Red Sox 5 Indians 4 Sox Hold off the Tribe; Rookie Phenom Tessier Impresses
Ashland, MA~ In a sure sign of things to come, rookie southpaw Dan Tessier struck out 9 Indian hitters,
including striking out the side in the third, en route to a strong 6 2/3 inning performance. His efforts
were undeservedly rewarded with a no-decision.
Saraceno relieved Tessier in the 7th with runners on first and third and induced a routine grounder to short.
Until the 6th, the lanky left hander had been cruising, allowing only one unearned run. But when he
surrendered his third hit of the inning to go with his 5th walk of the morning, Manager Chris Cronin made
the move to his trusty veteran.
With the score now tied, Tessier (1-4, RBI) would get his redemption in the bottom of the 8th with a sharp
single to plate Derek Luccini, the other offensive hero of the day. Luccini (4-4, RBI, R, SB), filling in
admirably at shortshop, continued his torrid early season pace, with four base knocks. The ever solid
Steve Triveri chipped in with two hits on the day, and it was Saraceno recording his 101st win with a shut
down 2 1/3.
As 5 Orioles 0
No recap available.
Tigers 11 Mariners 2
No recap available.
Braves 9 Brewers 3
No recap available.
Cubs 17 Dodgers 4
No recap available.
Cardinals 11 Phillies 5
No recap available.
Week 1, 04/25/10
Phillies 13 Tigers 6
The new look Phillies took on the Tigers at beautiful Feeley Field Sunday. The Phils suited up only 8 holdovers from 2009. The preseason scramble to keep the Phils alive infused the team with 7 rookies. By the end of the game most of them knew each other's names.
Early in the game the Phillies took advantage of a couple of Tiger miscues, opening up a 6-2 lead behind 5
solid innings on the mound from 2009 stalwart Tom Dicker and some timely hitting. The Tigers stormed back
to make it 6-5 in the 6th against MWABL Hall of Famer and Grizzly Adams look alike Rick Huckins. Rick found
his groove and held the Tigers down for next couple of frames while the Phillies bats found their stride,
opening up a 13-5 lead. The Tigers pushed another run across against rookie Jay Skowronski in the ninth
to get to the 13-6 final.
14 guys had hits for the Phillies including multi-hit efforts from from Dicker (3-4, 2 2bs, 2 rbi, 2 runs),
Coyle (2-3, 4 rbi, 1 run), Skowronski (3-3, bomb of a double off the left field fence, rbi, 3 runs), DiLuzio
(2-3, double, rbi, run), Morrissey (2-3, 2 runs) and Castanino (2-3, 2 rbi). There were solid contributions
up and down the lineup.
The Tigers battled hard - they started with only 8 guys and when the 9th showed up he had to pitch the last
7 innings due to an injury to the Tigers' starter. He held the Phillies off balance for most of the game
until he tired in the late innings.
Red Sox 6 Dodgers 3
Twelve springs ago, a wiry, 42 year old upstart hurler fresh up from the farm after 24 years, stood on the
hill in the April morning chill dreaming of victories yet to come. Eleven seasons now under his slightly
roomier belt, here stood that same man. He did indeed see those victories, wins that would bring him 6
championship rings, including two as player-manager. But it was this one win that mattered most today,
the one that assured him MWABL immortality.
Victory 100 would turn out to be vintage Steve Saraceno. With a steady diet of curveballs served up to new
player-manager Chris Cronin (1-2, RBI), Saraceno kept the dangerous Dodgers line up off balance all day. He
was backed up by a solid Ashland defense, including two acrobatic plays by rookie second baseman Derek
Luccini in the fifth. A ranging catch of a pop up, and a diving stop of a sharp ground ball followed by
an accurate throw from his backside.
Saraceno shook off early trouble and some opening day jittery defense in the first to sit down 15 of the
next 16 Dodger hitters, only running into minor trouble again in the 9th of what would be another in a
record setting number of complete games. On the day, he went all nine, giving up only 8 hits, striking
out 6, and far more indicative of the Saraceno style, walking none.
On offense, the Sox appeared in mid-season form, with big days by Mike Auren (2-3, Double, 2R), rookie Dan
Tessier (1-2, 2SB, 2R), and fellow newcomer Rich Coughlin (2-3). For the Dodgers, starting pitcher Randy
Fesh helped his own cause with a 2-4 outing, and manager Eric Niccoli chipped in with 2 base knocks of his
own.
Asked for comment about Saraceno's 100th career victory, Coach Cronin replied, "I am honored to have my
first managerial win be such a milestone in Steve's career. Steve and I are planning on a celebration when
I hit 100 wins as a coach. Sara will be 82, so we'll probably have to cut his innings to 125 that year."