BOSTON — Things were going just fine for the Red Sox bullpen last night. Then the 11th inning rolled around.
Manny Delcarmen (ninth) and Jonathan Papelbon (10th) pitched scoreless frames before Ramon Ramirez entered a tie game.
The normally effective reliever (2.25 ERA) gave up two runs on two hits. Rob Johnson's two-run, one-out double to right on an 0-2 pitch scored Franklin Gutierrez and Ryan Langerhans to give Seattle a 7-5 lead.¬�
"We're going for a strikeout," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "The first two pitches were very effective. Then he left the ball up and that really hurt. He was ahead of the two hitters that got the hits and left balls in the middle (of the plate)."
Gutierrez led off the inning with a single up the middle on a 1-2 pitch.
Still, Francona wasn't discouraged.
"I think we always feel like we're going to win until we don't. That's nothing new," he said. "We put ourselves in a little bit of a hole. ... There's no reason to stop playing until we run out of outs."
Bay day
Jason Bay wasn't about to wear Apollo Creed's American Flag robe from Rocky IV.
"There's nothing different about him," Francona said of Bay, who was sworn in as an American citizen this week. "He's never very loud. Maybe that will change with his newfound citizenship."
The British Columbia native's (his wife is American) bat made some noise last night. Bay's first inning ground-rule double, which bounced over the MGM Grand Foxwoods sign near the 380 mark in right field, scored Dustin Pedroia to give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead. It also snapped an 0-for-17 slump for Bay, who went 1 for 4.
Bay, who hit .230 in June, moved down to the fifth spot last night. David Ortiz moved from fifth to the cleanup spot.
Dice-K update
According to Francona, Daisuke Matsuzaka is on the road to recovery. The struggling right-hander (1-5, 8.23 ERA) has been on the disabled list with a shoulder strain since June 22.
"Sometimes you just get fried and you need a break mentally," said Francona, who indicated that Matsuzaka is throwing again. "He worked hard while we were (on the road). We probably have something in our heads as to a good time he could come back, but there is no (return) date."
Odds and ends
Lost in the shuffle was a strong performance by Seattle starter Felix Hernandez (8-3, 2.62 ERA). He gave up seven hits, three runs (all earned), two walks and struck out seven over seven innings. ... Chris Jakubauskas, who pitched two scoreless innings in relief, picked up the victory. He improved to 5-5. ... The announced attendance was 38,078. It was the 505th straight sellout.
at Fenway Park.
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