A very sloppy win for the Red Sox
October 8, 1986 ...
It was fate that arrived along with a crowd of 32,786 and watched the
Red Sox come to life for a 9-2 victory over the Angels that tied the
American League Championship Series at a game apiece. Little else can
explain a day, a game and an experience that the California Angels
won't forget for a long time.
This wasn't Red Sox baseball. The final score doesn't begin
to reflect the barrage of errors, mental mistakes, muffed grounders and
adventures created by the sun that you wouldn't see in the Little League World
Series.
The way to beat the Red Sox is to keep their bats silent.
Considering the bizarre nature of his support, Angels’ starter, Kirk McCaskill
performed a miracle for six innings, and the Sox were lucky to have a 3-2 lead.
But by then, the intensity that had carried them to the AL
East title returned. The Red Sox surged for three runs in both the seventh and
eighth innings to salvage a split as they head to Anaheim for Games 3-5.
The breaks came early for the Red Sox, who pounded
McCaskill in the first two innings and were still lucky to have a 2-0 lead. The
first-inning run was produced by a triple off the wall by Wade Boggs (sore right
hamstring and all) and a double by Marty Barrett. Boggs' wall shot took a hop
over the head of center fielder Gary Pettis.
The first-inning adventure was merely the foreword to a
novel's worth of misplays. The next chapter began in the second when four
singles led to a 2-0 lead, including one ball that nearly devoured McCaskill.
Rich Gedman led off with a single and moved to second on a one- out single to
short by Spike Owen, which was the second gift of the day. The ball struck a
clump of dirt, and a sure double play became a rally. Next came Boggs, who hit a
slow roller to the mound. The ball took a crazy hop, right into the sunlight,
and McCaskill couldn't make the play. Barrett followed with a single to left,
scoring Gedman.
In the fourth, the Sox showed it was not above the
ridiculous. With runners on first and second and one out, Boggs messed up a
double-play ball, loading the bases. Dick Schofield then hit a grounder to Owen,
who decided to throw to third, only to find that Boggs wasn't on the bag. Now it
was 2-1.
The Angels tied it in the fifth on a homer by Wally Joyner,
the first ever by a rookie in the ALCS. Boston regained the lead in the bottom
of the inning, thanks again to the sun.
McCaskill gave up a one-out single to Bill Buckner, and
with two out, he walked Don Baylor. Evans followed with a game-winning double
that wasn't exactly pulverized. What seemed a routine popup to second was lost
by Bobby Grich. The sun and the wind dropped the ball among three Angels, and
Buckner scored.
The Angels lost a potential run in the sixth when Grich
tried to score from second on a single by Bob Boone. But he got no sign from
third base coach Moose Stubing, who became the most embarrassed man in the park
when Grich was thrown out. Grich then vented his frustration by throwing his
helmet to the ground.
All this was but a prelude to the seventh, when the Sox put
the game out of reach. After striking out Barrett, McCaskill found himself with
the bases loaded, and he's still wondering how three runs scored.
Buckner reached when Grich made the first of three errors
in the inning. A single by Jim Rice and a walk to Baylor loaded the bases. Evans
hit a shot right at Doug DeCinces at third. He muffed it for an error, scoring
Buckner.
Next, Rich Gedman hit a double-play grounder to second. But
Schofield's relay throw hit Evans' right hand, and the ball rolled far enough
from first base for two more runs to score.
The rest was icing. Rice's first home run of the playoffs
highlighted the three-run Boston eighth that showed why Gary Lucas and Doug
Corbett haven't been the workhorses of the Angel bullpen.
Hurst, who wound up with an 11-hitter, said he was happy he
held his own in a tough spot. All things considered, it was a day well spent at
Fenway.
