Wakefield is sharp for Red Sox
Pitcher ties record for starts
ATLANTA — Who would’ve envisioned this: Tim Wakefield joining Roger Clemens in the Boston record book?
The 42-year-old knuckleballer pitched six scoreless innings to beat the Atlanta Braves, 1-0, Saturday, a worthy performance for the game that tied him with Clemens for the most career starts by a Red Sox pitcher.
“Just being mentioned with the names I’m being mentioned with is pretty cool,” said Wakefield, who made his 382nd start for Boston. “I’m thankful I’ve been here as long as I have.”
Mark Kotsay drove in the game’s only run with a sixth-inning single off Javier Vazquez, who certainly pitched well enough to win but got no help from the listless Atlanta offense.
The Braves have scored only one run in two games against the Red Sox this weekend, extending their losing streak to four straight and dropping a season-worst six games under .500 (34-40).
Wakefield (10-3) became the AL’s third 10-game winner, joining Minnesota’s Kevin Slowey and Toronto’s Roy Halladay. The knuckleball was really fluttering on a sweltering day at Turner Field that was 95 degrees at first pitch.
The Braves managed just three singles off the Wakefield.
“It feels really good to have 10 wins before the All-Star break,” he said.
Manny Delcarmen retired all four hitters he faced, Justin Masterson got out trouble in the eighth and Jonathan Papelbon worked around a shaky ninth to complete the four-hit shutout, his 18th save in 19 chances.
But Wakefield did the bulk of the work.
“He continues to pitch his rear end off,” manager Terry Francona said. “That was a tough day for anybody, but he just keeps going out there doing what he’s supposed to do. I’m proud of him.”
The Braves threatened against Papelbon. Brian McCann flied out to the wall in right-center and Garret Anderson doubled with two outs, but Casey Kotchman grounded out to end the game.
“It’s so frustrating,” McCann said. “This team should win more games the way our pitching is.”
The Braves didn’t get a runner past second until the eighth, and they had to scratch for that. Matt Diaz walked against Masterson, moved up on a wild pitch and took third on a groundout.
Boston took advantage of a lineup weakened by injuries to Nate McLouth and Yunel Escobar. Three of Atlanta’s nine hitters came into the game hitting below .200.
The Red Sox have three shutouts this season, two against the Braves.
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments