THE ALL STARS
& PEDRO'S HISTORIC YEAR
The rest of the Sox win one for Pedro
June 15, 1999
...
After a 4-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins before 31,805 at Fenway
Park, this victory was more about coming together as a team than
individual glory. Pedro worked eight innings and struck out eight to
claim his 12th victory. But it took a four-run rally in the sixth to
wipe out a 2-0 deficit, and the Sox couldn't relax until the final
out.
The young
Twins, a team of free swingers who lost all fear of Pedro during spring training
battles, were out for revenge after a stunning 4-3 loss Monday night. Pedro hung
tough until his teammates could get him in front, then got ninth-inning help
from new closer Tim Wakefield to prevail.
Pedro had
not been feeling well, and it showed in the third inning when Minnesota scored
its two runs. But after the Sox rallied for the four-spot in the sixth, Pedro
came out humming fastballs, striking out two in the seventh and breezing through
the eighth.
The runs
came on five singles and a walk. Mike Stanley, Troy O'Leary, Damon Buford, and
Jeff Frye drove in a run apiece. Stanley's hit was cause for even more
celebration because it broke an 0-for-27 slump, driving in the first run. One
inning later, he collected another hit, a double, which just happened to be the
1,000th hit of his career. Stanley said his prayers nightly during the slump,
and tonight they were answered. |