Catcher George Kottaras provided hope in the bottom of the 11th when he crushed a 98-mile-per-hour fastball from Mark Lowe over the visitor’s bullpen with two outs, his first big league home run. Then 38,078 fans rattled Fenway Park when J.D. Drew followed with a single, and they chanted “MVP’’ when Dustin Pedroia strode to the plate. He ripped a ground ball to third base, hard-hit but also game-ending.
The night had started with such promise, the Red Sox plating two runs in the first and Wakefield making history. It unraveled when Ramirez took the mound. After Jonathan Papelbon blazed through the 10th, Ramirez yielded a leadoff single to Franklin Gutierrez on a 1-and-2 pitch and walked Ryan Langerhans on four pitches. Chris Woodward bunted them over, setting up Johnson’s liner, on an 0-and-2 pitch, over Mark Kotsay’s head at first and into the right-field corner.
The final result could not dampen Wakefield’s appreciation for his milestone. Wakefield - “a really consistent pitcher with an inconsistent pitch,’’ manager Terry Francona said - planted his name in the Sox record book by passing Roger Clemens and starting his 383d game, more than 478 other men who threw the first pitch of a Red Sox game, despite coming out of the bullpen for parts of four seasons.
“It was a pretty special night for me tonight,’’ Wakefield said. “It means I’ve been here a long time and been given the opportunity and been blessed to be healthy for as long as I have,’’ Wakefield said. “The organization has been giving me the ball this long. And I’m very, very thankful for that.’’
His record night could have been a keystone for another grand accomplishment. If he had won in his final start before the All-Star teams are announced tomorrow, it would have given him an American League-leading 11 victories. That, combined with his service to baseball, would certainly have been too delicious for AL manager Joe Maddon to resist.
