These victories keyed the best stretch the Red Sox (18-8) played all year, as they won 15 of 18 between April 10th and April 30th, coming from behind nine different times, including seven times in the last inning.

They had been in first place for the last week of April, but May would be a different story. They started the month in second place, but only 1/2 game out. Injuries started to happen. Butch Henry was out and Nomar ended up on the DL after he separated his shoulder. John Valentin hurt his foot and pitcher Brian Rose followed with a bone spur in his elbow.

Home runs by Darren Bragg and Troy O'Leary lifted the Sox past Texas, 5-3 on May 1st. Two days later, on May 3rd, Pedro mowed down the Rangers, 2 to 1 giving up just one unearned run through seven innings.

Tim Wakefield followed with a 4 to 2 win over the Twins on May 5th. Nomar's two-run, two-out double in the seventh inning broke a 2-2 tie.

On May 8th, Bret Saberhagen returned to Kansas City, where he had won a World Series. The Sox overwhelmed the Royals 14-3. Saberhagen went six innings, allowing seven hits and three runs. Naturally, he was ecstatic to raise his record to 5-0 less than two years after he underwent reconstructive shoulder surgery and his career was considered dead.

Pedro pitched another gem on May 9th, limiting the Royals to four hits and one run over seven innings. As usual, Jim Corsi and Tom Gordon held down the fort for a 3-1 victory. Tim Wakefield won the next game by another 3-1 score on May 10th. He had a no-hitter going until one out in the seventh inning when a clean hit to center ended his quest. He would give up only one additional hit with two outs in the ninth.

After four straight and before anyone could catch a breath, they were 4 1/2 games back.

But they continued the home winning streak when they beat the Royals three straight, back at home starting on May 15th. Lou Merloni connected with his first Fenway homer in his very first at-bat. It was a three-run job and was added to with a walk and a double in the Sox 5-2 win over KC.

Steve Avery won his first Sox game by shutting out the Royals 5-0 on May 16th with help from Rich Garces and Tom Gordon who picked up his 15th save. The Sox came back on May 17th to sweep the series, 5 to 3.

The Sox were only 10-10 on the road, but 16-5 at Fenway, their best mark since an 18-5 start in 1994.

Chicago next came to Fenway and split a two-game series. The Red Sox won on May 20th, 6 to 2 behind Pedro who allowed just four singles and a run in seven innings. Pedro (5-0, 1.74 ERA) came into the game with just 2.89 runs scored for him when he pitched, but the Sox scored as many runs for him in the first five innings as they had in his last three starts. Mo Vaughn led the way with his 12th home run.

Next was a showdown with the first-place Yankees. On May 22nd, behind Tim Wakefield (6-1), the Sox scored four runs in the seventh inning to come from behind and beat New York 5-4.  But the Yankees clobbered the Sox in the next two games and when the dust settled, the Sox were six games behind. 

The Sox then lost the next two to the Blue Jays and it was clear that the difference was the lineup without Nomar. Since he went down, Mo was hitting .222 with six RBIs. John Valentin was hitting .178, Jim Leyritz .188, and Troy O'Leary had just four RBIs.

The Yankees then took the first two games in New York, but in the third game, Bret Saberhagen was masterful in a 3-2 win on May 30th. Coming off three abysmal performances (19 earned runs in 10 innings), he threw first-pitch strikes to 19 of 26 batters, allowed only two walks and one run, and struck out six in his longest outing of the season. Mo Vaughn, the blood and soul of the Red Sox, won the game with a two-run homer. The Sox finished May 13-14, with an offensive explosion on the last game in the Bronx, winning 13-7 on May 31st. They were 7 1/2 games out of first.

Tim Wakefield (8-3) brought home two wins and Pedro (9-2) had won three games, but the Sox had won ten of their last thirteen games, but were still in second place, eight games behind the Yankees. 

They did win the final matchup in Philadelphia, 7 to 5, on June 25th. Bret Saberhagen allowed them just  five singles and an unearned run. He was supported by home runs from John Valentin and Damon Buford.

In Pedro's next start, he shut down the Florida Marlins 6-1, on June 26th for his 10th win, limiting the Marlins to five hits and a run over eight innings, the run scoring on his fourth-inning wild pitch. It was the third straight start in which Pedro held the opposition to a single run.

The next day Tim Wakefield beat the Marlins, 9 to 4. Valentin had three hits and Mike Benjamin brought home three of the runs.

On the other side of the coin, on June 28th, Derek Lowe (0-7) had not won a game in over a year, losing to the Marlins, 5 to 1 on June 28th. But Nomar doubled and scored in the second inning, with the hit that extended his hitting streak to 20 games, matching Larry Walker for the longest streak in the majors so far this season.

The Sox finished June going 16-10 but fell 2 1/2 more games behind the Yankees, ten games out of first. 

Bret Saberhagen (10-5) pitched a 6-1 victory over the Montreal Expos on July 1st, and allowed just three hits in seven innings, striking out five and walking none. He hadn't won 10 or more games since 1994 when he went 14-4 with the Mets. The victory tied him with Pedro for the club high.

On July 2nd, Pedro (11-2) retired the first 13 Expos batters in a 15-0 Sox win, before allowing a hit with one out in the fifth, and sat down an inning later with a yield of two hits, no walks, and five strikeouts. His earned run average dropped to 2.87 after his fourth straight start in which he has held the opposition to one run or fewer. In his last 29 innings, Pedro allowed just three earned runs, an ERA of 0.93, and after striking out five Expos, he had 142 strikeouts, second in the league to Seattle's Randy Johnson.

On July 3rd, another 15 runs, another shame-faced opponent, and three hits by Nomar Garciaparra, whose hitting streak was  24 games. The Red Sox scored in each of the first seven innings and pinned a 15-2 loss on the Chicago White Sox, 24 hours after beating the Expos by a 15-0 score. The win was the fourth in a row and seventh in the last eight games for the Red Sox, who had gone 16-6 in their last 22 games. Tim Wakefield (10-3) joined Pedro Martinez (11-2) and Bret Saberhagen (10-5) as the third Red Sox pitcher to have at least 10 wins. Unbeaten in his last five decisions, Wake held the White Sox to five hits and two runs.

On July 5th, the Sox had a 9-2 lead after three innings against the White Sox at Fenway and were up 11-3 after five. But they gave it all back when Chicago tied the game in the sixth. Then they went ahead 15-11 in the seventh and withstood a three-run homer in the eighth off Tom Gordon, to finally win the marathon, 15 to 14. Troy O'Leary led the way by getting four hits in six times up for the Red Sox.

In spite of winning 5 of 6 on the homestand before the All-Star break, the Sox lost another game to the Yankees in the standings, and were 11 games behind.

Mo Vaughn, Pedro Martinez and Tom Gordon were named to the American League All-Star team. Pedro didn't pitch in the All-Star Game. He felt he had been snubbed when David Wells got the nod as the starting pitcher. He told AL Stars manager, Mike Hargrove that his arm was sore. The AL Stars beat the National Leaguers at Coors Field, 13 to 8. Gordon pitched an inning and gave two runs on three hits.

Although the Red Sox organization held off on an announcement, the stage was set to build the new stadium next door, on a triangular 15-acre parcel bordered by Yawkey Way, Brookline Avenue, and Boylston Street. The 45,000-seat modern stadium, similar to Camden Yards in Baltimore and designed to look and feel like the old Fenway, would be built over several years while the Red Sox continue to play in the existing ballpark. After the new park would open, portions of Fenway would be torn down to make way for revenue-producing development, and part of it would be retained as a museum and park. Fans could walk from Kenmore Square down the third base line, next to a preserved Green Monster.

On July 15th, Pedro continued his mastery and was 12-3 after his second complete-game shutout, had an ERA of 1.17 in his last six starts, giving up just six earned runs in 46 innings to the Cleveland Indians. He allowed singles by Manny Ramirez and Alomar (infield hit) in the second, then did not allow another hit until Brian Giles singled with two out in the seventh. In between the hits by Alomar and Giles, he set down 15 Indians in a row.

The next night, July 16th, the Red Sox exploded for 17 hits in a 15-5 rout of the Indians. Troy O'Leary and Nomar each drove in five runs to lead the way. O'Leary hit a grand slam in the fourth to wipe out a 4-1 deficit. Nomar hit a three-run dinger in the fifth to make it an 8-4 game.

The Sox went on the road and split their series in Cleveland and Detroit. On July 18th, they beat the Tigers 9 to 4 on the back of Mo Vaughn, who belted a pair of homers. In Cleveland, they split a doubleheader on July 21st. They won the opener 10-7, even though they made four errors.

The Sox returned to Fenway on July 23rd. That night, down, 6-1 in the eighth and 7-5 in the ninth, the Red Sox scored seven runs in their last three at-bats to overcome the Blue Jays, 8-7. Still, the Yankees had a 15-game lead over the Sox, who now kept close tabs on the wild card race, where they led the Angels by three games.

Off the field, Mo Vaughn, leaving himself open to potential backlash from both Red Sox management and fans, said in the Toronto Sun that playing for the Blue Jays next season would be his first choice. In January, Mo was arrested and charged with drunken driving after being involved in an accident while on his way home from a Providence strip club. Though he was cleared of the charges in a jury trial, his reputation within the community was tarnished. During spring training, he angrily rejected another Sox offer, reportedly $20 million over two years, and blasted management for what he called a smear campaign against him. Mo's comments came just before the start of a four-game series with the Blue Jays.

On July 25th, as the Mo Vaughn drama raged, Nomar led a comeback win over the Blue Jays, giving Derek Lowe his first Red Sox win.

Another memorable Pedro game happened on July 26th. It was Pedro's eighth win in his last nine decisions, improving his record to 14-3 while lowering his league-leading ERA to 2.59. He struck out Blue Jays cleanup hitter Carlos Delgado and ex-Sox Mike Stanley three times apiece, including back-to-back whiffs in the sixth, after the Jays opened the inning with consecutive singles. The game also featured a Nomar Garciaparra inside-the-park home run.

On to Oakland and on July 28th, after going seven years between inside-the-park home runs, the Red Sox made it two in two games when A's rookie Ben Grieve lost the ball in the lights of Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and Darren Lewis circled the bases for a three-run inside job in a 8-4 win here. The next night on July 29th, Mo (.332 BA, 26 HRs) and Nomar (.324 BA) homered for the Red Sox and broke a 2-2 tie with four runs in the sixth. Nomar, who had nine hits in his last four games, including three home runs, hit his seventh homer since the All-Star break and 20th of the season.

On to Anaheim, and on July 31st Nomar put the crowning blow on another Red Sox comeback. His three-run eighth-inning home run propelled the Red Sox to a 7-2 win before a sellout crowd. His homer, which came after Mo singled home Mike Benjamin with the go-ahead run, was his fifth in six games and ninth in 15 games. It helped make a winner of Bret Saberhagen (11-5), who checked the Angels on five hits and an unearned run in seven innings.

The Sox went 15-12 during July and fell from 10 to 15 games behind the Yankees, but 5 1/2 games ahead of the Rangers in the wild-card race.

On August 1st, Pedro joined David Cone as the major leagues' only 15-game winners, with an 11-3 win over the Angels in Anaheim. With 33 RBIs in 27 games in July, Nomar became the first Sox player to drive in 30 or more runs in a month in nearly three years. The Red Sox record for RBIs in a month was held by Ted Williams with 41 in May 1942.

The Sox blew an 8-0 lead on August 2nd and let the Angels back in but held on to win in the end, 8 to 7.

Then in Seattle on August 4th, Steve Avery and Billy Swift engaged in a pitching duel, each leaving the game tied at 1-1. Then in the sixth, John Valentin and Nomar doubled to put the Sox on top, 2 to 1.

On August 8th, Tim Wakefield assured the Red Sox would return home with a winning record on the 14-day, 12-game trip, shutting out the Rangers through five innings while his teammates built an 8-0 lead.

The next night on August 9th, Mo Vaughn hit home runs in consecutive innings, driving in four runs, and just missed a third home run in a 14-8 Red Sox. The win gave the Sox an 8-4 record on the trip and a 7 1/2 game wild card lead. Mo was on a tear during the trip, going 17 for 51 with 6 homers, 12 RBIs, and 11 runs.

The Sox returned to Fenway and on August 11th, Nomar hit a solo shot in the sixth to tie the game, 2-2 with the Royals. But it was his 10th-inning homer (his 24th of the season) that made the Sox 7-4 winners.

Two days later on August 13th, against the Twins, Nomar and Mo went a combined 6 for 9 on the night with three doubles, a homer, and four RBIs, in an 8-7 win. The next night, August 14th, was a see-saw battle with the Sox on top, 13-12. Donie Sadler was 3-for-4 and drove in three of the Sox runs.

On August 18th, Pedro won his 16th game, beating the Rangers in the first game of a doubleheader, 4-1, and Mo Vaughn won the nightcap, 5-4, with a tie-breaking home run. With 13 pitches, Tom Gordon saved both ends of the sweep. Pedro struck out 10, the seventh time this season he punched out 10 or more and the 34th time in his career.

On to Kansas City and staked to an 8-0 lead after two innings, Tim Wakefield went the distance for his second complete game, throwing a five-hitter for his 15th win of the season, 11-1. The Sox scored ten runs in the first three innings. Mike Stanley homered twice bringing home six runners.

In Minnesota on August 21st, Nomar became just the fifth shortstop in Red Sox history to drive in 100 or more runs in a season. He joined Vern Stephens, John Valentin, Joe Cronin, and Rico Petrocelli as 100-RBI Sox shortstops, and he did it in just his 108th game. He had three hits including a home run, good for four RBIs.

Pedro also picked up his 17th win against four losses while lowering his league-leading ERA to 2.73, winning 5 to 1 on August 23rd.

Back home, Darren Lewis hit a tie-breaking home run into the left-field screen in the seventh inning on August 25th, which lifted the Red Sox to a 3-2 win over the Oakland Athletics. The game was saved by Tom Gordon, who notched his league-leading 37th save (34th in a row).

The next night on August 26th, Darren Lewis supplied a bases-loaded single that broke a 4-4 tie and led the Sox to a 7 to 4 victory over the A's.

On August 29th, Pedro joined David Cone of the Yankees and Tom Glavine of the Braves as the major leagues' only 18-game winners. In a 6-1 Sox win, he allowed the Angels seven hits, all singles, six of which came in the first three innings, struck out eight, and went to just four three-ball counts. He walked just one. Pedro, who has allowed one run or less in 16 of his 28 starts, reduced his league-leading earned run average to 2.67 and raised his strikeout total to 208, one behind Roger Clemens and five behind Randy Johnson.  

Against the Mariners, Bret Saberhagen's four-hit pitching and Nomar's three RBIs (two-run home run and sacrifice fly) highlighted a 5-1 win, as August ended on the 31st The Sox maintained an eight-game lead over the Texas Rangers in the wild-card race, but were 18 games behind the AL East leading Yankees.

As the Sox ended their homestand  on September 2nd, it was Nomar who starred once again, hitting a 9th inning walk-off grand slam homer giving the Sox a 7 to 3 win against Seattle on September 2nd. It was his 30th home run of the season, making him just the fifth player to hit 30 or more in each of his first two seasons.

Tom Gordon retired one batter, preserved the Red Sox' 6-2 win over the Tigers on September 11th and pocketed his 40th save this season, tying the club record set by Jeff Reardon in 1991 for saves in a season.

The Red Sox then lost six of their next seven games, beating the Yankees, 4 to 3, on September 7th for their only win. John Valentin's eighth inning homer broke a 3-3 tie and was the game-winner. Another win came against the Tigers on September 11th. John Valentin's three-run homer was all they needed to win, 6 to 2. In the first two weeks of September, the Sox had won only three of their 13 games.

At a time when the Red Sox hadn't been scoring many runs regardless of who's on the mound, Jason Varitek more than lived up to the catcher's credo on September 15th, hitting two home runs and driving in five runs in the Sox 9-4 win over the Yankees in New York. He hit a three-run homer in the second, producing as many runs as the Sox had scored in their previous 30 innings, and hit a two-run homer off the facing of the third deck of Yankee Stadium in the fourth. Rookie Trot Nixon started in left, where he made a diving catch of Chili Davis's sinking line drive in the sixth.

Tom Gordon gave up a run in the ninth inning on three straight hits and had the tying and winning run on base with one out. But he recovered and got his 41st save for a Red Sox record, winning 4 to 3 over the Orioles on September 16th.

On September 17th, the next night, after Darren Lewis doubled, he was brought home by Mo Vaughn in the tenth inning for a 3-2 victory.

The Sox and Rays split a doubleheader on September 21st. Bret Saberhagen pitched six strong innings, taking the opener, 4 to 3, thanks to John Valentin's home run. The next night they beat the Rays, 11 to 2, and then beat them 5-4 on September 23rd on Nomar's triple and 33rd homer.

The Sox clinched the wild card on September 24th with a win  over the Orioles at Fenway. Finally, on September 26th, Dennis Eckersley broke Hoyt Wilhelm's major league record with his 1,071th career pitching appearance.

But the New York Yankees had taken over first place on the last day of April, and by June effectively clinched the divisional title. The Sox finished at 92-70, which was the second-best record in the American League, and Bernie Williams (.339 BA) of the Yankees just nosed out Mo Vaughn (.337 BA) for the American League batting title.

The Red Sox opened up the ALDS against Cleveland and were eager to erase the memory of 1995 when they were swept. They buried the Indians in the opener, Game #1, behind Pedro and Mo Vaughn, 11-3. Mo went three for five with a double, two home runs and seven RBI.

But in Game #2 the Indians hit back, winning 9-5. David Justice hit a three-run home run off reliever John Wasdin in a five-run second inning for the Indians. The Indians then had an answer each time the Red Sox tried to climb back into the game, knocking out seven extra-base hits, including six doubles, and putting runners on base in every inning.

The series moved back to Boston for Game #3 and the Indians, behind two home runs by Manny Ramirez, and one apiece by Kenny Lofton and Jim Thome, withstood a ninth-inning two-run homer by Nomar to beat the Red Sox, 4-3, and take a 2-1 lead in the series.

The Red Sox now had their backs to the wall and needed to win both games to stay alive. Pedro wanted to pitch on three days rest, but the Red Sox management wanted to protect their investment and saved him for a game they never got to play. So, in Game #4 the Red Sox started Pete Schourek, who pitched shutout ball, but the Red Sox bats went silent and Tom Gordon came into the ninth inning with a 1 to 0 lead to protect. Gordon, who had not blown a save since April, imploded and the Indians won the game and the ALDS by a score of 2 to 1.

With the Red Sox down to their final at-bat, Nomar exhorted Boston fans to cheer the Red Sox on. Afterward, he hugged his teammates and thanked the fans for their loyalty. In the series, he hit .333 with three homers and a double and drove in 11 runs.

The thrill was done. Since Bill Buckner's fateful error, the team had lost 16 of 17 postseason games.

Pedro Martinez was 5-0 with a 1.74 ERA after his first five starts, but then stomach cramps made him double over in pain, he started to lose weight and his pitching suffered. The trainers fed him nutrients and by the All-Star Game he felt like himself. He had gone 4-0 with a 0.93 ERA. In the second half of the season, he was 8-5 with a 2.91 ERA. Pedro finished second to Roger Clemens in the "Cy Young" award voting. He finished with a 2.89 ERA and was 19-7 with 251 strikeouts.

Tim Wakefield was a very good 17-8 and Bret Saberhagen was 15-8.

Tom Gordon did a great job as the closer, making the All Star team and ringing up a league-leading 46 saves.

Nomar (.323 BA) made a mockery of the "sophomore jinx". He hit 35 home runs, scored 111 runs, and drove in 122. He had a 24-game hitting streak and finished second in MVP voting to Juan Gonzalez. With Nomar continuing to excel and Mo Vaughn (.337 BA, 40 HR) producing all year in trying to prove his worth, the Red Sox emerged as a championship-caliber team.

John Valentin banged out 23 homers, but only batted .247, playing third base.

Damon Buford (.282 BA) Troy O'Leary (.270 BA, 23 HRs) and Darren Lewis (.268 BA, 29 SB) had good years at the plate and Jason Varitek (.253 BA), platooning with Scott Hatteberg (.276 BA), gave the Red Sox solid catching.