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RICO BROGNA |
SAVING FENWAY, MORE PEDRO
AND A FRUSTRATING SEASON
Rico Brogna hits a walk-off
grandslam HR to save Pedro
August 14, 2000 ... It
was a night when the most unfathomable of hazards, an obscure player
named Miguel Cairo, all but knocked out the mighty Pedro Martinez
with a startling three-run homer for the lowly Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
And then Pedro frightened every corner of Red Sox Nation, departed
after four innings with a stiff right shoulder.
At the end,
Rico Brogna, rose from semi-exile on the bench and saved the night with a
two-out, two- strike grand slam in the bottom of the ninth that hoisted the Sox
to a 7-3 victory, one of the most dramatic of their topsy-turvy season. Brogna,
as a boyhood Sox fan in the backyards of Western Massachusetts and Connecticut,
often imagined himself as Carlton Fisk hitting the historic home run that won
Game 6 of the 1975 Series.
Brogna did
not enter the game until the eighth, when he ran for Brian Daubach. And his
heroics were possible only because Tampa Bay wanted no part of the two batters
before him: Carl Everett and Nomar Garciaparra. With the score tied, 3-3, Devil
Rays reliever Billy Taylor opened the bottom of the ninth by hitting Darren
Lewis with a pitch. Lewis stole second and Trot Nixon flied to right, advancing
Lewis to third with one out. Jason Varitek whiffed for the second out. And
rather than face Everett and Nomar, Taylor intentionally walked them after
consulting with manager Larry Rothschild.
Brogna said
his legs were shaking as he approached the plate. After all, this game was
crucial for the Sox, who were opening a 10-game homestand in which they need to
excel if they are to gain ground in the playoff race. The count went to 2 and 2.
Brogna guessed right and blasted the ball through the wind and heavy mist into
the Tampa Bay bullpen, to the delight of 32,174 in the Fens.
By all
accounts, it was not supposed to be a night of intrigue. Not when the matchup
was Pedro (13-4) vs. Dave Eiland (1-1), a journeyman who had never won more than
four games in 10 years in the big leagues. Yet the Devil Rays threatened to
become the first American League team to beat Martinez in three straight starts.
In the end, the win went to Derek Lowe, who joined Hipolito Pichardo and Rich
Garces to pitch five innings of scoreless relief.
Amid all the
mystery before Pedro departed, there was Cairo, who had not hit a home run since
July 20, 1999, facing the master craftsman with the wind blowing in and the air
heavy with mist in the third inning. Pedro had started splendidly, striking out
the first four batters and giving every indication he would dominate the
downtrodden Devil Rays.
But with one
out in the third, the unthinkable began to unfold. Pedro gave up singles to
Ozzie Guillen, who was 0 for his last 11, and Gerald Williams. Then up came
Cairo. In came a hanging breaking ball. Out went the ball, into the screen. And
down dropped the yellow "3" in the Tampa Bay slot on the scoreboard.
The Sox, who
stranded five through the first five innings, struck back in the sixth. Everett
was the catalyst, singling to right, stealing second, and charging to third when
catcher John Flaherty's throw caromed into center. A costlier error followed.
When Nomar lifted a routine fly to center, Williams flat dropped it, allowing
Everett to score, making it 3-1, and Nomar to take second. Daubach, in a
5-for-43 slump, delivered, doubling to right to score Nomar and make it 3-2. To
the crowd's delight, Lou Merloni dropped a sacrifice bunt to move Daubach to
third. And Scott Hatteberg, completing the lesson in baseball basics, knocked in
Daubach with a sacrifice fly to center to even the score, 3-3.
It stayed
that way until the ninth, when Pedro's teammates picked him up. |
