| Rough first inning leads to loss | Box Score | Pitch by Pitch |
7/27/2001 11:40 pm ET
Rough first inning leads
to loss
Saberhagen shuts down ChiSox in
return to moundd\
By Patrick O'Connell,
MLB.com
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It is rare that a baseball game is decided
in the first inning. But Friday night's game at Fenway Park was.
The Boston Red Sox pounded Kip Wells for seven runs and eight
hits in the first inning and cruised to a 9-5 victory over the
Chicago White Sox before 33,813. The series opener also marked
the return of two-time Cy Young Award winner Bret Saberhagen (1-0),
who took the mound for the first time in nearly 22 months.
Despite the early offensive outburst by the Red Sox, all eyes
were on Saberhagen's much-anticipated return to the mound. The
pitcher, who was making his first start since dropping Game 4
of the 1999 American League Championship Series to the New York
Yankees, allowed just one run on three hits in six innings of
work.
"This was incredible tonight for me," said Saberhagen,
who picked up his first victory since Sept. 18, 1999. "It
was really a special night, and the way it started and the way
it ended, you couldn't ask for too much more for my first time
back."
The 37-year-old right-hander also retired 13 consecutive batters
from the first inning to the beginning of the sixth.
"Look at his velocity," said Jose Canseco, who flew
out to right twice against the Red Sox hurler. "He didn't
lose any from the first inning to the last. He had a very explosive
fastball and wasn't missing any spots. He hit 94 a couple of times."
Count White Sox Manager Jerry Manuel and shortstop Royce Clayton
as admirers also.
"I thought [Saberhagen] did a thoroughly professional job
of pitching," Manuel said. "He seemed to know what our
weaknesses were and went right after them."
"If he's lost anything, I'd hate to see how he was pitching
before he lost it," said Clayton, who homered off Saberhagen
in the sixth. "We saw a guy who had a lot of life to his
fastball and pitched to the same style that Bret Saberhagen has
always pitched to."
"I fell into a groove pretty early," said Saberhagen,
who has made nine trips to the disabled list in his career. "I
threw a couple of balls to the first batter, Ray Durham, and then
just said to myself, 'Come on, get the ball over the plate.'"
Four pitches into the first frame, the game took a turn for the
worst for Wells. Leadoff hitter Jose Offerman hit a fastball off
the right-hander's left thigh, causing the White Sox training
staff to rush out to the mound to check on Wells.
The 24-year-old hurler remained in the game only to surrender
eight hits, four doubles and one walk to give the Red Sox a comfortable
7-0 lead. Five of the BoSox' base hits were to the opposite field,
scoring six of their seven runs.
"I was amazed," said Wells, who threw 41 pitches in
the Red Sox' seven-run inning. "I was shocked. I don't even
have words to explain it. I was amazed that they did what they
did with those pitches. A couple were up and deserved to be hit
hard," he said. "But other than that, they just went
with a bunch of pitches and hit them where people weren't. Just
when I thought I could get out of here, they kept coming."
Despite the sore thigh and the disastrous first inning, Wells
(6-6) remained in the game and regained his composure. The former
Baylor Bear retired nine of the next 11 batters he faced, allowing
only one hit until Dante Bichette's double off the scoreboard
at the base of the Green Monster in left-center field.
"He turned things around after the first and that was a good
sign," Manuel said. "I don't think that ball [Offerman
hit] off his leg was a factor in his troubles. He left a few pitches
out over the plate, especially the breaking ball."
Clayton's opposite-field, solo home run broke up Saberhagen's
shutout in the sixth. Clayton, who is hitting .347 in 23 July
games, launched his fifth homer of the season on the first pitch
of the frame.
Danny Wright, whose
contract was purchased from Triple-A Charlotte Thursday, made
his Major League debut at Fenway Park. Wright, 23, surrendered
a solo home run to Mike Lansing, the first batter he faced, but
returned to hold the Red Sox hitless from then on in his three
innings of relief.
"I was just excited," said Wright, who later whiffed
Lansing for his first Major League strikeout in the eighth. "I
was trying to get the ball down and just didn't get the ball down.
He just got a good swing on it. Home runs happen. You just try
to put that in the past and try to do the best job you can from
that point on."
The White Sox tallied a pair of runs in the eighth and ninth innings
against Boston relievers. Jose Valentin's RBI double and Lancing's
throwing error cut into the Red Sox' lead and made it 9-3.
Paul Konerko's single and Chris Singleton's double play scored
two runs for the Pale House in the ninth off Tomo Ohka.
Patrick O'Connell is the site reporter for whitesox.com. Mike
Petraglia, site reporter for redsox.com, also contributed to this
report.
CHI WHITE SOX (5) VS BOSTON (9) - FINAL
| Chicago | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG |
| Durham, 2b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .262 |
| Valentin, 3b | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .273 |
| Lee, lf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .290 |
| Ordonez, rf | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .295 |
| Canseco, dh | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .304 |
| Konerko, 1b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .276 |
| Singleton, cf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .275 |
| Clayton, ss | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .227 |
| M. Johnson, c | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .288 |
| Totals | 35 | 5 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 10 | --- |
BATTING: 2B - Durham (27, Pichardo); Jose
Valentin (17,
Pichardo). HR - R Clayton (5, 6th inning off Saberhagen 0 on,
0
out). RBI - R Clayton (32), Jose Valentin (40), Konerko (61),
C
Singleton (22). 2-out RBI - Jose Valentin. Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - M Ordonez 1, Ca Lee 1. GIDP - C
Singleton 2. Team LOB - 3.
BASE RUNNING: SB - Jose Valentin (8, 2nd
base off
Saberhagen/Hatteberg).
FIELDING: Outfield assists - Ca Lee (Offerman
at 3rd base). DP:
2 (Durham-R Clayton-Konerko, Durham-Konerko).
| Boston | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG |
| Offerman, 2b | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .255 |
| Hatteberg, c | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .265 |
| T. Nixon, cf | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .280 |
| M. Ramirez, lf | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | .324 |
| Bichette, dh | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .313 |
| Daubach, 1b | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .266 |
| Hillenbrand,3b | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .276 |
| Oleary, rf | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .249 |
| Lansing, ss | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .253 |
| Totals | 33 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 8 | --- |
BATTING: 2B - Hatteberg (17, K Wells); T
Nixon (21, K Wells);
Bichette 2 (23, K Wells 2); Lansing (16, K Wells). HR - Lansing
(4, 6th inning off D Wright 0 on, 0 out). RBI - T Nixon (52),
Bichette (40), Hillenbrand (35), Oleary (38), Lansing 2 (18),
Offerman 2 (34). 2-out RBI - Bichette, Hillenbrand, Oleary,
Lansing, Offerman 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out -
Oleary 1. GIDP - Oleary, Hillenbrand. Team LOB - 4.
FIELDING: E - Lansing (5, ground ball).
DP: 2
(Pichardo-Lansing-Daubach, Lansing-Offerman-Daubach).
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Chicago | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 0 |
| Boston | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | X | 9 | 11 | 1 |
| Chicago | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
| K Wells (L, 6-6) | 4.2 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3.52 |
| Embree | .1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7.71 |
| D Wright | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3.00 |
| Boston | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
| (Saberhagen W, 1-0) | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1.50 |
| Pichardo | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.06 |
| Ohka | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.19 |
WP - K Wells. Pitches-strikes: Saberhagen
74-53; Pichardo
47-29; Ohka 12-9; K Wells 94-57; Embree 6-5; D Wright 37-23.
Ground balls-fly balls: Saberhagen 4-11; Pichardo 5-0; Ohka 2-0;
K Wells 8-2; Embree 0-0; D
Wright 2-6. Batters faced:
Saberhagen 21; Pichardo 9; Ohka 5; K Wells 25; Embree 1; D
Wright 11.
UMPIRES: HP--Eric Cooper. 1B--Jerry Crawford.
2B--Brian Gorman.
3B--Doug Eddings.
T--2:42. Att--33,813. Weather: 70 degrees, clear. Wind: 12
mph, out to right.
White Sox 1st
Bret Saberhagen pitching:
-- Ray Durham: Ball, Ball, Durham grounded out to second.
-- Jose Valentin: Strike looking, Ball, Ball, Strike looking,
Valentin singled to right.
-- Carlos Lee: Strike looking, Foul, Foul, Lee struck
out swinging.
-- Magglio Ordonez: Strike looking, Valentin stole second,
Ordonez lined out to third.
End of Inning (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors).
Red Sox 1st
Kip Wells pitching:
-- Jose Offerman: Ball, Strike swinging, Ball, Offerman
grounded out to pitcher.
-- Scott Hatteberg: Strike looking, Hatteberg doubled
to right.
-- Trot Nixon: Ball, Ball, Ball, Strike looking, Nixon
doubled to deep left, Hatteberg scored.
-- Manny Ramirez: Strike looking, Ball, Strike looking,
Ball, Ramirez struck out swinging.
-- Dante Bichette: Bichette doubled to right center, Nixon
scored.
-- Brian Daubach: Strike looking, Ball, Strike looking,
Ball, Ball, Foul, Daubach walked.
-- Shea Hillenbrand: Ball, Ball, Hillenbrand singled
to right, Bichette scored, Daubach to third.
-- Troy O'Leary: Ball, Strike looking, O'Leary singled
to left, Daubach scored, Hillenbrand to second.
-- Mike Lansing: Foul, Ball, Lansing doubled to deep
left, Hillenbrand scored, O'Leary to third.
-- Jose Offerman: Strike looking, Offerman singled to
left, O'Leary and Lansing scored.
-- Scott Hatteberg: Ball, Ball, Strike looking, Ball, Foul,
Hatteberg singled to left, Offerman out at third.
End of Inning (7 Runs, 8 Hits, 0 Errors).
White Sox 2nd
Bret Saberhagen pitching:
-- Jose Canseco: Strike looking, Ball, Foul, Canseco
flied out to right.
-- Paul Konerko: Ball, Strike looking, Konerko flied
out to right.
-- Chris Singleton: Ball, Ball, Foul, Ball, Singleton
flied out to left.
End of Inning (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors).
Red Sox 2nd
Kip Wells pitching:
-- Trot Nixon: Ball, Strike looking, Nixon flied out
to right.
-- Manny Ramirez: Strike swinging, Strike swinging, Ball,
Ball, Ramirez struck out swinging.
-- Dante Bichette: Ball, Foul, Foul, Bichette lined
out to center.
End of Inning (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors).
White Sox 3rd
Bret Saberhagen pitching:
-- Royce Clayton: Strike looking, Foul, Foul, Ball, Ball,
Foul, Clayton struck out looking.
-- Mark L. Johnson: Strike looking, Strike looking, Foul,
Ball, Ball, Johnson fouled out to first.
-- Ray Durham: Ball, Strike swinging, Bunt foul, Ball,
Durham grounded out to second.
End of Inning (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors).
Red Sox 3rd
Kip Wells pitching:
-- Brian Daubach: Ball, Foul, Daubach grounded out to
first.
-- Shea Hillenbrand: Ball, Ball, Ball, Strike looking,
Hillenbrand walked.
-- Troy O'Leary: Ball, O'Leary grounded into double
play second to shortstop to first, Hillenbrand out at second.
End of Inning (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors).
White Sox 4th
Bret Saberhagen pitching:
-- Jose Valentin: Ball, Strike looking, Foul, Valentin
struck out swinging.
-- Carlos Lee: Strike looking, Foul, Ball, Lee grounded
out to second.
-- Magglio Ordonez: Strike looking, Strike looking, Ordonez
fouled out to first.
End of Inning (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors).
Red Sox 4th
Kip Wells pitching:
-- Mike Lansing: Ball, Strike looking, Lansing grounded
out to second.
-- Jose Offerman: Ball, Strike looking, Offerman grounded
out to first.
-- Scott Hatteberg: Ball, Strike looking, Foul, Foul, Hatteberg
singled to shallow right.
-- Trot Nixon: Ball, Strike looking, Foul, Ball, Nixon
struck out looking.
End of Inning (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors).
White Sox 5th
Bret Saberhagen pitching:
-- Jose Canseco: Foul, Ball, Foul, Canseco flied out
to right.
-- Paul Konerko: Konerko flied out to center.
-- Chris Singleton: Strike looking, Strike swinging, Singleton
flied out to left.
End of Inning (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors).
Red Sox 5th
Kip Wells pitching:
-- Manny Ramirez: Strike looking, Foul, Foul, Ramirez
struck out, reached on wild pitch.
-- Dante Bichette: Bichette doubled to deep left, Ramirez
to third.
-- Brian Daubach: Foul, Ball, Foul, Foul, Ball, Foul, Ball,
Daubach walked.
-- Shea Hillenbrand: Strike looking, Hillenbrand grounded
into double play second to first, Ramirez scored, Bichette to
third, Daubach out at second.
-- Troy O'Leary: Alan Embree relieved Kip Wells, Foul,
Ball, Foul, Foul, Foul, O'Leary struck out looking.
End of Inning (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors).
White Sox 6th
Bret Saberhagen pitching:
-- Royce Clayton: Clayton homered to right center.
-- Mark L. Johnson: Johnson reached on bunt single to third.
-- Ray Durham: Strike looking, Ball, Strike looking, Durham
grounded out to pitcher, Johnson to second.
-- Jose Valentin: Ball, Valentin flied out to left.
-- Carlos Lee: Ball, Foul, Lee popped out to second.
End of Inning (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors).
Red Sox 6th
Daniel Wright pitching:
-- Mike Lansing: Ball, Lansing homered to left.
-- Jose Offerman: Ball, Ball, Strike looking, Offerman
grounded out to second.
-- Scott Hatteberg: Ball, Hatteberg grounded out to
third.
-- Trot Nixon: Strike looking, Strike looking, Nixon
flied out to center.
End of Inning (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors).
White Sox 7th
Hipolito Pichardo pitching:
-- Magglio Ordonez: Foul, Ball, Ball, Ordonez singled
to shallow center.
-- Jose Canseco: Ball, Ball, Strike looking, Foul, Foul,
Canseco singled to left, Ordonez to second.
-- Paul Konerko: Strike looking, Strike looking, Ball,
Ball, Konerko grounded into fielder's choice to third, Ordonez
to third, Canseco out at second.
-- Chris Singleton: Ball, Foul, Ball, Foul, Foul, Foul,
Foul, Singleton grounded into double play pitcher to shortstop
to first, Konerko out at second.
End of Inning (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors).
Red Sox 7th
Daniel Wright pitching:
-- Manny Ramirez: Ball, Ball, Ball, Ramirez walked.
-- Dante Bichette: Bichette flied out to center.
-- Brian Daubach: Ball, Strike swinging, Daubach flied
out to deep center.
-- Shea Hillenbrand: Strike looking, Hillenbrand fouled
out to catcher.
End of Inning (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors).
White Sox 8th
Hipolito Pichardo pitching:
-- Royce Clayton: Ball, Strike looking, Ball, Clayton
grounded out to pitcher.
-- Mark L. Johnson: Strike looking, Ball, Johnson grounded
out to second.
-- Ray Durham: Ball, Strike swinging, Durham doubled
to left.
-- Jose Valentin: Strike looking, Ball, Ball, Strike looking,
Ball, Foul, Valentin doubled to right, Durham scored.
-- Carlos Lee: Ball, Strike looking, Foul, Ball, Foul,
Ball, Lee safe at first on shortstop Lansing's fielding error,
Valentin scored. Lee out at second advancing on throw.
End of Inning (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Error).
Red Sox 8th
Daniel Wright pitching:
-- Troy O'Leary: O'Leary flied out to right.
-- Mike Lansing: Strike looking, Ball, Foul, Foul, Foul,
Foul, Ball, Lansing struck out looking.
-- Jose Offerman: Ball, Foul, Ball, Foul, Ball, Foul, Offerman
flied out to left.
End of Inning (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors).
White Sox 9th
Tomo Ohka pitching:
-- Magglio Ordonez: Strike looking, Ball, Strike looking,
Ball, Ordonez singled to shallow left.
-- Jose Canseco: Canseco singled to shallow left, Ordonez
to second.
-- Paul Konerko: Konerko singled to deep left, Ordonez scored,
Canseco to third.
-- Chris Singleton: Singleton grounded into double play
shortstop to second to first, Canseco scored, Konerko out at second.
-- Royce Clayton: Strike looking, Ball, Foul, Clayton
struck out swinging.
End of Inning (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors).
Page Created July 28, 2001