ON THIS DATE (July
10, 1992) ... Even
in these tough times in Boston there was still great entertainment
value at Fenway Park. On July 10th in a 6-5 Red Sox thriller over the
White Sox, Roger Clemens, marred by the continuation of his bad luck,
in his sixth attempt at 10 wins, and coming off a one-week layoff,
failed again, but reassured that his sore right foot is on the mend.
There was Bob Zupcic's dramatic grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning,
which transformed a 2-1 deficit into a 5-2 Red Sox lead. There was Jeff
Reardon's poor timing on blown saves. He wound up with his fifth of the year,
and three have cost Clemens victories.
And Mo Vaughn's big two-out triple in the bottom of the ninth, set the stage for
newcomer Billy Hatcher's game-winning hit off the wall. Vaughn tripled to the
right-center-field wall off the door against submariner Terry Leach. Hatcher
pounced on the first pitch, sending a shot over the head of left fielder Craig
Grebeck, scoring the winner.
Vaughn celebrated emphatically as he crossed the plate, having finally emerged
from a dreadful slump (1 for 32) with crucial hits in the eighth and ninth. He
was dropped to ninth in the order before the game. Butch Hobson acknowledged he
was going to pinch hit for him in the eighth, but changed his mind. Vaughn got
the second hit of that inning, a single after Tony Pena led off with a single.
Hatcher drew first blood for the Red Sox with a double off the wall off starter
Greg Hibbard.
After two pitching moves that worked, White Sox manager Gene Lamont went to the
well once too often. Bobby Thigpen loaded the bases by walking Tom Brunansky,
then delivered a 2-2 fastball to Zupcic, who drove it just over the left-field
wall.
Clemens came out for the ninth and allowed three straight singles, then walked
Warren Newson with the bases loaded, making it 5-3. Before that, Hobson had paid
a visit, accompanied by a round of boos. When he was finally lifted, the roof
caved in. Tony Fossas got pinch hitter Ron Karkovice to ground to third baseman
Scott Cooper, who gunned Frank Thomas down at the plate.
Enter Jeff Reardon. He threw a fly-ball out to Steve Sax as pinch runner Joey
Cora trotted in from third. It was 5-4. Carlton Fisk he singled to left, tying
the score, 5-5.
Billy Hatcher, in his second game since being acquired from Cincinnati took
Reardon off the hook with his shot off the wall. |