THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, PART 9
"IT AIN'T OVER 'TIL IT'S OVER"...
The Mariners jump all over the Sox

July 18, 1986 ... It was Al Nipper's turn to suffer the revenge of the Seattle Mariners who for the second straight night carried the fight right to the Red Sox and walked away with a crushing 10-4 victory. Seattle pounded out 14 hits off three pitchers and one would hardly suspect Boston had won seven of the first eight meetings.

Unlike Seattle's 5-1 victory in the opener of this series, this one was all but over after the first inning when the Mariners scored four unearned runs. Nipper, who has yet to find himself this year, bore the brunt of the assault. By the time he started putting things together, the Sox were down, 6-2, and they haven't been capable recently of overcoming huge deficits.

This is not to say they didn't try their best against Seattle right-hander Mike Moore (6-9) who gave up enough hits and deep fly balls to cover the marathon course from Hopkinton to the John Hancock building. Red Sox hitters destroyed pitches, but of 10 hits, only three of were for extra bases. Moore did give up a solo home run to Dwight Evans. But he pitched out of jam after jam until the eighth inning when he finally left in favor of Matt Young.

Nipper didn't have much help. The Mariners' first-inning surge was aided by two errors. John Moses reached on a muff by Rey Quinones, and he scored on a two-out error by Wade Boggs. The big blow of the first was a three-run homer by Danny Tartabull. By the time Nipper left in the seventh inning, he had allowed eight runs and 10 hits and the Red Sox weren't about to match that kind of run production.

It didn't take long for the Mariners to get the upper hand again last night. After snuffing out a bid by Boston in the top of the first, Seattle jumped on Nipper for four earned runs in the bottom of the inning.

Moore survived the first inning by getting Boggs to hit into a double play after a leadoff single by Marty Barrett, and Don Baylor to ground to short after a base hit by Bill Buckner and a walk to Jim Rice.

Then came a nightmarish start for Nipper, who should have escaped without any runs. Quinones muffed an easy grounder by Moses. Then Phil Bradley singled to right. Nipper got Jim Presley and Ken Phelps on fly balls but, with runners on first and third, Boggs booted a routine grounder by Al Davis, scoring Moses. Tartabull then drilled a fastball into the seats in right- center, and the Mariners led, 4-0.

Evans opened the second inning with a bunt single to third, and moved to second on a hit to right by Rich Gedman. Evans scored and Gedman wound up on third as Quinones atoned for his first-inning blunder by stroking a double past the third base bag. Moore seemed in danger of falling apart, but didn't. Center fielder LaSchelle Tarver hit a hard shot that Presley flagged down and turned into a putout. Gedman was unable to score on that play, or moments later when a squeeze bunt by Barrett, who eventually struck out, rolled foul. With two out, Moore walked Boggs to load the bases. Buckner hit a 400- foot wallop to deep center, but it wasn't far or fast enough to get past the speedy Moses, who ran it down for the third out.

With a run in possession, Nipper seemed capable of keeping the game close. But with two out, he crumbled again and the Mariners made it 5-1 on back-to-back doubles by Phil Bradley and Presley.

Rice led off the third inning with a towering fly ball that Moses caught at the base of the wall at the 410-foot mark. Baylor hit a rocket to shortstop Spike Owen. Evans then unloaded for his 12th home run, a line drive over the left-field fence, cutting the lead to 5-2.

But Nipper wilted in the bottom of the third. Davis singled as leadoff man and Tartabull walked. Scott Bradley hit into a double play, with Davis moving to third, and Owen blooped a single to left, scoring Davis.

Boston cut the lead to 6-3 in the fifth inning but blew a golden opportunity to send Moore to the showers after loading the bases with one out. Boggs singled and Buckner walked to start the inning. Rice hit into to a forceout at second but, when Baylor was hit for the 22d time this season, the bases were loaded for Evans.

Moore did his job, getting Evans to ground to third. But Presley was so intent on making a force play at third to start a double play, he took his eyes off the ball and dropped it. Boggs scored on the error. Gedman flied to short right and Quinones grounded into a forceout.

Nipper gave up hits to three of the first four batters he faced in the sixth and two runs scored. Bradley opened with a single up the middle, and moved to second as Owen grounded to first, unassisted. Harold Reynolds doubled to right-center, scoring Bradley, and Moses also doubled in about the same spot, scoring Bradley.

The Red Sox' third straight loss cut their AL East lead to five games over the Yankees.