Clement, Red Sox rescued by raindrops
Boston starter's five earned runs dissipate in the deluge
BOSTON -- Mother Nature provided the best relief Sunday for Matt Clement and the Red Sox.
The second rain delay of the game was brought on by a series of heavy rains, lightning and thunderstorms that inundated Fenway Park and eventually forced umpires to call the game following a wait of nearly four hours.
The White Sox were batting in the top of the fourth and had scored twice to extend their lead to 5-2 with runners on first and second with one out when the deluge began anew.
Statistics from the game will be wiped out, and the contest will be replayed in its entirety.
The game was stopped the first time for 48 minutes after the top of the first. Rainwater flooded the first two rows of infield box seats and both dugouts.
Before the second stoppage, the White Sox had rapped out eight hits against Clement, who surrendered three runs in the third before his teammates rallied in the bottom half of the inning for two.
But Clement gave the runs right back on a long homer to the first row of the Monster seats in left-center by Jermaine Dye leading off the fourth, followed by an RBI double to Chris Widger, making it 5-2.
The washout also preserved Boston's 13-game home winning streak and its six-game overall streak. The Red Sox did lose a half-game on their first-place cushion in the AL East and now lead the Yankees by 4 1/2 games.