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“DIARY OF A WINNER”
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THE CURSE OF
THE BAMBINO, PART 9 May 25, 1986 ... Roger Clemens, the smooth-throwing Red Sox righthander breezed to a 7-1 victory, smoking the Rangers in his version of a Texas barbecue. Clemens didn't have another record-breaking strikeout game, but he flirted with a no-hitter for 7 2/3 innings, before settling for an eight-strikeout (four-walk) two-hitter. He made it look easy, but it wasn't. Clemens developed a problem with the middle knuckle of his pitching hand, and said it bothered him all the way through his eighth straight victory this year without a loss. But you'd never have known it. He didn't reveal it on the bench for seven innings. By that time, he had set down Ranger after Ranger, with not only his 95-m.p.h. fastball, but also a slider, a curve and a changeup. Clemens has never pitched a no-hitter beyond Little League, but he had one intact with two outs in the eighth inning yesterday until Texas outfielder Oddibe McDowell nailed a 1-and-0 pitch for a solid single. He lost his shutout in the ninth inning on a home run by Darrell Porter. Actually, Clemens came within inches of getting McDowell. Steve Lyons was playing shallow in center and raced in as fast as he could. The low liner dipped just before Lyons could get his glove down, and he short-hopped it. McDowell was aware that Clemens was working on a no-hitter, but said it was the last thing on his mind when he came to the plate. Hopefully, the knuckle problem is a small one. Clemens' 8-0 start is the best by a Sox pitcher since Roger Moret's 11-0 in 1973. His eight strikeouts gave him the AL lead again (81), and his earned run average dipped to 2.69. He used only 117 pitches to complete his third game of the year and his first career two-hitter. But by the seventh, with Boston ahead, 5-0, thanks largely to Wade Boggs' second-inning grand slam And Boston's bats also were in control. Two-out singles by Marc Sullivan, Rey Quinones and Marty Barrett set the stage for Boggs' first career slam, his fifth homer of the year. Boston scored single runs in the fourth, eighth and ninth innings, and pounded Texas pitchers for 15 hits. A flu bug kept Rich Gedman out of Saturday's game and today's. Catcher Marc Sullivan had the second three-hit game of his career. Don Baylor is on a tear at last, having hit safely in seven straight games and 10 of the last 11. Wade Boggs' grand slam today was the first of his career. It was his fifth homer of the year. Boggs' two hits boosted his average to .361 lifetime against Texas. |
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