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THE SUMMER OF "MORGAN'S
MAGIC" ... September 14, 1988 ... Mike Boddicker settled down nicely to do his part in completing a three-game sweep of Baltimore with a 4-3 victory. The win came at the expense of the club that dealt him to the Sox in July. Facing his former colleagues for the first time, the 31-year-old veteran dealt the Orioles a dose of vintage Boddicker. After falling behind, 2-0, Boddicker recovered, lasting seven innings, while the Red Sox offense did the rest with a 10-hit attack sparked by Mike Greenwell's single, double, triple and homer for the 17th cycle in club history. Lee Smith worked the ninth for his 26th save. By the time Boddicker, who allowed six hits, left in favor of reliever Dennis Lamp, the Red Sox were in the driver's seat, and the resourceful starter had done his job again. Boddicker got his wakeup call as the Orioles were parlaying two walks and two singles into their 2-0 second-inning lead. His teammates got theirs at about the same time, and no one answered more emphatically than Greenwell, who scored three runs. Greenwell was putting up some heady offensive numbers. He was hitting .334 with 20 homers, 109 RBIs, and 36 doubles heading into the game with Baltimore. With the Sox trailing in the second inning, Greenwell deposited a fastball over the Baltimore bullpen for his 21st home run of the season to slice the lead in half. In the fourth inning Greenwell doubled and eventually scored on Jim Rice’s fly ball. The Red Sox scored two runs in the frame to seize a 3-2 lead. Greenwell led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a triple to left field. Left fielder Larry Sheets appeared to have a bead on the baseball, but it dropped behind him near the scoreboard. Greenwell legged it to third base. Greenwell scored on a sacrifice fly by Ellis Burks, and the Red Sox now led 4-3. “I knew I needed a single for the cycle,” said Greenwell. “Somebody jokingly asked me what I would do if I hit one in the gap. In a one-run game? I’d get as many bases as I could.” Greenwell singled to right field in the eighth inning, to cap his 4-for-4 day. Greenwell was excited about his accomplishment. “You all saw how I felt,” he said afterward. “I had my fist clenched before I reached first base. When I was on the radio after the game, Ken Coleman and Joe Castiglione told me that hitting for the cycle is rarer than pitching a no-hitter. This is definitely one of my biggest thrills in baseball.” On his triple, Greenwell said, “When I first hit it I thought it might be caught. Then I saw he was having trouble with it so I put my head down and kept running hard. Once I saw it on the ground, I put my head down and just kept running." That is Mike Greenwell in a nutshell; he was always hustling and never gave up on a play. The Sox maintained their healthy American League East lead, staying 4 1/2 games ahead of the Yankees, with Detroit and Milwaukee 5 1/2 in arrears. |
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