If Red Sox fans didn’t know Ruben Gotay before Boston’s 8-5 win over the Royals on Wednesday, they probably do now. His name almost became the answer to a trivia question. Gotay’s second inning fly to shallow left was caught by Manny Ramirez, but not before Ramirez and shortstop Edgar Renteria collided, leaving both players on the ground for a few minutes.
Both players got up and walked to the dugout, as the catch secured the third out of the inning. Ramirez had to leave the game with bruises on the right side of his face and chest, while Renteria stayed. Renteria eventually left in the seventh with sore ribs.
Ramirez did plenty of damage before his departure. His three-run homer in the first inning, his 30th of the season, gave Boston a 3-0 lead.
But the Royals eventually tied the game and took the lead for a brief period of time. Emil Brown hit his 10th home run of the season in the second inning to cut the Red Sox lead to 3-2.
In the fourth inning, Mike Sweeney hit his 16th home run to tie it at 3-3. Angel Berroa gave KC a 4-3 advantage with an RBI single to score brown.
But for the second straight night, former Royal Tony Graffanino tied the game with an RBI single, when he drove in Kevin Millar in the bottom of the fourth. Renteria put Boston back on top for good with a sacrifice fly to score Graffanino in the fifth inning to make it 5-4.
Starting pitcher Kyle Snyder (0-3) was chased in the fourth inning and got the loss, as he saw his ERA balloon to 9.24. He was charged with five runs off eight hits and a walk. Boston starter Wade Miller (4-4) got the win, while Curt Schilling earned his seventh save.
