MLB in Japan: Game 2 Live Blog Innings 7-9 - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

It's still 4-1 Athletics through 6. Will the Red Sox make a run at this one? Follow the game play by play after the jump.

Enter MLB in Japan: Game 2 Live Blog Innings 7-9 TOP OF THE 7TH

Oh. That Red Rectangle Lady was a sock. Cool?

Santiago Casilla in for Rich Harden, who surrendered only the one run after 95 pitches. Brandy is still trying to break a whole in the roof of the Tokyo Dome and strikes out swinging.

Matt Watson provides video of Jose Canseco's wife talking about steroids. What else would she talk about? Oh, right, Roger Clemens' wife's boobs.

Varitek looks awful. Maybe the long innings yesterday messed with this timing? Maybe?

Crisp knocks a double, which brings Lugo to the plate with a scoring opportunity.

Casilla is opening counts early and taking advantage of waste pitches. His stuff isn't extremely overpowering or even being placed that well, but staying in counts helps him get out of the inning unharmed. Lugo grounds out short.

BOTTOM OF THE 7TH

I'd like to take this moment to mention that my speed smells like an Egg McMuffin.

Manny Delcarmen in to pitch against the righty Mark Ellis. His Crazy Drifter Beard is coming in quite nicely.

Delcarmen strokes his Drifter Beard, I assume for pine tar. He charges a squib hit and throws Ellis out by half a step.

They will not stop showing shots of Daisuke Matsuzaka. How much could they possibly be saying about him? I understand that's the big appeal of this game being played in Japan, but didn't they get that out of their systems yesterday?

Oh. I've just been told that Daisuke used to play in Japan, which explains everything. Forgiveness, please.

Barton grounds out to second. Two up, two down.

Sweeney rips a frozen rope to center for a single. Emil Brown is up to try and get something going with two away.

Pedroia settles under a fly ball to short right, retiring the side. It's still 4-1 after 7 complete.

TOP OF THE 8TH

Keith Foulke is in for the Athletics against the top of the order. Pedroia is hitless on the day. He chases another pitch in the dirt to fly out again. Meanwhile, ESPN misspells "Harden".

Youk rips one past shortstop Bobby Crosby for a single. He wussed out and played it to his side, which would count as two errors if I were commissioner.

Ortiz hammers a changeup straight into the air to fly out. Two away.

Tokyo is thunderstixing their hardest as Ramirez steps into the box. A wild pitch sends Youk to second base. Bob Geren is having Foulke go right after Ramirez. The Red Sox need to take advantage of situations like this.

Manny watches strike three. A fastball outside and low. Looked a little too low to me. Manny thought so too, flipping his bat and helmet in frustration. Gary Thorne tries to calm Ramirez down from the booth.

BOTTOM OF THE 8TH

Bryan Corey is in to pitch. Bobby Crosby flies out in foul territory. One pitch, one out.

My dog just woke up, looking awfully confused that I'm not still in bed.

Ramirez catches out number two with no problem.

Suzuki smacks his second double of the game. He reached out and slapped changeup to Coco's right, who feebly hurled the ball back in with the intensity of a ceremonial first pitch.

I don't know what the hell's playing through the speakers at the Tokyo Dome, but I just heard what sounded like a woman rapping, several bells, and a quacking duck. Must mean 9:50 PM or something.

Jeff Fiorentino slaps a single to center, which Coco can't get to the plate. Youk, correctly, moves to cut off the throw, but Corey doesn't cover first, resulting in shenanigans. Fiorentino returns safely to first after a wide turn. Man on first, two away. 5-1 Athletics.

Gary Thorne openly mocks the international video feed ESPN is using. "Hey, let's see Manny's homerun for the 18th time." It sure beats seeing Matsuzaka watching the game in complete silence for 10 minutes.

Buck grounds out to second. 5-1 Athletics through 8.

TOP OF THE 9TH

This is it for the Red Sox if they can't put together 4 runs. Lowell's leading off against Alan Embree, who was set to pitch even in the save situation before Suzuki scored last inning. I wouldn't trust Huston Street either.

Lowell rips a single to left. Sean Casey, a lefty, is pinch hitting for Moss to face the lefty Embree. He promptly grounds into a double play. Hey, at least Moss would have struck out on three wild swings. Hit the pine, old man. Bases empty, two outs.

The game comes down to Varitek, who's 0-7 with 5 k's this season. Whee.

He promptly falls behind 0-2... Wait for it.... Wait for it....

Swing and a miss. Oakland wraps things up without a problem to split the Japanese series a game a piece. Final score: 5-1 Athletics. Oakland had 9 hits and an error, while the Red Sox picked up only 5 hits.

The Red Sox and Athletics will play two more in Oakland on the first and second of April. Until then, it's back to boring ass preseason ball. Enjoy, everyone.

MLB in Japan: Game 2 Live Blog Innings 1-3
MLB in Japan: Game 2 Live Blog Innings 4-6