Varitek's been golden on this anniversary
Guess what Atlanta Braves starter Tim Hudson gave Jason Varitek for an anniversary present.
A sinkerball on a 3-and-1 count that the Red Sox captain deposited off the top of the Green Monster in left-center field last night, a home run that gave the home team a 2-0 lead during a three-run second inning at Fenway Park.
Anniversary?
Indeed, since the homer -- his ninth of the season that began a 2-for-4 night -- marked the fifth consecutive May 20 that Varitek has hit a home run, including a three-homer, seven-RBI outing in Kansas City, Mo., May 20, 2001. Dating to the 2001 season, Varitek is 11 for 18 (.611) with seven homers and 13 RBIs on the 20th day of the fifth month of the year.
But Varitek's contributions this season, which may include going behind the plate tonight to attempt to corral Tim Wakefield's knuckleballs in the wake of Doug Mirabelli's wrist injury, go far beyond one night or one date.
Varitek is batting .354 (23 for 65) in his last 17 games and his home run and runs (22) totals lead all catchers. In addition, he has hit safely in 24 of 32 games and his batting average has yet to fall below .317.
But for all his offensive heroics, Varitek deflected attention from himself after last night's 4-3 interleague verdict over Atlanta, focusing instead on Wade Miller's first victory in a Red Sox uniform, reliever Mike Timlin's steadiness, and closer Keith Foulke, whose shaky ninth inning, said Varitek, wasn't as bad as some might think.
''Miller did an excellent job. The key to this game is to allow this offense a chance to score some runs and get some quality starts," said Varitek, who also stroked a leadoff double in the sixth inning. ''He mixed in all his pitches. He threw a few more changeups, he threw a few more cutters and his slider. It was just a mix on both sides of the plate . . . he didn't have as great a velocity, but he pitched and pitched well. He's got a good curveball and a good little cutter and he can expand the zone with it. And he's got some life in that fastball. He had a plus fastball at times tonight. He's still getting himself into game pitching shape, and he's pitched better in each start."
Varitek said more of what Miller had to offer last night is the key to the Red Sox' fortunes -- a quality start that enabled manager Terry Francona to utilize his bullpen effectively. The bottom line for any pitcher, according to Varitek, is once they get the ball in their hand ''they need to be committed to what pitch they're throwing. I just try and understand what he's thinking. If there's something in question, we talk about it."
Varitek said that between Miller's National League time facing Atlanta and the Red Sox' experience against the Braves, there wasn't much guesswork about the hitters.
Returning to Fenway after a 2-4 road trip may have brought promising results, but Varitek said the team's effort while away from Boston ''has been there. We just haven't had the results on the road."
Varitek said the biggest hit last night was Bill Mueller's two-run homer that capped the second-inning flurry. ''To get four runs off Hudson is a good thing. Guys are in their home park and we have our fans. Our fans can energize us when we need it most."
Despite Foulke allowing two ninth-inning runs and needing a game-ending double play with the tying run on first base, Varitek boosted the beleaguered closer.
''He was fine," said Varitek, who admitted a ''pitch-selection error" to Andruw Jones on the Atlanta center fielder's ninth-inning, 410-foot triple. ''Other than that he was fine. He got some ground balls. We'd better not panic on him. He threw some really good changeups tonight. You guys [the media] leave him alone for a little while, and he'll be fine."
Meanwhile, Varitek said he wasn't aware of his May 20 ''zone" until last night.
''Weird . . . very weird," he said. ''Just circumstantial, I guess."
