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THE SUMMER OF "MORGAN'S
MAGIC" ...
The Sox
capture first place with
their 22nd straight home win
August
3, 1988 ... Thanks to a bizarre 5-4 victory
over the Texas Rangers, courtesy of Jody Reed's run-scoring
eighth-inning single, the Sox now share the American League East lead
with the Tigers, who lost to Kansas City, 2-1.
The Sox
indeed were a lucky club, blowing a 3-1 lead. They won by snapping a 4-4 tie
with what is becoming routine drama for the Fenway Faithful. Ellis Burks, who
had bailed out starter Bruce Hurst with spectacular grabs in center field in the
fifth and sixth, drew a walk with one out in the eighth. With two out, he stole
second. Jim Rice, who had hit a two-run homer in the fourth, was intentionally
walked. Reed then singled to left, and Rice almost got caught off second before
Burks crossed the plate, which would have nullified the run. But Rice was safe,
Burks' run counted, and thanks to the relief work of winner Dennis Lamp (6-3)
and Lee Smith (save No. 18), the Red Sox were winners.
These Sox
have so many ways of getting the job done, it's becoming hard to keep track of
the heroes. They gave Hurst a 3-1 lead, thanks to Rice's two-run homer in the
fourth off Canton's Bobby Witt and Dwight Evans' RBI single in the fifth. The
Sox express almost was derailed in a three-run Texas seventh that may cost the
services of reliever Bob Stanley.
Stanley,
who took over from Hurst with one out and runners on first and third, hit Scott
Fletcher with a pitch, loading the bases. Then he made a throwing error after he
got hit on the right ankle by a Ruben Sierra line drive. After fielding the
ball, Stanley threw it past catcher Rich Gedman, allowing two runs to score and
tying the game. Then he gave up a single to Pete Incaviglia that gave Texas a
4-3 lead.
The Sox
got this victory by taking advantage of the mistakes that have kept Texas in the
lower terrain of the AL West all year. Incaviglia helped out by turning a
routine fly ball to the left-field corner by Wade Boggs (3 for 4) in the bottom
of the seventh into a triple. He slipped on a wet spot about 10 feet from The
Wall. Boggs scored on a Marty Barrett groundout, and the game was tied at 4-4.
The climax
was as bizarre as they get in Fenway. Burks' steal of second prompted the
Rangers to walk Rice to get to Reed. That's not great strategy these days. For
some reason, Texas played the pull-hitting Reed off the line. He responded with
a single through the spot left vacant between second and short. But the run
wasn't guaranteed. While Burks was gliding around third, Rice made a wide turn
at second. Incaviglia saw this and alertly threw to second. Rice recovered and
dove back safely.
Burks'
performance was another example of why people are starting to compare him to
Willie Mays. He didn't have a hit, but scored twice. In addition, he made a
diving catch in short center to rob Fletcher to end the fifth. He preserved the
lead in the sixth with an over-the-shoulder grab of Bob Browers' drive to the
wall, ending the inning.
With their 22nd straight Fenway Park victory, the Sox also
tied the 1931 Philadelphia Athletics for the longest home winning streak in AL
history.
In
addition, they improved their record under Joe Morgan to 19-1. The Miracle
Manager celebrated his first day of job security with a contract through 1989 at
a reported $190,000 by watching the Sox knock their 1949 predecessors out of the
club record book for longest home winning streak. He also watched them erase the
remainder of the nine-game chasm that existed between them and first place when
he replaced the fired John McNamara three weeks ago. |
