Changeup called for after departure
Injury to Cousins forced pitchers on both teams to adjust
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The foul ball off the bat of Jason Varitek ricocheted toward home plate umpire Derryl Cousins in the second inning. It hit the bottom of his facemask and off his chest before bouncing away. It didn't affect him right away, or at least he didn't come out of the game immediately.
But then came the fourth inning.
The Rays, alerted that there was something wrong with Cousins, vacated the field. Then they, along with the Red Sox, sat and waited. It took 15 minutes for the situation to be figured out, with crew chief Tim McClelland taking Cousins's place behind the plate. The rest of the umpires rotated to fill vacancies, with left field going uncovered for the remainder of the game. Cousins was taken for X-rays, and diagnosed with a bruised clavicle.
While it might have been more problematic for James Shields, who was set to start pitching, the Sox weren't all that upset about the switch, given who they had on the mound and who they were going to have on the mound two innings later.
"It's probably as much of an adjustment for the umpire coming in because he hasn't been in the flow of the game in that particular spot," pitching coach John Farrell said. "Tim McClelland obviously has got a very consistent strike zone.
"He's probably one of the tighter zones in the game.
"As good a strike thrower as Josh [Beckett] is, we didn't have any concerns that it was going to negatively affect him. And knowing we were going to go to [Hideki Okajima] behind him, we felt it would almost work to his advantage because they do command the baseball so well."
Beckett, for one, didn't think the change in umpires had much effect on him, saying, "The delay didn't really bug me that much. I had just come out. I think James Shields probably had the worst end of that deal. As far as the strike zone goes, I think both of those guys are pretty consistent with where the strike zone is."
But, actually, Shields settled down after the umpire switch, allowing just a hit in the fourth and fifth innings, after nearing disaster in the third. Shields said he wasn't bothered by the switch.
"I actually did all right after that," he said. "No, it didn't affect me. Cousins had an injury and that's what happens sometimes."
Kotsay a hit
It was, finally, a hit that dropped in. No matter that Mark Kotsay got an assist from B.J. Upton on his double to center field in the eighth inning of Game 5 that eventually allowed him to score the tying run. It was bound to happen sooner or later, especially if Kotsay continued to smoke the ball at-bat after at-bat.
The first baseman - who seems to have settled in nicely at his new position - has had some of the loudest outs of the series. But the fact that he's with the Red Sox, after being obtained from the Braves in August, is a testament to being prepared for anything.
"I remember Theo [Epstein] saying if we wait till September and something happens, we can't do anything," manager Terry Francona said. "He was right. So it's better to have an extra, another good player, because he's played a bunch."
It makes the Red Sox look especially lucky, given that the first player they targeted was Brian Giles. But Giles, who exercised his no-trade clause, has never played first base. Kotsay hadn't played a lot of first, but he did have minimal experience there, though he's getting a lot more now. When the Sox were looking, they were in need of an outfielder as insurance for J.D. Drew, who was battling back woes. Now it's first base, with Mike Lowell out and Kevin Youkilis shifted across the diamond.
Kotsay, in fact, was considered for the leadoff role that was given to Coco Crisp last night to facilitate balance in the Sox lineup. So, instead, Kotsay sat at No. 7. He had a single in five at-bats.
"His numbers should be phenomenal," Francona said. "He's lined out to center field a lot."
Those numbers still aren't too bad. He is hitting .269 in the postseason, and has gotten hotter lately, with five hits over the last three games after starting the ALCS 1 for 10. None was more important than that double.
"It was great," hitting coach Dave Magadan said. "Not only did it help us, he got something positive out of a good swing. I was happy with the way we were swinging the bats the game before. We just didn't have much to show for it.
"They rolled balls through the infield, they're hot as a firecracker. We're lining into outs, and they're getting caught. It's like, what can you do?
"That's the way baseball is."
Lester rested, ready
It might not have been fatigue - as Francona and pitching coach John Farrell said - but there also weren't quite the same results the Red Sox have been accustomed to seeing from Jon Lester in Game 3 of the ALCS. So despite pitching 210 1/3 innings, Farrell pointed to another reason for the stumble from Lester, who is set to pitch tonight if there is a Game 7.
"I do know that by getting in at 7 o'clock in the morning after a lengthy game here [in St. Petersburg], you always feel the effects on the physical side on the next day," Farrell said. "You can find a way to either trick yourself mentally or talk yourself through a sluggish feeling in day one, but day two - which it was for Jon - I think that's where some of that lack of rhythm, or lack of consistency early in that game until he got into the flow of things, started to show up."
Lester allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings in the loss. Tampa Bay scored four runs in the third off Lester.
"They were aggressive early on, especially to the fastball," Lester said yesterday. "I don't know if they approached me any different. I just think that their approach is to go out and get the fastball early. That's kind of what we've seen all year from them and in the past. I don't think I have to change my game plan. I think I pitched pretty well, with the exception of a couple pitches, and unfortunately those pitches hurt me pretty bad."
Poised to pitch in
Daisuke Matsuzaka - yes, the Game 5 starter - was ready. Though, given that he would be pitching on one day's rest last night, tonight's game was far more realistic for the starter to chip in from the bullpen. But, still, he arrived at [Friday's] workout wondering what he could do to help the team, just in case. "I think that you can do this from time to time," Francona said. "This is not something we would ever do in the middle of the year because it doesn't set up for a guy long term. Then again, the next thing you're looking at is Halloween or Thanksgiving. We need to win." Francona said Matsuzaka's best use would be to be held back so the Sox can empty their bullpen without worry . . . Don't look for a third inning out of Jonathan Papelbon for whatever remains in the postseason for the Sox. It's not going to happen. "There is no temptation," Francona said. "I wouldn't do it. It's not right. That was pushing [it] the other night. He was worn out after that first inning [in Game 5]. Every pitch you could see him taking a little bit more time. He was gassed coming out of that inning." Still, Papelbon came out for a second inning Thursday and kept the Rays off the board.
Owners' seats
The 5,762 seats that were uncovered for the final game (or games) of the ALCS at Tropicana Field aren't going to benefit the Rays players. According to Major League Baseball rules, the postseason revenue from Games 1 through 4 of each round go to the players' share of the postseason revenue. Any revenue from Games 5-7 goes to the owners. Those seats were kept covered for Games 1 and 2 . . . MLB's vice president of umpiring, Mike Port, went with umpire McClelland, senior vice president for baseball operations Joe Garagiola, and umpire supervisor Jim McKean before yesterday's game to look at a small, taped-off area near the photo box adjacent to the Sox dugout. There was some concern over how to officiate balls that went in the area . . . Not only has Clay Buchholz thrown eight scoreless innings in the Arizona Fall League, allowing just one hit and two walks, and striking out seven, but apparently the organizational reports have been pretty good as well. "That was the best report in a long time," Francona said. "There was a lot of things that went wrong this year and just mounted and mounted and mounted. Sometimes you have to almost simplify, get back to basics. He wasn't throwing a plus changeup at the end. Some of that's not just mechanical, it's confidence. They said his changeup was devastating [in Arizona]." . . . During batting practice before Game 6, Youkilis and Drew seemed confused by a sign saying the Rays wouldn't wait "89 years" for a World Series title. When the man with the sign was asked what he meant, he said that it took the Sox 89 years to win a title. When informed it was actually 86, he flipped the 9 to make it 86.
Tony Massarotti and Adam Kilgore of the Globe staff contributed to this report. 