Red Sox Bullpen Implodes As Angels Walk Off In Extras

This is the kind of game one might expect from the 2012 Red Sox, simply giving up late. However, this was an entirely new taste of failure to the first-place, 54-35 2013 Boston Red Sox. Ahead 7-3 with two outs in the ninth, one generally expects closure; however, the bullpen was terrible late and simply could not close this game, ceding it to the Angels in extra innings to tie the series at one apiece.

In the early innings, the Red Sox offense ran like a well-oiled machine, both hitting well and taking advantage of the Angels’ defensive mistakes. They scored a run in the first inning on a ball thrown into the outfield on a steal attempt by Jacoby Ellsbury and one more in the second inning on a sacrifice fly by Brock Holt. The Red Sox scored three more runs in the fourth inning on a two-run double by Jarrod Saltalamacchia and an RBI single by Jose Iglesias, pushing their lead to 5-3 through the fourth.

Ryan Dempster also had his share of struggles early; however, he improved as the game passed. He allowed a couplet of runs in the second inning on a home run off the bat of Howie Kendrick and an RBI single from Chris Iannetta, then allowed a solo home run to Mike Trout in the third inning. However, he held the Angels to those three runs throughout the rest of his outing. He exited after 103 pitches in the seventh inning, going 6.1 strong while allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 7 hits and 2 walks, striking out 4 batters as well.

Jul 6, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher

(30) is hit by a ball hit by Los Angeles Angels left fielder

(not pictured) during the seventh inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Once Dempster left the game, however, everything went to hell. Andrew Miller came in and threw a wild pitch, then allowed a single up the middle. While this ball was traveling, it kicked off Miller’s foot and he lay on the ground in agony for a few minutes before being removed from the ballgame. Miller is currently getting an x-ray in the local hospital and we all hope he will be alright for both the team’s and his sake.

After Miller left, things were positive for a little while. Andrew Bailey was shutdown over 1.2 innings, preventing that run from scoring and striking out 2 batters. The ninth inning was when everything got terrible, however. The Angels had a man on first and two outs in the ninth with Alex Wilson on the hill, but Wilson went on to load the bases.

John Farrell saw the signs and pulled Wilson in favor of dominant closer Koji Uehara. However, that didn’t work either. Uehara allowed a two-run single off the bat of Albert Pujols and then an RBI single from Josh Hamilton to cut the game awfully close at 7-6. Then Uehara worked a dribbler to third, and Brandon Snyder went to second base for the final out. However, the throw was well high and a run scored to tie the game at 7-7. The Angels would finally put the Red Sox away with a two-run walk-off homer by Josh Hamilton in the 11th, but we all knew it was coming from there on.