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“DIARY OF A WINNER”
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THE ALL STARS
& PEDRO'S HISTORIC YEAR June 26, 1999 ... The Red Sox had their fun at Pedro Martinez's expense last night, taping him to a dugout post. This afternoon, they continued their hijinks, only this time no one benefited more than the Red Sox ace. Pedro's 14th win of the season was assured in the first inning, when the Sox scored 11 times en route to a 17-1 drilling of the Chicago White Sox before a sun-splashed crowd of 32,758 in Fenway Park. This was not a day for showing up late, though even the tardy arrivals could have shown up a half-hour into the game and still caught the bottom of the first. First pitch of the game: 4:08 p.m. Last out of the first: 4:44. The Sox, in tying a club record for runs in their first at-bat set 66 years before, paraded 14 batters to the plate in the first inning, when they hit two home runs, four doubles, and three singles and also had two walks. The first three batters in the order, Jose Offerman, Lou Merloni, and Daubach, all reached safely twice in the inning. Offerman doubled and walked, Merloni singled and hit a three-run double that missed being a grand slam by a couple of feet, and Daubach had his ninth home run, his second in two games, and an RBI single. The Sox scored 11 runs in the first inning once before, Aug. 13, 1933, vs. the Philadelphia Athletics. They've scored 10 or more runs in the first inning three times in their history, the other time a 10-run outburst in Toronto June 21, 1994. Shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, who made the only out among the first seven Sox batters when he struck out, hit a two-run home run on his second go-round in the inning to cap the 11-run outburst, then hit a three-run home run in the third inning on his next at-bat. He didn't need a note from his doctor to convince anyone he's fine after missing two games with a strained groin. In the day's most astonishing show of chutzpah, Baldwin actually appeared to throw a fit when fetched by White Sox manager Jerry Manuel after walking No. 9 hitter Trot Nixon with six runs already in, flinging his chew and stalking off to the back of the mound before handing the ball to his manager. The Sox, winning for the 10th time in their last 13 games, hit five home runs in all in erupting for their biggest offensive showing since Aug. 5, 1997, when they beat the Rangers in Texas, 17-1. Pedro was dismissed after five easy innings, giving way to John Wasdin, who breezed through four hitless innings against the Chicagoans resigned to their fate. Pedro, who struck out four, walked one, and gave up three hits, including a home run by rookie Chris Singleton in the second, now has won his last three starts to go to 14-2, with two starts left before the break. Pedro's only dilemma came when he went to the mound before the game, when he had to choose which ball with which to warm up. Inexplicably, there were four baseballs strewn around the mound. The Sox, playing without third baseman John Valentin, still woozy after being beaned the night before, batted around for the second time this season in jumping on the White Sox. Merloni, who has started games at short, second, and third this week, singled after Offerman's leadoff double, then hit a bases-loaded double on his second at-bat in the inning, clearing the bases and missing a grand slam by a couple of feet. The Sox' five home runs matched their season high, as Stanley and Jason Varitek hit back-to-back home runs off Chicago reliever Scott Eyre leading off the fourth. Varitek also had two doubles, giving him four doubles in two games. Every batter in the Boston lineup had at least one hit except for outfielder Darren Lewis, who went hitless in five trips. The Sox had nine extra-base hits, with four doubles in addition to the five homers. |
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