Red Sox 9-8, FINAL: An amazing comeback for the Red Sox in the ninth inning, with Nick Green drawing a bases-loaded walk — after falling behind 0-and-2 — to tie the score, then Alex Gonzalez wins it with a single to left. The wild finish gives the Red Sox a 6 1/2 game lead in the Wild Card. Brian Fuentes got the first two outs of the ninth, but David Ortiz walked, then J.D. Drew and Jed Lowrie hit infield singles before Green and Gonzo brought it home. Amazing.
Mid 9th, Angels 8-7: The Angels may finally get the last laugh, stringing together three straight two-out singles, the last by Bobby Abreu to score Chone Figgins with the go-ahead run.
End 8th, 7-7: As mentioned earlier, in the same August game where the Sox blew a late lead because of a strike three that got away from Varitek, the Red Sox eventually came back to win. We maybe headed that way again. After Casey Kotchman brings home the first run, Jacoby Ellsbury's two-out single to right ties the score, and Daniel Bard is in to work the ninth.
10:30 p.m.: The Rangers have lost again to Oakland and the Red Sox have runners at the corners with one out, down 7-5. The magic number is at 13 at the moment, and could drop to 12 if the Sox complete the comeback.
Mid 8th, Angels 7-5: The Angels were on the verge of blowing this one open, loading the bases with one out. But Manny Delcarmen, the forgotten man in the bullpen, comes through with a pair of clutch strikeouts to keep the Red Sox with striking distance.
End 7th, Angels 7-5: Mike Lowell's bad hip continues to plague him on the bases. What otherwise would have been a two-out infield single up the middle becomes a close out at first to put the Sox down in order.
Mid 7th, Angels 7-5: For the second time in a month, the failure to secure an inning-ending strikeout has cost the Red Sox a late lead. With two outs and one on, Jason Varitek couldn't handle a strikeout pitch from Ramon Ramirez, allowing Kendry Morales to reach base. Faster than you could say "Mickey Owen," the Angels had three straight hits and four runs to take the lead right back. The White Sox did the same thing against Jon Lester Aug. 25, a game the Red Sox eventually came back to win.
End 6th, Red Sox 5-3: The Rangers are losing 4-0 in the sixth and the Yankees are losing 4-2 in the seventh. The Angels are praying for a Yankees collapse, because the Red Sox have to be in their heads at this point.
9:24 p.m.: Just like Tuesday night, the Red Sox finally break through in the sixth inning, this time scoring five times to take a 5-3 lead. Some sloppy Angels defense has played a key role, allowing Rocco Baldelli to tie the score at 3-3 with a single, then Alex Gonzalez put the Sox ahead with a two-out, two-run single to right. Erick Aybar's failure to hold onto a relay throw from second on a potential double play ball is the key moment so far.
Mid 6th, Angels 3-0: The wind has died, and so has Paul Byrd's chance for a victory. Hunter leads off the sixth with a long homer to left and Byrd's evening ended soon after. Not a terrible outing, but if Tim Wakefield is able to pitch Monday and survive it, that could be it for Byrd's comeback special.
End 5th, Angels 2-0: Joe Saunders finally retires the leadoff man, and the other two in the inning as well. Saunders strikes out Varitek and Kotchman, giving him five strikeouts so far.
Mid 5th, Angels 2-0: The winds have died down, and the Angels finally get one over Ellsbury's head in center. Bobby Abreu does the honors with a two-out double into the triangle, scoring Aybar. Byrd had struck out the first two batters of the inning, before the Angels' bats came alive.
End 4th, Angels 1-0: The Red Sox leadoff men are 3-for-3 with a walk, but the rest of the lineup is 0-for-8 with a man on base. So unless someone hits a leadoff homer, it's going to tough to score any runs.
Mid 4th, Angels 1-0: This time, it's the Angels failing to convert a runner in scoring postion, as Hunter gets hung up between second and third on a one-out tapper to the mound by Howie Kendrick.
End 3rd, Angels 1-0: The Red Sox get the lead man on again, and this time to second on a double by Casey Kotchman. But he is left stranded at third with one out, thanks to two nice plays by Chone Figgins at third base.
Mid 3rd, Angels 1-0: The Angels push a run across on a pair of hits, with Juan Rivera scoring on a single by Erick Aybar. It's the first lead of this series for the Angels.
End 2nd, 0-0: The Red Sox have had the leadoff man on both innings tonight, but nothing to show for it. Saunders answers Mike Lowell's leadoff single with two stright strikeouts and a Jason Varitek pop-up. It took the Red Sox six innings to advance a runner past first Tuesday night, so this is par for the course.
Mid 2nd, 0-0: The Angels are determined to win this game through the air, but so far, no dice. Torii Hunter skies one to deep center leading off the inning, but the wind knocks it down into Ellsbury's glove out by the triangle.
End 1st, 0-0: The Red Sox fail to test the mighty winds in the first, wasting a leadoff walk to Jacoby Ellsbury by Joe Saunders, as Dustin Pedroia hits into a 4-6-3 double play and Jason Bay, batting third with Youkilis and Martinez out, grounds out to third.
Mid 1st, 0-0: You don't need Jim Cantore to tell you the wind is blowing in tonight. Bobby Abreu and Vladimir Guerrero hit moon shots off Paul Byrd that die on the warning track in center and left for very loud outs. Guerrero's shot would have landed on the Mass Pike without the wind to knock it down.
6:40 p.m.: Not only will Kevin Youkilis (back) and Victor Martinez (personal issues) miss their second straight game tonight, Jonathan Papelbon is unavailable with a sore back after slipping in the bullpen Tuesday night, the Boston Herald is reporting. Martinez is expected back in the lineup Thursday. The other two remain day-to-day.
3:45 p.m.: The Red Sox look to make it seven in a row on this eight-game homestand, while taking another step closer to clinching a postseason berth. The magic number for the wild card stands at 14 after Tuesday's Dice-K Show, and even the division race remains in play, however slim that may be. The Yankees lead by just five in the loss column with three head-to-head games in New York next weekend.
Tonight, the Red Sox send Paul Byrd to the mound for another chance to prolong a career thought to be over last October. Byrd had pitched well in two of three starts, but this could be the last roundup, if Tim Wakefield is able to rejoin the rotation this weekend.
