Published 22:31, July the 28th, 2008
Angels blast Sox
Angels 7, Red Sox 5
Critics have been waiting all season for the law of averages to catch up to Sox right-handed starter Daisuke Matsuzaka.
Well, the odds — and the Angels’ hitters — caught up to Dice-K in a crushing sixth inning last night that saw the 27-year-old ace cough up five runs on a pair of homers in a 7-5 loss at Fenway Park.
The defeat saddled the Sox hurler with his first loss in six starts, and ruined a stretch during which he’d posted a 3-0 record and 0.88 ERA in his last five starts.
Matsuzaka’s troubles materialized as they have so many other times — with a costly base on balls to the leadoff man. The Japanese ace walked Chone Figgins, and the speedy Figgins promptly stole second. Los Angeles first baseman Casey Kotchman then smoked a two-run homer to right field that gave the Angels a 3-2 lead.
But there was more damage waiting to be done. Maicer Izturis and Vlad Guerrero both smashed hits off Matsuzaka, and then Torii Hunter jumped all over a 2-1 fastball and launched it into the last row of the Green Monster seats for a three-run dagger. Matsuzaka had been among the stingiest pitchers in Major League Baseball when it came to surrendering the long ball this season — five allowed in his first 93 2/3 innings pitched — but last night, the home run ball proved to be his downfall.
Justin Masterson supplanted the struggling Matsuzaka, but surrendered another run to make it a foreboding five-run deficit.
The Sox had initially staked Matsuzaka, who basically cruised through his first five innings of work, to a slim lead on the strength of a two-run uprising in the fourth frame. Kevin Youkilis walked to start the inning and hustled to third on a David Ortiz double off the wall in left-center field.
Manny Ramirez continued his RBI tear by flipping an outside fastball to right-center field for a two-run single that accounted for all of Boston’s offense in the early going.
