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HAROLD BAINES |
THE ALL STARS
&
PEDRO'S HISTORIC YEAR
1999
ALDS, GAME #2
The Indians slam Saberhagen
and the Red Sox
October 7, 1999
...
The Indians seized a 2-0 Division Series advantage over the reeling
Red Sox with an 11-1 bashing here that began in late-afternoon
shadows and ended in darkness, the proper coda for the worst
postseason defeat ever absorbed by the Olde Towne Team.
Pedro
Martinez, whose older brother Ramon is all that stands between the Red Sox and
elimination in Game 3 after their 18th loss in their last 19 postseason outings,
was neither guaranteeing another start nor conceding defeat.
All season,
Pedro the Younger has said his goal was to extend this season deeper into
October than the Sox did last year, when they were ousted by the Indians in four
games. Those chances evaporated quickly for Bret Saberhagen, a profile in
courage so many times in two years with the Sox, but a portrait of frustration
yesterday. Saberhagen walked more batters (3) in the Indians' six-run third
inning than he did in all but two of his 22 starts this season.
The Sox once
again paid dearly for careless defense. Second baseman Jose Offerman's inability
to turn a double play in the third inning was not as flagrant a mistake as third
baseman John Valentin's throwing error in Game 1, but it ultimately had
consequences even more devastating. Offerman threw high to first baseman Mike
Stanley after taking Nomar Garciaparra's feed on Sandy Alomar's routine
grounder. Instead of two out and nobody on, Alomar reached safely.
The next
batter, Kenny Lofton, worked Saberhagen for a full-count walk on a 10-pitch
at-bat, and Omar Vizquel followed with a two-run triple into a sun-drenched
right-field corner, just out of the reach of rookie Trot Nixon. Gone was the Red
Sox' 1-0 lead, created by Nixon's double and Offerman's single in the top of the
inning. On deck, more carnage, which tends to happen against the Indians, the
team of a thousand runs. Robbie Alomar lashed a double to right, scoring Vizquel
to make it 3-1. Jim Thome walked. Harold Baines, the 40-year-old Cleveland DH
born when Ike was still president, followed with a three-run home run.
Saberhagen
was finished, and so were the Sox. An inning later, John Wasdin gave up a grand
slam to Thome, and they might as well have invoked the 10-run rule as Indians
starter Charles Nagy, of the Fairfield, Conn., Nagys, breezed through a Sox
lineup that has scored three runs and managed 11 hits, seven of them singles, in
two games..
Even Nomar,
the Indian slayer, went out quietly yesterday, failing to get the ball out of
the infield in three trips. By the time the Sox arrived at their last at-bats,
Lou Merloni was the Sox cleanup hitter in Garciaparra's place. The Framingham
Kid popped out to Robbie Alomar to end the game, and the Sox headed for home,
with any designs of returning dependent on winning two games this weekend at
Fenway Park. |
