Close the book

Blue Jays are the ones who finally get to streaking Papelbon

May 04, 2006|Chris Snow, Globe Staff

(Page 3 of 3)

Lowell, with the count 1 and 1 after consecutive offspeed pitches, was sitting offspeed and watched as Toronto starter Roy Halladay sneaked a 91-m.p.h. fastball by him for a called strike. Lowell punched his bat, suggesting he was upset with himself for not offering. Perhaps, he was thinking, his chance had passed. He got it back to 2 and 2 and swung his bat at a fastball away, dropping the ball into right field, into some slop near the fence for an RBI single. He came around for the lead on a rocket of a Peña double to the right-center-field gap, giving the Sox a 5-4 lead.

In the seventh, with two outs, Toronto answered. Overbay doubled off Keith Foulke to the gap in left-center, reaching base for the fourth time (walk, two singles, double). Hillenbrand then left the park on a 1-and-0 pitch. The wind, blowing in most of the night, had calmed briefly, and Hillenbrand got a Foulke changeup up in the air and two rows deep into the Monster seats in left-center, restoring Toronto's lead, 6-5.

''We had [Mike] Timlin up and they had [Eric] Hinske sitting over there [on the bench to pinch hit]," Francona said. ''So you've got to face one of them. Foulke had thrown the ball so well."

Lowell got that run back with the eighth-inning RBI single, his third hit of the night and the 1,000th of his career. That made it 6-6, but it would not be enough.

''We kept clawing back," Lowell said. ''I think we came back three times. It hurt. But it's still early and we're still playing well. They can really hit."