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“DIARY OF A WINNER”
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THE CURSE OF
THE BAMBINO, PART 9 August 29, 1986 ... Led by Joe Carter's three-homer, five-hit outburst, the Indians beat the Red Sox, 7-3, as 34,004 groaned and watched the scoreboard. Toronto's comeback victory over Minnesota trimmed the Sox' melting margin to 3 1/2 games, the smallest it's been since the morning of Aug. 14th. Boston has lost five of six, and the New England natives are restless. The encouraging note for Sox fans is that Roger (19-4) Clemens is starting this afternoon. Eleven of Clemens' victories have followed losses, and the Sox are desperately seeking stoppers at this hour. Tom Seaver was knocked around the yard for the second straight game. The locker room's legend-in-residence was raked for nine hits and five runs in 4 1/3 innings. Wrecking Ball Carter inflicted much of the damage. The Sox, meanwhile, were stifled by the dancing snowflakes of Cleveland knuckleballer Tom Candiotti (13-9, 145 pitches). Boston managed only six hits and failed to put together a big inning. Buckner said Candiotti threw more curveballs than knucklers. The Townies reached Candiotti for a run in the first. Wade Boggs led with a line single to third, took second on a wild pitch, moved to third on Marty Barrett's sacrifice bunt and scored on a sac fly by Buckner. Seaver cruised through the first two innings, but Carter unloaded in the third, crushing an 0-2 pitch and driving it into the bullpen for a two-run homer and a 2-1 Cleveland lead. No one's making fun of the Rick Sutcliffe deal these days. Carter has 24 homers and 90 RBIs. He's the seventh enemy player to turn the hat trick in Fenway. Jim Rice tied it with a street-legal, solo blast off Candiotti in the bottom of the third. Seaver was roughed up in the fourth. Flossy rookie Cory Snyder regained the lead with a one-out shot into the net. The kid's a quick learner; Snyder was 0 for 4 lifetime against Seaver, all strikeouts. Pat Tabler followed with a soft single over the leaping Spike Owen. Brook Jacoby was next, and he hit a slow grounder which Owen couldn't get in time. It was Owen's first game in a Red Sox home uniform, and the Tribe seemed to be going at him as if he was a rookie cornerback. Chris Bando scored Tabler with a single high off the wall. Jacoby moved to third. Tony Bernazard came within a foot of hitting a three- run homer, but Dwight Evans waded into the right- field corner and reached into the seats. Jacoby scored after Evans' nifty catch, and Cleveland led, 5-2. The Indians KO'd Seaver in the fifth. It marked the first time Seaver failed to finish five innings, and the first time he gave up more than four runs in his 12-start Red Sox career. Sammy Stewart came in and shut down the Tribe until Carter cranked his second homer (into the net) in the seventh to make it 6- 2. The Indians drove Stewart to the showers with two line shots to start the eighth. Joe Sambito relieved Stewart and got out of the jam via a strikeout and a flashy double play orchestrated by Barrett. Don Baylor gave the Sox another run with a two-out drive (No. 26) into the net in the eighth. Bob Stanley pitched the ninth, and Carter added another homer into the Sox bullpen to set the final score. It was Cleveland's third straight victory over the Red Sox. |
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