|
THE ALL STARS
& PEDRO'S HISTORIC YEAR
Troy O'Leary delivers a game winner
against the Angels
August 27, 1999
...
A
big hit by slumping Troy O'Leary, made the difference in a 4-3 win
over the Anaheim Angels and their MIA slugger, Mo Vaughn, before
another Yawkey Way sellout of 32,921, the 29th full house of the
season. With Vaughn absent because he was attending the funeral of a
friend's mother, O'Leary delivered a two-out, two-run double off Troy
Percival, the Angels' All-Star closer, wiping out a 3-2 Sox deficit
in the eighth inning.
The Sox were
in danger of losing to the Angels, who have been mopes this season with or
without Mo, until Mike Stanley's smash went off the glove of third baseman Troy
Glaus and dribbled out into short left field for an infield hit. Terry Collins,
the embattled Angels manager, brought in Percival. Williams sent Daubach to bat
for Butch Huskey, whose two-run single in the sixth accounted for the Sox' first
two runs, slicing a 3-0 deficit to 3-2. Percival sent Daubach to the dirt with
an eye-high fastball on a 2-and-1 count, then walked him on the next pitch.
O'Leary took a pitch for a ball, then launched the drive that gave this
seven-game homestand a nice kick-start after a dreary 2-4 road trip.
So did Kent
Mercker, the lefty who was with Jimy Williams during the glory days in Atlanta
in the early 90s and has kicked around ever since, landing here this week after
being acquired in a deal from St. Louis. Though he left after six innings with
the Sox a run behind, there was lots to like about Mercker's debut, which also
was the first time he pitched in Fenway Park.
The
lefthander, who took the mound wearing Jim Corsi's old number (41), worked fast,
threw strikes (no walks in six innings) and showed off a nasty changeup when he
struck out Tim Salmon with a full count to end the third. This was the first
time this season in 26 games, 19 starts, that Mercker did not walk a batter. He
set down 10 Angels in a row from the last out of the first to Darin Erstad's
line single to open the fifth, then promptly picked off Erstad.
Still, he
found himself down a pair of runs after the first inning, when Todd Greene,
serving as DH in the absence of Vaughn, hit a double off the Monster for a run
and Garret Anderson doubled beyond the reach of center fielder Damon Buford to
make it 2-0.
Trent
Durrington led off the Angels' sixth with a groundball single just beyond the
reach of a diving John Valentin at third. Jim Edmonds's groundball advanced
Durrington to second, and Durrington held at third as Salmon shot another
grounder through to left for a hit. Greene then hit a double-play ball to
Valentin, who had missed the last two games with a sore left knee. Valentin
bobbled the ball momentarily, long enough for Greene to beat Jose Offerman's
relay from second. Durrington scored on the play.
The Sox
finally broke through in the sixth when Angels rookie Jarrod Washburn, who
allowed only singles by Nomar Garciaparra in the first and O'Leary in the
second, walked Offerman on a full count and Valentin on four pitches. Collins
lifted the rookie for reliever Mark Petkovsek to face the middle of the Sox
order.
Garciaparra
grounded to short and barely avoided hitting into a double play, hustling down
the line to beat the throw after Valentin was forced at second. Stanley walked,
loading the bases, and Huskey lined a two-run single to left, making it 3-2,
striking distance for O'Leary. |
