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The Sox come back numerous
times and
beat the Yanks on a 10th inning walk-off
June
8, 1982 ... Not only was it the Red Sox and
the Yankees, it was one of those rare, memorable tag-team
arm-wrestling matches. And unlike so many years past, the Boston
strength held off the New York strength until the Yankees finally
broke down. New York had to go to George Frazier in the 10th inning,
and before he could get an out Carney Lansford had lined the
game-winning single into left field and the Red Sox had a 4-3 victory
that brought the Fenway 31,413 to its feet in raucous approval of the
team that the star system left behind.
Not only did they have to overcome Ron Guidry and Goose
Gossage with Dennis Eckersley and Mark Clear combining for a six-hitter, they
also had to come back three times against two of the great pitchers of this
generation. First they took care of deficits of 1-0 in the first and 2-1 in the
seventh against Guidry. Then the Sox watched Jim Rice and Carl Yastrzemski greet
Gossage with hits in the eighth, a double-play grounder tie it up against him
and Clear roll along until Gossage could go no longer. Then Rice, Yaz and
Lansford did it again in the 10th against Frazier.
When it opened, it looked as if the Red Sox had lapsed into
a trance. Willie Randolph and John Mayberry hit balls that slid by the sliding
dives of Rick Miller for doubles, Gary Allenson had two passed balls and New
York had a 1-0 lead. But Guidry was a little wild starting off, throwing the
first six pitches for balls, so Jerry Remy was on first, was bunted up by Dwight
Evans and scored on a ringing single by Rice that started the Sox left fielder
off to a night of two important hits, a walk opening the 10th and a fine running
catch. Then Guidry and The Eck, through a few curious moments, went into the
sixth at 1-1 until Eckersley didn't get a pitch in to John Mayberry and the big
first baseman, who barely missed two other homers that went foul, sent his sixth
homer into the seats past the right-field foul pole.
In the seventh Glenn Hoffman roped a single off The Wall,
was moved up by Allenson's bunt and watched Houk send Tony Perez in for Miller.
Perez got a good pitch to hit - a slider up and ripped a double into the gap in
left-center against the fence on two hops and it was 2-2. Guidry stranded pinch
runner Reid Nichols at third. But it was tied.
Only in the eighth, Ken Griffey golfed another home run
into the seats beyond Evans' kamikaze dive for a 3-2 New York lead, which
brought on The Goose. Rice greeted him with a single to right, Yastrzemski
ripped a grounder up the middle as Rice hustled to third and Lansford walked to
load the bases. Gossage got out with only the one run with a Dave Stapleton
double-play grounder, and, after Houk went for the win by hitting Rich Gedman
for Hoffman, a broken-bat grounder. But it was 3-3 and Clear was in there.
He allowed a leadoff single to Roy Smalley in the 10th, but
after Butch Wynegar had the bunt called off and flied out on a hit and run,
Clear motored through the 10th. Soon he had his fifth win to go with 10 saves
and his remarkable 1.31 ERA.
Yankees manager Gene Michael then had to remove Gossage,
who prefers not to go more than two innings, especially after a week off after
complaining of a tired arm. Enter George Frazier. He walked Rice, watched
Yastrzemski (.331) line another single into center as Rice chugged to third on
his bad legs, then had to face Carney Lansford, who Friday night had hit the
two-out, three-run homer off California's Doug Corbett in the 11th. This time
Lansford got a slider on the second pitch, ripped it into left- center and it
was over.
The Red Sox have come from behind to win four straight
games, two of them after the seventh. And while they remain .005 behind
division-leading Detroit, they lead the 25-26 Yankees, who have lost four
straight and six of seven, by eight games. |
