A's put in hole

Shortstop Crosby's error gives Red Sox all help they need

May 27, 2004|Globe Staff

Wait until Miguel Tejada hears about this. Bobby Crosby, who replaced Tejada as the A's shortstop after the former MVP bolted cash-strapped Oakland for $72 million of Baltimore's riches, knew full well how much his predecessor yearned for the A's to punish Derek Lowe for his celebratory gestures after the Red Sox clinched last year's American League Division Series.

Sorry, Miguel, but Crosby dropped the ball. Oh, did he drop it.

With the Sox and A's locked in a 2-2 standoff last night in Lowe's first appearance against Oakland since the playoffs, the rookie shortstop bobbled a two-out, bases-loaded grounder in the fourth inning by Mark Bellhorn and threw wildly to second as Boston's base runners hurtled toward home. Crosby's gaffe, one of his two in the game, cleared the way for four unearned runs, which proved decisive as the Sox foiled the avenging A's, 9-6, before 34,931 at Fenway Park.

For their part, the Sox were sensational in the field, making Oakland's league-leading defense look downright ordinary.

"They had two errors that cost them the game and we ended up with none," said Sox shortstop Pokey Reese, who was masterful in the field. "That was the outcome of the game."

The victory, the fifth straight for the Sox, was hardly triumphal for Lowe. Though he improved to 4-4, the sinkerballer struggled through his fourth straight outing, surrendering five runs over six innings as his ERA increased to 6.22 overall and to 8.24 over his last four appearances.

"I think we're beyond the prettiness of my numbers," Lowe said. "They're going to be pretty much not looking good for a long time, so the bottom line is, win. And not having won for so long, it's good to get one under your belt."

Lowe could thank Crosby and the Sox' defense largely for his first win since April 29. But the Sox also provided some timely hitting, none more crucial than Jason Varitek's. With the Sox clinging to a 6-5 lead in the sixth, Varitek broke the game open with a three-run blast over the Monster, knocking in Johnny Damon, who had doubled, and Manny Ramirez, whom A's starter Mark Redman had intentionally walked to face Varitek.

"[Redman] had gotten him out three times," Oakland manager Ken Macha said of his decision to leave Redman in to face Varitek. "And [Varitek] kind of hits everybody in our bullpen."

Varitek anticipated the scenario from the moment Ramirez strode toward the plate with a runner on third and first base open. Asked if he took special pleasure "sticking it" to the A's for their gambit, Varitek said, "It's not necessarily sticking it to them. I was able to get a pitch in the zone and was able to handle it."