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JOAQUIN ANDUJAR |
THE CURSE OF
THE BAMBINO, PART 9
"IT AIN'T OVER 'TIL IT'S OVER"...
The A's jump on Tom Seaver
July 22, 1986
... Talking of a slump happened in the wake of a 4-2 loss
to the Oakland A's, it neatly summed up a stretch of games in which Boston's
lead in the American League East has continued to shrink. With the Yankees
beating the Texas Rangers, it now stands at just four games over New York.
Boston has lost seven of the last nine games. The Red Sox slump started on the
final weekend at Fenway Park and has continued with losses in five of the last
six games of the West Coast trip.
A slump is when you get six
hits off Joaquin Andujar, and yet only one of them
produces. A slump is when a 41-year-old seasoned
veteran retires 12 batters in a row, but only after
he's had a first-inning lapse that put his team in
a 3-0 hole.
It is on a day when a Tom Seaver pitches that you realize
how fragile the difference between being a good club and a great one. With Jim
Rice out with a knee injury, Tony Armas in limbo, and the rest of the lineup
juggled because of it, Seaver's chances of winning rest on a strong offensive
surge.
In his last start against Seattle, Seaver allowed only one
run in six innings and gave up only one run. Boston lost, 5-1, in 11 innings.
Today, he lost on the basis of a three-run first inning. It was an inning he
normally survives, but this time he didn't. Something was wrong with his rhythm.
He walked Dwayne Murphy with one out and gave up a two-out opposite-field single
to Bruce Bochte. Next he threw a wild pitch, putting two men in scoring
position. Dave Kingman followed with a single up the middle, and Oakland led,
2-0. Kingman stole second and went to third on a throwing error by Rich Gedman.
Then Carney Lansford stroked a line drive to left for a double and another run.
The drive which might have been caught eluded Don Baylor, who has played only
two games in left since 1984. That's how it goes when you're in a slump.
Meanwhile Joaquin Andujar was mowing down the Red Sox.
Boston's bats did come to life in the person of Gedman, who followed a one-out
single by Baylor with a two-run rocket over the center-field fence.
Seaver faded in the seventh when Oakland scored an
insurance run. Mike Davis beat out an infield single and went to third on a
single by Jerry Willard.
The run scored on a sacrifice fly to left by Alfredo
Griffin, the kind of play which made you long for the days when Carl Yastrzemski
used to nail runners at the plate. Baylor caught the ball, but had neither
position nor leverage on his throw. The speedy Davis beat the throw home easily,
and that was all for Seaver, who left the game two batters latter.
What it came down to was that they didn't show any offense
again, and Seaver didn't get the ball where he wanted it. That's the story of
the game right there. |
