Durandal's Top 10 Regular Season Games of 2007
I've been meaning to do this since the end of September, but opted to wait until the Sox were eliminated. Well, since that day never came, I figured now would be a good time to reflect back on what a great season it was - I hope I rekindle some memories that might have been buried under the previous month of awesomeness we just witnessed.
10. Big Papi > Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Talk about carrying a team - David Ortiz had all five RBIs for the Sox, with the last two on a walk-off homer off of Rays' closer Al Reyes. Down a run, with one on and one out, Papi yet again found a way to victory - hitting a high flyball that confused Rays' right fielder Delmon Young, who turned and twisted and ultimately missed a ball that fell just a few feet into the stands.
9. Gabbard's CG Shutout
Few may remember Gabbard, but he picked an opportune time to pitch some of the best baseball in his life for the Sox. This stretch was highlighted by his complete-game shutout of the Kansas City Royals. Later, Gabbard would be traded to the Rangers in the ill-fated Gagne trade, but Gabbard's contributions were very meaningful to Boston's divisional campaign, where the Sox won the division by 2 games.
8. Matsuzaka's Gem Against the Giants
A lot of the buzz at this time was centered around Barry Bonds and his pursuit of the homerun record, but this was a game where Daisuke showed his value to the Sox (and hopefully what we may come to expect next year). Manny's solo shot was all the offense for the Sox, but with the way Daisuke was pitching (7 IP, 3 BBs, 8 Ks) followed by the lockdown squad of Okajima and Papelbon, the Sox prevailed in another 1-run win.
7. Beckett's Cy Young Statement Against Wang
Both Josh Beckett and Chien-ming Wang entered the day with 18 wins, but only one would exit the day with 19. The Sox offense rocked the Yankees "ace" for 5 runs, while Josh stated his Cy Young credentials with seven innings of 1-run ball against the vaunted Yankee offense. This was a vital win for the Red Sox to help keep the surging Yankees at bay.
6. Dice-K Outduels Sabathia
A preview of things to come, this midseason matchup was billed as a clash of two likely playoff teams. Yet again, Daisuke showed what he was capable of - shutting down a great Indians offense for seven innings, handing the ball over to "Papajima". The difference in the game was Mike Lowell's lone RBI against Cy Young frontrunner C.C. Sabathia.
5. Back-to-Back-to-Back-to-Back Homers
The Red Sox rallied from behind on the Yanks again, this time erasing a 3-run deficit and replacing it with a 1-run lead on four swings of the bat. Manny Ramirez started the rally with 2-out, depositing a Chase Wright offering over the Monster. J.D. Drew followed, hitting a deep fly to right-center into the stands. With Chase Wright still on the mound, Mike Lowell hit a low pitch into the dark of the Boston night. Finally, Jason Varitek hit another flyball that crept up into the Monster seats. The Yankees would rally for 2 more runs off of Matsuzaka, but Mike Lowell recaptured the lead for the Sox with a 3-run jack off of Scott Proctor.
4. Green Uniformed Sox Shock Yanks
Honoring the late Red Auerbach in their St. Patrick's Day green jerseys, the Sox made a statement against the Yanks who had swept a 5-game series at Fenway in 2006. The Sox rallied for 5 runs against a combination of Mike Myers, Luis Vizcaino and Mariano Rivera to turn a 6-2 Yankee lead into a 7-6 Red Sox lead, which would be preserved by the emergence of Hideki Okajima, who recorded his first Major League save in lieu of Jonathan Papelbon who had been spent in prior games.
3. Schilling's One-Hitter in Oakland
Things were beginning to look dire for the Red Sox in early June. Though their lead in the division was large at the time, they lost 2 out of 3 against the Yankees at home, and coming into this game had just lost three in a row against a poor Oakland Athletics club. But a sweep was averted thanks in large part to Curt Schilling's amazing performance. Curt took a no-hitter to the final out, when Shannon Stewart hit a clean single against him. Unphased, Curt got the next batter to close out his one-hitter. Big Papi's solo homer all the way back in the first inning was the only difference in the game.
2. The "Mother's Day Miracle"
The day started terribly for the Red Sox, with Josh Beckett exiting the game after four innings due to a re-emergence of his blister/avulsion problem, and the Red Sox being shutdown by the impressive rookie Jeremy Guthrie for eight and a third innings. But then, with a lot of help of questionable management and poor defense by the Orioles, the Red Sox rallied for six runs, the last scoring after Julio Lugo hit a slow-roller down the first base line that was botched by the combination of Kevin Millar and Orioles' closer Chris Ray.
1. Clay Buchholz's No-Hitter
What more can be said from the title? The game was a resounding vindication of the Red Sox farm system, as Clay spun a beautiful curveball for a called strike three to end the game. The game wasn't close (the Sox scored 10 runs), but the Fenway crowd was on the edge of their seats in the later innings of the game, witnessing Dustin Pedroia make an amazing diving grab to rob Tejada of a hit and watching Clay continue to shut down the Orioles.
10. Big Papi > Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Talk about carrying a team - David Ortiz had all five RBIs for the Sox, with the last two on a walk-off homer off of Rays' closer Al Reyes. Down a run, with one on and one out, Papi yet again found a way to victory - hitting a high flyball that confused Rays' right fielder Delmon Young, who turned and twisted and ultimately missed a ball that fell just a few feet into the stands.
9. Gabbard's CG Shutout
Few may remember Gabbard, but he picked an opportune time to pitch some of the best baseball in his life for the Sox. This stretch was highlighted by his complete-game shutout of the Kansas City Royals. Later, Gabbard would be traded to the Rangers in the ill-fated Gagne trade, but Gabbard's contributions were very meaningful to Boston's divisional campaign, where the Sox won the division by 2 games.
8. Matsuzaka's Gem Against the Giants
A lot of the buzz at this time was centered around Barry Bonds and his pursuit of the homerun record, but this was a game where Daisuke showed his value to the Sox (and hopefully what we may come to expect next year). Manny's solo shot was all the offense for the Sox, but with the way Daisuke was pitching (7 IP, 3 BBs, 8 Ks) followed by the lockdown squad of Okajima and Papelbon, the Sox prevailed in another 1-run win.
7. Beckett's Cy Young Statement Against Wang
Both Josh Beckett and Chien-ming Wang entered the day with 18 wins, but only one would exit the day with 19. The Sox offense rocked the Yankees "ace" for 5 runs, while Josh stated his Cy Young credentials with seven innings of 1-run ball against the vaunted Yankee offense. This was a vital win for the Red Sox to help keep the surging Yankees at bay.
6. Dice-K Outduels Sabathia
A preview of things to come, this midseason matchup was billed as a clash of two likely playoff teams. Yet again, Daisuke showed what he was capable of - shutting down a great Indians offense for seven innings, handing the ball over to "Papajima". The difference in the game was Mike Lowell's lone RBI against Cy Young frontrunner C.C. Sabathia.
5. Back-to-Back-to-Back-to-Back Homers
The Red Sox rallied from behind on the Yanks again, this time erasing a 3-run deficit and replacing it with a 1-run lead on four swings of the bat. Manny Ramirez started the rally with 2-out, depositing a Chase Wright offering over the Monster. J.D. Drew followed, hitting a deep fly to right-center into the stands. With Chase Wright still on the mound, Mike Lowell hit a low pitch into the dark of the Boston night. Finally, Jason Varitek hit another flyball that crept up into the Monster seats. The Yankees would rally for 2 more runs off of Matsuzaka, but Mike Lowell recaptured the lead for the Sox with a 3-run jack off of Scott Proctor.
4. Green Uniformed Sox Shock Yanks
Honoring the late Red Auerbach in their St. Patrick's Day green jerseys, the Sox made a statement against the Yanks who had swept a 5-game series at Fenway in 2006. The Sox rallied for 5 runs against a combination of Mike Myers, Luis Vizcaino and Mariano Rivera to turn a 6-2 Yankee lead into a 7-6 Red Sox lead, which would be preserved by the emergence of Hideki Okajima, who recorded his first Major League save in lieu of Jonathan Papelbon who had been spent in prior games.
3. Schilling's One-Hitter in Oakland
Things were beginning to look dire for the Red Sox in early June. Though their lead in the division was large at the time, they lost 2 out of 3 against the Yankees at home, and coming into this game had just lost three in a row against a poor Oakland Athletics club. But a sweep was averted thanks in large part to Curt Schilling's amazing performance. Curt took a no-hitter to the final out, when Shannon Stewart hit a clean single against him. Unphased, Curt got the next batter to close out his one-hitter. Big Papi's solo homer all the way back in the first inning was the only difference in the game.
2. The "Mother's Day Miracle"
The day started terribly for the Red Sox, with Josh Beckett exiting the game after four innings due to a re-emergence of his blister/avulsion problem, and the Red Sox being shutdown by the impressive rookie Jeremy Guthrie for eight and a third innings. But then, with a lot of help of questionable management and poor defense by the Orioles, the Red Sox rallied for six runs, the last scoring after Julio Lugo hit a slow-roller down the first base line that was botched by the combination of Kevin Millar and Orioles' closer Chris Ray.
1. Clay Buchholz's No-Hitter
What more can be said from the title? The game was a resounding vindication of the Red Sox farm system, as Clay spun a beautiful curveball for a called strike three to end the game. The game wasn't close (the Sox scored 10 runs), but the Fenway crowd was on the edge of their seats in the later innings of the game, witnessing Dustin Pedroia make an amazing diving grab to rob Tejada of a hit and watching Clay continue to shut down the Orioles.