“DIARY OF A WINNER”
|
THE ALL STARS
& PEDRO'S HISTORIC YEAR May 31, 1999 ... It will go down as a nifty, come-from-behind, 8-7 victory over the Detroit Tigers, making the Red Sox 20-8 for the month of May and inflating their giddy, first-place lead over the Yankees to 1 1/2 games. But it was so much more. This was one of the nuttiest and most entertaining games of this or any season. It was Bizarro Baseball, that included 10 pitchers, six homers, four hit batsmen, and three ejections. It started with Luis Polonia's big-league popup that Nomar Garciaparra lost in the sun. The ball landed for a two-base hit (originally scored an error, but changed after the game, adding two more runs to Mark Portugal's ERA). That set the tone. After Polonia's 120-foot double, Tigers second baseman, Damion Easley was hit for the first of three times. The Sox got one back in the first (Nomar's 33d RBI of the month), but Detroit struck quickly in the second. Gabe Kapler started the three-run rally with a Bucky Dent-type homer into the net. With one on and one out, Deivi Cruz hit a one-hopper back to Portugal and the righty strained himself when he leaped and gloved the ball. His left shoulder popped out of its socket. Portugal hung around for three full innings, then left trailing, 6-1. While the Sox came back with a barrage of homers, the veteran righty did some packing and left. Boston trailed, 6-4, in the seventh when things really got interesting. With one on and one out, Tigers manager Larry Parrish summoned rocket reliever Matt Anderson. The righty has been clocked at 103 miles per hour, which is the approximate speed at which Jason Varitek's game-tying, two-run, pinch homer left the yard. The Detroit flamethrower wasn't done. He immediately surrendered a single to Garciaparra, then Troy O'Leary conked a 318-foot pop-fly homer just inside the left-field foul pole. Stanley was next, and on a 3-and-2 pitch, Anderson drilled the first baseman with a 99-mile-per-hour fastball. The pitch hit Stanley above the left elbow and prompted Anderson's immediate ejection by plate umpire Chuck Meriwether. Catcher Brad Ausmus was incensed and then got himself tossed before behemoth Parrish could reach Meriwether for his own pink slip. From that point, the game moved to its inevitable conclusion. The indomitable Tom Gordon came on to record his 54th consecutive regular-season save. Given their first-place status and the nature of this thrilling comeback, one would have expected euphoria in the Sox clubhouse, but the mood was somewhat muted by Portugal. He met with Williams briefly, then brushed past a group of writers without commenting. His locker was nearly emptied. Portugal hasn't won since May 9 and his ERA is 5.00. If Portugal goes AWOL it would not be the first time a Sox pitcher bolted in the middle of a season. Bill Lee took a hike after the Sox traded his pal, Bernie Carbo, in 1978 and tall righty Gene Conley tried to fly to Israel after a frustrating loss in Yankee Stadium in 1962. God bless the Red Sox. In bad times and in good, they are always entertaining. |
|
|
|