“DIARY OF A WINNER”
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THE ALL STARS
& PEDRO'S HISTORIC YEAR May 7, 1999 ... Mo Vaughn, the erstwhile Red Sox slugger who signed with the Anaheim Angels this offseason and returned to his former haunts, Fenway Park, only to discover it is now the Casa de Martinez. With thunderous ovations from the sellout crowd of 32,220 dwarfing the mixed reception Vaughn received, Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez struck out a career-high 15 in eight innings and combined with temporary closer Tim Wakefield to shut out Vaughn's Angels, 6-0. Pedro, who became the majors' first six-game winner (6-1) with his fourth straight victory, did not walk a batter and allowed just six hits in upstaging Vaughn, who went hitless in four trips and went down swinging twice against the man who said he dreaded facing Mo as much as he did pitching against his brother Ramon. The Sox ace, who leads the majors with 76 strikeouts, five more than Arizona's Randy Johnson, has struck out 10 or more in his last five outings, a feat never accomplished by the Sox ace he succeeded, Roger Clemens. This was the 13th time in 40 starts with the Sox he has fanned 10 or more, the 40th time in his career. Vaughn, who had hugs for Stanley and Valentin as well as most of his former teammates before the game, was booed during pregame introductions, then heard more grumbling as he approached the plate for his first at-bat. But those sour notes were drowned out by a standing ovation, as Vaughn stepped out of the batter's box and waved to the crowd. Vaughn, who struck out three times Thursday night in Detroit and is hitless in his last 10 at-bats, settled into the batter's box for his first at-bat, but not before delivering an unusual greeting to Sox catcher Jason Varitek. He whacked Tek with his bat. Pedro whacked back, however, inducing Mo to chase a 1-and-2 changeup that faded from sight, triggering the first of what became a night-long series of ovations for the Sox pitcher. Pedro struck out at least one in every inning he worked. He struck out the side in the sixth, beginning with Vaughn, and twice fanned four batters in succession. Mike Stanley, who used to spend hours talking hitting with Vaughn, singled home two runs in the sixth after a Troy Glaus error, an O'Leary single, and a wild pitch had placed runners on second and third with no outs. That hit, off Angels starter Omar Olivares, gave the Sox a 4-0 lead, which became 6-0 an inning later when successive doubles by Jose Offerman and Valentin scored one run and Stanley doubled home Valentin. The Sox had taken a 2-0 lead in the third, which began with a single by Buford. He was in motion when Trot Nixon's tapper went off Olivares' glove and everyone was safe. Offerman walked to load the bases, and Valentin's sacrifice fly made it 1-0. Olivares then picked off Offerman from first, but in the subsequent rundown, Nixon scored from third. Despite chants of "Pedro, Pedro," manager Jimy Williams lifted Martinez at the start of the ninth. By that time, Martinez had thrown 126 pitches, and with a six-run lead generated in good measure by two of Vaughn's closest friends he left behind, John Valentin and Mike Stanley, Williams elected to save the slender Dominican for another day. |
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