THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, PART 9
"IT AIN'T OVER 'TIL IT'S OVER"...
The Sox rally and overtake Oakland

July 8, 1986 ... Momentum was the key to an 8-7 victory over the Oakland A's before a crowd of 25,680 at Fenway Park, who watched the Sox boost their American League East lead back to eight games on the second-place Yankees.

Boston trailed, 4-1, in the sixth and seemed destined for its second defeat in as many nights to the team with the worst record in baseball. But the Sox produced a five-run surge in the sixth and punctuated that with clutch relief pitching, highlighted by Steve Crawford, who stifled the A's in the ninth with the tying and go-ahead runs on base, registering his third save by retiring Dave Kingman on a fly to center.

That sealed the Sox' 20th come-from-behind victory, on a night when there was no shortage of heroes. Start with veteran first baseman Bill Buckner, who drove in four runs and highlighted the sixth with a three-run double that produced the 6-4 lead. Next came Bob Stanley and Crawford. Without vital relief work by both men in difficult situations, the Sox wouldn't have survived.

Taking over for Oil Can Boyd (11-6), Stanley pitched out of a jam in the seventh and lasted until the ninth. When he faltered, allowing two runs, Crawford finished off the A's.

Finally, there was Boyd. The Can may have to talk his way onto the AL All- Star team. But he has the stuff of a winner, although tonight he needed a lot of help from his friends.

The support for Boyd came after Oakland built its 4-1 lead on Jose Canseco's 21st homer, a two-runner in the fourth, and a pair of unearned runs in the sixth on a single by Bruce Bochte after a disputed walk to Canseco that left the Can visibly upset.

The Sox responded by jumping all over Oakland starter Bill Mooneyham, and eventually pinned the loss on Rick Langford (1-10). Mooneyham, who had surrendered a sacrifice fly to Buckner in the third, was greeted in the sixth by singles by Dwight Evans and Tony Armas and a double by Rich Gedman. That brought on Langford.

Leading, 4-2, Langford gave up a 380-foot double to the fence in right-center by Rey Quinones. But Gedman was so convinced Mike Davis would catch the ball that he went back to second to tag up, and only Armas scored. Langford struck Marty Barrett, whose 14-game hitting streak came to an end. But new A's manager Tony La Russa then went by the book, bringing in lefthander Dave Leiper to face lefty hitters Boggs and Buckner, with disastrous results. Boggs worked Dave Lieper for a walk, loading the bases. With the outfield shaded to right, Buckner pulled a pitch into the right- field corner for his bases-clearing double.

This victory took more than firepower, although the Sox added two runs in the eighth on Armas' run-scoring triple and Gedman's sacrifice fly for a seemingly comfortable 8-5 lead.

Oakland would not bow meekly. Boyd left with none out in the seventh after issuing a walk to Dwayne Murphy and a single to Jerry Willard. That prompted Mcnamara to call in Stanley. His start was shaky, and Boston's lead appeared in jeopardy. After striking out Alfredo Griffin, Stanley gave up a run-scoring double to Tony Phillips. That made it a 6-5 game, with runners on second and third and the heart of the Oakland order coming up. But Stanley struck out Lansford and Canseco.

But Stanley couldn't last for his 15th save. In the ninth, he gave up a leadoff double to Murphy. He retired the next two batters, and got Phillips to hit a ground ball back to the middle. But the ball hit the mound and took a weird hop into center, scoring Murphy. Next, Lansford hit a routine grounder to third that Boggs bobbled for an error. When Canseco singled to left, scoring Phillips, the A's had two men on and Kingman at the plate. And Crawford was on his way to the mound.

Crawford kept pumping fastballs until Kingman flied to center for the out that ended the game. It got Crawford the save and gave Stanley a reminder that he isn't the only one who can pick up the slack.

Marty Barrett's 14-game hitting streak, which tied a career high and raised his average from .264 to .301, was one of the Red Sox' best-kept secrets. Barrett's streak ended with his 0-for-5 collar last night, dropping his average to .296. But in the previous 14 games, he batted .466 (27 for 58) and led off the first inning in nine of 13 games with a hit. Barrett began tonight with a .329 average (26 for 79) against lefthanders.

Jim Rice has 10 assists, tops among American League outfielders, and also leads the league in doubles (28).