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WADE BOGGS |
THE CURSE OF
THE BAMBINO, PART 9
"IT AIN'T OVER 'TIL IT'S OVER"...
The Sox blast the Mariners
May
1, 1986 ... A
12-2 victory over Seattle followed up the overpowering pitching Roger
Clemens, Bruce Hurst, Sammy Stewart and Bob Stanley had unleashed
against the Mariners the previous two evenings, running up a major
league record 36 strikeouts in back-to- back games.
This time
Oil Can Boyd merely had to pitch his normal game and let the Sox bats reassert
themselves. In rolling to their fourth straight win, the Red Sox completed a
three-game blitz of Seattle with a 12-hit barrage before a crowd of 13,109 at
Fenway Park.
The Sox
scored twice in the first inning without benefit of a hit, then put the game
away with five runs in the fourth. The fourth-inning uprising finished Seattle
starter Billy Swift of South Portland, Maine. He began it badly by hitting Don
Baylor with a pitch, then gave up three straight singles. Base hits by Rich
Gedman and Marty Barrett loaded the bases. Steve Lyons singled in one run, and
Wade Boggs and Bill Buckner brought in two more with a single and double,
respectively. The fifth run scored on an error.
But it
remained for Boyd (2-2) to hold the fort, and he went the distance, even though
Seattle finally did display a bit of offense. The Mariners collected nine hits,
including a solo homer by Steve Yeager. Seattle hitters struck out only five
times, which for them represented a dramatic improvement. But they never caught
up with Boyd, who refused to get caught up in the Strikeout Game and simply
played the Can Game.
Seattle's
pitching wasn't quite as dominant. Although Swift didn't allow a hit in the
first three innings, it was obvious that he was the target in a shooting
gallery. The two runs that Boston scored in the first were the result of three
walks, a hit batsman and a groundout. But in the fourth, Boston's hitters
emerged from hibernation.
Boggs had
three hits, including a a 400-foothomer into the center-field bleachers that
highlighted a four-run sixth against Mariners reliever Lee Guetterman. Boggs,
whose average is .325, contributed to the team win not only with his three RBIs
but with his defense. He recorded two putouts and nine assists. And his third
homer of 1986 put him almost two months ahead of last year's pace.
Barrett also
collected three hits, pushing his average to .328. Lyons' three hits included
the RBI single and a run-scoring triple.
Ed Romero
was at shortstop for the second straight night. Glenn Hoffman was given some eye
drops to clear up blurred vision, but was on the bench. Bill Buckner's elbow
improved and he was at first base for the first time in three games. |
