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FROM LAST TO FIRST
AND BACK ...
A ninth inning walk-off makes seven straight
June 28, 1993
...
Compared with a 4-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on June 28th,
which sent Milwaukee manager Phil Garner into an expletive rage after
the game, the Red Sox' previous six wins were fairly cut and dried. But the Sox became
heart-stoppers, winning their seventh straight when Scott Cooper hit a roller up
the middle through a double-play-depth infield that scored two runs in the ninth
to win Boston's most dramatic game of the season. It was only the second time
this season the Sox have won while trailing in the ninth inning.
The Sox have moved within one
game of .500, a mark that appeared a laughable goal a week ago, and despite a
sparse gathering in the usually boisterous bleachers, they are starting to win
their fans back.
With Boston down, 3-2, the
winning rally began when Greenwell ended an 0-for-8 drought against Jesse Orosco
with a single to center field. This brought in Doug Henry, the Brewer closer,
who allowed a first-pitch double into the left-field corner by Andre Dawson.
With runners at second and third, Mo Vaughn was walked intentionally. After
Ernie Riles struck out with the bases loaded, Cooper ran the count to 3-2 before
he sent a grounder up the middle that trickled past the mound. Second baseman
Bill Spiers appeared to lean the wrong way as the ball went helplessly past him
into center.
For a while, it didn't look so
good. With the game tied, 2-2, in the eighth inning, Sox starter Paul Quantrill
had retired nine in a row. But Greg Vaughn had hit a long fly to the wall in
left-center for the second out. That caught Butch Hobson's eye, and the manager
trotted out to the mound with the lefthanded-hitting Kevin Reimer coming up. Two
pitches later, the winning streak flashed before the manager's eyes as Reimer
hit one over the bullpens in right, breaking the tie.
The Sox seem to be ripping open
cans of spinach like Popeye lately. They've hit 10 homers in their last seven
games and 12 in their last nine. Nos. 1 and 2 hitters Billy Hatcher and Scott
Fletcher struck for solo shots in the first and fifth, respectively. The first
put the Sox ahead, 1-0, the second tied the game, 2-2. But both early heroes
felt their share of frustration later on.
Seeking to tie the game in the
eighth, the Sox put the first two men on as pinch hitter Steve Lyons doubled in
front of center fielder Darryl Hamilton and Fletcher walked after a few failed
bunt attempts. But Hatcher lined into a double play to second and Fletcher was
picked off first by Orosco (a familiar name in Boston lore) in the ultimate
indignity of the night. |
