Eight Runs!!!!!!!!

(August 22)

Short take:  A REAL leadoff man!

Once upon a time Danny Wright took the mound to start a game in Kansas City for our Sox.  Four hours later (including a 40 minute rain delay) brought the Sox home a winner, 13-12 over the Royals.

Sox Fans, it was worth the wait!

Wright was lit like a Christmas tree.  Spotted a two run lead in the first inning, he managed to blow it in the bottom-half allowing seven runs and nine hits in just 0.2 innings work.  When the rain came after two innings, Sox Fans began to hope for a rainout to reset the score to 0-0 tomorrow.  Alas, the downpour stopped and play resumed leaving Sox Fans to curse their luck again.

Then a funny thing happened.  The Sox started scoring runs in gobs, and who was in the middle of it all but our long-missing leadoff man Ray Durham.  Who said he was dead?!

The key inning was the sixth when the Sox sent thirteen batters to the plate and scored eight runs.  From a 7-2 deficit in the first inning, the Sox left the sixth frame up 13-8.  The whole thing started with a walk to Herbert Perry who battled in his leadoff at-bat.  Woo hoo!

Everybody got at least one hit, even Royce Clayton.  Big heroes were Ray Durham (3 for 5 with a dinger), #2 hitter Carlos Lee (3 for 6), and Aaron Rowand (3 for 5).  Magglio Ordonez had a dinger, too.  If you squinted real hard, you could almost imagine Frank Thomas in the middle of the line up during that sixth inning.  The sight of our Pale Hose batting around has been all too rare this season Sox Fans.

Kudos to the bullpen.  Matt Ginter and Kip Wells combined for five innings with just one earned run until the eighth inning when Bob Howry proved again he's not good enough to be a set up man.  Three of the four runs he gave up on the grand slam were charged to Wells who earned the win just the same.  The lead was down to one but Keith Foulke had little trouble nailing it down.

Damn, this game is easy when you mash the ball.  No wonder it has been so difficult for the usually anemic Sox.