|
THE ALL STARS
& PEDRO'S HISTORIC YEAR
Nomar leads the Sox to
another beating of Detroit
September 18, 1999
...
After another authoritative victory, a 9-1 rout of the pitiful
Detroit Tigers, the Sox find themselves a mere three games behind the
New York Yankees, 5-4 losers in Cleveland. Some derisive, anti-Yankee
cheers were audible as early as the sixth inning from the 34th Fenway
Park sellout of the season, so the fans clearly are thinking along
those lines.
In two
games, Detroit has been outscored, 23-4, and outhit, 29-15, with 12 of the 15
hits being singles. They've been outscored, 9-0, in the eighth inning of two
already lopsided games and have not had a starting pitcher last four innings.
Today they scored one in the ninth to avoid their 13th shutout of the season.
This
bludgeoning was as ridiculously easy and efficient as the Sox' 14-3 Friday night
massacre. Nomar Garciaparra (4 for 4, .359) cracked a two-run homer, Jason
Varitek cracked a three-run homer, Troy O'Leary cracked the 100-RBI mark, and
Saberhagen cracked the Tiger bats.
Saberhagen
joined Pedro Martinez in the double-digit win category (10-5), allowing only two
singles. It was his second outing since serving a stint on the disabled list
with a sore right shoulder. He was given a standing ovation as he headed to the
dugout after his six innings, in which he had faced one batter over the 18
minimum. He'd thrown 82 pitches, 54 for strikes.
The win was
Boston's seventh in eight games, ninth in 11, and 19th in 23, and it pushed the
Sox to a season-high 24 games over .500. They are closer to overtaking New York
in the American League East than Oakland is to overtaking them in the wild-card
race. If the Yankees weren't finishing their schedule with the White Sox and
Tampa Bay, it might be time to really get excited. It may still be.
They again
got to work early against the Detroit starter/scapegoat du jour, knocking Jeff
Weaver around for six runs and 10 hits in 3 1/3 innings. Weaver did retire the
first two Boston batters. But Varitek beat out a nubber in front of the plate,
and he went to second on a Garciaparra flare to right. O'Leary then sliced a
double down the left-field line, scoring both runners. That gave him 101 runs
batted in, making him the first Boston player to hit the century mark this
season. (Garciaparra has 97.)
After a
scoreless second, Weaver walked Varitek, then grooved one to Garciaparra, who
deposited it into the net for his 24th homer. The Sox added two more in the
fourth, mercifully chasing Weaver on an RBI single by Varitek and a double off
the wall by Garciaparra. In the last five games, Garciaparra is 12 for 21 with a
homer, four doubles, and five RBIs.
The final
three runs came in the eighth when Varitez homered, his 18th, following walks to
Trot Nixon and Jose Offerman.
Rich Garces,
Derek Lowe, and John Wasdin combined to pitch the final three innings without
incident, although Wasdin couldn't preserve what would have been the 10th
shutout by the Red Sox this season. No one seemed concerned about that slight
shortcoming. |
