THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, PART 9
"IT AIN'T OVER 'TIL IT'S OVER"...
Blue Jays' homers beat down the Sox

July 3, 1986 ... Toronto jumped all over Oil Can Boyd tonight and broke a 2-2 tie with three runs in the fifth and led, 8-5, after eight innings. The loss cut Boston's American League East lead to seven games over the Yankees.

Rance Mulliniks and Jesse Barfield each hit two home runs. Mulliniks, who knocked in four runs, had solo shots in the fifth and seventh innings. Barfield, the AL home run leader, hit a solo shot in the fourth and a two-run blast in the seventh, his 20th and 21st of the year. Toronto, which had 37 hits in three games, added 12 in the first seven innings.

The Blue Jays reached Boyd immediately for back-to-back hits and took a 1-0 first-inning lead. Tony Fernandez opened with a double, his seventh hit of the series. Mulliniks, who helped send Clemens to his first defeat Wednesday, smacked a single past first, scoring Fernandez. Mulliniks stole second. But Boyd retired the next three batters, striking out two.

The Sox responded with back-to-back hits in their half of the first. Marty Barrett extended his hitting streak to nine games with a single, and Wade Boggs also singled. But the rally fizzled as Bill Buckner popped up and Rice hit into his ninth double play of the year and first since May 26th.

The Sox threatened again in the third but killed this rally with ill- advised baserunning. Marc Sullivan walked and was sacrificed to second. He moved to third on a wild pitch by starter John Cerutti. With the infield playing halfway, Barrett hit a grounder to second. But for some reason, Sullivan stopped dead in his tracks for an instant, and by the time he reached home, the ball was waiting for him.

Toronto made it 2-0 in the fourth on Barfield's 20th homer, a shot over the left-field screen.

But this time Boston did something about it, scoring two runs in the bottom of the inning. Buckner singled and moved to third on a double by Rice, his league-leading 26th of the year. Don Baylor brought Buckner home with a sacrifice fly. After Rice went to third on Cerutti's third wild pitch of the night and Dwight Evans walked, Tony Armas tied the game with a single to center that scored Rice. But Evans was stranded at third as Armas was thrown out trying for a double and Sullivan struck out.

Boyd promptly wilted and left with Boston trailing, 5-2, in the fifth. A single by Ernie Whitt and a double by Damaso Garcia put Boyd in a hole. Fernandez gave Toronto the lead with a grounder that scored Whitt. Mulliniks increased the margin to three with his ninth homer, into the right-field seats. After surrendering a walk and a single and getting an out, Boyd was replaced by Mike Brown, who struck out Cliff Johnson to end the inning.

The Sox cut into the deficit in the sixth, scoring a run and chasing Cerutti in favor of Mark Eichhorn. Rice's line homer to left pulled the Sox within 5-3, and Cerutti left after giving up a single to Armas with two out and throwing his fourth wild pitch, this time on a strikeout that allowed Sullivan to reach base. Rich Gedman pinch hit for Rey Quinones but grounded to second.

Toronto expanded the margin to five runs in the seventh when Brown's tenure ended. Mulliniks led off with his second homer of the night, a line drive into the right-field seats, just inside the foul pole. After a one-out walk to Bell, Barfield added his second homer, a two-run shot that pushed the Toronto lead to 8-3.

When Willie Upshaw singled with two out, Brown was replaced by Tim Lollar, who gave up a single and then retired the side.

The Red Sox' Jim Rice had three hits, including his eighth homer.

With the loss, the Red Sox completed a string of 29 games against the American League East. They went 17-12 in the stretch, which began June 2nd, and increased their lead from 2 1/2 games to 7.