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DUQUETTE PUSHES ALL
THE RIGHT BUTTONS ...
Troy O'Leary's 2-run HR in the 10th walks it off June 4, 1995 ... The game was long over. Fans were scattered throughout the park, most of them shaking their heads in disbelief. Many probably had been thinking about exiting the park in the bottom of the 10th, when the very tough Bobby Ayala came on to pitch for Seattle. Boston trailed, 1-0. There was one out and one on when Troy O'Leary came up. What chance did the Sox have? But then, with the count 1 and 1, the lefthanded O'Leary got a fastball and smacked it into the net in left-center, sending the crowd of 28,512 into another Fenway frenzy as the Sox took a 2-1 win. It was their sixth straight victory and gave them their best start since 1971 (23-11) as they looked to add on to their lead in the American League East. O'Leary's homer sparked a flashback to 1988, when a Kevin Romine homer beat the Kansas City Royals. “Morgan’s Magic” again was in the air. Just as unfathomable as how O'Leary, who was released by the Milwaukee Brewers, could win a game is how Tim Wakefield, who was released by the Pittsburgh Pirates, could pitch 10 innings and allow only one run in improving his record to 3-0, with an ERA of 0.37. It was 0-0 for nine innings, as Wakefield's knuckleball was dancing. Ninety percent of the 134 pitches he threw were flutterers. He was remarkably consistent: he never threw more than 21 pitches in an inning (the fourth) and threw only eight in the ninth. He threw 88 strikes. And he almost threw the game away in the 10th. In that inning, the Mariners started a rally with a Mike Blowers single up the middle that shortstop Steve Rodriguez should have made the play on. Rodriguez was playing because John Valentin was hit in the head with a Tim Belcher fastball in the sixth. Valentin suffered a mild concussion and is day-to-day after being released from St. Elizabeth's Hospital. Blowers' was a hard-hit ball that Rodriguez couldn't stop. After a sacrifice bunt by Darren Bragg, Dan Wilson was hit by a pitch. With runners at first and second, Wakefield fielded a tapper by Felix Fermin, turned and threw the ball sidearm way left of second base, where Rodriguez and Luis Alicea had converged. Blowers scored on the play. Wakefield hadn't given up a run in 22 1/3 innings. He has allowed only one run in his last 43 innings of major league work. His start with the Red Sox is even better than his start with the Pirates in 1992, when he was 2-0 in three games with 14 walks. He's walked only five so far with Boston. The bottom of the 10th started ominously when right fielder Wes Chamberlain struck out on three pitches against Ayala. Kennedy pulled Alicea for Bill Haselman, who is familiar with Ayala, having caught him in Seattle. Haselman laced a hard single to center, setting the stage for O'Leary. After the fans finally stood up and made their way to the exits, they too seemed to believe. They believed the unbelievable. |
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