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“DIARY OF A WINNER”
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THE CURSE OF
THE BAMBINO, PART 9 April 22, 1986 ... Roger Clemens won for the third time this season as the Red Sox posted a 6-4 victory over the Tigers at Fenway Park, a triumph that displayed rather convincingly the Boston Master Plan for success. Home runs by Don Baylor, Rich Gedman and Tony Armas keyed an 11-hit attack as the Red Sox won for the second time in five games with Detroit. But the key to victory was the 6 2/3 innings that right-hander Clemens gave them, and the help he got from the beleaguered bullpen, which came through according to the blueprint. Clemens struck out 10. He gave up a towering two-run homer to Darnell Coles in the third inning, when Detroit took a 2-1 lead. But when Baylor regained the lead for Boston with a two-run blast off loser Jack Morris (2-2) in the bottom of the inning, Clemens came to life again, and the Tigers were overmatched until he tired in the seventh. Even then, the game plan worked. After Clemens gave up a leadoff double to Chet Lemon and a pair of two-out singles to Dave Collins and Coles, manager John McNamara did the logical thing with his team leading, 6-3. First, he summoned left-hander Joe Sambito, who promptly threw a wild pitch, but then retired left-handed-hitting Lou Whitaker on a grounder to second. With that accomplished, McNamara called on Bob Stanley, who responded with a two-inning stint that resulted in his first save since last July 26. Stanley did give up a ninth-inning home run to Mike Laga on an 0-2 pitch, which will cost him some cash in the Red Sox' kangaroo court. Clemens' eight-hit performance made it doubly bad for Detroit, which lost star outfielder Kirk Gibson for 4-6 weeks when he suffered a severe ankle sprain on a pick-off play in the second inning. Clemens was stunned when Coles hit a high fast ball some light years over the screen in left, wiping out a 1-0 Boston lead. But once he got the lead back, he bore down and dazzled the Tigers with his 90-mile-per-hour fast ball, especially in the middle innings. In the fourth, Clemens struck out the side. In the fifth, he used only six pitches and got the Tigers on three fly balls. After Baylor's home run, the Sox got solo blasts from Gedman and Armas. All three were off Morris, who has allowed nine homers in just four games. Beyond that, five of the 11 hits were doubles, including two by Wade Boggs Clemens said he felt at his best in the middle innings, when he was loose. But as the night went on, he stiffened and wasn't upset at all that he was lifted after throwing 117 pitches. Once he got the lead again, it was a matter of pitching effectively or challenging hitters. Clemens did a little of both. The momentum is back in Boston. They've slain the Tigers in the main arena. Relief pitcher Wes Gardner was again encouraged after 10 minutes of throwing on the sidelines. He said there was no pain from working five minutes Monday, and if he continues to progress, he'd like to start throwing off the mound Friday. |
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