April 14-16, 1986. Fenway Park, Boston, Mass. The Sox are back at home in hopes of turning around a dismal beginning.
April 14: Oil Can Boyd's numbers have thus far been very deceptive. Winless so far, Boyd (0-1) is still boasting a respectable 2.65 ERA with 9Ks over 17 innings, but with a healthy Boston lineup today, he hopes to finally notch his first 'W'. Fellow winless starter Teddy Higuera (0-2, 3.60ERA) may have something to say about that, and with a frustrated Milwaukee team behind him, he has no intention of allowing Boston to get back on the winning track. With Tony Armas' hitting drought showing no signs of improvement (he's 3-for-41 so far this year), Steve Lyons gets the call in right field. Things began better than anyone could have hoped when in the bottom of the 1st, Wade Boggs sent Higuera's 0-1 pitch over the right field wall for his first home run of the year. Bill Buckner singled in the bottom of the 3rd, and after Steve Lyons struck out, Wade Boggs drew a walk. Barrett grounded out to 2nd, but a determined Don Baylor fought off a 14-pitch at bat to drill an RBI-single to left field, bringing in Buckner. As Boyd dominated on the mound, Boston continued their steady onslaught at the plate. Lyons began the bottom of the 5th with a double between center and left followed by a walk to Boggs, his second of the game. With 1st and 2nd occupied, Marty Barrett slapped a Higuera fastball to left, driving in Lyons and extending Boston's lead 3-0. The hits just kept on comin' as Dwight Evans launched a 380-foot solo missile in the sixth. Keeping the pressure on, Wade Boggs singled to start the bottom of the 7th. After Barrett struck out and Baylor was blanked on an easy pop fly to 2B, Jim Rice stepped up and sent a huge 2-run blast over the Green Monster, scoring Boggs. With a comfortable 6-0 lead, Oil Can Boyd continued to own the Brewers through 8 innings, allowing only 4 hits and striking out 3, more than enough to earn his first win. Sammy Stewart pitched the 9th, allowing only a single to C Bill Schroeder before retiring the next three batters. Boston's losing streak ends at three as they rout the Brewers 6-0. Wade Boggs reached base in every at bat, going 2-for-2 with a home run and 2 walks, scoring twice. Teddy Higuera's win eluded him and the lefty fell to 0-3. Eight of Boston's starting nine managed at least one hit today, proving once again that there's
No Place Like Home!
April 15: Battle of the One-Win Stars? Boston's Bruce Hurst (1-1, 8.56ERA) goes up against Milwaukee's Danny Darwin (1-1, 1.66ERA) on a cold and windy afternoon here at Fenway Park. Though they share identical records, Boston hopes the sharp contrast in ERA will not be a prediction of how the game will unfold. Boston's full lineup took the field eager to notch a second win against the Brewers. In the bottom of the second, Rich Gedman gave Boston the early lead with his 4th homer of the season, a solo-shot into the right-field stands. With Hurst keeping the Brewers in check, the bottom of the 4th provided good results for the Red Sox. Darwin started off getting Dwight Evans to fly out to short but then surrendered a double to Armas a moment later. Rich Gedman hit a bullet of a line drive to second, but Brewer infielder Jim Gantner handled it cleanly for the second out. Hoping to capitalize on the base-runner, Bill Buckner sat on a 2-2 pitch and singled down the left field line, advancing Armas to third. Ed Romero, close to falling into a hitting slump of his own, jumped on Darwin's first pitch and sent it screaming back over the head of Glenn Braggs in LF for an RBI double, scoring Armas. With Buckner at 3rd and Romero sitting now at 2nd, Wade Boggs' careful eye drew a walk, Darwin's 2nd, to load the bases. However, even with Boston hearts pumping and fingers crossing, Marty Barrett only managed a weak fly ball to Ganter at second, ending the inning and leaving 2 on. As the top of the 6th rolled around, a focused and determined Hurst had kept Milwaukee's bats silent for nearly six innings, allowing only 2 hits while striking out 4. However, a slip on the 1-1 pitch to Paul Molitor resulted in a long, high fly ball that never came down. The Ignitor cut Boston's lead in half, and after allowing a single to Rob Deer, Hurst got Bill Schroeder to hit a soft grounder to Barrett, who easily snagged Deer on the forced-out, ending the inning. After going down silently in the bottom half of the 6th, Boston holds on to a slim lead, 2-1. Hurst regained his control for the lucky-7th, giving up a walk to Ernest Riles but then getting three easy outs to close things up. There was a lot of talk in the Boston dugout at the end of the 7th as manager Bobby Gonzalez contemplated sending a reliever, even though Hurst had been frugal thus far, reaching the 8th inning having only thrown 78 pitches. The call went out... and Hurst returned. The gamble paid off. Hurst handled the side easily, but even after a pair of singles, Boston couldn't manage anything more against reliever Bob Gibson. Hurst was done for the day when closer Bob Stanely was called in to sit down the 3-4-5 hitters and close the door on the Brewers. Rod Deer flew out to RF Armas and Bill Schroeder grounded out to 2B Barrett before Glenn Braggs managed a bloop single just behind Romero. No worries. Stanley's first pitch to Cecil Cooper was hit to the ground rolling-- straight into Barrett's glove. The easy toss to Buckner ended the game and gave Hurst his 2nd victory of the year. More importantly, it reinvigorated a potential-laden Boston team and gave them their second win in a row. Danny Darwin (1-2, 1.84ERA) went 7.2 innings, allowing only 2 runs on 8 hits but failing to strike anyone out. Bob Stanley notched his 2nd save of the year, giving up only 1 hit. The Red Sox go for the sweep against the Brewers tomorrow; if they succeed, it would be their first of the year.
April 16: It's freezing and threatening to snow. At a bitter, frosty 37 degrees, an overcast Fenway feels like a giant walk-in freezer. Merciless 14mph winds dip down to field level, chill everything in sight, then shoot up and out towards left field. Pitchers need to watch their control, a decent fly ball with enough oomph can drift away into a long ball. This is going to be a rough outing for the Sox and Brew-crew; let's hope our boys can prevail. Today's game looks like an even match-up as Al Nipper (1-1, 3.00ERA) takes the mound for Boston against Bill Wegman (1-1, 3.18 ERA), hurling for Milwaukee. The game gets underway with a scoreless first. In the top of the 2nd, after Molitor grounds out and Ernest Riles hits an easy fly ball to Romero, Nipper runs into a little control trouble. Walking Gantner and Braggs in sequence, Rick Cerone nudges a gentle, drifting fly ball to RF that hits a gust and lands at the feet of a charging Armas; it's enough to score Gantner and Milwaukee takes an early lead 1-0. Everything remains silent until the 5th, where things really start to shake up. At the top half, Glenn Braggs draws another walk then advanced to third on a single to RF by Cerone's, his 2nd hit of the day. The Brewers' hit-and-run call pays off as Robin Yount hits a curving single into short left, scoring Braggs. With runners at the corners and no outs, Cerone takes off on the 1-2 pitch, but even though Ben Oglivie hits into a 6-4-3 double play, Cerone reaches home safely, extending Milwaukee's lead 3-0. Don't count Boston out yet. Starting off the inning strong, Armas gets rewarded for an 11 pitch at-bat with a single to short RF. A double by Gedman leaves two runners in scoring position with no outs and Buckner up to the plate. Threatened with a walk, Bill Buckner sends the 3-1 pitch up and away, dinging off the upper deck rim, emptying the bases with a 3-run monster blast! The Red Sox were still not done with Wegman. A trio of singles by Romero, Boggs and Barrett load up the bases for Don Baylor, who smacks a full count fastball into left center, scoring Ed Romero. At this point, Milwaukee makes a move, calling in the righty and former Red Sox player Mark Clear. Jim Rice then takes his turn, hacking at Clear's first pitch to send a high, fly ball to deep left, backing Oglivie up against the warning track. Though the Brewer left fielder makes the catch, the hit is deep enough to bring Boggs in on the sac fly. Boston stretches their lead 5-3 and the score, like the field, freezes. Though another single by Dwight Evans loads the bases again, Boston can't take advantage again as Armas pops out to short and Gedman strikes out swinging. From here on, the pitchers take over and dominate. When all is said and done, Nipper (2-1, 3.13ERA) takes the win, tossing 8 innings and allowing 3 runs on 8 hits, striking out 3 while walking the same. Taking up the rear, Bob Stanley pitched a 2-hit ninth for his 3rd straight save. Bill Buckner had a productive day going 3-for-4 with 3 RBI and Don Baylor had a couple of singles as well. Milwaukee gets swept by the BoSox after sending three pitchers up to stop the bleeding. Wegman (1-2, 4.39ERA) ended up with the loss, lasting only 4 innings, generously allowing 8 dings and the 5 runs they brought. Mark Clear fared much better, surviving 3 innings with 3 hits, 2 Ks and a pair of walks. The only run he allowed had been inherited from Wegman. John Henry Johnson pitched a hitless 9th for the Brewers, striking out a pair.
With three-in-a-row and a series sweep under their belts, the Red Sox (7-8) inch closer to a winning record and prepare to host a strong Baltimore squad who sits atop the AL East, boasting an impressive 11-4 record.
