2003 - The Only Other Red Sox Miller Park Visit

[Mass Haas]

Fourteen years since the Red Sox only trip-to-date to Miller Park.

 

It was a weekend series, June 6th through the 8th. This was the year prior to the breaking of the Red Sox curse, this was the year Aaron Boone broke the hearts of Sawx fans in the ALCS.

 

Man, were these Red Sox lineups stacked.

 

Baseball Reference for box scores:

 

Friday, Game One -- Brewers 9, Red Sox 3

 

OK, LHP Wayne Franklin survived 5.2 innings despite allowing nine baserunners, including hitting knuckleballer Tim Wakefield with a pitch that actually knocked Wakefield out of the game in the 3rd inning.

 

It was a five-run Brewers bottom of the 6th which included in order a Richie Sexson HR, Geoff Jenkins single, John Vander Wal double, Wes Helms sac fly, Keith Osik RBI single, Royce Clayton intentional walk, and Brady Clark ground-rule double.

 

***

 

Saturday, Game Two-- Red Sox 11, Brewers 10

 

I arrived on Saturday, my first trip to Milwaukee, and this remains the most entertaining, but gut-wrenching game I think I've ever attended anywhere (or seen on TV, for that matter).

 

Among the many recollections from that game:

 

- Rickie Weeks was in town, having just been drafted, and was being interviewed on the field for TV.

 

- The one-and-only Jim Powell, appreciative of our early "Link Report" efforts, hosted my traveling party in the radio booth post-game, and we were in the booth as he did the postgame live. Awesome lifetime memory.

 

- Having no idea where our hotel was (as we failed to take a hotel business card) and racking up a huge cab bill until we figured it out. It was in one of those "W" indian name towns you have so many of...

 

Also, what is not mentioned in the box score is that reliever Jayson Durocher had a "uniform malfunction" in the crotch area and basically ran into the dugout, delaying the game for several minutes, to (we would read later) basically pull his broken jock off and up from above his belt. He then promptly surrendered a Kevin Millar grand slam upon his return to the mound.

 

It was truly one of the wildest games I've ever seen, in person or not.

 

Red Sox starter Casey Fossum left after one inning with an arm injury, so that was a second consecutive day for an early Sox exit. The Brewers led 9-2 (!) after four innings and I was in all my Brewers visiting fan-boy glory.

 

Well, we jump ahead and past the Millar slam and it was 10-9 Brewers heading to the 9th. After Mike DeJean K'd Big Papi, both Trot Nixon and Jason Varitek went deep, the 5th and 6th HR's of the game for Boston, to respectively tie the game and then put Boston ahead. Wow, deflating was an understatement.

 

But there was still more air under the roof to suck out. Brady Clark singled with two outs in the 9th to bring up Wes Helms, who powered a moon shot to right field that Trot Nixon would corral literally right up against the fence. It would have won the game if this had been a few years later when the fence was moved in for the now-existing patio area.

 

Brutal and incredibly exciting all at once -- the park was jumping all night, with dueling fan bases well represented.

 

If I ever meet Kevin Millar, my first question to him would be to ask about this game. Seriously, just wrap yourselves around that box score and game log. It it something.

 

***

 

I was also there for Sunday's matinee --

 

Sunday, Game Three -- Red Sox 9, Brewers 1

 

Yuck.

 

***

 

Once again, I'm flying in from Boston for Games Two and Three of this week's series. See you at Miller Park! Go BrewCrew!

[BrewCrewForever]

Awesome post Jim, thanks for the recap of the only other Red Sox visit to MP. Glad to have you back in Wisconsin to view a few Brewers games!

[madbad2000]

I remember being in attendance at that second game with you. What a memorable evening. That grand slam was so deflating. Up 10-5...boom...so many ups and downs. Have fun on your visit and safe travels.

[MDCrew]

Seems kind of crazy that it has been 14 years since they have come to Milwaukee. How does MLB determine the interleague schedule? I feel like the Brewers have come to Boston a few times. Baltimore is coming back to Milwaukee but can't remember the last time they played in Baltimore. What other cities have they not been to in a while or teams not been to Miller Park?

[EauClaireNWL]

I was there for that Saturday game. Still have the Brewers clock they gave away to fans from that day. ~o)

[ELCABALLO45]

I was 13 years old (!) and I still remember watching that grand slam. And I remember Nixons bomb. I was heartbroken.

[JohnBriggs12]

They showed the Red Sox highlights from this game on their pregame on NESN last night.

[bjkrautk]

I was there for that Saturday game. Still have the Brewers clock they gave away to fans from that day. ~o)

 

I remembered being at that game because of Byung-Hyun Kim, who's submarine-esque delivery made him my brother's favorite pitcher at the time. I think it might have been the only time I saw him pitch in-person.

[stoutdude04]

Seems kind of crazy that it has been 14 years since they have come to Milwaukee. How does MLB determine the interleague schedule? I feel like the Brewers have come to Boston a few times. Baltimore is coming back to Milwaukee but can't remember the last time they played in Baltimore. What other cities have they not been to in a while or teams not been to Miller Park?

 

I have wondered this as well. It should be pretty easy to set up interleague so it rotates equally. Obviously this doesn't happen.

[Jimbo]

Playing in MLB's only six-team division for several years wrecked havoc on the inter-league schedule. Hopefully, future schedules will be more routine.

 

I was also at that Saturday game.

[hawing]

I was there for that Saturday game. Still have the Brewers clock they gave away to fans from that day. ~o)

I wanted one of those clocks but they were long gone by the time we arrived. We had a group of my student employees with us and that delayed our usual early arrival.

 

I didn't know BF guys were around because I think that was maybe my first month or so of BF membership and I was still mostly lurking.