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“DIARY OF A WINNER”
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THE CURSE OF
THE BAMBINO, PART 9 May 30, 1986 ... The Minnesota Twins jumped all over rookie Rob Woodward in the first three innings and pounded three relievers en route to a 13-5 rout that ended a four-game Red Sox winning streak and handed Boston its second loss in 12 games. This was ugly baseball, and the ugliest work of all was turned in by the Sox bullpen, which hadn't suffered a collapse like this all season. The Twins wound up with 15 hits. The 13 runs were the most allowed by Boston this year. As a result, the Sox wasted the 15-hit production of their offense, including four by Jim Rice and three by Wade Boggs. Woodward gave up five runs in two-plus innings, the shortest stint of any Red Sox starter. He was filling in for Roger Clemens, whose next start has been delayed until tomorrow. But he wasn't a reasonable facsimile of the staff ace. Two of the runs Woodward allowed were unearned. But he didn't help himself by issuing two walks in the first inning, helping the Twins take a 3-1 lead, then falling apart after being given a 4-3 lead in the third. Woodward's early exit meant the night belonged to Tim Lollar, Steve Crawford and Joe Sambito. Manager John McNamara gave each the ball, but he forgot to provide flak jackets. By night's end, the Twins had 15 hits, including three homers -- two of them by Roy Smalley. If the starters come through, McNamara can use his bullpen in an orderly fashion. Sammy Stewart is usually the long reliever, but he generally doesn't appear before the fifth inning. Lollar and Crawford are the middle men, and Sambito and Bob Stanley finish up. This is the formula that had produced 13 saves in 17 chances and protected a lead or tie in 19 of 23 appearances. But the master plan went awry when Lollar replaced Woodward. After giving up a game-tying homer to Smalley (4 RBIs), Woodward surrendered a single to Kent Hrbek. Tom Brunansky greeted Lollar with a two-run homer, and by the end of the third, the Twins had turned a 4-3 deficit into an 8-4 lead. Walks to Randy Bush and Gary Gaetti preceded a two-run double by Medford's Steve Lombardozzi that provided the four-run advantage, and the game had assumed a pattern the Sox couldn't alter. The reason was Keith Atherton, who hurled 5 1/3 innings of five- hit relief after taking over for Frank Viola. The left-handed starter, who couldn't retire a Sox batter at Fenway Park May 20, lasted only 3 2/3 innings this time, getting tagged for 10 hits and failing to record a victory despite eight runs of support. Once Atherton (2-2) arrived, the Boston attack stalled. The Red Sox never seriously threatened while the Twins kept pummeling the bullpen, getting four runs off Crawford and one (on Smalley's second homer) off Sambito. Rey Quinones and Marty Barrett committed errors, and there were several other misplays that won't show up in the box score -- including baserunning lapses by Dwight Evans and Boggs that killed rallies. The mysterious illness that is keeping Glenn Hoffman on the disabled list has been diagnosed. Red Sox physician Arthur Pappas said yesterday that the veteran shortstop has a mild cardiac problem, which has been causing repeated episodes of dizziness and fatigue. Pappas added that it can be alleviated by treatment. Hoffman has been on the disabled list since May 17th. |
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