October 1, 2003: Bullpen woes doom Red Sox as they lose to A’s in ALDS opener

In 2003 the Boston Red Sox were in the postseason for the first time since 1999. Back then, the New York Yankees had eliminated them in the American League Championship Series, but Red Sox fans were hoping that this time would be different.

The ’03 Red Sox, who finished six games behind the Yankees with a 95-67 record, clinched the wild card on September 25, defeating the Baltimore Orioles, 14-3, led by homers from catcher Jason Varitek, shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, and first baseman Kevin Millar. Boston had a well-earned reputation as a good hitting team: third baseman Bill Mueller led the AL in batting with a .326 average, and outfielder Manny Ramírez finished a close second at .325. Ramírez also led the league in on-base percentage at .427. In addition, the Red Sox led the majors in runs scored, and they had eight players with 30 or more doubles: Millar (30), Mueller (45), David Ortiz (39), Todd Walker (38), Garciaparra (37), Ramírez (36), Johnny Damon (32), and Varitek (31); this broke a major-league record.1

If the Red Sox had any weakness, it was their pitching. Pedro Martínez (14-4) had an outstanding year: his 2.22 ERA was the best in major-league baseball. But while Derek Lowe (17-7) led the team in wins, his ERA was considerably higher than in 2002 (2.58 to 4.47), and he had walked more batters (48 to 72). The other starters who won in double-digits were John Burkett (12-9) and Tim Wakefield (11-7), but Burkett’s ERA was 5.15 and Wakefield’s was 4.09. The bullpen had been a problem all year, beginning with a disastrous experiment in “closer by committee” that was finally abandoned in late May with the acquisition of Byung-Hyun Kim from the Arizona Diamondbacks.2 But although Kim was a big improvement, the Red Sox as a team still had 21 blown saves in 2003.3

The Red Sox’ opponents in the AL Division Series were the Oakland Athletics, who had finished first in the AL West Division with a 96-66 record. If the 2003 Red Sox were known for their hitting, Oakland was known for an impressive pitching staff. Tim Hudson (16-7) had a 2.70 ERA, best among the starters. Barry Zito (14-12) had a 3.30 ERA, and their third starter, Mark Mulder, had 15 wins and a 3.13 ERA before a hip injury in August ended his season. Ted Lilly (12-10, with a 4.34 ERA) then stepped up, winning six starts in a row. But the big story for Oakland was closer Keith Foulke, one of the most dependable relievers in the AL, with a league-leading 43 saves and a team-best 2.08 ERA.4

The A’s were near the bottom of the league in hitting, with no .300 hitters, but they were able to get clutch hits when they needed to, thanks in large part to third baseman Eric Chávez and shortstop Miguel Tejada, who had both come alive at the plate since the All-Star break.5 Tejada finished the season with 27 homers and 106 RBIs, and Chávez had 29 home runs and 101 RBIs.

As chronicled in Michael Lewis’s best-selling book Moneyball, which had been published during the 2003 season, Oakland management had a reputation for not spending as much money as other teams did; but the A’s kept winning games, thanks in part to their skill at manufacturing runs. For example, designated hitter Erubiel Durazo, who hit only .259, often got on base by getting walks – in 2003 he walked 100 times. But despite the team’s success, some Oakland sportswriters worried that manager Ken Macha’s team relied too much on playing “small ball,” which might not be good enough if Oakland wanted to win the playoffs against a lineup like Boston’s.6

And there was another thing keeping Oakland fans up at night: While the A’s had been in the playoffs for the past three years, they had failed to get past the first round each time.7 One encouraging fact in 2003 was that Oakland had the best home record in the AL; since the first two games of the ALDS were at Oakland’s Network Associates Coliseum, the team could get a huge psychological boost by winning them both.

When most experts looked at the ALDS matchups, however, they favored the Red Sox, largely because of the team’s ability to hit for power. For example, Orioles manager Mike Hargrove said, “Oakland’s bullpen has been better than Boston’s … but no one has an offensive lineup like Boston’s.”8 Many sportswriters, including some on the West Coast, echoed those sentiments. They also noted that Martínez would probably pitch two of the games, and he was difficult to beat. Said one Seattle reporter, “Everyone talks about Pedro’s dominance of the Mariners, but he entered this season 6-1with a 2.03 ERA against the A’s.” And he predicted that the Red Sox, even with a shaky bullpen, would win the series in five games.9   

The fans undoubtedly looked forward to a pitching duel in Game One, since both teams went with their aces. As expected, Martínez started for the Red Sox; not only did he have the league’s best ERA but he was undefeated in his last five starts, giving up only three runs in his last 30 innings. But Oakland’s Hudson had been pitching well too. And while he expressed great respect for Martínez,10 he wasn’t intimidated. In fact, the last time the two faced each other, back in August, Hudson threw a two-hit shutout, defeating Boston, 4-0.11

Todd Walker homered off Hudson in the top of the first, and the Red Sox took a quick 1-0 lead. In the third they had a chance to break the game open, but failed to score, despite having the bases loaded and Ramírez at bat. Hudson, who relied on his sinker, got Ramírez to hit a bouncer to second, which ended the threat.12

The A’s capitalized, scoring three runs in the bottom of the third, two of them driven in on a double by Durazo. The third run came in on Tejada’s two-out single, but Oakland’s chances for a larger inning ended when Tejada was trapped in a rundown and tagged out between first and second. Martínez had gone 19⅓ postseason innings without allowing a run, but now the A’s were leading 3-1.  

Varitek’s home run in the fifth cut Oakland’s lead to 3-2. It was still a one-run game when Garciaparra singled with two outs in the seventh. Hudson had labored, giving up 10 hits thus far. And he had seemed to suffer some hip discomfort in the sixth,13 although after a visit by the trainer, Hudson insisted on staying in the game. But in the seventh, Hudson was relieved by Ricardo Rincón, a lefty known for being a reliable set-up man.14 Walker greeted Rincón with his second homer of the game, and the Red Sox regained the lead, 4-3.

Martínez was sometimes wild, walking four and throwing a season-high 130 pitches, but he was tough when he needed to be, and he gave up only six hits. He was relieved in the eighth by Mike Timlin, who pitched a scoreless inning.

But then, just like so many times before, the Red Sox bullpen proved it was not up to the task. In the ninth, manager Grady Little brought in Kim, who struggled with his control. After getting one out, Kim walked a batter and hit another. Little turned to Alan Embree, but that didn’t work either: He gave up a game-tying single to Durazo.

The game went into extra innings, remaining tied 4-4 until the 12th. Then Foulke, who had pitched three scoreless innings, was replaced by rookie Rich Harden. He walked two batters and threw a wild pitch, but the Red Sox failed to score, thanks to some excellent fielding by Chávez, who speared a sharply-hit grounder by Gabe Kapler and forced out Ramírez to end the inning.

In the bottom of the inning, Oakland batted against Derek Lowe, who had come in for the 11th inning. Lowe was usually a starter, and he was scheduled to start Game Three, but with such a shaky bullpen, Little evidently felt he had no choice but to keep him in the game.

Unfortunately for the Red Sox, Lowe experienced a bout of wildness. Two walks and an intentional walk loaded the bases with two outs. Catcher Ramón Hernández came to bat, and he laid down a perfect bunt that drove in Chávez with the winning run, answering for one night the question about whether small ball could work in a playoff situation. Harden was the winning pitcher and Lowe the loser; 50,606 A’s fans went home happy after a game that had lasted 4 hours and 37 minutes – the longest game in Oakland’s postseason history.15

Oakland did win both of the ALDS games at home, defeating the Red Sox in Game Two, 5-1. But the Red Sox came back and won three in a row – two at Fenway Park and one back in Oakland – to win the series and advance to the ALCS.16 And once again a series that had started with such promise ended in disappointment for the A’s, their management, and their fans.

Acknowledgments

The author appreciates the helpful suggestions provided by Gary Belleville, Kurt Blumenau, and John Fredland. This article was fact-checked by Harrison Golden and copy-edited by Len Levin.

Sources

The author consulted various databases in researching this article. They included Newspapers.com, GenealogyBank.com, and Proquest Historical Newspapers. She also used Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for pertinent information, including the box score and play-by-play.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/OAK/OAK200310010.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2003/B10010OAK2003.htm

Photo credit: Ramón Hernández, Trading Card Database.

Notes

1 Boston’s 371 doubles were just two less than the major-league record, shared by the 1997 Red Sox and 1930 St. Louis Cardinals. Through 2024, the 2008 Texas Rangers have the major-league record with 376 doubles.

2 Phil O’Neill, “Sox Have Ace Up Sleeve; A’s Playing with Full Deck,” Worcester (Massachusetts) Telegram & Gazette, September 28, 2003: D1, D4. 

3 Jeff Horrigan, “Red Sox Close Foulke Deal,” Boston Herald, December 14, 2003: B14.

4 After the 2003 season, the Red Sox addressed their bullpen woes by signing Foulke to a lucrative three-year contract with an option for a fourth year. Foulke saved 32 regular-season games and 3 postseason games in 2004, and the Red Sox won their first World Series championship in 86 years.

5 Jim Salisbury, “A’s Challenge: Escape Round 1,” Philadelphia Inquirer, September 30, 2003: E4.

6 Mark Saxon, “A’s Mull Post-Season Small Ball,” Oakland Tribune, September 30, 2003: S3.

7 Phil O’Neill, “This Time It Counts; Sox, A’s Look Past Late-Season Tuneups,” Worcester Telegram & Gazette, September 30, 2003: D1.

8 Peter May, “Bird’s Eye View of the Series vs. A’s,” Boston Globe, September 25, 2003: C7.

9 Larry Stone, “October Dreams,” Seattle Times, September 30, 2003: D1, D6.

10 Greg Beacham, “A’s Look For First-Round Breakthrough Against Sox Tonight,” Bangor (Maine) Daily News, October 1, 2003: 9.  

11 “Hudson’s Gem Beats Red Sox,” Ann Arbor (Michigan) News, August 12, 2003: D6.

12 Bob Hohler, “Squeezed Out: Hernandez’s Bunt Delivers A’s in 12th as Sox Bullpen Once Again Fails to Finish Job in Ninth,” Boston Globe, October 2, 2003: D-1.  

13 Mark Saxon, “A’s Squeeze by Red Sox; Hernandez Surprises Red Sox with Bunt Single to Cap Game 1 Marathon,” Oakland Tribune, October 2, 2003: S1, S4.

14 Gordon Edes, “Matching the Outfits,” Boston Globe, October 1, 2003: D6.

15 Greg Beacham, “A’s Score Winner in the 12th,” Palm Springs (California) Desert Sun, October 2, 2003: C2.

16 The Red Sox went on to lose the ALCS in seven games to the Yankees.