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Rico suave Brogna's 9th-inning slam lifts Sox past Rays
BOSTON (AP) -- Rico Brogna gave the Boston Red Sox an ending so exciting that they were almost able to forget how the game started. Brogna hit a ninth-inning grand slam to give Boston a 7-3 victory over Tampa Bay on Monday night, rescuing the Red Sox after Cy Young Award winner Pedro Martinez left after four innings with shoulder stiffness. "Obviously, he's the man here. So everybody's a little concerned," said Brogna, a Turners Falls, Mass., native who joined the Red Sox early this month. "If the team's going to go where we want to go, he's got to be healthy." Martinez struck out the side in the first inning and fanned two more in the second. But in the third, he allowed Miguel Cairo's first homer since July 20, 1999 -- a three-run shot that gave the Devil Rays a 3-0 lead. Martinez allowed six hits, walked none and struck out six before Hipolito Pichardo came on to start the fifth. It was his worst outing in more than a year. "When a guy makes his money throwing 95 mph fastballs, you know he's hurting when he's throwing you nothing but changeups," Devil Rays first baseman Fred McGriff said. Martinez was not available after the game. But a Red Sox spokesman relayed comments in which he said he took himself out as a precaution, rather than risk exacerbating the problem and winding up on the disabled list for the second time this season. "I just had a stiff shoulder. It just didn't feel right," he said. "I didn't want to chance it." The Red Sox tied it with three runs in the sixth inning, then won it in the ninth.
Brogna worked the count to 2-2 and then lined the final pitch into the bullpen in right field. It was his first home run since coming to the Red Sox early this month and his first homer in the AL. The sold-out crowd, which sat through a game-long drizzle, chanted his name until he came out of the dugout for a curtain call. "It's been a roller-coaster of emotions," said Brogna, who lost his starting job with Philadelphia after breaking his forearm and was claimed off waivers by the Red Sox. "A night like this makes it all worthwhile." Derek Lowe (3-4) earned the victory with one inning of scoreless relief. Martinez lasted four innings in Game 1 of Boston's first-round playoff series against Cleveland before leaving with shoulder stiffness, but he returned to throw six no-hit innings of relief in Game 5. He lasted just 3 2-3 innings on July 18, 1999, against he Florida Marlins, allowing nine runs -- seven earned -- and 12 hits. He went on the disabled list after that game. That was his first outing after the All-Star game, when he struck out five of six batters and was voted MVP.
Brian Daubach followed with a double to make it 3-2, Lou Merloni bunted him to third and Scott Hatteberg tied it with a sacrifice fly. Notes: Devil Rays starter Dave Eiland hasn't won since April 23, though that includes a 21/2-month stint on the disabled list. ... The Devil Rays had won five consecutive road games, one short of the franchise record. They went 7-6 on their most recent homestand - the first time in club history they had a winning homestand and road trip consecutively. ... The Red Sox purchased Merloni's contract from Triple-A Pawtucket and placed Izzy Alcantara on the 15-day disabled list with a strained lower back. Merloni played for the Red Sox in 1999, hitting .254 with one homer and 13 RBIs before signing with the Yokohama BayStars of Japan's Central League in the offseason. ... By striking out five in the first two innings, Martinez moved into the top 10 in strikeouts for the Red Sox. Martinez has 774; Dennis Eckersley and Dutch Leonard were tied for 10th with 771. ... The crowd of 32,174 was the 41st sellout of the season, 31st in a row.
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