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Sox homers bring them back against the Jays July 28, 1982 ... The Red Sox keep finding ways to put the starters behind them and bring the majority of their games down to the bullpen. Sometimes, it's been their defense. Sometimes, it's been their woodpecker attack of two-out singles. Tonight, after Bruce Hurst was knocked out in the first and the Blue Jays handed Dave Stieb a 7-1 lead by the third inning, the Red Sox had two blasts. With the rains closing in, Dwight Evans followed what appeared to be an innocuous third-inning homer with his fifth-inning three-run shot. And when Carney Lansford greeted reliever Roy Lee Jackson with another three-run smash, Bob Stanley came leaping over the bullpen fence for four shutout innings to save the 9-7 victory over Toronto before 18,627 in Fenway Park. Stieb, who had won four in a row as the front man for the league's best young starting rotation, found himself with the rare 7-1 lead in the bottom of the third. When Evans hit a towering home run in that inning to make it 7-2 and Stieb breezed through the fourth, it seemed as if he were on cruise control. Then, all of sudden, with the rains bearing down in the fifth, Stieb gave up hits to Glenn Hoffman and Rick Miller, and found himself with Evans at the plate. He took a Stieb fastball and rifled it to left, a shot that at the last instant just found the elevation to make the screen inside the foul pole. 7-5. At that point, Ralph Houk had Stanley warming up and was going to bring him in after Bobby Ojeda's solid two inning throw-in. Then Jim Rice hit a pea through the middle and Carl Yastrzemski lined a single to right, and Toronto manager Bobby Cox had had enough. He brought on Jackson, but Lansford jumped on the fireballing reliever's third fastball and screeched it to the top of the screen. It was 8-7, Red Sox. And that's how it was turned over to Mr. Stanley. After four horrid innings, things quickly changed with a fine Rice running catch and a Rich Gedman throw that cut down Damaso Garcia. But Stanley had what he had to have, and once again the bullpen had found a way to win. Since May 23, when the Sox were 29-28, the four organization-produced starters, Hurst, John Tudor, Chuck Rainey, Ojeda, have made 37 starts, won nine, lost 15, had one complete game victory and compiled an ERA of 5.11. Hurst got behind Damaso Garcia leading off, and Garcia singled. Garth Iorg got an infield hit up the middle. Two singles and a walk later, it was 2-0, the bases were loaded and Aponte was in. While Luis got out of that jam with only a run, he gave up four more in the second and third and turned the garbage time baton over to Ojeda. It was easy to get work while the Sox were behind, although as soon as Evans hit his homer, Houk was getting Stanley into the game. What's astounding is how the starters keep finding ways to turn it over to Stanley, Clear and Burgmeier. The win kept Boston a half-game behind Milwaukee. |
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