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THE SOX WIN THE AL EAST IN
SPECTACULAR
FASHION, BUT THAT'S ABOUT IT ...
Roger Clemens comes
back with
a clutch performance
September
29, 1990 ... A 7-5 victory over Toronto pushed
the Red Sox to a two-game lead in the American League East with four
to play. It is hard to remember a more inspirational performance by a
Red Sox player. Clemens had not pitched in 25 days, but he allowed
four hits in six shutout innings, and he pushed his fastball to 91
miles per hour in the fourth inning. The
performance was so dramatic it managed to eclipse some notable efforts,
especially that of right fielder Tom Brunansky, who homered three times into the
net off three different pitchers and drove in five runs.
The Jays were down, 7-0, in the ninth when they scored five
runs off Dennis Lamp, four on a two-out grand slam by Kelly Gruber, but they
have been pushed close to the brink.
It was apparent Clemens was OK from the start, when he
threw an 0-1 fastball to Tony Fernandez that could be heard around the park as
it hit Pena's glove. In another key test, he struck out Gruber with a high
fastball out of the strike zone and punched out Fred McGriff to end the inning.
He started the next inning by getting George Bell looking at a wicked slider,
and it was clear he was back.
Although
the Jays were unable to score, they had a runner on base in every inning but one
against Clemens and put runners in scoring position in three of the last four.
In the third, Clemens gave up a leadoff single to Manny Lee and a one-out double
to Wilson, putting runners on second and third. He got Fernandez on a line drive
to short, then Gruber on a routine grounder to Luis Rivera, who almost pulled
Carlos Quintana off the bag with his throw.
In the
fourth, Clemens gave up a one-out double to Bell, then fanned contact-hitter
Olerud and got Myers on a ground ball to Quintana, who bobbled the ball and
picked it up behind him before throwing to Clemens.
Brunansky
broke the scoreless tie in the fifth. Toronto starter Todd Stottlemyre threw him
a 1-1 fastball, and the right fielder hit it into the net. The home run was a
prelude to the sixth, when the Sox wasted the fatigued Stottlemyre. Evans and
Brunansky had the big hits, but it was Boggs who may have done him in with an
11-pitch at-bat that culminated in a clean single to center.
Stottlemyre’s last effective pitch was a slider well out of the strike zone that
drew in Ellis Burks. But he was obviously laboring as he pitched to Greenwell.
During the at-bat, pitching coach Galen Cisco was thrown out by plate umpire
Drew Coble for arguing balls and strikes. Gaston's subsequent argument could
have been a breather for Stottlemyre, but he walked Greenwell anyway and loaded
the bases.
Gaston
brought in erratic middle reliever Ward, a pitcher of enormous talents who is
given to blowups. Evans greeted him with a flare through the right side of the
drawn-in infield, scoring two runs, and the Sox got another break when right
fielder Junior Felix' throw hit Greenwell in the back at third. Greenwell surely
would have been out.
With
runners on first and third, Evans took off. Myers' throw was in time, but Evans
dodged the tag by sliding to the outside of the base. Brunansky followed with
another bomb that nestled itself in the net. |
