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THE CURSE OF
THE BAMBINO, PART 9
"IT AIN'T OVER 'TIL IT'S OVER"...
The Sox slam the Twins behind Clemens
August 20, 1986
... It was nice to see Roger Clemens pitch a no-hitter
for three innings. But that kind of effort wasn't necessary in a 9-1 victory
that was virtually over after a three-run first inning. With the victory, his
third two-hitter of the year, Clemens became the first Red Sox pitcher to win 19
games since Dennis Eckersley won 20 in 1978. Clemens has now won two straight
after posting an 0-2 mark in three previous starts.
It was like an old-timers'
night with Clemens in an outing when he was a power
pitcher deluxe and Red Sox hitters simply decided
to take no prisoners. After chasing Twins starter
Neal Heaton, they went on an all-out assault that
produced 14 hits off four pitchers, including home
runs by Jim Rice, Dwight Evans and Don Baylor.
The home runs were no more than a finishing kick. By the
time those rockets began to rattle the Metrodome, the crowd of 23,485 had
already seen Wade Boggs lead a balanced attack and regain his leadership in the
American League batting race.
For the night, Boggs collected three hits in five trips to
push his average to .351. He drove in a run with a double in the sixth inning
and one of the hits was a triple that just missed clearing the wall in deep
center.
The three hits shot him ahead of Minnesota's Kirby Puckett,
who struck out three times and walked once. His average dropped to .347. Clemens
struck out six, running his AL lead to 186.
The support for Clemens came early and often. The game was
all but over with one out when Marty Barrett singled and stole second and scored
on a booming double to right by Rice. Baylor reached base on an error, and with
two out Bill Buckner made it a 2-0 game with a single to right. Tony Armas'
double pushed across Baylor with a third run, and only once did Clemens have to
worry that his best stuff wouldn't be enough to win.
In the fourth inning, after he'd retired nine of 10 batters
without allowing a hit, Clemens had a lapse. First, he gave up a solid single to
Randy Bush. Then, curiously, he threw two wild pitches, to put Bush on third
base. It became a 3-1 game as Kent Hrbek drove him home with a deep sacrifice
fly to center.
The Red Sox, however, answered that threat with five runs
in the next three innings. Boggs tripled to lead off the fifth and scored on a
sacrifice fly by Barrett. In the sixth inning, the Sox scored two more runs, and
in the seventh, both Rice and Evans unloaded off Roy Lee Jackson. Baylor sounded
the final volley with a solo home run in the ninth inning. |
