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THE CURSE OF
THE BAMBINO, PART 9
"IT AIN'T OVER 'TIL IT'S OVER"...
The
Sox come back again against the A's
July 9, 1986
... There was nothing particularly artful about the Red
Sox' 7-6 triumph over the team with the worst record in baseball before a crowd
of 26,019 at Fenway Park. The bottom line is that Sox outfought the enemy, even
though at times, the enemy was themselves.
Despite pounding out 12 hits,
the Sox committed three errors, helping the A's
seize a 4-0 third-inning advantage and turning what
could have been a rout into another cliffhanger.
Two of the errors were made by Wade Boggs.
Technically, he was responsible for eight runs,
scoring one, knocking in two and letting in five
with his misplays.
Indeed, the Red Sox could have won, 7-1. The A's took their
big lead with four unearned runs after two were out in the third. Two runs
scored off Jeff Sellers (3-3) on a ball that dipped when it should have darted
and went past Boggs for a two-base error. Two more scored when Sellers hung a
slider to Dave Kingman, who hit his 19th homer of the season and the 426th of
his career.
The Sox responded with a six-run surge in the bottom of the
inning. Boston collected seven hits, including a run-scoring double by Rey
Quinones and RBI singles by Boggs, Don Baylor and Dwight Evans, which tied the
game. Then Tony Armas, who would later leave with yet another leg problem, hit a
two-run double to left-center, giving Boston a 6-4 lead.
Sellers, who has won three straight, survived for 7 1/3
innings, yielding an unearned run in the fifth inning and a solo homer to
Alfredo Griffin in the seventh after his fourth-inning difficulties. When he
faltered in the eighth, the Sox called upon Joe Sambito, who registered his
ninth save. With Bob Stanley being given a night off, Sambito retired five
straight batters as he demonstrated again that he is far more than a mere
bargain offseason pickup, meriting complete trust.
The Sox didn't begin to show improvement until they'd
spotted Oakland the four tainted runs. Then Boston batters used A's starter Curt
Young (5-6) for target practice. Marc Sullivan's single started the third-inning
rally, and Quinones doubled him home. Marty Barrett (2 for 4), who had a 14-game
hitting streak snapped Tuesday night, moved Quinones to third on a single to
center. Then Boggs delivered the first of his three hits, scoring Quinones. A
walk to Bill Buckner loaded the bases, but Jim Rice popped out. Baylor and Evans
followed with run-scoring singles, tying the game. That brought up Armas, who
drilled a fastball by Young to left-center for only his second game-winning hit
of the year.
Boston's seventh run came after an Oakland misplay in the
sixth. Barrett reached when Carney Lansford mishandled his grounder to third.
Boggs followed with a booming double off the wall in left- center that was
within inches of being a homer.
Sambito then saved the night by bailing out Sellers.
By surviving both Oakland and their own self-destructive
tendencies, the Red Sox preserved their eight-game American League East lead
over the Yankees.
Shortstop Glenn Hoffman hasn't been seen around Fenway Park
in weeks, but the club announced that he will start working out with the
Double-A New Britain Red Sox, so that the club can determine where he can be
assigned. Hoffman, who is still on the Red Sox disabled list because of
dizziness related to a cardiac problem, will not play any games with New
Britain. He can't be placed on a rehabilitation program until he is officially
assigned to a club. |
