Every time I watch a Sox game, I see gift after gift to give them wins or keep them in games. And, keep in mind, I only see parts of games! These are all unforced errors. Today is just another of the many examples.
1. The Sox scored 2 runs in the first 8 innings, both in one inning. How did they score these 2 runs? The Rockie pitcher walked the leadoff batter (Pierre, the leadoff man!), then one out later, hit Quentin. Both scored.
2. Three times the Rockies had a chance to squeeze in a run, probably resulting in them winning if even one worked, and all three times they didn’t squeeze and didn’t score. The last time was the bottom of the 8th, 2-2 tie, bases loaded, one out. No squeeze, no score. This obviously gave the Sox momentum going into the 9th, meaning it dramatically increased their chances of scoring. Of course, the first 2 Sox hitters singled, resulting in first and third, no outs, and ultimately the winning run.
3. With first and third, one out in the 9th in a 2-2 game, Pierzynski hits a short fly ball to right. An average throw to the plate gets Quentin by 20′ and ends the inning. The outfielder makes a terrible throw, about 10′ up the third-base line. They still had Quentin out easily by 5′ ten feet up the line, but the catcher drops the ball! This allowed the winning run to score and the Sox to pick up a key game on Detroit and not lose ground to Cleveland and Minnesota.