The Most Painful Loss of the Season?

It is difficult, if not impossible, to identify a loss this season that was more disappointing or painful than the Red Sox 6-5 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night at Camden Yards. What began as a pitchers' dual featuring Eric Bedard and Dice-K Matsuzaka going against each other for 7 hard fought innings (the O's leading 1-0 after 7), inexplicably turned into a slugfest in the 8th inning. It was like watching a double header--two different games in one. The Red Sox began the 8th by sending 10 men to the plate--8 of them after there were already two outs--and scoring 5 runs. Wily Mo Pena got the big hit driving in the tying run on a 3-2 count. With the game seemingly wrapped up, Tito Francona turned to his vaunted bullpen, and, evidently intent on not increasing Okijima's already heavy workload, turned to recent addition Eric Gagne to close out the 8th (despite the O's having several lefties coming to bat in their bottom half of the inning). Gagne, continuing the troubles he has exhibited since he was traded to Boston, promptly handed Baltimore back the 4 run lead. In 4 appearances for Boston since the trade deadline, Gagne has given up runs in three of them and compiled a stupefying 16.20 ERA. Opposing batters are hitting .474 when Gagne pitches in a Boston uniform. Perhaps it was to avoid performances like this that the Red Sox passed on Gagne during their search for a Closer during the off-season and instead allowed him sign as a free agent with the Texas Rangers. Okijima, who has been the bullpen's workhorse to date by a wide margin, came in--too little to late--and blew only his second save of the year and earned is first loss of the year when Brian Roberts opened the 9th with a double, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and then scored the winning run on a sacrifice fly to Coco Crisp. Not much else to say other than---Dice-K, who gave up 4 hits, 1 run and struck out seven, has won 3 of his last 4 decisions and has only allowed 5 earned runs in the last 27 1/3 innings--oh, and the Yankees are once again 5 games back in the AL East.