The Imperfect Schedule - Games 131-140

Well the dream is over.  After 134 consecutive victories our virtual Sox fall to defeat.  The loss is on the list as it remains one of the great memories of my time as a season ticket holder.  It’s an absolute classic and was a really wonderful and memorable night at Fenway with a good friend for me.

Game 131 - Mariners 1 at Sox 8 - 2003 - There really aren’t many interesting game 131s.  Anyways, as was his wont Pedro dominated the Seattle nine for six innings then Grady Little handed the ball to a lanky right-handed for his first Red Sox’ appearance.  Bronson Arroyo worked the final three innings for what would be his only Red Sox save.  New DH David Ortiz reached the 20 home run mark.
Game 132 - Sox 8 at Dodgers 1 - 2013 - When I think of Jake Peavy’s Red Sox tenure this game is on the short list at the front of my brain.  In front of an national Sunday night audience Jake “c’mon Peave”d his way to a complete game 3 hitter and was backed by homers from Saltalamacchia, Napoli and Victorino.
Game 133 - A’s 0 at Sox 4 - 2011 - This was a weird day.  Game one was rescheduled from the previous day due to Hurricane Irene and the Sox won that one.  They somehow squeezed in the second game, I remember leaving the first game in a torrential downpour.  In the second game Erik Bedard (4 IP), Alfredo Aceves (3 IP), Daniel Bard (1 IP) and Jonathan Papelbon (1 IP) combined on a 3 hit shutout.  The Sox were two games up on the Yankees but would not win consecutive games the rest of the way.  Let’s move on.
Game 134 - Marlins 6 at Sox 14 - 2018 - The Sox trailed 5-3 going to the bottom of the seventh.  Eduardo Nunez led off with a single…and away we went.  The comedic highlight (or lowlight depending on your POV) was Marlin RF Rafael Ortega trying to make a throw in and having the ball slip out of his hand and go backwards.  The Sox scored eleven runs but Andrew Benintendi was partying like it was 2020 as he was responsible for all three outs (sacrifice bunt, GIDP).
Game 135 - Yankees 1 at Sox 0 - 2001

WAIT WHAT???

Yes, the streak is over.  Let’s reset;

Game 135 - Yankees 1 at Sox 0 - 2001 -  This was my first year of season tickets.  My buddy Mark and I went to the Sunday night matchup of Mike Mussina and David Cone hoping for the Sox to salvage a game from the series despite being out of the race.  We got a modern day classic.  Cone turned back the clock allowing just six hits and a ninth inning double by Enrique Wilson plated the only Yankee run.

But the Moose was better.  26 men came to the plate, 26 were retired.  In the 8th inning Mark and I switched seats with the people to our left (I would later learn it was Joe’s nephew, I got to know Joe over the years, good guy). Didn’t work.  Rally caps.  Didn’t work.  I think I turned my shirt inside out.  Nothing.  In the ninth we were back in our seats.  With one out we were screaming and Mark leaned over and asked “are you rooting for the Sox or for the no hitter” my response is as true today as it was then “I don’t know.”  Pinch hitter Carl Everett (for Joe Oliver) ended the bid with a flare out to left-center.  As he returned to first base Everett looked at the Sox’ dugout and shrugged his shoulders as if to say “I don’t know what I did differently.”  That’s as close as I’ve come to seeing a no hitter.
Game 136 - Orioles 0 at Sox 10 - 2007 - A friend was going through a divorce and asked to meet up for dinner.  He had to get out of the house.  We went to Longhorn’s in Tewksbury.  Got there as the game started, finished eating about the 5th but we weren’t going anywhere.  Rookie Clay Buchholz was dealing in his second career start.  Dustin Pedroia made a spectacular play on a hot shot up the middle in the 8th.  In the ninth with Fenway roaring as it had 5 years and 364 days previously (this game was September 1st, the Cone/Mussina game September 2nd) Buchholz dropped the hammer on Nick Markakis and Fenway erupted in celebration of the no hitter.
Game 137 - Mariners 4 at Sox 5 - 1990 - Larry Anderson gave the Sox 3 shutout innings of relief but Carlos Quintana was the hero this day.  His sacrifice fly in the ninth plated Randy Kutcher, pinch running for Phil Plantier, to tie it and then his single brought home Tony Pena to win it in the 11th.
Game 138 - Sox 9 at Mariners 8 - 1996 - It’s just a coincidence but the Mariners seem to be all over this list.  Anyway, the story here was Mike Greenwell batted 8th in this game…and set a Major League record driving in nine runs to account for every run his team scored in the game.  He hit a 2 run homer in the fifth, a grand slam in the seventh, a two run double in the eighth and finally an RBI double in the tenth for the win.  Interestingly the Sox didn’t have anyone pile up runs.  Six other players plus Gator himself scored runs with only Tim Naehring scoring two runs (and pinch runner Lee Tinsley scoring one in his spot) as Naehring went 0 for 1 with three walks.
Game 139 - Blue Jays 2 at Sox 3 - 2017 - Hope you didn’t have to go to bed.  I was cooked so I went to bed in the top half of each inning, rested a bit then got up to watch the Sox bat.  Finally in the 19th I was rewarded when Hanley Ramirez’ fly ball to center dropped plating Mookie Betts.  The 12 pitchers the Sox used was and remains a club record (they equalled it ten days later) and the 23 strikeouts the pitchers had equalled a club record that they broke in the game in Tampa ten days later.
Game 140 - Tigers 1 at Sox 2 - 2013 - The Sox handed Max Scherzer his second defeat of the season (against 19 victories) on a Will Middlebrooks two run single.  Jon Lester picked up the win with seven strong innings and then Workman, Breslow, Tazawa and Uehara closed it out.