|
THE ALL STARS
& PEDRO'S HISTORIC YEAR
Jose
Offerman's 2 HRs help
the Sox and Bret Saberhagen
June 28, 1999
...
You certainly won't see much better offense than the season-high
21-hit attack that finished off the Chicago White Sox tonight, 14-1.
It was such a treat that most of the 24,616 at Fenway Park hung
around wondering how good this team can be, rather than worrying
about the 1 1/2-game deficit to the Yankees in the American League
East.
It had to be fun to watch Bret Saberhagen pitch well enough to get his fourth
victory and second in a row. Normally, seven innings of work just isn't enough
for the veteran righthander. But when you throw 60 strikes in 79 pitches and
unleash a changeup on righthanded batters who were praying for a curveball, it's
OK to quit a tad early with an 11-0 lead.
Jose Offerman, much maligned in some circles despite the fact he is hitting
.301, had four hits, including two home runs, and a career-high six RBIs. His
second home run was a seventh-inning grand slam, the first of his rather
interesting career.
The Red Sox struck early and never looked back. Singles by Troy O'Leary,
Creighton Gubanich, and Darren Lewis highlighted a three-run surge in the second
inning. In the fifth, Offerman hit a home run off lefthander Mike Sirotka.
Boston scored three more runs in the sixth, in which it sent nine batters to the
plate. The Sox had six singles in the rally -- five after two were out.
Offerman's slam in the seventh followed singles by Lou Merloni, Jason Varitek,
and Lewis. Boston capped off the night with three runs in the eighth.
The White Sox scored 10 runs in four games and lost three of them. Boston scored
victories of 6-1, 17-1, and 14-1 in which it collected 48 hits. The only loss
was a 7-6 slugfest in which the Red Sox blew a 5-0 lead. The 21 hits were the
most since the Sox had 24 in a 17-1 win at Texas Aug. 5, 1997. The Sox have won
11 of their last 15 games and are 19-9 against the AL Central. |
