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“DIARY OF A WINNER”
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THE CURSE OF
THE BAMBINO, PART 9 May 22, 1986 ... Rain and wet grounds postponed an exhibition game with the Pawtucket farm club that will be rescheduled. May 23, 1986 ... The Can displayed again that he is back with his performance at Arlington Stadium in a 2-1 victory over the Texas Rangers. It was the sixth triumph in a row for the American League East leading Sox and the third straight for The Can. And it was further evidence that the vibes he is giving to and getting from his teammates are positive, which wasn't the case several weeks ago. Boyd had a no-hitter for four innings and allowed only three hits in his eight-inning stint. Don Baylor's two-run homer in the fourth provided The Can with the necessary support. It was enough to overshadow a run-scoring single in the fifth by Texas' George Wright. But after his work night was finished, Boyd had to watch nervously as his teammates staggered down the home stretch in a ninth inning that was full of fireworks on both ends. In the top of the inning, shortstop Rey Quinones was hit in the helmet by a pitch from Rangers starter Ed Correa, who was ejected from the game along with manager Bobby Valentine. Quinones left the game but said afterward he was all right, although his head hurt. The tension hardly ended there. In the bottom of the ninth, Oddibe McDowell reached on an error by Sox second baseman Marty Barrett, placing reliever Joe Sambito in an immediate hole. Scott Fletcher compounded the problems with an infield single that deflected off Sambito and over to Barrett, who couldn't quite reach the bag in time to force McDowell. But Sambito proceeded to strike out the last batter he faced, Pete O'Brien. And Bob Stanley notched his seventh save in gallant fashion, fanning Pete Incaviglia and Gary Ward. At the finish, Boyd (5-3) was so pleased for himself and the Red Sox that he went around passing out handshakes like a kid celebrating his first Little League victory. It was another example of the revival of Boyd, who had been dejected earlier this season because he felt everybody in baseball, including his teammates, was upset with his antics on the mound. Baylor's advice that Boyd should be allowed to be himself during games began the transformation back to The Can, and recent results have reinforced his confidence. Still, The Can remains an angry man, but only when he's pitching, which is just the way he wants it. It was impossible to hit Boyd for the first four innings. Meanwhile, Baylor's seventh homer, which followed a leadoff walk in the fourth by Bill Buckner, gave The Can a 2-0 cushion. But in the fifth, Boyd lost his no-hitter, his shutout and almost his lead. The first hit he allowed was a clean single up the middle by Ward, who advanced to second on a groundout and scored on Wright's clean single to right. Quinones then kept him ahead by racing to stab grounders up the middle by Toby Harrah and Steve Buechele. Boyd was in command for the rest of his outing, then retired for what he hoped would be an uneventful ninth. No such luck. He carried on a running battle of words with fans behind the Sox dugout who were upset that Boyd had hit Ranger catcher Don Slaught in the face with a pitch last weekend in Boston. Then Quinones went down. Plate umpire Ken Kaiser promptly issued the ejections. Kaiser took no action after Baylor was hit in the eighth. Sox manager John McNamara said he didn't feel Correa, who played winter ball with Quinones in Puerto Rico, was deliberately throwing at him. Valentine agreed, in diplomatic fashion. For all that grief, the Sox wound up loading the bases and not getting anything out of it in the top of the ninth. That could have been fatal had it not been for the rescue work of Sambito and Stanley in the bottom of the inning. Barrett, who has hit safely in six of the last seven games, will remain in the leadoff spot because McNamara says he likes his ability to put the bat on the ball. With Barrett leading off, Boston has three contact hitters up front to set the table for Jim Rice, Don Baylor and Tony Armas, who was returned to center field. Lyons was benched in the shuffle. Barrett has been on base 11 times in the last six games. |
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