THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, PART 9
"IT AIN'T OVER 'TIL IT'S OVER"...
Bruce Hurst brings the Sox to the brink

September 27, 1986 ... A 2-0 winner over the Toronto Blue Jays, Sox pitcher Bruce Hurst raised his hands and leaped as American League home run leader Jesse Barfield took a mighty cut and missed for the final out. And suddenly, the Fenway lawn was littered with Hurst's high-fiving teammates.

And so the magic number is one. The Red Sox are home for another week, and the Townies are on the brink of their first division flag in 11 years.

Dwight Evans, the sole survivor of Boston's last World Series (Jim Rice had a broken wrist in '75), provided all the runs Hurst needed with a two-out solo homer off Jim Clancy in the fourth inning. The man won it with his 26th home run, his seventh since Sept. 9th.

Clancy (14-13), loser of six straight, was pitching a perfect game when Evans interrupted the dueling zeros with his shot in the fifth. The Sox added another in the seventh, but one was enough for Mr. Hurst.

The Sox much-maligned veteran lefty has been Sandy Koufax in his home yard since coming off the disabled list (groin pull). In seven starts at Fenway since July 21st, Hurst is 6-0 with a 1.68 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 53 2/3 innings. He's completed six of his last seven starts at Yawkey Way.

Overall, Hurst has won five straight starts with four complete games. He has 67 percent of Boston's 1986 shutouts (4 of 6), and in his last 36 innings has allowed only 3 earned runs while walking 3 and striking out 33. Today he threw 118 pitches (78 strikes), fanned nine with no walks, and had only two three-ball counts. Hurst did all of the above against the highest scoring team in baseball. Hurst is 13-7 (career high for victories) with a 2.87 ERA. He has 162 strikeouts and only 47 walks in 169 1/3 innings.

The estimable Jays lost despite getting a five-hitter from no-luck starter Clancy (he lost a three-hitter in Detroit Monday). He set down the first 14 Red Sox in order, and the 14th was most spectacular. With one out in the fifth, Don Baylor hit what appeared to be a single into the hole toward left. Toronto shortstop Tony Fernandez darted into the hole and backhanded the grounder after it appeared to have skipped past him. In a single motion, Fernandez whirled and threw a high lob toward first. Fernandez wasn't able to get much on the throw, but it dropped into the mitt of first baseman Willie Upshaw before a sliding Baylor reached the bag. Fernandez' gem set the stage for Evans. Clancy fell behind 3-and-1 and Evans drove the next pitch high and far over the screen, about 20 feet to the right of the foul pole. Evans took one or two steps, then watched the flight of his majestic shot.

The Sox second run came courtesy of Fernandez, the man who performed magic in the fifth. Barrett led the seventh with a clean single (Boston's second hit), then Bill Buckner hit a hard grounder to Fernandez. The Toronto shortstop stabbed the ball, pulled it out of his glove and prepared to throw to second. Garth Iorg was standing on the bag, but Fernandez didn't throw, even though Barrett would have been an easy out. Fernandez pumped, hesitated, then threw late to first. Buckner was safe, and the ball was ruled a hit. After Rice went out on a foul pop, Baylor spiked a first-pitch single to left, scoring Barrett. Clancy got out of the inning, fanning Evans and getting Tony Armas on a liner to center.

Hurst had more jams than Clancy, but was no less overpowering. He struck out the first two Blue Jays, and had five punch-outs in the first four innings. Damaso Garcia reached on an infield hit in the first and Kelly Gruber drove a single off The Wall in the second. Fernandez reached on a swinging bunt in the third. Gruber made it to second with a one-out double high off the wall in the fifth, but Hurst got Ron Shepherd to ground to third and Buck Martinez lined to center.

The Jays went down in order in the sixth, thanks to an outstanding defensive play by Wade Boggs. With two outs and no one on, Garcia wrapped a hard hopper which was headed for the left-field corner. Boggs (1 for 4, .353) speared the ball, made a quick reverse pivot and fired a strike to Buckner for the third out.

Toronto's sixth and final hit was Fernandez' two-out pool cue shot down the right-field line in the eighth. Cliff Johnson batted for Iorg and grounded to third.

Hurst blew the Jays away in the ninth, getting Garcia on a pop, George Bell on a grounder and Barfield on strikes.