Recap - You're kidding, right? 6 in the 9th?
Jim Monaghan
Contributing writer
Admit it.
After two extra-inning affairs including Wednesday night's 15-inning win, you probably turned the TV off shortly after the immortal Henry Blanco blasted his bases-loaded home run off Red Sox starter Ryan Dempster in the top of the fifth inning giving the Mariners a 7-1 lead at Fenway Park.
You missed yet another ridiculous comeback by a team that apparently doesn't know how to quit.
The Red Sox scored six improbable runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the Mariners 8-7 and extend their first-place lead over the Tampa Bay Rays to a full game in the American League East.
The bottom of the ninth began innocently enough with a walk to Daniel Nava and appropriately ended when Nava returned nine batters later and drilled a ball to the base of the wall in centerfield to drive in the winning run and start a raucous celebration.
The Red Sox got some very unexpected help from the Mariners in the ninth when acting manager Robby Thompson went to change pitchers and inadvertently raised his left arm instead of his right when signaling for a reliever. The mistake led to a couple of matchups that ultimately favored the Red Sox leading to a game-tying single by Jonny Gomes and Nava's game-winner.
It was the eleventh walk-off win for the Red Sox this season and was the first time the Sox won a game trailing by six as late as the eighth inning since July 3, 1940.
Steven Wright tossed three scoreless innings in relief of Dempster to earn his second win of the season.
Click here to find more by Jim Monaghan on Red Sox Life. Follow him on twitter - @Monaghan21
Contributing writer
Admit it.
After two extra-inning affairs including Wednesday night's 15-inning win, you probably turned the TV off shortly after the immortal Henry Blanco blasted his bases-loaded home run off Red Sox starter Ryan Dempster in the top of the fifth inning giving the Mariners a 7-1 lead at Fenway Park.
You missed yet another ridiculous comeback by a team that apparently doesn't know how to quit.
The bottom of the ninth began innocently enough with a walk to Daniel Nava and appropriately ended when Nava returned nine batters later and drilled a ball to the base of the wall in centerfield to drive in the winning run and start a raucous celebration.
The Red Sox got some very unexpected help from the Mariners in the ninth when acting manager Robby Thompson went to change pitchers and inadvertently raised his left arm instead of his right when signaling for a reliever. The mistake led to a couple of matchups that ultimately favored the Red Sox leading to a game-tying single by Jonny Gomes and Nava's game-winner.
It was the eleventh walk-off win for the Red Sox this season and was the first time the Sox won a game trailing by six as late as the eighth inning since July 3, 1940.
Steven Wright tossed three scoreless innings in relief of Dempster to earn his second win of the season.
Click here to find more by Jim Monaghan on Red Sox Life. Follow him on twitter - @Monaghan21
