Start not beginning for DiNardo
Lenny DiNardo went to the major league mountaintop in 2004. A 6-foot-4-inch lefthander from Florida, he was called to The Show by the Red Sox in April and made his major league debut in Yankee Stadium four days later, retiring the Bombers in order in the ninth inning of an 11-2 victory.
Before the year was over, he appeared in 21 more games, sang backup on ''Tessie" with the Dropkick Murphys, endured the standard rookie hazing when he was forced to wear a Hooters uniform through Canadian customs, and rode a Duck Boat on the Charles after the Sox won the World Series. He picked up a World Series ring, did the trophy tour, and performed at Hot Stove, Cool Music. He was an ancillary Idiot, a bit player in Boston Sports' Greatest Story Ever Told.
One thing he did not do was start a game or earn a decision. Last night, he did both. Stepping into the gap created by David Wells's big mouth, DiNardo took the ball and gave the Sox six serviceable innings in a 7-3 loss to the Orioles. He surrendered only one earned run, but left trailing, 4-3. DiNardo struck out six, walked one, and gave up seven hits. Sixty-four of his 91 pitches were strikes. He kept the ball down. Not bad for a first big league start.
''I thought he more than held his own," said Sox manager Terry Francona. ''When he locates the ball down, it's hard to get it up in the air. He's going to give your third baseman a lot of ground balls."
DiNardo spent much of this summer on the Lou Merloni/Kevin Youkilis Highway, getting the call from Boston fives times, while starting 22 games for Pawtucket. He appeared in only three games for the Sox before getting the nod as an emergency starter last night.
''I definitely had some butterflies," said the lefthander. ''And I think it showed."
He needed only 10 pitches and faced only three batters in the first. The Orioles reached him for three unearned runs in the second, then another run when the immortal Alejandro Freire punched a cheap homer inside Pesky's Pole in the fourth.
DiNardo made some of his own trouble. He surrendered seven hits and one walk in the first four innings. If not for a tough error on Bill Mueller, all four Oriole runs could have been earned.
The tall southpaw pitched his best in the fifth and sixth. He retired the last seven batters he faced, four on strikeouts.
Source: http://www.boston.com/
''Later in the game, I was a lot looser and felt like I could just go out there and pitch," said DiNardo.
Anyone who's been watching this week knows that it's OK to give up four or five runs when you start for the Red Sox. There's still a pretty good chance they will win. Not last night. Boston managed only two hits over the first eight innings.
Before the year was over, he appeared in 21 more games, sang backup on ''Tessie" with the Dropkick Murphys, endured the standard rookie hazing when he was forced to wear a Hooters uniform through Canadian customs, and rode a Duck Boat on the Charles after the Sox won the World Series. He picked up a World Series ring, did the trophy tour, and performed at Hot Stove, Cool Music. He was an ancillary Idiot, a bit player in Boston Sports' Greatest Story Ever Told.
One thing he did not do was start a game or earn a decision. Last night, he did both. Stepping into the gap created by David Wells's big mouth, DiNardo took the ball and gave the Sox six serviceable innings in a 7-3 loss to the Orioles. He surrendered only one earned run, but left trailing, 4-3. DiNardo struck out six, walked one, and gave up seven hits. Sixty-four of his 91 pitches were strikes. He kept the ball down. Not bad for a first big league start.
''I thought he more than held his own," said Sox manager Terry Francona. ''When he locates the ball down, it's hard to get it up in the air. He's going to give your third baseman a lot of ground balls."
DiNardo spent much of this summer on the Lou Merloni/Kevin Youkilis Highway, getting the call from Boston fives times, while starting 22 games for Pawtucket. He appeared in only three games for the Sox before getting the nod as an emergency starter last night.
''I definitely had some butterflies," said the lefthander. ''And I think it showed."
He needed only 10 pitches and faced only three batters in the first. The Orioles reached him for three unearned runs in the second, then another run when the immortal Alejandro Freire punched a cheap homer inside Pesky's Pole in the fourth.
DiNardo made some of his own trouble. He surrendered seven hits and one walk in the first four innings. If not for a tough error on Bill Mueller, all four Oriole runs could have been earned.
The tall southpaw pitched his best in the fifth and sixth. He retired the last seven batters he faced, four on strikeouts.
Source: http://www.boston.com/
''Later in the game, I was a lot looser and felt like I could just go out there and pitch," said DiNardo.
Anyone who's been watching this week knows that it's OK to give up four or five runs when you start for the Red Sox. There's still a pretty good chance they will win. Not last night. Boston managed only two hits over the first eight innings.
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