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“DIARY OF A WINNER”
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THE CURSE OF
THE BAMBINO, PART 9 August 21, 1986 ... It was a full-fledged rout. Nothing comes close to the havoc and devastation that was the sum total of Boston's 24-5 crushing of the Cleveland Indians. What was left of a crowd of 26,316 walked away in bewilderment. The Sox stroked 24 base hits, which like the 24 runs was a major league high this season. And the irony is that American League batting champion Wade Boggs didn't get a hit and dropped to second in the batting race behind the Twins' Kirby Puckett. Tony Armas drove in six runs with a grand slam and a two-run homer. Why did the Sox get Spike Owen? So he could tie Johnny Pesky's American League record of six runs in a game. Owen, for good measure, hit his first home run in 412 at-bats. In the sixth, the Red Sox set a team record by scoring 11 of their 12 runs after two were out. A total of 17 men went to the plate. Ahead, 18-1, the Sox scored once more in the seventh inning and five times in the eighth. Naturally, you savor a victory like this. Oil Can Boyd will because not only was he the beneficiary of tonight's outpouring, he also ended a three-game losing streak dating back to his suspension. Boyd, who had not won since July 8th, worked seven innings to run his record to 12-9. Boyd actually got off to a terrible start. He gave up a solo home run to leadoff man Tony Bernazard and was hit hard in the first two innings. But starting in the third inning, when the Red Sox showed rookie Greg Swindell, the latest phenom from the University of Texas, what the big leagues were all about. It was no contest. Swindell walked three batters and was touched for four runs. He gave up two more runs in the fourth inning and was excused while the Red Sox finished up the task of demolishing what many felt earlier this year was a strong Cleveland team. Dickie Noles was on the mound in the sixth inning and what he started became a nightmare beyond the wildest dreams of Indians manager Pat Corrales. Boston sent 17 men to the plate in the sixth inning and 12 of them scored, thanks to six walks and eight hits, including Armas' slam. At one point, 11 straight batters reached base, one short of the American League record. The first two runs came after Noles ran into control problems. He was lifted with the Sox leading, 8-1. Suddenly, the score became 12- 1 and the Cleveland Stadium crowd began to head towards the exits. Owen started it with his first hit as a Red Sox, a line single off Noles' glove. He moved to second as Boggs grounded out. Then Barrett singled to right, scoring Owen, and took second on the throw- in. Walks to Rice and Evans, sandwiched around a fly ball by Baylor, loaded the bases. Then Noles walked Buckner, forcing in Barrett with the run that made it, 8-1. Jose Roman, who had been scheduled to pitch Sunday, became the third Cleveland pitcher and things went from bad to worse for the Indians. Armas stroked a 1-0 pitch over the left-field fence for his sixth career grand slam. Three batters later, Roman had loaded the bases on walks to Sullivan and Boggs and a single by Owen, and had to be replaced. Bryan Oelkers replaced Noles, and he got in trouble, too. After falling behind in the count, 2-1, he gave up a ground rule double to Barrett, scoring Sullivan and Owen, and it was 14-1. Showing he too could be charitable, Oelkers immediately joined the spirit of things. Rice singled off his glove, scoring Barrett. After Baylor walked to load the bases for the third time, the Red Sox struck again. Marc Sullivan caught and paid the price for Boston's hit parade. He was hit by a pitch in the eighth inning by Bryan Oelkers. Tony Armas had a career-high six RBIs. The grand slam was his sixth. His seven at-bats tied an AL record for a nine-inning game, held by many players. Boston has scored more than 24 runs only once, a 29-4 win over St. Louis June 8, 1950. The victory was all the more satisfying because it boosted Boston's lead in the AL East to 6 games over the Yankees, who were rained out. |
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