Last night was truly "The Night" in Boston sports. Starting with Tom Brady's last minute drive to beat the Saint's, then the Red Sox comeback, including David Ortiz's grand slam. It was one incredible night. I am a Boston sports fan, and I haven't been this happy regarding sports since the Bruin's came back against Maple Leafs in last years playoffs, overcoming a four to one deficit. Every Red Sox and Patriots fans probably woke up today feeling pretty good. What a way to wake up on Columbus Day.
It all started late Sunday afternoon, when the Patriots faced off against the Saints. I was fortunate enough to be able to go to the game, and watch it live. The Patriots came out strong, and led by Stevan Ridley, took a 17-7 lead. Ridley had two rushing touchdown in the first half, and Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 35 yard field goal. At half time fans were confident, the offense was driving, and the defense was shutting Drew Bree's down. We were not expecting the Saints to come out so strong though.
The Saints were ready right from the second half kickoff. They drove down the field on the Pats Defense, but were held short of the end zone, and Garrett Hartley kicked a 28 yard field goal. The Saint's got the ball back and with 6:19 left in the third quarter, Khiry Robinson bounced to the outside and into the end zone for a three yard touchdown run. We were getting a little nervous in the crowd, as the game was tied and the Saints had momentum.
The Patriots got the ball back, and drove to around he Saints 35 yard line, before being stopped. The Pats put their trust in Gostowski, who kicked a 54 yard field goal, a personal record. The Pats had taken the lead for the the second time.
Early in the fourth quarter, Drew Brees overthrew Jimmy Graham, and the ball landed right in Kyle Arrington of the Patriots hands, for a interception. Arrington intercepted this ball on the Saints side of the field, giving Tom Brady good field position. Brady and the offense struggled to get much going though, and just settled for a Gostowski 23 yard field goal with 8:34 left in the game. The Patriots were now up by six, and were looking for the defense to make a stop.
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Kenny Stills catches the ball over Alfonzo Dennard.
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Drew Brees and the Saints were eager to take the lead, and started driving down the field, giving the Patriot fans a scare. After a holding penalty, the Saints were backed up. They ended in a third and twenty, looking to get a long first down. Pats fan were hoping for just a field goal attempt, but nobody expected what happened next. A 34 yard touchdown pass was just a bad dream come true. Alfonzo Dennard could not have covered Kenny Stills better, but the ball missed Dennard's hand by about an inch, and Kenny Still made a great catch, showing great confidence for a rookie. Now, with 3:29 left in the game, Tom Brady was looking to come back.
The first time the Pats got the ball they had three time outs. They only got a few yards though, as the fourth down catch was dropped by Aaron Dobson. The defense came up big again though, holding New Orleans to a 39 yards field goal. The Saints were now up by four, and the Patriots were going to get the ball back, with one timeout and a little over two minutes. For the first play of the drive Brady goes deep, but completely misses Julian Edelman, throwing an interception. The Patriots defense came up big again, as they used the two minute warning and their timeout to give Brady a little over a minute to do his thing.
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| Kenbrell Thompkins catches game winning pass from Tom Brady with five seconds left. |
New England got the ball on their own 30 to start their drive. On the first play, Brady throws a strike to Edelman across the middle for 23 yards and across midfield. Brady then throws a fifteen yard pass up the middle to newly acquired Austin Collie. Then, attempting to trick the defense, Brady fakes the spike and throws a six yard pass to Aaron Dobson, who intelligently got out of bounds to stop the clock. Tom then threw two pass's deep down the field to Edelman, who dropped both around the one yard line. All of a sudden it is fourth and four, and the fear of the drive ending starts to show. Brady hits Austin Collie again for a nine yard pass though, and all the fans sigh with relief. We all knew that Brady was going to get two shots in the end zone, and we were praying one would be completed. On his first try, with ten seconds left, after Brady had spiked the ball to stop the clock, he gunned a pass over the cornerback into rookie Kenbrell Thompkins hands. This was for the game winning touchdown, and the crowd that was left went wild. It was one of the greatest game I have ever experienced in person, up their with the Bruins sweep of the Penguins last year. I will remember both for a long time. That is not the only thing I will remember the night of October 13th for though.
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| Max Scherzer delivering a pitch against the Red Sox in his dominate performance. |
The night was almost ruined, as Max Scherzer dominated the Red Sox hitters. He had thirteen strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings pitched. He also had a no hit bid, which was broken up by Shane Victorino in the sixth inning with two outs. Scherzer also only allowed one run in seven innings pitched. There did not seem like much hope for Red Sox, as it was five to nothing after Miguel Cabrera and Alex Avila homered in the sixth. The Red Sox managed one run, which gave them some energy, but they were still losing by four.
Stephen Drew led off in the eight inning, but grounded out against Jose Veras, bringing Will Middlebrooks to the plate. Will doubled to left field, which brought up the top of the order. Drew Smyly relieved Veras hto face Ellsbury in a lefty on lefty match up. Jacoby Ellsbury, the lead off man, came up to the plate with one out in the eighth. He worked the count against Drew Smyly, and earned a walk, bringing up Shane Victorino. Al Albuquerque relieved Drew Smyly, and struck out Victorino, leaving the Red Sox with one more out in the eighth. Dustin Pedroia batted after Victorino, and singled to right, but Middlebrooks was held up at third. This brought up David Ortiz, the most recognized Designated Hitter in the game.
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| Broadcast view of Big Papi's grand slam. |
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David Ortiz grand slam different angle.
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| The Red Sox Catcher in the Bullpen catches the Home Run ball after Torii Hunter misses by inches. |
Alburquerque was relieved by Joaquin Benoit, the Tigers closer. Ortiz jumped on the first pitch, and hit the ball into the bullpen for a game tying grand slam, inches over Torii Hunters glove. It was truly amazing, and the Red Sox players and fans were re-energized, and ready to beat the Tigers.
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| Jarrod Saltalamacchia is chased by teammates after walk off hit. |
The night was not over though, as the game was only tied. The Red Sox still needed one more run to finish. Mike Napoli struck out to end the eighth, so it came down to the ninth inning. Koji Uehara delivered again with a one, two, three inning, giving the Red Sox a chance to win. Jonny Gomes reached first on an infield single, and reached second on a throwing error by Jose Iglesias, a former player for the Sox. Jarrod Saltalamacchia approached the plate, and the fans were going crazy. The pitcher was Rick Porcello, and he threw a wild pitch, giving Gomes third base, 90 feet away from victory. Salty singled to left, bringing Gomes home for the walk off victory, and turning the night of Sunday October 13th, 2013, into one of the best nights in Boston sports ever. Boston proved that it is Boston Strong.
