Sun, 05/19/2013 - 9:56pm — Anonymous

Few stuck around for the entire three-hour rain delay at Target Field. (AP)

MINNEAPOLIS — It could have been a lot worse for the Red Sox, just ask the players and coaches on the Rangers and White Sox who sat through a 7-hour, 23-minute delay on Aug. 12, 1990. (Hat tip to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.)

Sunday, the Sox and Twins had to weather a three-hour delay, ultimately finishing up with a 5-1 win for John Farrell’s team, along with a series sweep. As was the case in that game at Comiskey Park, just a few hundred Target Field fans stuck around to witness the final outcome.

The answers for what the Red Sox did while waiting in the visitors clubhouse and dugout weren’t mind-blowing by any stretch of the imagination. For instance, John Lackey relayed that he passed the time (with others) by watching the movie ‘The Sandlot,’ which was being showcased (with attendance from a few of the actors) to celebrate it’s 20th anniversary.

(Note: At the time the game re-started, there were inarguably more fans at the table getting autographs from ‘The Sandlot’ cast members than there were in the entire outfield seats.)

“Watched ‘Sandlot,’ hadn’t seen that in awhile, so that was solid,” the pitcher said.

Dustin Pedroia’s choice to pass the time?

“I was just walking around hanging out,” said the second baseman. “Basically it. It was pouring, so you kind of have that in the back of your mind that you’d not’ know if you’re going to continue to pay, so you got to try to stay focused.”

Regardless of what activities took place in between the 4:30 p.m. (eastern time) and 7:30 p.m., Red Sox manager John Farrell said there was no concern that his team would be ready to play for the final 2 1/2 innings.

“This group? That’s built-in,” said Farrell when asked about the team’s focus. “We obviously all had to wait three hours. But a number of guys were in the dugout for probably half of that time. Updates were being given as best we could relay it. This is a group that, their focus is to play the game. Even with a three-hour rain delay, they were raring to go. They love the game. They love to play it. Keeping this group focused, I’m not going to say is not an issue, but the game is clearly a priority to all of them.”

And while the Red Sox did run into some trouble when Koji Uehara loaded the bases in the eighth, the reliever managed to escape the jam by striking out and proceeding to hug his catcher and then go through the visitors dugout to deliver a series of intense high-fives.

It took a while, but it all worked out for the Red Sox in the end.

“Glad we got it in,” Farrell said. “Whatever it took to finish out this win, we were here for.”

Blog Author: 
Rob Bradford
Sun, 05/19/2013 - 8:53pm — Anonymous
Joe Castiglione talked with John Lackey after he picked up the W against the Twins. Lackey threw seven innings, and retired the 1st twelve batters of the game.

[0:00:00] ... I thank John Lackey congratulations that was really an outstanding performance you were just about perfect. I held about it felt pretty good guys play really good defense but I've got some. Although ...
[0:00:35] ... balls close location to your fastball. Yeah -- for -- located fastball Rick Warren. Alaska says. Felt pretty good just measles -- -- -- And that was during the rain delay. I'll watch a little -- we've lost to Sam -- who aren't in the it's of up yesterday and that's about it. ...




Sun, 05/19/2013 - 8:50pm — Anonymous
Joe Castiglione talked with John Lackey after he picked up the W against the Twins. Lackey threw seven innings, and retired the 1st twelve batters of the game.

[0:00:00] ... I thank John Lackey congratulations that was really an outstanding performance you were just about perfect. I held about it felt pretty good guys play really good defense but I've got some. Balls are hit pretty hard out we -- -- -- though there's some of those guys that's team went. Why are you glad. Retired everybody to the ...



Sun, 05/19/2013 - 8:28pm — Rob Bradford

MINNEAPOLIS – The Red Sox have certainly used the last week wisely when it comes to turning around perception.

The Sox closed out their three-game trip to Target Field with a 5-1 win over the Twins, sweeping the series and extending their win streak to five games. The game was complete with a three-hour rain delay, leaving a couple of hundred people in the stands when the teams came back out for the home half of the seventh inning.

Sun, 05/19/2013 - 8:27pm — Anonymous

John Lackey

MINNEAPOLIS – The Red Sox have certainly used the last week wisely when it comes to turning around perception.

The Sox closed out their three-game trip to Target Field with a 5-1 win over the Twins, sweeping the series and extending their win streak to five games. The game was complete with a three-hour rain delay, leaving a couple of hundred people in the stands when the teams came back out for the home half of the seventh inning.

It was the Red Sox’ fourth series sweep of the season, having managed just three sweeps in all of 2012.

John Farrell’s team, which has now won six of their seven road series, was paced this time by starter John Lackey. Lackey rebounded from his worst outing of the season – a five-run, nine-hit performance that stretched just 4 1/3 innings – to limit the Twins to just one hit over six innings, striking out five and not walking a batter.

The Red Sox starter was set to go beyond just six frames, having thrown 84 pitches, but the rain came, forcing the players off the field as Lackey was warming up for the seventh inning.

The bizarre day was capped in the ninth inning when Dustin Pedroia hit his second home run of the season, with this one being propelled off left fielder Josh Willingham’s wrist (jumping to catch the ball) and over the fence for a two-run blast. The pitch Pedroia hi was a neck-high, 92 mph fastball from Minnesota reliever Jared Burton.

Every Red Sox player, except Pedro Ciriaco, collected at least one hit.

Here is what went right (and wrong) in the Red Sox’ 27th win (27-17):

WHAT WENT RIGHT

- Shane Victorino made his presence felt immediately upon returning from a back ailment. The outfielder – who was filling in for Jacoby Ellsbury in center field and in the leadoff spot – singled in his first at-bat and walked in the third. The free pass ultimately led to the Sox’ second run, coming in on Dustin Pedroia’s roller to third. Victorino also stole his fourth base of the season.

- Will Middlebrooks kept moving in the right direction, launching a solo homer in the second for the Sox’ first run. The third baseman came into the game hitting .286 with eight extra-base hits in his last nine games.

- Mike Napoli helped the Sox’ collect their third run, punctuating back-to-back-to-back singles in the fifth inning for his 35th RBI

- Pedroia extended his hit streak to 11 games thanks to a fifth-inning single. He entered the game hitting .475 (19-for-40) over the course of his stretch, having managed multiple hit outings in seven of the 10 games.

- Reliever Andrew Miller continued to impress, this time coming on after the rain-delay to pitch a perfect seventh inning. In his last 13 outings, Miller has only turned in one appearance in which he surrendered a run, striking out 17 and walking just two.

- Koji Uehara got into some trouble in the eighth, loading the bases. But the righty proceeded to strikeout Joe Mauer to kill the threat, leading to an enormous embrace for catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia just outside the dugout along the subsequent round of high-intensity high-fives.

WHAT WENT WRONG

- David Ortiz wasn’t able to score from second on Daniel Nava’s single to deep center field with one out in the fifth inning, holding up while waiting to see if Aaron Hicks was going to make the grab. The ball, however, went off the outfielder’s glove, bouncing to the wall and leaving the Red Sox with the bases loaded. It would be the last batter Minnesota starter Pedro Hernandez would face, with the Red Sox leaving the frame without any more runs after a Will Middlebrooks’ pop-up and Jarrod Saltalamacchia grounder to first.

- Lackey saw his no-hitter broken up when Trevor Plouffe lined a double into left field to kick off the fifth inning. It was the first time since July 22, 2010 he had gotten through the first four innings without surrendering a hit, with the previous occasion before that coming against the Red Sox in ’08.

- The Twins scored their first run thanks to an errant throw from Pedro Ciriaco on what should have been an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play. The ball sailed wide of first baseman Napoli (deflecting into the midsection of baserunner Chris Parmelee, who was on the ground recovering for a bit), allowing Plouffe to come in from third. It made it 3-1 Red Sox. It marked the 13th unearned run of the season for the Red Sox, five of which have come with Lackey pitching.

- Through seven innings, the Red Sox were just 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position, having stranded eight.

Blog Author: 
Rob Bradford
Sun, 05/19/2013 - 4:33pm — Rob Bradford

MINNEAPOLIS — The Red Sox and Twins are in a rain delay that began at 4:30 eastern time.

The delay occurred with the Sox holding a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning, with the Twins scheduled to bat. It is the ninth rain delay in the history Target Field.

Check back for updates …

Sun, 05/19/2013 - 4:30pm — Anonymous

MINNEAPOLIS — The Red Sox and Twins are in a rain delay that began at 4:30 eastern time.

The delay occurred with the Sox holding a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning, with the Twins scheduled to bat. It is the ninth rain delay in the history Target Field.

Check back for updates …

Blog Author: 
Rob Bradford
Sun, 05/19/2013 - 3:02pm — Anonymous

Dustin Pedroia

MINNEAPOLIS – There have been six occasions where a Red Sox players has played in every single one of his team’s regular season games since the schedule was expanded to 162 game — Jim Rice (1978), Bill Buckner (’85), George Scott (’66), Carl Yastrzemski (’69) and Dwight Evans, who did it both in ’82 and ’84.

Could Dustin Pedroia be next? He is, after all, the last man standing on the Red Sox who has played in every one of the team’s games this season after the only other candidate, Jacoby Ellsbury, received Sunday off.

“I don’t have goals,” Pedroia reminded. “I’m just trying to play today. I’ll worry about tomorrow if we wake up. Day by day by day by day. That’s it.”

Pedroia has come close before, playing in 159 games in ’11. It is, however, traditionally an elusive feat for many in baseball with managers attempting to counteract the wear and tear that comes with this day and age of baseball.

Last season, there were four players – Starlin Castro, Prince Fielder, Adam Jones, Ichiro Suzuki – who never took a day off.

“Pedey will fight that one tooth and nail,” said Red Sox manager regarding the possibility of sitting Pedroia down for a day. “He’s the last man standing right now,and that’s probably the way he likes it.

“If it comes to that, he and I will set down and talk. As well as he’s playing, as good as he feels, as headstrong as he can be with not wanting to come out, all that is taken into account. … Pedey is the heartbeat of this team, and you don’t want to cutout the heart.”

Blog Author: 
Rob Bradford
Sun, 05/19/2013 - 2:22pm — Rob Bradford

MINNEAPOLIS — Stephen Drew was out of the Red Sox’ lineup for a second straight game after aggravating his back during an eighth-inning slide. The shortstop was optimistic, however, regarding the possibility of returning within the next few days.

Sun, 05/19/2013 - 2:19pm — Anonymous

Stephen Drew

MINNEAPOLIS — Stephen Drew was out of the Red Sox’ lineup for a second straight game after aggravating his back during an eighth-inning slide. The shortstop was optimistic, however, regarding the possibility of returning within the next few days.

“I hope so. I don’t plan on sitting out much longer,” said Drew when asked if believed a return was imminent. “I know I needed that day [Saturday], and then we have the quick turnaround [Sunday afternoon]. Give it one more day and hopefully it kind of settles down and we get back after it.”

Drew described as a “hyperextension on my spine,” having slid in awkwardly while legging out a double.

For May, the shortstop is hitting .321 with a .969 OPS. He was replaced in the lineup by Pedro Ciriaco, who collected a pair of hits while subbing Saturday.

“It’s not so much a surprise as it is being cautious because it’s your back,” Drew said. “Yesterday going into the cage, throwing and trying to do that motion, it wasn’t feeling so good. Throwing more so than the hitting, twisting and stuff. I actually threw first to see how that felt and it was just in the same place I felt it the night before.”

Blog Author: 
Rob Bradford