|
THE ALL STARS
& PEDRO'S HISTORIC YEAR
A strange
game, but the Sox
come from behind and win
May 31, 1999
...
It will go down as a nifty, come-from-behind, 8-7 victory over the
Detroit Tigers, making the Red Sox 20-8 for the month of May and
inflating their giddy, first-place lead over the Yankees to 1 1/2
games.
But it was
so much more. This was one of the nuttiest and most entertaining games of this
or any season. It was Bizarro Baseball, that included 10 pitchers, six homers,
four hit batsmen, and three ejections.
It started
with Luis Polonia's big-league popup that Nomar Garciaparra lost in the sun. The
ball landed for a two-base hit (originally scored an error, but changed after
the game, adding two more runs to Mark Portugal's ERA). That set the tone. After
Polonia's 120-foot double, Tigers second baseman, Damion Easley was hit for the
first of three times.
The Sox got
one back in the first (Nomar's 33d RBI of the month), but Detroit struck quickly
in the second. Gabe Kapler started the three-run rally with a Bucky Dent-type
homer into the net. With one on and one out, Deivi Cruz hit a one-hopper back to
Portugal and the righty strained himself when he leaped and gloved the ball. His
left shoulder popped out of its socket.
Portugal
hung around for three full innings, then left trailing, 6-1. While the Sox came
back with a barrage of homers, the veteran righty did some packing and left.
Boston
trailed, 6-4, in the seventh when things really got interesting. With one on and
one out, Tigers manager Larry Parrish summoned rocket reliever Matt Anderson.
The righty has been clocked at 103 miles per hour, which is the approximate
speed at which Jason Varitek's game-tying, two-run, pinch homer left the yard.
The Detroit flamethrower wasn't done. He immediately surrendered a single to
Garciaparra, then Troy O'Leary conked a 318-foot pop-fly homer just inside the
left-field foul pole. Stanley was next, and on a 3-and-2 pitch, Anderson drilled
the first baseman with a 99-mile-per-hour fastball. The pitch hit Stanley above
the left elbow and prompted Anderson's immediate ejection by plate umpire Chuck
Meriwether. Catcher Brad Ausmus was incensed and then got himself tossed before
behemoth Parrish could reach Meriwether for his own pink slip.
From that
point, the game moved to its inevitable conclusion. The indomitable Tom Gordon
came on to record his 54th consecutive regular-season save.
Given their
first-place status and the nature of this thrilling comeback, one would have
expected euphoria in the Sox clubhouse, but the mood was somewhat muted by
Portugal. He met with Williams briefly, then brushed past a group of writers
without commenting. His locker was nearly emptied. Portugal hasn't won since May
9 and his ERA is 5.00.
If Portugal
goes AWOL it would not be the first time a Sox pitcher bolted in the middle of a
season. Bill Lee took a hike after the Sox traded his pal, Bernie Carbo, in 1978
and tall righty Gene Conley tried to fly to Israel after a frustrating loss in
Yankee Stadium in 1962. God bless the Red Sox. In bad times and in good, they
are always entertaining. |
