The Avenge Buckner Association

[Frozen Stiffer]

Around the League - Player Leaders

After 52 games, here's where the leaders sit:

Batting Average (AL):
1. Lou Whittaker - .368 - Detroit Tigers
2. Carney Lansford - .362 - Oakland Athletics
3. Tony Fernandez - .337 - Toronto Blue Jays

Batting Average (NL):
1. Darryl Strawberry - .332 - New York Mets
2. Kevin Bass - .327 - Houston Astros
3. Kevin Mitchell - .319 - New York Mets
3. Bill Madlock - .319 - Los Angeles Dodgers

Home Runs (AL):
1. Ken Phelps - 15 - Seattle Mariners
2. Kent Hrbek - 14 - Minnesota Twins
3. Dwight Evans - 13 - Boston Red Sox

Home Runs (NL):
1. Glenn Davis - 15 - Houston Astros
2. Bob Horner - 13 - Atlanta Braves
2. Dave Parker - 13 - Cincinnati
* 4 others tied with 12

ERA (AL):
1. Oil Can Boyd - 1.39 - Boston Red Sox
2. Dennis Rasmussen - 2.18 - New York Yankees
3. Curt Young - 2.48 - Oakland Athletics

ERA (NL):
1. Danny Cox - 1.22 - St. Louis Cardinals
2. Mike Scott - 1.28 - Houston Astros
3. Scott Garrelts - 1.90 - San Francisco

Wins (AL):
1. Doug Drabek - 9 - New York Yankees
1. Dennis Rasmussen - 9 - New York Yankees
1. Jimmy Key - 9 - Toronto
4. Al Nipper - 8 - Boston
*3 others tied with 8...

Wins (NL):
1. Mike Scott - 9 - Houston Astros
2. Bob Forsch -8 - St. Louis Cardinals
2. Bob Ojeda - 8 - New York Mets
* 2 others tied with 7...

[Frozen Stiffer]

May 29-30, 1986. May has been very good to the Red Sox as the boys from Boston have racked up an amazing 17-7 record thus far. After getting a day off, Boston faces the Twins from Minnesota for another two-game stint. The last time these two teams clashed, they walked off in a draw, 1 victory a piece. The Red Sox won't settle for anything less than a pair of victories if they hope to sustain their upward momentum.

May 29 - We're back home for a brief matchup against the Twins. Today, Boston will ride on the shoulders of breakout ace Oil Can Boyd (7-1, 1.39ERA) hoping for their third win in a row. Minnesota will send Allan Anderson (1-2, 6.23ERA) to the mound to break the stalemate.

Boyd started off uneasy, allowing the Twins to load the bases in the 1st before settling down and keeping them off the plate. Minnesota still drew fist blood however, when Tom Brunansky drove in Jeff Reed on an RBI single over the head of a leaping Marty Barrett. Boyd was not pleased with this and swore a silent oath to keep the Twins shut down for the rest of the game.

He kept that promise. Oil Can Boyd earned his 8th win of the year, lowering his ERA ever so slightly to 1.37. The Iron Horse lasted 8 innings, allowing just 1 run on 6 hits, striking out just four.

Anderson lasted just five innings for the Twins, falling to 1-3 after surrendering 3 runs on 8 hits and walking 5. Boston's offensive explosion happened in the bottom of the 4th. Buckner got the ball rolling after drawing a 4-pitch walk. Boggs followed suit with a walk of his own on another 4 straight pitches. Barrett's single loaded the bases for Don Baylor, who took care of it. His RBI single scored Buckner and evened up the game. Jim Rice was up next and did not disappoint. With runners going, Rice drilled a screamer into left field, scoring Boggs and Barrett to give Boston a 3-1 lead.

The Twins were unable to get anything going against Boyd once he had settled down. Calvin Schiraldi (1-0, 2.96ERA, 14SAV) came in for the top of the 9th and didn't look back, earning his 14th save and 3rd straight. Evans, Armas and Gedman went hitless for the Red Sox while Rice ended the day 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs. Catcher Jeff Reed was responsible for 2 of Minnesota's 6 hits.

The two teams meet again tomorrow and Boston hopes to win that too, giving them a 3-1 lead over the Twins for the year. Boston will go with Bruce Hurst while Minnesota's starter has not yet been unannounced.

[Frozen Stiffer]

May 29-30, 1986. May has been very good to the Red Sox as the boys from Boston have racked up an amazing 17-7 record thus far. After getting a day off, Boston faces the Twins from Minnesota for another two-game stint. The last time these two teams clashed, they walked off in a draw, 1 victory a piece. The Red Sox won't settle for anything less than a pair of victories if they hope to sustain their upward momentum.

May 30 - You cannot beat fate. If you were meant to lose a game, you will lose it, no matter what you do or what unearthly force supports you. This was a hard, painful lesson the Red Sox learned on this cold gloomy day.

Bruce Hurst was dinged early when a Kirby Puckett RBI single put the Twins on the board early. Afterwards though, he settled down and ended the day after 7 innings, his 5 allowed hits earning just 1 run. Hurst struck out 6 and walked only 2.

Boston once again had a key inning where they exploded and today it was in the 4th. Back-to-back singles by Jim Rice and Dwight Evans started things off and set the stage for an RBI-double by Tony Armas. Rich Gedman drew the intentional walk and with the bases loaded, Bill Buckner sent a towering shot deep to center field. Puckett made the catch, but Evans was able to tag up and score on the sac fly. At this point, the small ball hit parade began. Consecutive RBI-singles by Romero and Boggs scored Armas and Gedman, respectively. Marty Barrett's double drove in Romero while Don Baylor's single welcomed Boggs and Barrett home. By the time Jim Rice's strike out ended the inning Boston lead 7-1. Much to the crushing disappointment of Red Sox fans, this would not be enough.

In the top of the eighth, the untouchable Joe Sambito took the ball from Hurst, who exited with high hopes of a win. Sambito pitched a flawless inning and in the 9th, with no save situation anywhere on the horizon, Boston manager Bobby Gonzalez called for Jeff Sellers to take the ball. This was the start of the decline. Singles to Gary Gaetti and Tom Brunansky preceded a walk to Roy Smalley, and showing his utter ineffectiveness, Sellers got the hook and righty Sammy Stewart got the call in hopes of ending things peacefully. Mickey Hatcher flew out to center but it would not matter. Randy Bush took the 1-1 pitch and sent it high, high, high over center field, clearing the bases in a massive 385-foot grand slam. After allowing a single to Jeff Reed, and with the game now on the line, Stewart took a seat in favor of closer Schiraldi.

Second baseman Steve Lombardozzi fought off Schiraldi for 13 pitches before smoking the next offering for a double down the line in left. Kent Hrbek came up next and found his success in just 3 pitches, sending Schiraldi's fastball into orbit with a 428-foot 3 run blast. Schiraldi retired the next two batters but the damage had been done. Boston was unable to strike back and suffered the painful loss, 7-8. Jeff Sellers was held accountable for three of the Twins' comeback runs, increasing his already atmospheric ERA to an oxygen-deprived 15.88. Schiraldi (1-1, 3.60ERA) ended up taking the loss and the blown save for Boston while a surprised Keith Atherton (3-1, 6.88ERA) who came in for relief in the middle of the eighth, earned the win. Jermaine Christopher (0-1, 4.76ERA) closed things up for his 17th save of the season.

For the Twins, Randy Bush went 2-for-4 with 4 RBIs while Kent Hrbek's lone hit was his massive home run, earning him the 3 RBI. Rich Gedman was the only hitless player for the Red Sox today. Though with fate against them from the start, he would have been unable to make much of a difference.

[Frozen Stiffer]

May 31-Jun 1, 1986. May has been a godsend for the Red Sox, and with one day to go and the beginning of a 2-game home stand against the Tigers, Boston hopes to end the month on a good note. They've gone 1-2 against Detroit so far this year but it's never too late to change.

May 30 - Taking the ball for the Red Sox is Al Nipper, one of the more consistent starters with a record of 8-2 and a polished 2.48 ERA. He will be facing off against righty Walt Terrell who hopes to improve on his 4-3 record. It's a cool, windy day at Fenway as the Red Sox take on the Tigers. Wade Boggs started off the game nicely, putting the Red Sox on the board early with a lead off home run to right field, before the rest of the boys went down quietly.

The notorious Kirk Gibson tied things up in the top of the 3rd with his own lone shot, his 12th of the year, landing in the same area as Boggs.

The tie didn't last long. The top of the 4th had Detroit on the offensive again, when after a single by Alan Trammel, Darnell Coles sends Nipper's offspeed pitch deep to left field, riding the wind. Detroit pulls away 3-1 but there's still plenty of time to go. It's noted that Nipper looks a little uneasy on the mound today, let's hope he sets his jitters aside and regains his focus. Dwight Evans joins the hit parade in the bottom of the frame with home run number 14 for the center fielder, bringing the Red Sox within 1 of the Tigers.

The closer Boston comes, the more Detroit pulls away. In the 5th, after Matt Nokes gets on with a single that zipped right by a diving Ed Romero, Alan Tramell tilted the score with a 400-foot beast over the green monster, extending Detroit's lead to 5-2. Nipper was reaching the 100-pitch mark and relievers began to warm up in the Boston bullpen, but they couldn't come in soon enough. Nipper surrendered another home run, the 4th one today, a solo blast off the bat of Larry Herndon. By this time Detroit was cruising with a 6-2 lead.

Starting the 6th with 104 pitches on the night, many of those poorly aimed, Nipper gets a visit to the mound. He convinces the pitching coach to stay, but after allowing a single and a walk with 2 outs, the hurler receives another visitor and this one he won't talk himself out of. After 5 2/3 IP, a season-high 11 hits and 6 runs given up and 113 pitches thrown, a frustrated and confused Nipper hits the showers. Onto the mound strides Steve Crawford (0-0, 4.22) in hopes of helping chain the Tigers. He does, retiring Trammell. Boston comes back in the bottom of the 6th when a Dwight Evans single is followed up by a Rich Gedman home run, a screaming beast up and well over the center field wall. Boston trails by just 2.

Just like that, Detroit's lead disintegrates. A single by 'Big Daddy' Don Baylor sets up the game-tying 2-run home run off the barrel of Dwight Evans' bat. Dewey's 2nd home run of the day ties the game at 6. The festivities don't end there however. Buckner draws a walk, then after back-to-back singles by Gedman and Armas, the Red Sox load the bases again for Ed Romero.

Romero has been a great SS so far this year. His average, going into the game, was a very generous .296 backed up by stellar defensive work. Until today, he had not displayed any signs of power, a detail that manager Bobby Gonzalez has found easy to leverage with Romero's quality glove. Today, Gonzalez got a flash of Romero's occasional power, and the timing could not have been better. With the bases loaded, Ed Romero hits his first home run of the year in style, a towering grand slam! As hard to believe as it may be, Boston's vicious come-back eighth inning explosion isn't done yet; Marty Barrett gets in on the fun with his own solo shot, a 394-foot soaring shot over the green monster. Is Boston done? No. The next batter, Don Baylor, jumps into the pool with an incredible 431-foot blast over the green monster again, and this shot hasn't hit the ground yet! The back-to-back home runs cap an incredible 8-run inning that included 4 home runs.

Bob Stanley, who had replaced Crawford in the top of the eighth and pitched a clean inning, gets the hook in favor of Jeff Sellers. The crowd quietly wonders Gonzalez' strategy, as Sellers has proven inconsistent and control-challenged in his last outings. When Darnell Coles gets a single and Pat Sheridan brings him home with a 2-run home run, Gonzalez finds himself speechless. Sellers isn't given another pitch and gets the hook for Sambito. The flawless lefty sits down the side and the game is over.

On a day with 12 home runs between both team, Boston comes out on top, demolishing Detroit 10-6 and evening the series for the year 2-2. Nipper's poor outing was saved by Boston's superior offense but it was too late to earn him the win. Instead, the honor goes to Bob Stanley (3-2, 5.00ERA). Randy O'Neal (2-1, 5.40ERA) takes the loss for Detroit. Dwight Evans lit up the night with a 3-for-3, 3 RBI performance where he scored 3 times and smashed 2 home runs. Ed Romero added 4 RBI of his own with a grand slam while Rich Gedman contributed with a pair.

[Frozen Stiffer]

May 31-Jun 1, 1986. May has been a godsend for the Red Sox, and with one day to go and the beginning of a 2-game home stand against the Tigers, Boston hopes to end the month on a good note. They've gone 1-2 against Detroit so far this year but it's never too late to change.

June 1 - Roger "The Rocket" Clemens, will captain the Red Sox today as they hope to capitalize on yesterday's defeat of the Tigers and repeat the event. Meanwhile, Dave Lapoint (1-1) hopes to prove that Boston's performance was nothing more than a fluke.

Hitless for the first three innings, Detroit finally gets on the board in the 4th with a solo home run by Lou Whitaker, the 9th of the year for the Tiger leadoff hitter. They do it again in the top of the 6th with a Larry Herndon solo shot. Detroit now leads 2-0 but a quick visit by Gedman and Clemens seems refocused.

The bottom of the 6th shows signs of life among the Red Sox as a leadoff Marty Barrett single is followed up by a Don Baylor single. A poor throw by Herndon lets the Boston runners advance, and with no outs, Barrett waits on third and Baylor sits at second. Jim Rice's sac fly brings in Barrett and Detroit's lead is halved with Boston trailing 2-1.

With Clemens working the Tigers, Rich Gedman hits his 2nd home run in as many games, tying the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the 7th. Jumping on the momentum, Buckner comes up to the plate and singles, followed by a single from Romero and another by Boggs to load the bases with no outs. Marty Barrett grounds sharply to Trammell and the shortstop bobbles the ball, ruining the double-play! Boggs is out at second on the fielder's choice but Barrett beats out the throw at first and Buckner slides home to score! With the runners going and Don Baylor next, Big Daddy hits a smoking grounder to third that also gets mishandled, leading to another botched double-play and another score when Romero trots across home. The inning finally ends with Boston in front 4-2.

Not comfortable with just a 2-run lead, the Red Sox continue to push. Tony Armas gets on with a single, then moves to second when Buckner draws a walk. An RBI double by Romero brings in Armas and moves Buckner to third. Wade Boggs comes up next and sends a line up the middle, bringing home Buckner. Barrett draws a walk but Baylor flies out to left, ending the inning. When the dust settles, Boston leads 6-2.

Clemens is done for the night as his pitch total hit 110 and Gonzalez calls for Stewart. Sammy Stewart steps up in the 9th and handles the side on just 10 pitches.

Boston wins its second straight, sweeping the Tigers, 6-2. Dwight Evans and Jim Rice struggled, going 0-for-3 and 0-for-4, respectively. However, six different Red Sox hitters each earned 1 RBI while five notched 2 hits on the day. Clemens (5-4, 3.03 ERA) earns the win with a quality outing, going 8 innings and giving up just 2 runs on 5 hits, striking out 9. Lapoint (1-2, 3.86 ERA), strong for the first five innings, takes the heavy loss with a 12-hit outing. Boston stays home against Milwaukee for three games before hitting the road on a short 3-game trip.