It's certainly odd to face a team where the DH bats 9th.
alright, here we go.
Here... and accounted for. Go Red Sox!
Drew and Ellsbury move up, with a RHP on the mound for the Rox.
The Colorado Rockies and Boston Red Sox both entered the World Series riding impressive winning streaks. Only Boston's remains intact.Seeking their sixth consecutive win in a World Series game and fifth straight victory overall, the Red Sox send Curt Schilling to the hill Thursday night for Game 2 at Fenway Park.
Since falling behind 3-1 to the Cleveland Indians in the AL championship series, Boston has appeared unstoppable. The Red Sox have outscored the opposition 43-6 while winning their last four contests, including a 13-1 rout of the Rockies in Game 1 on Wednesday night.
Starting with Dustin Pedroia's leadoff home run in the first inning, the Red Sox never looked back. They pounded out 17 hits and set records for both runs scored and margin of victory in a World Series opener.
"It's great for us to come out here and win a game that big, get our psyche up and get our confidence going," said Boston first baseman Kevin Youkilis, who doubled twice. "The biggest thing for us was to score runs early and often."
Meanwhile, a Colorado club which swept through the first two rounds of the postseason and had won 21 of its last 22 games overall saw its winning streak and momentum evaporate. The Rockies appeared to have cooled after an eight-day layoff, although manager Clint Hurdle refused to cite the extra time before the World Series as a factor.
"You can ask me all series long, I'm not going to be able to give you an answer on that," Hurdle said. "We're a no-excuse ballclub, always have been, we're going to be. We got outplayed tonight."
The Red Sox, who lost four World Series -- all in the maximum seven games -- between their championship seasons of 1918 and 2004, are now making the Fall Classic look easy. Wednesday's victory was their fifth straight in the World Series including their four-game sweep of St. Louis three years ago. They have allowed a total of just four runs in the last four of those contests.
Schilling (2-0, 3.38 ERA) won both Game 6 of the ALCS and Game 2 of the World Series in 2004, and he'll try to repeat the pattern Thursday. The right-hander pitched effectively in Game 6 against the Indians on Saturday, giving up two runs and six hits over seven innings while striking out five and not walking a batter in a 12-2 victory. He improved to 10-2 with a 2.25 ERA in 18 career postseason starts.
Schilling, 41, no longer possesses the blazing fastball he had for most of his career, but has remade himself this year into a pitcher who keeps hitters off-balance with his changeups and pinpoint control.
"With the miles that have been put on his shoulder and the games he's pitched, he's not the guy that can pitch 96, 97 anymore," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "But he can still pitch very effectively and still navigate his way through some lineups."
However, Schilling wasn't very effective against the Colorado lineup on June 13 at Fenway, as he allowed six runs -- five earned -- and nine hits, including a three-run homer to Brad Hawpe in Boston's 12-2 defeat.
He has still fared well against the Rockies over his career, going 11-6 with a 4.44 ERA in 26 outings - 25 starts. Colorado first baseman Todd Helton, though, has usually found a way to hit Schilling, as he is 18-for-54 (.333) with five homers and six doubles in their matchups.
Rockies starter Ubaldo Jimenez (0-0, 1.59) may not possess Schilling's postseason pedigree yet, but he's working on it -- and he can light up the radar gun the way Schilling used to with a fastball approaching 100 mph.
After going 4-4 with a 4.28 ERA in 15 regular-season starts, the 23-year-old rookie right-hander has been dominant in the playoffs, giving up only two runs and eight hits over 11 1-3 innings in two outings. Jimenez has not earned a postseason decision, but kept the Rockies close enough to win both games.
"That stuff will be electric," Hurdle said of Jimenez, who has never faced the Red Sox. "That's the kind of stuff that every once in a while, you step back and you go, 'Wow! That's special.' He's shown some special poise for a young pitcher. And he's got good stuff. Anytime you get a swing-and-a-miss pitch against a good offensive club and you're playing in a small park, that's important."
For his part, Jimenez claims not to be intimidated by the task of pitching in the World Series in front of Fenway's frenzied fans.
"I don't feel any pressure," he said. "I'm just really excited about it."
After this contest the teams will travel to Colorado, where the series resumes Saturday night.
The Colorado Rockies' high-powered offense has cooled off since the start of the World Series. Returning to the comforts of home could help change their fortunes.The Rockies host the first World Series contest in the state of Colorado on Saturday night as they try to cut into the Boston Red Sox's 2-0 series lead and avoid falling in a deeper hole.
Colorado was the hottest team in baseball entering the postseason, winning 21 of 22 games - including its first seven in the playoffs as it swept Philadelphia in the division series and Arizona in the championship series -- to reach the World Series for the first time in franchise history. The Rockies also entered the World Series on a 10-game road winning streak, but were outscored 15-2 in the first two games at Fenway Park.
A frenzied atmosphere, however, awaits them at Coors Field.
"I think that's why they play 81 games at home and 81 games on the road," Rockies starting pitcher Josh Fogg said. "The whole 50,000 people screaming for you, and you get last at-bats. That's the reason why they play them that way.
"That's the advantage. You have a chance to go out there and try to score if their team scores, and it's tough to play with 50,000 people yelling at you. I'm looking forward to them screaming on my side this time."
The Rockies no doubt need a morale boost after being humbled in the first two games. They're batting .180 with 22 strikeouts in the World Series after leading the NL with a .280 batting average in the regular season.
"It's a little shocking," Colorado rookie shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said. "You don't now how to react now. We became used to winning and used to shaking hands, coming into the clubhouse and playing music and celebrating after wins.
"To come in and have it dead quiet? It's like, 'Hey, what's going on here?' It's definitely different."
A major problem for Colorado has been the struggles at the plate from the top of the lineup as Willy Taveras and Kaz Matsui are just 1-for-15 in the series. Taveras, who had missed almost a month with a calf injury before being a surprise addition to the roster for the NLCS, is just 3-for-25 in the postseason and Rockies manager Clint Hurdle may make some changes to his lineup.
"I'm thinking through some things," he said. "Anytime we get challenged offensively, you always need to rethink things and look at your options."
One benefit for the Rockies is that Boston's Kevin Youkilis won't start. With no designated hitter in NL ballparks, Youkilis -- who's reached base five times and scored three runs in the series-- will begin on the bench and David Ortiz will play first base.
Ortiz made 27 appearances at first base over the last three years, mostly in interleague play.
"It's hard to get one of your guys out of the lineup," Ortiz said. "But you've got to do something."
The Red Sox have been doing just about everything right since falling behind 3-1 to Cleveland in the AL championship series. They've outscored their opponents 45-7 in winning their last five games, and also have outscored foes 39-14 during a six-game World Series winning streak dating back to 2004.
Boston's Manny Ramirez has continued his strong 2007 postseason by going 4-for-8 in the World Series. Ramirez is batting .421 (16-for-38) with 16 RBIs in 12 playoff games this year.
Fogg (2-0, 1.13 ERA), a Massachusetts native, will try to remain perfect in the postseason for Colorado. He pitched two scoreless innings of relief to win Game 2 of the NLDS on Oct. 4 and won Game 3 of the NLCS on Oct. 14 by allowing one run over six innings in a 4-1 victory.
The right-hander is 4-0 with a 3.50 ERA in his last eight starts overall.
"Tomorrow is the biggest game of the year for us," Fogg said. "Luckily that's the way we've played the last month, and I think that's the attitude that everybody in that locker room has right now."
Fogg beat Boston on June 13 by yielding two runs in five innings in a 12-2 victory at Fenway Park.
The Rockies will get their first look at Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-1, 5.65), who helped the Red Sox capture the AL pennant by winning Game 7 against Cleveland on Sunday when he gave up two runs and six hits over five innings in an 11-2 victory.
The Japanese right-hander believes that the altitude in Denver may affect how he throws breaking balls on Saturday.
"Playing catch today and just feeling things out, I felt I might have to work a little harder on my command while I'm here, and the one thing that I want to be particularly careful about is leaving the breaking ball up," he said through an interpreter.
Matsuzaka is 0-4 with a 6.75 ERA in his last six road outings, including a 4-2 loss in Game 3 at Cleveland on Oct. 15 when he surrendered four runs over 4 2-3 innings.
The last 11 teams to win the first two games of the World Series at home have gone on to win the title, but Colorado isn't conceding anything yet.
"We need to go home and take care of business," Tulowitzki said. "Being down 2-0, it isn't over. But we've got our work cut out for us."