On Friday night the Red Sox and the Tigers faced off with two of the most successfull knuckball pitchers in the game today. I'm sure the umpires were begging to stand behind second base instead of the behind the plate for this one.
After the first inning flew by the action was just getting started in one of the longer games the Sox have played in this season. Nomar led off the second inning with a double. O'Leary then grounded out and Daubach took an 0-2 pitch and singled to right center which scored Garciaparra. Hatteberg and Alexander later walked and loaded the bases for Tror Nixon. So with two outs Nixon dropped a single into left field and scoring two. After 1 1/2 the Sox were up 3-0.
Not to be outdone the Tigers came up in the second determined to get those runs back. With the first two down quickly Hatteberg let Wakefield's wild pitch get by and with Cruz swinging he was able to make it to first. This led to back to back singles by Easly and Ausmus. Ausmus's single scored two when he ended at third when Everett threw the ball away.
The Sox third inning was relatively quiet however in the Tigers third inning Wakefield hit Encarnacion. Encarnacion Stole second which is nothing new for the sox. Hetteberg had another problem with the baseball allowing a pass ball to get by and an rbi double later by Higginson he caught Gonzo trying to steal and Wakefield got out of the inning.
Carrasco came in to pitch the sixth inning and in 1/3 let up a double, a bunt single back to the mound, and a fielder's choice which led to the tying run. Fassero finished the inning by looking as dominant as you could expect.
From the 6th inning on, the Tigers and Red Sox decided to slow the game down with and epic battle of roster changes. 42 players took part in this game. The Red Sox went down in order 4 times this game and all before the seventh inning. When all is said and done Garciaparra went 3-5, O'Leary was 3-4, and Lowe nailed down his 35th save.
The Sox continue thier quest for the postseason in Detroit this afternoon. Game time 1:05pm EST.