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THE SOX WIN THE AL EAST IN
SPECTACULAR
FASHION, BUT THAT'S ABOUT IT ...
Wes Gardner
stifles the Blue Jays
June
26, 1990 ... Wes Gardner, the Sox’ No. 5
starter, dominated the Blue Jays over six innings en route to a 3-0
Red Sox win. He was supported by a Tom Brunansky RBI double, a
two-run homer from Carlos Quintana and a strong effort by Rob Murphy
and Jeff Reardon, who picked up his 12th save and second in as many
nights. Gardner,
whose ERA is 3.32 over his last four starts, has forever had that "potential"
label dangling off him. There are days when you curse him, release him and trade
him. And then, there are nights like tonight, when whatever potential Lou Gorman
saw in the winter of 1985 pops up like a blossoming rosebud.
Manager
Joe Morgan said Gardner, who took a perfect game into the fifth, started to tire
after walking George Bell to start the seventh. He had thrown 87 pitches and
struck out eight. Rob Murphy came in and didn't quite dominate Fred McGriff and
John Olerud, but he got the former to line out to left field and the latter to
ground to second. Then he struck out pinch hitter Pat Borders. Murphy pitched
the seventh and eighth, allowing one hit and striking out two.
Jeff Reardon, who said before the game he was 100 percent,
faced Tony Fernandez, Kelly Gruber and Bell in the ninth. After Fernandez
grounded out, Gruber doubled down the left-field line and Bell walked. But
Reardon got McGriff to pop out and Olerud to line to first for the final out.
After the
first out of the fifth, Gardner's perfect game was gone. He walked McGriff, a
pass that included a questionable ball on a 2-1 pitch. After the second out,
catcher Greg Myers dumped a single into short left, ending the suspense and
cancelling those phone calls to Dave Morehead, the last Red Sox pitcher to toss
a no-hitter.
The Boston
offense was confined to quick hits early in the game. In the first, Wade Boggs
ran his current streak to 10 for 20 with a double off The Wall. With two outs
and Boggs on third, Brunansky doubled to left-center on an 0-2 pitch by Toronto
starter David Wells, who went seven innings. Wells thought Boggs tipped off
Brunansky on what was coming.
Quintana
put the Sox up, 3-0, with a two-run homer in the second inning, which followed a
Tony Pena single and came on a low, inside slider. The Q, who hadn't started the
last two games, has worked long and hard with batting coach Richie Hebner on
hitting the inside pitch. It was Quintana's third home run and 24th and 25th
RBIs, but only his second hit in his last 17 at-bats.
The game
featured one fine defensive play by Jody Reed, who made a tumbling,
over-the-shoulder catch of Bell's pop to short center to lead off the second
inning.
Sox
starters are 31-19 with a 3.40 ERA. They have surrendered three runs or fewer in
14 of their last 20 games. |
