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THE SOX WIN THE AL EAST IN
SPECTACULAR
FASHION, BUT THAT'S ABOUT IT ...
The Sox win in a walk-off to sweep Detroit
April
11, 1990 ... He is shattering the concept of
spring training. Three games and 13 at-bats, an aching back and
Dwight Evans is hitting .462. He homered in the fifth inning and
singled home the winning run in the 10th off journeyman lefthander
Jerry Don Gleaton in the Sox’ 3-2 win over Detroit, sending the Red
Sox off to Tiger Stadium undefeated. The Red
Sox squandered more, but in the 10th, after Detroit manager Sparky Anderson made
more moves than Karpov, he could not stop Wade Boggs, who led off with a sharp
single to right-center off the Tigers' fifth pitcher, Gleaton, usually tough
against lefties. Boggs advanced on Marty Barrett's sacrifice bunt. Mike
Greenwell (4 for 4) was hit on the back of the right shoulder by a 1-2 Gleaton
fastball after fouling off four two-strike pitches. Then the world awaited
another Sparky move.
Young
Steve Wapnick was toiling in the bullpen, but Anderson's confidence in the
youngster was microscopic. When Ellis Burks, whose day was fraught with humility
(the center fielder went 0 for 5 at the plate and had a ball bounce off his
glove in the seventh for a go-ahead double) popped out to shortstop, Anderson
seemingly was off the hook. Not so, however, after Evans lined a 1-1 pitch, a
low inside slider, down the left-field line, scoring Boggs with the winner.
In the fifth, Evans homered over the wall in left, giving
the Sox and starter John Dopson a well-deserved 1-0 lead. But after Billy Jo
Robidoux doubled to right-center, his first Fenway hit with the Red Sox, Tony
Pena, Jody Reed, Kevin Romine and pinch hitter Bill Buckner couldn't get him
home.
In the
eighth, after Barrett walked and Greenwell singled, Burks laid a brick down for
a bunt and Tiger hurler Urbano Lugo easily got lead runner Barrett at third.
Evans was robbed of a hit on a great diving stop by third baseman Tony Phillips,
who made a good throw to force the runner at second. After that, Carlos Quintana
struck out, ending the threat.
This was a
game the Red Sox plucked from the hands of defeat. Once again, the pitching was
crisp. Dopson, featuring a knuckleball and low, unhittable stuff, pitched 5 1/3
innings before fatigue got to him. In the sixth, he surrendered a one-out single
to Alan Trammell. Then, on a routine but hard-hit grounder to Robidoux at first,
the ball did a Bill Buckner dance through the wickets. Cecil Fielder then struck
for his first hit in three days, a single to left-center, making it 1-1.
Dopson
needed an off-speed pitch in the offseason. He started bouncing around the idea
of a knuckleball, a pitch he'd joked around with in his youth. The reviews were
great. He struck out Phillips, the first batter of the game, with one, which
surprised even Pena.
Robidoux
had a strong day at the plate, going 2 for 3. He attempted to rebound from the
error with a one-out double in the seventh. The Ware native scored the tying run
on Pena's single, the first hit off the wall by a Red Sox player this year.
The Tigers
had taken the lead by scoring their first run off a Sox reliever. It came off
Dennis Lamp, who owns the Tigers like no pitcher has ever owned a team, 11-0.
Matt Nokes singled off Lamp to start the seventh, and pinch runner Ken Williams
eventually came in on Larry Sheets' double to right-center. On the play, Burks
and right fielder Randy Kutcher converged on the ball. Burks dived, but was not
able to hold on.
After
Lamp's 2 2/3 innings, Lee Smith appeared in his third straight game, but this
time in a non-save situation. Smith preserved the tie and gave way to Greg
Harris, who pitched a solid top of the 10th to gain the win. |
