Hinske scored, and the game was over. The Fenway Faithful erupted around me as Dirty Water and Tessie began to play, and the previous 8 1/2 innings were completely forgotten. What a game for my first Fenway experience!

Pitcher's Grade Point:

Guthrie: 76
Beckett: 35

Top Performers by WPA:

Orioles: Nick Markakis (.144), Jeremy Guthrie (.391)
Red Sox: Julio Lugo (.638), Josh Beckett (.049)

Coming Up Next: The Orioles head up north to take on the Toronto Blue Jays. Game 1 tomorrow will feature Erik Bedard (3-2, 4.79, -0.04) and Tomo Ohka (2-4, 5.53, -0.64).

The Red Sox welcome in the defending AL Champion Detroit Tigers for three starting Monday. Daisuke Matsuzaka (4-2, 4.80, 0.01) will take the mound against Nate Robertson (3-2, 3.43, 0.68).