I turned it off after Mike Myers gave up the grand slam to leave the Sox down 9-1; looks like I merely spared myself further pain. The moment Reed “better than Randy or Russ” Johnson came on as a pinch-hitter I had a sick feeling: Myers against righties is not reassuring at all. And then Mantei seems to have lost all form. What does it say that the best reliever today was Alan Embree, doing mop-up duties?
This was definitely one of Clement’s worst games in a Sox uniform, up there with his St Louis and Baltimore games - that command that he’s been showing most of the season was just not there, and that slider had no bite to it. Fortunately, everyone else in the AL East (besides the Jays, obviously) lost, so the standings remain untouched.