Damon a tough act to follow
Dale Sveum took a swig from his postgame beverage and smiled when he was asked the question the Fenway Park crowd of 35,302 had to be contemplating as it exited after last night's 11-0 rout of the Oakland Athletics.
Which Damon had the hotter bat: Matt or Johnny?
"I think Johnny was a little hotter than Matt was," said Sveum, who threw batting practice before the game to the Cambridge-born actor. Sveum then watched from his third base coaches' box during the game as Johnny Damon played the leading man in last night's 17-hit barrage by reaching on five consecutive singles from his leadoff position.
"I think Matt accomplished his one goal: He got one off the Green Monster," Sveum said. "That made his whole day, so it was a pleasure to be able to throw to him and meet him. It was a lot of fun. But he got one off the Green Monster. He wasn't out there to try and get singles.
"I don't know if he quite had the power or the swing to really get one over the Monster," Sveum said, with a laugh. "But he was trying his best."
While Matt Damon blistered his hands in BP trying to hit one out, Johnny Damon simply blistered the ball.
With the actor watching from the field-box seats adjacent to the Boston dugout, Johnny Damon took center stage with his 5-for-6 performance. He hit five singles (four up the middle, one to right), marking the fifth time he has matched his career high. It was the second time this season Damon has had five hits, doing it in a 10-3 rout at Baltimore April 7.
"I had to make the Damon family look good," Johnny said, when asked if he saw the actor at the game. "It's great seeing him. He and Ben [Affleck] are diehard Red Sox fans and to see Matt out here, that's awesome."
So, from what branch of the Damon family tree does Matt hail?
"My dad told me many years ago that our family came over on the Mayflower," Johnny said. "I don't know, he might have been sipping a few too many brews that night, but who knows, it's probably many generations past."
Whatever their genealogical link, both possess leading-man qualities. Matt on the big screen. Johnny on the diamond.
"When you're leading off, regardless whether you walk, get a hit, double, I mean when you're on base that much, it just lends itself to success," said Sox manager Terry Francona. "That's why he's leading off. We want him on base, he knows that."
Damon reached all three times against Oakland starter Barry Zito (4-6, 4.76 ERA), who lasted just four innings after giving up seven runs.
"It's special," Damon said of his night, which ended when he popped to first in the eighth. "It's the fifth time in my career it happened. I definitely wanted that sixth, but I can't be too greedy. We did exactly what we needed to do. We hit balls with runners in scoring position and we haven't been doing that well all year, so any team is definitely better when we're able to do that."
And when their leading man gets on base five times.
