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“DIARY OF A WINNER”
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THE CURSE OF
THE BAMBINO, PART 9 August 17, 1986 ... There was much euphoria when Boston's 60-hour homestand came to a close, as the Townies came from behind to beat Detroit, 7-5, stretching their first-place lead to five games. Even the most skeptical Sox watcher has to admit that Boston has answered every challenge. The dog days of August are more than half gone, and the Sox still haven't been swept by a divisional opponent, while winning almost every major series. Sparky Anderson's Motown Gang was the hottest team in the league when the Red Sox rode into Detroit 10 days ago, but the Sox surgically removed Detroit from the race, taking three of four in Detroit and two of three in Fenway. The Tigers failed to win any game started by a pitcher other than Jack Morris. The series finale was an emotional boost for the Red Sox. Boston trailed, 3-1, in the fifth, then took a 4-3 lead on Bill Buckner's bases-loaded double. Mighty Mouse Marty Barrett (three hits, three runs) broke a 4-4 tie with a bloop double in the sixth, and Don Baylor followed with a bases-loaded double to provide some necessary padding. Meanwhile, Calvin Schiraldi came through with another boffo relief job and there were high-fives all around when 34,704 filed out of the Fenway sauna. The Sox struck first against Detroit starter Eric King. In the bottom of the first, Barrett scraped a catchable one-out double off the wall in left, took third on a grounder to short, and scored on a single up the middle by Evans. The Tigers rocked Sox starter Bruce Hurst with three solo homers in the next three innings. The first two were back-to-back jobs by Chet Lemon and Darrell Evans in the top of the second. Lemon hit a 1-and-2 pitch onto the roof over the center-field camera. Bob Gibson homered to the same spot in the seventh game of the 1967 World Series. Evans was next and he clubbed Hurst's second pitch down the line inside the foul pole in right to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead. Evans' shot was a replica of Carl Yastrzemski's 1978 playoff homer off Ron Guidry. Evans hit another 302-foot solo homer inside the pole in the fourth. This one was a little higher, but neither of Evans' blasts would have flown out of the Tiger Stadium launching pad. The Red Sox regained the lead on Buckner's three-run double in the fifth. After Barrett (single) and Jim Rice (double) reached on bloop hits, Evans drew a two-out walk, and Buckner cracked a liner over Lemon's head in center. Lemon made a quick break, caught up with the drive, leaped and almost made the catch, but the ball clanged off the side of his glove, and three Red Sox were across the plate as Buckner hobbled into second. Hurst couldn't live with the prosperity. In the sixth, Boston's lefty was yanked after surrendering a leadoff wall single and a one- out walk. McNamara summoned Schiraldi. After pinch hitter John Grubb flied to shallow left, Lou Whitaker tied the game with a single to left. Barrett struck again in the bottom of the sixth. With two on and one out (Rich Gedman was hit by a pitch, Ed Romero sacrificed, Boggs was intentionally walked) Barrett blooped a double over the first baseman's head. Gedman scored, Boggs moved to third, and Rice was walked intentionally to load the bases. The strategy backfired in Anderson's face when the struggling Baylor scorched a first-pitch, two-run double down the line in left. Schiraldi saw his consecutive-scoreless-inning string snapped at 24 when Sox killer Grubb scored on a Whitaker sacrifice fly after hitting a one-out double in the eighth. But the Tigers went down in order in the ninth and the Red Sox flew to Minnesota with new confidence, conviction and a healthy five- game lead. |
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