A great comeback win for the Red Sox tonight in Minnesota, as they were down 5-1 after five innings, and it didn't look like Tim Wakefield had any chance of getting that elusive 200th career W.
But the Sox exploded for four runs in the sixth, as David Ortiz and Jarrod Saltalamacchia blasted homers to tie it. Wake held the fort through the seventh, even after the Sox wasted a golden opportunity to grab the lead, as Dustin Pedroia banged into a double play with the bases loaded with one out.
The Sox however grabbed the lead in the 8th, 6-5, as David Ortiz looked like a dead duck at home on a grounder to short, but Joe Mauer dropped the ball and the Sox were ahead.
Timmy was done after 7, and Alfredo Aceves pitched the 8th instead of Daniel Bard, as he had pitched in the previous three games and Terry Francona wanted to rest him. Understandable.
But with two outs and a man on third, Aceves gave up the lead on a single by Jason Kubel. Tim's shot at 200 was gone, and I'm sure no one felt worse than Aceves. (Wake will get another shot at 200 this coming weekend in Seattle.)
The Red Sox came back in the ninth to score two, on hits by Papi (who had four on the evening, a triple short of the cycle) and Salty. Jonathan Papelbon looked like money in the bank once again (and a lot sharper than Mariano Rivera has looked this season) by getting the Twins 1-2-3, including two strikeouts, to nail down the 8-6 win.
Aceves got the vulture win, and is now 8-1 on the season, and is an amazing 22-2 in his MLB career. It is the best start to a career winning percentage-wise, as he is the first pitcher ever to start winning 22 of his first 24 decisions.
New York was idle, so the Sox are now 1 1/2 games up in the AL East.
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