This article appears courtesy of mlb.com
By Ian Browne
MLB Reporter
DETROIT -- As long as the Red Sox hold options on Kevin Youkilis, the third baseman knows too well that he could wind up back in the Minor Leagues the next time the team winds up in a roster crunch. But he is hitting like a man who wants to stay, and it was Youkilis who delivered the biggest hit of Wednesday night's 4-3 victory over the Tigers.
With runners on first and second and one out in the eighth, Youkilis lined a 2-2 slider from Kyle Farnsworth into left for a single, scoring Jay Payton and snapping a 3-3 tie. It was the culmination of a solid night for Youkilis, who went 2-for-3 with a walk and scored a run.
This came on a night Youkilis was in the lineup so Bill Mueller could rest up for Thursday afternoon's contest.
"I'm just filling in for guys, that's what I'm doing here," Youkilis said. "We have a set roster, we have great players here. Right now, I'm just filling in and basically just making the best of my opportunity. It feels good. This is great, to get up there and have an opportunity to put us ahead late in the game."
The bullpen made the slight lead stand up, allowing starter Tim Wakefield (seven innings, 10 hits, three earned runs) to run his record to 3-1. Mike Timlin, fresh off two brilliant innings Tuesday night, worked a scoreless eighth, aided by a great play in the hole by Edgar Renteria.
With one out, Rondell White, at the very least, looked to have an infield hit. But Renteria went a couple of steps on to the outfield grass and fired a bullet to Kevin Millar, nabbing White by inches and snuffing out a potential rally.
"I know he runs good," Renteria said of White. "I tried my best. When I got the ball, I saw him running and I said, 'I have a chance.' That's why I tried to put a little bit on the ball."
Timlin, who played with Renteria in St. Louis for parts of three seasons, has seen it before.
"I knew he had a chance to catch it, I didn't know he had a chance to throw him out," Timlin said. "That was deep in the hole, that was a tremendous, tremendous play. I was lucky enough to see that in St. Louis. I know what he can do."
Closer Keith Foulke, perhaps ready to start rolling after a shaky start, came on in the ninth to record his sixth save. But the save of the night likely came on a defensive play in the bottom of the fifth.
White lined a double out of the reach of Manny Ramirez, who made a wrong turn in pursuit of the ball. One run scored on the play to tie it up, but Ramirez gathered himself quickly, made a textbook relay to Renteria, who then fired home to catcher Doug Mirabelli to nail the potential go-ahead run.
"We executed the cutoff relay and that keeps it tied," said Sox manager Terry Francona. "Maybe that's where we ended up winning the game."
Youkilis made sure of that during that eighth inning, with assists from Payton and Mark Bellhorn, both of whom drew walks off Farnsworth to set up the run-scoring opportunity.
In a limited sample of at-bats that have been interrupted by a trip back to Pawtucket, Youkilis is hitting .467 (7-for-15).
"I think Youkilis, he gives you a really mature at-bat for a kid who hasn't been around long," said Francona. "He pays attention, he commands the strike zone. He's just a very mature hitter."
The fact of the matter is that Youkilis, at least at this stage of his career, is caught in a numbers crunch. For Mueller won a batting title just two years ago and is cemented into the lineup.
Youkilis knows that as fact, which helps him thrive in his current role.
"You know your situation coming into the season," Youkilis said. "You have to accept it. Some day, I'll get my chance. We have some veterans here. It's a learning process. In the past year, I've learned a lot."
To Francona, a hitter such as Youkilis searching for playing time is merely a byproduct of the type of team the Red Sox have.
"We're supposed to be a good team," Francona said. "Billy Mueller won a batting title not too long ago. He's a pretty good player. This is not a problem, this is a huge asset for us."
While Youkilis has been a pretty recent asset for the Sox, Wakefield keeps chugging away. On a night he didn't have his best knuckleball, he found a way to make it work.
"I thought he was outstanding," said Francona.
Mirabelli, Wakefield's batterymate for the last four seasons, kept the pitcher focused.
"He had some innings where he battled through it," Mirabelli said. "He just concentrated on getting outs. He found ways to get outs in certain situations."
And the Red Sox, who have now won four of their last five heading into the final game of a seven-game road trip, found just enough ways to win.
