THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, PART 9
BLEEPIN' BUCKY DENT'S HOME RUN ...
The Sox rally and sweep the Tigers
May 28, 1978
...
Dwight Evans hit a two-run homer and Jerry Remy broke out of
a slump with a triple, and scored the tie-breaking run on Fred Lynn's
sacrifice fly in the seventh inning, lifting the Red Sox to a 4 to 3
win over the Tigers and a doubleheader sweep.
The Sox also won the first game, 4 to 3, on Jim Rice's 10th inning
leadoff homer, his 18th of the season and fourth in as many games.
Rice drilled a 1-2 pitch into the screen in left-center off John
Hiller.
Ron LeFlore and Jason Thompson had homered for the Tigers, giving
them a 3-2 lead going into the bottom of the eighth inning. The Sox
tied the score on a controversial play, when Carl Yastrzemski
singled, Carlton Fisk doubled and Fred Lynn got an RBI single, on a
grounder to Thomson, the firstbaseman. Umpire Dave Phillips ruled the
ball fair, but signaled it foul as Yaz scored and Lynn beat Thompson
to the bag.
Bob Stanley replaced Tom Burgmeier after Tim Corcoran led off the
ninth inning with a base hit. After Stanley struck out Aurelio
Rodriguez, Carlton Fisk gunned down Corcoran, attempting to steal
second. Stanley then got Alan Trammel on a called third strike.
Stanley retired all the Tiger batters in the 10th before Rice's
walk-off homer.
Yaz, who was 5 for 7 in the two games, beat out a bunt in the second
inning of the second game. He took third on a single by Butch Hobson
and scored on Jack Brohamer's sacrifice fly. The Tigers tied the game
the next inning, until Evans slammed a homer, after Hobson had
tripled in the fourth, giving the Sox a 3-1 lead.
The Tigers came back to tie the game in the seventh inning on a
single by Thompson, a triple by Steve Kemp and a base hit by
Corcoran. However the Sox bounced right back. Remy broke an 0-for-12
slump with a triple and scored on Lynn's sac fly.
Rookie Jim Wright allowed all the Tiger runs in nightcap, before
giving way to Dick Drago. The Sox pulled off seven double plays in
the two games.
The Sox posted their sixth consecutive victory and their eight in
their last nine games, equaling the team's best record for the month
of May (21-6), equaling the record of the 1946 Sox. |