Friday night, the Boston Red Sox hosted the Chicago Cubs in Fenway Park for the first time since 1918.
Cubs vs. Red Sox: Wakefield’s Knuckleball Good For First Win
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Saturday evening, the Red Sox and Cubs celebrated their second meeting since ‘18 by donning “throwback” uniforms that weren’t precisely accurate. But there wasn’t anybody in Fenway Park old enough to remember the originals and complain.
Sunday night, the Red Sox and Cubs just played a baseball game. It was cold in Boston -- 49 degrees at game time -- but otherwise it was just another game between two of the more storied franchises in the history of professional sports. And a rather routine game, at that, with the Red Sox pulling away for a 5-1 victory in the rubber match of the three-game set.
With originally scheduled starter Matt Garza sidelined with an elbow injury, Cubs manager Mike Quade turned to James Russell, who posted a 10.05 in four starts earlier this season. Russell -- whose father Jeff pitched for the Red Sox in 1993 and '94 -- fared somewhat better Sunday night, limiting the Red Sox to one run through four innings. But after Jarrod Saltalamacchia led off the fifth with a homer into the Monster Seats and Jacoby Ellsbury followed with a base hit, Russell -- who had thrown 39 pitches out of the bullpen in Friday night's game, and before that hadn't thrown more than 15 pitches in a game since the 2nd of May -- was finally pulled in favor of reliever Justin Berg, recalled earlier Sunday from Triple-A Iowa.
Meanwhile, Tim Wakefield was pitching a gem. Through six innings, the 44-year-old knuckleballer gave up only two hits, the only other baserunner reaching on a strike-three knuckleball that eluded Saltalamacchia behind the plate. But Starlin Castro led off the seventh with a double into the left-field corner, and scored two outs later when Jeff Baker rattled a double off the Green Monster's scoreboard. Daniel Bard was summoned to replace Wakefield, and escaped the inning with no more damage.
The Cubs' mini-rally made the score 3-1, but their little outburst was mooted in the bottom of the seventh by Kevin Youkilis's two-out triple that pushed the score to 5-1, and Bard set down the Cubs in order in the eighth.
In the bottom of the eighth, things got old-school for a few moments. Jed Lowrie led off against Kerry Wood, whose first pitch was well inside, waist-high. Wood's second pitch was also waist-high, but far enough inside to catch Lowrie flush on the right buttock. Plate umpire Ed Hickox immediately warned both benches, and there was speculation in the broadcast booth about Wood sending a message in the wake of Marlon Byrd's beaning Saturday night.
Two Cubs had actually been plunked Saturday, and just one Red Sock (Youkilis). So Lowrie balanced the scale, took his free (if painful) base without incident, and that seemed to be the end of that.
Despite the Red Sox' four-run lead, Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth. He retired Darwin Barney on a grounder and struck out Starlin Castro, but Aramis Ramirez kept the inning going with a double into right-center. Papelbon ended the (mild) suspense by striking out Carlos Pena with a diving splitter.
Wakefield earned his first victory of the season, his 180th with the Red Sox, and his 194th in the major leagues.
For more about the Red Sox and Cubs, please visit Over the Monster and Bleed Cubbie Blue.
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