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“DIARY OF A WINNER”
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THE CURSE OF
THE BAMBINO, PART 9 August 8, 1986 ... Tom Seaver allowed only five hits and struck out a season-high of nine, beating the Tigers, 6-1, with his first complete game in a Red Sox uniform. He came within one out of his 62d career shutout before John Grubb scored Lou Whitaker from third with a single to left in the ninth. Seaver did what the pregame mid-American storm could not do. The rains didn't smother the spirits of 46,779 who turned off Rosa Parks Boulevard and filed through the gates of this ancient ball yard to see their Tigers chop some more fat off that Red Sox lead. Instead, it was left to Seaver and the Sox bats (another 11 hits) to dampen the Tiger fur. The Red Sox drenched Detroit with a hail of early runs and Seaver moved into sole possession of 12th place on the All Time victory parade (309). The seeds for this game were planted early in the week. A frustrated Seaver hadn't pitched since last Saturday when he walked off the hill with a 2-1 lead over KC, only to see it become an 11-2 deficit after 20 pitches by Torch Twins Tim Lollar and Bob Stanley. The luckless Seaver (five runs of support in his last five starts) was out to stop a personal four-game losing streak. Seaver left nothing to chance. He was brilliant. He retired 11 straight from the third through the seventh and 17 of 18 from the first through the seventh. He took a one-hitter into the seventh, and had at least one strikeout in every inning after the first. Detroit's first three hits were singles, a first-inning shot to left by Alan Trammell, a weak infield chopper by Kirk Gibson in the seventh, and a hit to center by Darnell Coles in the eighth. Whitaker led off the ninth with a double. Seaver got Trammell on a fly to shallow right, then got Gibson on a grounder back to the mound as Whitaker took third. Grubb (19 RBIs since the All-Star break) singled to left on an 0-1 pitch, scoring Whitaker. Then Seaver fanned Evans to end it. Detroit didn't have to worry about preserving any shutouts. Starting opposite Seaver was a man with precisely 300 fewer career victories, the immortal Randy O'Neal (1-7). Sparky could have juggled his rotation to get Jack Morris into this game, but thought it was too early for that kind of a move. The pitching duel was no contest. Seaver was the old master, while O'Neal pitched like a scared kid. Thanks to O'Neal's wildness, the Red Sox scored four runs on one hit in the second. Don Baylor, leading off, reached on an error by Trammell and took second on a passed ball by Dwight Lowry. In succession, Dwight Evans, Bill Buckner and Tony Armas all walked. Armas' walk drove in Baylor, no small feat for a man with 22 RBIs in 226 at-bats. Rich Gedman dribbled a grounder to the right side and was thrown out as Evans scored. Then Ed Romero scored Buckner with a sacrifice fly to left and it was 3-0 even though O'Neal still had a no- hitter. Wade Boggs was walked intentionally, then Marty Barrett scored Armas with a single to left. Throughout the second inning, O'Neal looked like a man who wished he was someplace else. In the third, he got his wish. After two more walks, a Buckner double and a 2-1 count to Romero, Anderson hopped out of the dugout and yanked the hopeless hurler in favor of California cannon fodder Jim Slaton. Romero flied to left, but it was 5-0 after 2 1/2. Leading off the fourth, Boggs took Slaton into the upper deck to make it 6-0. It was Boggs' sixth homer of the year, but his first since May 25. Boggs owns Slaton. Lifetime Boggs is 13 for 26 (.500) against Cousin Jim. Seaver hadn't enjoyed such support since July 7. In his last five starts he was 0-4 with a 4.02 ERA. As a result, Boston leads Baltimore by five games and the Tigers by 5 1/2. |
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