Lead gone in instant

Papelbon taken deep by Santos in the ninth

May 24, 2009|Amalie Benjamin, Globe Staff

The first pitch from Jonathan Papelbon to Omir Santos with two outs in the ninth inning last night rocketed off the bat to left field, where it kicked off the shelf above the Green Monster. The ball fell back into the field of play, where Jason Bay relayed it to the infield in an effort to keep Gary Sheffield from scoring. And though the umpires signaled that the ball had not left the park, it was clear on replay that Santos had recorded his second home run of the season.

Bay knew his efforts were likely futile. He looked up and saw the fans patting the wall above the red line, which signifies the border between a home run and not. "I don't think they're going to miss that one," he said.

So, the umpires convened near third base. They then walked toward the Red Sox dugout, behind which there is a room where video replays are checked. And when home plate umpire Joe West reappeared, he signaled home run. The Mets had taken the lead, erasing a brilliant performance from Josh Beckett.

After 11 saves in 11 chances this season (and 16 for 16 since September), and a 0.95 ERA, Papelbon was tagged with the 3-2 loss. He had walked Sheffield to open the inning, then blew away David Wright and Jeremy Reed, both on 96-mile-per-hour fastballs, before the pitch to Santos.

"It's not shocking because the simple fact is it's an overthrown fastball right down the middle," Papelbon said. "Just wasn't a well-executed pitch. In those situations, in games where hitters have had plenty of [at-bats] throughout the night, you come in and you mislocate and overthrow and stuff like that, you're going to pay for it. Tonight was a game of inches, and the inches didn't go my way."

Asked if he were a proponent of instant replay in baseball, Papelbon said, "No. Not a fan of it. I don't understand why can't he just make the call."

"I'm going to shoulder this one," he added. "This is on my shoulders. It's my job to go out there and preserve the win and I didn't. It's on me. Tonight's on me. I just want to be back out there and get a chance tomorrow and pick my guys up there tomorrow. Let them know that I'm still here kicking."

The Sox, who hadn't had a hit in three innings, weren't able to answer in the ninth against J.J. Putz, who was the beneficiary of some outstanding defense. Three balls, from Bay, J.D. Drew, and Mike Lowell, were smoked, yet yielded a fielder's choice, a line out, and a ground out.

"It was a tough game to lose," said Sox manager Terry Francona. "We played a good game. We talk so much about maybe trying to spread it out, or giving yourself a cushion, so if you make a mistake it doesn't cost you a game. [Papelbon] mislocated it and paid for it."