The Mets tie up the Series behind 3
HRs
October 22, 1986 ...
The Mets poured it on for the second straight game and rolled to a
6-2 victory at Fenway Park.
Instead of anticipating a victory tonight that would give
the Sox its first World Series title since 1918, the Sox find themselves in a
2-2 tie in the best-of-seven series. The final game at Fenway will be played
tomorrow, and the series then returns to Shea Stadium.
For the second straight night, the Mets got brilliant
pitching to shut down the Red Sox in their own park. The Sox had but four hits,
two of them doubles, as it had trouble coping with the offerings of Mets starter
Ron Darling, who went the first seven innings.
For the second straight night, it was the Mets who unloaded
the heavy artillery, using three homers, two of them by Gary Carter and one by
Len Dykstra, to nail the Sox, who have been everything but productive in their
home park. Carter's first homer was a two-run shot in the fourth off Sox starter
Al Nipper.
Making his first start in 18 days, Nipper had pitched three
scoreless innings. Then he gave up a leadoff single to Wally Backman in the
fourth, and one out later, watched Carter send his first pitch into the
left-field screen.
The Mets scored increased their lead to 3-0 in the inning
on a double by Darryl Strawberry and a single by Ray Knight.
Nipper left after six innings, and the Mets were able to
pick up two insurance runs in the seventh. With Steve Crawford pitching, Mookie
Wilson singled with one out and stole second. After Rafael Santana struck out,
Len Dykstra stroked a two-run homer into the visitors' bullpen. Actually, the
ball was in right fielder Dwight Evans' glove. But, shades of Dave Henderson in
Game 5 of the American League Championship Series, the ball popped out of Evans'
glove and fell over the fence.
Carter added a solo shot off Crawford in the eighth for a
6-0 lead. But in the bottom of the inning, the Sox struck for two runs off New
York reliever Roger McDowell on Evans' run-scoring single and Dave Henderson's
sacrifice fly. After McDowell issued a walk to pinch hitter Mike Greenwell,
lefthander Jesse Orosco ended the threat by retiring Wade Boggs on a grounder to
second with two men on.
But after going 0 for 5 in the Red Sox' 6-2 loss to the
Mets, and seeing his postseason average fall to .212 (10 for 47), the American
League batting champion was anything but amused. In five plate appearances,
Boggs grounded out to the pitcher, hit three fly balls to the outfield and, in
his last at-bat with two men on in the eighth, grounded a 2-0 pitch to
shortstop. As leadoff hitters go, he had a night that led only to dead ends.
