|
“DIARY OF A WINNER”
|
THE CURSE OF
THE BAMBINO, PART 9 July 29, 1986 ... It is no slight of the White Sox right-hander to say that Joe Cowley beating the Red Sox ranks as a major upset. He couldn't possibly have been as bad the second time around as he was in April when a 12-2 loss to Boston earned him a one-way ticket to Chicago's Buffalo farm club. But tonight he pitched a two-hitter in the White Sox' 4-1 victory over the American League East leaders. Even the White Sox came to grips with the reality that an occasional home run doesn't make up for a hitting slump by the so- called big guns. After smashing a two-run homer that helped Chicago end an eight-game losing streak, Ron Kittle was traded to the Yankees as part of a five-player deal. Rookie Jeff Sellers gave up four runs in the first three innings, suffering his third straight loss. But if the hitting was there, the scoreless relief work of Tim Lollar and Calvin Schiraldi might have meant something besides mop-up duty. The Red Sox are not the same team that bombed Cowley for five runs in 2 1/3 innings in his first game this year, either. Since returning from Buffalo, Cowley hadn't improved much. He is 5-6 overall with a 5.03 earned run average before tonight. But this time around he was in control. The Red Sox hits were both singles by Jim Rice, who grounded out for the final out in the ninth with two men on. The lone run Cowley allowed came in the fourth inning and was unearned. Marty Barrett reached on error, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and a ground out, and scored on Rice's second hit. Jeff Sellers could have helped himself with a strong outing. But instead he fueled speculation that he might be the one to go when Oil Can Boyd returns. Like Al Nipper, Sellers had shown some poise in the second inning when a leadoff walk to Greg Walker led to a 1-0 Chicago lead. With one out, Carlton Fisk beat out a single off Ed Romero's glove at short, moving Walker to third. He scored on a fly by Tim Hulett. Ozzie Guillen then beat out an infield single to short, and both Guillen and Fisk moved up on a balk. But, after walking Julio Cruz, Sellers got out of the jam by getting John Cangelosi to ground out. But in the third inning, Sellers got into trouble after a leadoff double by former Boston outfielder Steve Lyons. One out later, Walker singled up the middle, scoring Lyons. When catcher Rich Gedman was charged with his fifth passed ball since the All-Star break, Walker moved to second. Sellers then made a bad pitch on a 2-2 offering to Kittle, who blasted a two-run homer into the upper deck in left. The Red Sox, who are 3-9 and batting .214 on the trip, should be grateful they still maintain a four-game lead over the Yankees. But the rest of the pack, once thought out of it, is not far behind. Wade Boggs' numbers are a far cry from June 5th when he was hitting .404 and there had been talk of Boggs being the first man since Ted Williams to finish at .400. Not since May 4th had Boggs been under .351. A Wade Boggs slump is an 0-for-14 streak, or 3 for 29 in his last nine games. It is a streak that has produced short fly balls to left and grounders to short. When all is right, he hits line drives. Dwight Evans has quietly moved into third place on the Red Sox all-time list of games played (1,876), passing Dominic DiMaggio. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
 |
 |