Red Sox rally to victory

Varitek (3 RBIs) powers comeback

June 10, 2007|Gordon Edes, Globe Staff

PHOENIX -- When Josh Byrnes, formerly Theo Epstein's chief lieutenant, became general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, he inherited a team loaded with young talent. Byrnes has since added 43-year-old Randy Johnson, who tonight faces Daisuke Matsuzaka, but the Diamondbacks are the fourth-youngest team in the majors (average age: 27.6 years ). They're cheap, too. Byrnes's Opening Day payroll was just over $52 million, almost two-thirds less than the $143 million-plus payroll of Team Theo, which checks in as the 28th-oldest team (average age: 31).

The contrast is personified in the Brothers Drew, who so far have made the Red Sox' first regular-season visit to the desert a family affair. Arizona rookie Stephen Drew, who turned 24 in March, is being paid $1.5 million this season (not including a prorated $1 million in signing bonus). Big brother J.D., who turns 32 in November, is drawing $14 million this season from the Red Sox. It was J.D. who suggested that sibling rivalry may have played a part in his breakout, two-homer, seven-RBI game Friday night, and last night, it was Stephen's turn to answer.

But while little brother cracked a two-run home run last night, big brother wasn't quite ready to cede the stage, and neither were some other members of the graying set. J.D. Drew had three more hits, scored twice, and was in the middle of the 10th-inning rally that gave the Sox a 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks before 49,826, the largest crowd to see a baseball game in Arizona.

David Ortiz scored the winning run on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Mike Lowell off Juan Cruz. Ortiz had walked and advanced on singles by Kevin Youkilis and Drew. Cruz struck out Jason Varitek, but Lowell followed with a fly ball to right hit deep enough to allow Ortiz to score standing up.

Lowell revealed after the game that he was playing with a sprained ligament in his left thumb, an injury incurred when he was hit by a pitch by the Yankees' Chien-Ming Wang on June 1.

"It's just nagging," Lowell said. "Sprained ligament. It's taking a while to get better. I just don't feel crisp." Lowell was hitless in his previous 12 at-bats and 2 for 21 in his last six games before hitting his sacrifice fly.

Jonathan Papelbon, who had not pitched in six days, pitched the 10th and recorded the save, his 14th of the season but first since May 28. The win went to Hideki Okajima, one week to the day of his first, after he pitched two scoreless innings. The Sox came back from a 3-0 deficit to win their third straight game and second in two nights here.