The events of October 1986 were still fresh in the minds of Sox fans two years later. The hope was that Morgan's Magicians' resurrection of the 88 season would somehow lead to a World Series victory and erase the memories. But it was too much to expect.
The A's pretty much buried the Townies in two victories at Fenway. They were both very winnable games, but fine efforts from Bruce Hurst and Roger Clemens were not enough. Boston flew to Oakland down 2-0 with the prospect of facing Bob Welch and Dave Stewart in a park where they had not won a game all season. Doomsayers were already out.
Early in game 3, the Sox had a brief chance to turn things around. Playing with a revamped lineup, they pounded Welch for 3 in the first and 2 in the second to go up 5-0. In the opening frame, they finally strung together some hits- singles by Ellis Burks, Marty Barrett and Wade Boggs with a double by Mike Greenwell. The lead went to 5 in the second, aided by Greenie's homer. But as had happened in Fenway, the advantage quickly vanished. The Athletics rocked Mike Boddicker for 4 in the second, capped by Carney Lansford's two-run shot, cutting it quickly to 5-4. In the third, a single and Ron Hassey round-tripper put the A's up 6-5 and finished Boddicker. Wes Gardner was little better in relief, allowing 3 more runs in 4 2/3 innings. Boston closed the gap to 7-6 in the seventh, but the home squad rebounded quickly with 3 more off Gardner and Bob Stanley to make the final 10-6. Sox bats broke out with 12 hits, but the A's managed 15, including 3 each from Lansford, Hassey, and Mark McGuire.
Sox Nation knew it wasn't going to be pretty. In a piece entitled " Doom Looms", Leigh Montville quoted Greenwell as saying "I don't feel bad for myself, but I feel bad for my teammates and for the people of Boston." It was the team's 15th loss in Oakland in 16 tries.
A front-page photo of Dewey Evans the next morning says it all. After striking out with the bases jammed, Dewey deeply grimaced and seemed ready to pound his head in frustration. The caption above said "Red Sox Swept Away". Hurst was already down 2-0 in the third. Kevin Paul Dupont quotes the lefty as saying "there was a pop, or a pull. Some gear grinding that shouldn't have been grinding." A gamer if there ever was one, Bruce threw one more inning but after the fourth, he knew he had to come out. Mike Smithson kept it close, hurling 2 1/3 scoreless frames and helping keep the game in reach; Boston cut it to 2-1 in the sixth. But in the last of the eighth, Lee Smith imploded once more. Three hits produced two runs. It was 4-1-game, series, and Sox season over..
The final stats show the A's dominance, outhitting Boston .299 to .206, outscoring them 20 to 11, and out-homering them 7 to 2. While they had four regulars over .300, only Boggs and Rich Gedman surpassed that figure. Greenwell was held to .214, Evans to .167, and Barrett to .067. On the pitching side, the Sox' ERA was a whopping 5.29 to Oakland's 2.00. Only Hurst's 2.77 even approached the Athletics' figures. As closers go, Eck did not allow an earned run in 6 innings and saved all four contests. Smith's figure was 8.10.
The Magic had a relatively short stay in 88. It faded in late September, and the Sox won the division only when two other contenders lost. Outside of a few fleeting moments, the Townies were never in a position to take any of the ALCS games. The Series drought reached the number 70.
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