This had all the markings of a let-down day: two splendiferous victories over the Yankees, plus Rodrigo Lopez taking the mound, who for some reason turns into an ace against the Sox. Expectations high against a team decimated by injuries.
So it was written, so it was: Arroyo pitched woefully - that whole first two innings, he was saved only by the Os’ aggressiveness on the basepaths, which led to 2 outs, plus 1 out thanks to a sac bunt - it was as though they were desperately trying to score against a top pitcher. Which Arroyo, unfortunately, didn’t look like today. The breaking ball was all over the place - I remember Tek really stretching just to reach one that ended up somewhere unexpected - and even the outs looked well-hit.
I think what’s galling are the people who scored on the grand slam - Newhan, Palmeiro, Gibbons, Surhoff. Roberts, Mora, Tejada, Sosa - now that’s a top of the order to be feared, and rightly so. But 4 of the bottom 5 (admittedly, Palmeiro and Gibbons can hit), with Newhan getting the homer? Ugh. Arroyo must be really rusty apres suspension.