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REVERSING THE CURSE, PART 4 ...
THE
HENRY, WERNER & LUCCHINO
ERA BEGINS
Johnny Damon wins the game in the 11th
after a 4-run Sox 9th inning
August 26, 2002 ... Just
when the Red Sox looked as if they were absolutely going no place,
trailing the Angels, 9-5, in the ninth inning, they suddenly and
remarkably exploded like a team bound for a far better place. In a
last-gasp sensation that may have salvaged their vanishing season,
the Sox stormed back to force extra innings and shock the Angels,
10-9, in the 10th, when Johnny Damon led off by swatting a 2-and-2
inside fastball off Scot Shields into the right-field seats for a
walk-off home run.
Much of the
sellout crowd of 32,869 rained a hail of boos on the struggling Sox and departed
before Damon's dramatic blast ignited a wild celebration at the plate.
Manny
Ramirez, nearly put the whole gang on his shoulders, by pounding out five hits,
including his 300th and 301st homers, and a single that started the electrifying
ninth-inning rally. Cliff Floyd and Shea Hillenbrand followed Ramirez's lead by
singling to load the bases. Then pinch hitter Tony Clark made it 9-6 by drawing
a run-scoring walk off Percival, before Trot Nixon's sacrifice fly narrowed it
to 9-7.
Still, the
Sox were down to their final strike as Rey Sanchez battled to 3-and-2 through
seven pitches against Angels closer Troy Percival. But Sanchez, who was 0 for 3
with two strikeouts in his career against Percival, ripped the eighth pitch into
left-center for two more runs to set the stage for Damon's heroics.
Ugueth
Urbina picked up his first American League win by holding off the Angels in the
top of the 10th.
The
thrilling finish followed a bout of ugliness in which the Sox, for whatever
reason, had failed at critical junctures throughout the game. They committed
four errors, recorded a run-scoring wild pitch and had two runners thrown out
trying to score. Little also may have left himself open to criticism by leaving
in starter John Burkett after he had thrown 100 pitches and surrendered 11 hits
in 5 2/3innings. The next and final batter Burkett faced, Darin Erstad, singled
to give the Angels a 4-3 lead.
The Sox were
trailing, 5-3, in the seventh with Nomar Garciaparra on second with a double and
Sanchez on third after reaching on an infield single when Ramirez singled them
home for a 5-5 tie. But the Angels responded with a four-run eighth, scoring the
go-ahead run when Orlando Palmeiro lofted a sacrifice fly into foul territory in
right, scoring Adam Kennedy. Nixon dropped the ball in the transfer for an
error, allowing David Eckstein to advance from first to second. After Garret
Anderson was intentionally walked, Brad Fullmer doubled home another run, and
Troy Glaus doubled home two more.
At that
point, the Sox appeared to have little left. They went quietly in the eighth, as
the stands began to empty, before Ramirez & Co. struck in the ninth, clearing
the way for Damon. And a new life for the Sox.
The victory
allowed the Sox to creep within 2 1/2 games of the Angels in the wild-card race
and stay seven behind the Yankees in the AL East on the eve of a two-game
showdown with their archrivals. No Sox team had overcome a four-run deficit in
the ninth inning since April 10, 1998, when Mo Vaughn led the team out of a 7-2
hole for a 9-7 victory over the Mariners. |
