During his postgame press conference, Manny Acta used the term "Dracula-like" to describe the weather conditions on Thursday afternoon. And the Tribe skipper hit the nail on the head. The Indians and the Red Sox were forced to play their series finale on a day that featured cold temperatures, dense fog, and high winds.
In addition to the brutal weather, each team pitched its ace, and the result was a game virtually devoid of offense.
Jon Lester and Fausto Carmona both tossed 7 shutout innings as the 2 hurlers successfully recovered from poor Opening Day outings.
Entering the bottom of the 8th, the contest was scoreless, but the Indians were about to break through. Adam Everett, playing in his 1st game as an Indian, led off the frame with a walk. Acta then decided to become aggressive. Everett promptly stole 2nd base, and Acta instructed Orlando Cabrera to drop down a sacrifice bunt. The bunt moved Everett to 3rd, setting the stage for the game's defining moment. Asdrubal Cabrera and Everett stunned the Sox by perfectly executing a suicide squeeze which gave the Tribe a slim lead of 1-0.
Although Chris Perez earned the save in the 9th, it was anything but routine. Perez walked David Ortiz with 2 outs, and Big Papi was replaced by Darnell McDonald. The next batter, J.D. Drew, hit a bullet off of Perez's leg that ricocheted to 3rd. Everett fielded the ball but realized he had no chance to throw out Drew at 1st. However, McDonald slipped and fell as he rounded 2nd. Everett instantly saw McDonald's mishap and threw to Orlando Cabrera. Cabrera snagged the throw and slapped the tag on McDonald to complete the wild, game-ending play.
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| Cabrera tagged out McDonald, and the Indians swept the BoSox |
Rafael Perez, who worked out of a 2 on, 1 out jam in the 8th, picked up his 2nd win in as many days.
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