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“DIARY OF A WINNER”
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THE CURSE OF
THE BAMBINO, PART 9 May 26, 1986 ... The Red Sox celebrated their return to the AL East for the first time in a month with a 5-3 victory over the Indians. Jim Rice scored an insurance run in the eighth inning when catcher Marc Sullivan was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Bruce Hurst was on the verge of another no-decision until the Boston bullpen bailed him out. The Sox have stumbled badly in Cleveland over the years, but today began like a holiday cruise on Lake Erie as they won their eighth game in nine starts. There were the usual anxious moments. By the fifth inning, a 4-0 lead had shrunk to 4-2. By the seventh, the crowd of 27,019 was on its feet because Hurst had given up a leadoff single to Fran Mullins and a double to Andy Allanson. But the Red Sox did not panic. They simply opened the door for their talented bullpen and brought in the right people to get the job done. Tim Lollar, Sammy Stewart and Joe Sambito each were brought on before Bob Stanley finished up for his eighth save. Lollar came in for Hurst and retired Brett Butler on a sacrifice fly. Stewart then took over and reminded the Indians what the role of the artful middle man is all about. With the tying run on third, he got Julio Franco to hit a soft grounder to short, and Joe Carter lined out to second baseman Marty Barrett. The Indians made their final threat in the eighth after Boston had gone up, 5-3. Brook Jacoby singled with two out and McNamara decided to go to his bullpen again. His first choice didn't work. Sambito gave up a double to pinch hitter Tony Bernazard and immediately yielded to Stanley, who got out of the jam by inducing pinch hitter Chris Bando to fly to left. Stanley mowed the Indians down 1-2-3 in the ninth, which indicates there is something about this Red Sox bullpen that bears watching. Hurst was disappointed with his performance but was grateful that good fortune came his way. Home runs by Buckner and Baylor accounted for three runs. But the insurance run in the eighth is a perfect example of how the Red Sox are winning. Singles by Rice and Baylor, who earlier in the game had been hit for the 199th time in his major league career, were followed by a walk to Dwight Evans. Steve Lyons popped out for one out. Then the Red Sox tried to squeeze the run home with a suicide bunt by Sullivan. When that failed and the count went to 0-2, Sullivan politely stepped in front of a fastball and got his sixth run batted in of the year. Bill Buckner's first-inning home run extended his hitting streak to seven games. Wade Boggs picked up two hits and is now batting .452 (19 for 42) with men in scoring position. Don Baylor was hit by a pitch for the 199th time in his career. Bruce Hurst picked up seven strikeouts to regain the American League lead from Clemens (84 to 81). |
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