BOSTON -- Wild pitch or message? Only Rivera knows for sure
The pitch got away. Isn't that what they all say?
So it was no surprise that when the Yankees' Mariano Rivera
knocked down the Sox's Shea Hillenbrand
with a sizzling eye-high fastball with one out in the ninth, no one was calling it intentional, at least not publicly.
But the old-fashioned brushback pitch, which sent Hillenbrand sprawling face-first into the dirt, had all the look of a message pitch.
Only one day earlier, Hillenbrand had crushed a game-winning two-run homer high into the net in left off Rivera, one of the game's all-time great closers.
Hillenbrand, who flied to right on the next pitch, a 2-and-1 fastball, said it was no big deal.
"I have no reaction at all," said Hillenbrand. "That's how the game goes. I don't care at all."
Did he think Rivera was throwing at him?
"No. Mariano's not like that," said Hillenbrand. "He's too good a pitcher to do that."
Rivera, meanwhile, wasn't admitting to throwing at Hillenbrand.
"I have to throw inside," said Rivera. "I don't try to hurt nobody. I don't try to hit nobody. They know that. It just took off and he was diving into the ball."
Yankee manager Joe Torre
said he didn't think Rivera was throwing at Hillenbrand, pointing out that Rivera was having control troubles at that stage, flying open in his delivery. After retiring Hillenbrand, Rivera walked Trot Nixon
on four pitches and went to 2-and-0 on Jason Varitek
before getting the final out on a popup to short.
Wakefield out; Burkett in?
Tim Wakefield
is likely to get bounced from the starting rotation when John Burkett
(shoulder) is healthy, and that could be as early as this weekend. But the knuckleballer pitched well yesterday, limiting the Yanks to one earned run in six innings.
He was on the losing end, though, because the Sox couldn't get to Mike Mussina.
"I feel I did my job, but I just got out-pitched," said Wakefield.
Wakefield came out after throwing 97 pitches, though he appeared to still be throwing well.
"Possibly I could have gone longer, but they didn't want to risk it," said Wakefield, who fanned seven and walked two. "I threw 78 pitches my last game, and that's after only throwing up to 35 in spring training, so I sure that was in the back of their mind. I was really, really sore after my last start (last Tuesday)."
Tough lesson for Kim
Sunny Kim
showed flashes of his potential yesterday. He also learned another lesson in how tough it can be to pitch in the big leagues.
The right-hander, summoned from Pawtucket last Monday when Dustin Hermanson
was placed on the disabled list, entered yesterday's game with Yankees on first and second an none out in the seventh. New York was ahead, 5-0, and threatening to blow the game wide open.
But the runners never budged. Kim whiffed Bernie Williams
, retired Jason Giambi
on a fly ball to shallow right and slipped a called third strike past Jorge Posada
.
That effort was in keeping with his solid two-inning outing on Friday night against the Yankees.
"The kid is fearless out on the mound and he has great stuff," said Boston manager Grady Little.
"That's a good combination."
But when you combine a 3-and-2 count and a major league hitter at the plate expecting a fastball, it can be trouble. And it was for Kim and the Sox yesterday, as Robin Ventura
clubbed that full-count pitch into the center-field bleachers.
Soriano dropped in order
New York manager Joe Torre
dropped second baseman Alfonso Soriano
from the leadoff spot all the way down to ninth yesterday. The move had nothing to do with Soriano being thrown out at second on a stolen-base attempt as a pinch runner to end Saturday's game, Torre said, making sure Soriano was certain of that fact.
Torre elevated Derek Jeter
to the top spot.
"It's just that this lineup was something I talked about with our hitting coach (ex-Sox coach Rick Down
) when we were in Baltimore to start the season," said Torre.
"You're the boss," said Soriano, according to Torre.
If Soriano was disappointed, he took out his frustration on the Sox. He hit four balls on the nose -- a homer to left, a flyout to the Boston bullpen wall, a booming RBI double off the center-field fence and a lineout to deep left-center.
Defensively, though, Soriano let Jose Offerman
's seemingly routine bouncer go through his legs with two outs and no one on in the eighth. It was Soriano's sixth error in 12 games.
Ramirez ripping the ball
Manny Ramirez
has hit the ball hard for the most part in the last two games. He has knocked in two runs in each of his last two games . . . Hillenbrand extended his hitting streak to 10 games, establishing a career high. He's the first Boston player to record a hit in each of the first 10 games of the season since Tim Naehring
(11 overall) and Lee Tinsley
(14) in 1995 . . . Brian Daubach
replaced slumping Tony Clark
in the starting lineup at first base and in the number five spot in the batting order. Clark was in an 0-for-22 funk, dropping his average to .152 (5 for 33). But Daubach, who homered in each of the first two games of the series, has fallen into a slump, too. Yesterday, Daubach went 0 for 4. He fanned twice, hit a weak tapper to the mound and then a soft liner to the mound. Over his last 15 plate appearances, Daubach has a homer, a single, a walk and has whiffed 8 times . . . Pedro Martinez
said he was feeling only normal stiffness yesterday after having started Saturday's game.
Disabled list update
John Burkett
worked 21/3 innings for Pawtucket yesterday, and if his shoulder rebounds well from that outing, he will be in Boston's rotation for a start Saturday night in Kansas City.
Dustin Hermanson
(groin), meanwhile, felt a twinge in the area while throwing on Saturday that essentially sets him back to square one in his recovery. He has no idea how long it will be before he can pitch again. "It's like a pull. I guess it just takes time to heal," said Hermanson.
Outfielder Michael Coleman
(hamstring) homered in two at-bats in an extended spring game in Bradenton Saturday and then went 1 for 3 for Sarasota in a Class A game that night. He's expected to join the PawSox today for a rehab assignment.
