|
ON THIS DATE (September
5, 1982) ... On a beautiful afternoon in which the
Red Sox was two outs away, with no one on base and one out from a
loss that would have all but buried the locals for the year, the Sox
dug themselves out of a hole, with the result being a 10-inning, 6-5
victory. Seattle reliever, Bill Caudill, came
into a 5-2 game with one out in the ninth and two on base in a game that had
been 8 1/2 innings of flubs. But he was ripped for clutch hits by Carney
Lansford and Dave Stapleton for the tying runs in the ninth, and left with the
bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th before Carl Yastrzemski's ground ball and
an ensuing off-home throw by Julio Cruz scored Jerry Remy for the 41st
come-from-behind victory of the season.
When Mariner reliever Mike Stanton cruised through the
first out of the ninth with a 5-2 lead, this game looked like the period at the
end of the 1982 sentence. The Red Sox had hit into three big double plays,
turned four 3-1 Tim Stoddard pitches into five big outs, saw Reid Nichols make
one fielding misjudgment and made two baserunning blunders, that had Chuck
Rainey pitch a forgettable five-inning, four-run performance.
But Tom Burgmeier and winner Mark Clear (13-7) gave the Sox
a chance to climb back into the game, and they eventually did in their best
style. After Burgy had given up a run in the top of the ninth, Stanton got his
fourth straight out by retiring Dwight Evans to lead off the bottom of the
inning. But Jim Rice singled and went to third when Yastrzemski singled to
right, off Gary Gray's glove. Bill Caudill came in and Lansford ripped a fast
ball off The Wall. 5-3, with runners on second and third. Caudill then got Wade
Boggs down 0-and-2, but The Boggs Hitting Machine checked his swing on an 0-2
fastball, took three balls and walked to load the bases. Dave Stapleton then
ripped the first-pitch fastball into center, and Lansford beat David Henderson's
throw to the plate. As Caudill looked around in disbelief, Stapleton stood on
second, fist raised.
The only reason the game went any further was that Julio
Cruz, who has more range than any infielder in this league, sprawled to stab
Rich Gedman's vicious grounder through the middle.
Gedman got his revenge after Clear was greeted by Bruce
Bochte's leadoff single. He gunned him down stealing. Gedman's rocket of a throw
allowed the Sox to enter the bottom of the 10th still tied.
Jerry Remy started things off by fighting a nasty fastball
on his fists into right for a single. After Dwight Evans pulled a ball inches
foul over third, he walked. Caudill then tucked an 0-2 fastball to Rice inside,
so far inside that it ticked his jersey. Caudill yelled in protest but the bases
were loaded, none out, and ace lefty Ed VandeBerg was brought on for Yaz. Yaz
hit a chopper up the middle, Cruz backhanded it, but his off- balance flip was
just far enough off home that it pulled catcher Jim Essian's left foot inches
off the plate. Sox win, 6-5. |
