Sunday, October 21, 2007

Top 5

The pitcher is...Matsuzaka.
Lofton's up. Ball one, high and outside. Lofton hits the second pitch off the wall, and MANNY THROWS HIM OUT AT SECOND! How 'bout that defense? One down.
Strike one called to Gutierrez. And a single up the middle. Beckett has been loosening. Okajima gets up now.
Blake's in. Ball one. Strike one, called. Strike two pulled foul. Blake dinks one into right, Gutierrez to third. That'll bring Farrell out to the mound. Dice K's on a short leash here.
Sizemore's dangerous, and he's up. Strike one, called. With Cabrera and Hafner following Sizemore, it seems very likely Oki will get in shortly. But then again, Sizemore's a lefty, too. Oki doesn't take long to get ready. Strike two swinging, down and in. High for ball one, 1-2. Foul into the third base seats, Lowell giving it a look, but out of play. Grady steps out, and Dice K asks for a new ball. Everybody's set. Grady flies out to Ellsbury, Gutierrez scoring on the sac fly. 3-2 Sox.
Cabrera's up and Tito isn't moving. I can only assume at this point that Terry wants the win for Dice K. Strike one, called. A great breaking ball for strike two. Ball one. Foul down the left field line into the seats. Still 1-2. Now a long foul into the right field seats. Another foul back to the screen. The next is the 20th pitch of the inning, 86th of the game. Marsh just missed strike three. 2-2. Another foul down the left side. There have been a ton of two strike fouls by the Indians tonight. He swings and misses for strike three!
Dice K pitched well tonight. He's surely through, and he did the job.
Inning: 22 pitches, 17 strikes; Game: 88 pitches, 62 strikes. The ratio is testimony to the two strike fouls. This is a much better reason for a high pitch count than all those off-the-plate pitches that have plagued him recently.

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