The Sox took a giant step toward the AL East crown by winning 3 of 4 from the Yankees at Fenway. New York, a fair team who had stayed in contention largely through the division's weakness, took the first contest but failed in the next three.
The Bombers' hopes rose in game one as they conquered the still-subpar Roger Clemens by a 5-3 score. The Rocket went 6 1/3, allowing 9 hits and left trailing 5-2. Mike Pagliarulo homered in the second for a 1-0 advantage. Boston would tie, but the visitors parlayed three hits and a grounder for a 3-1 lead after four. Poor fielding also hurt the Sox, as a passed ball by Rich Gedman and an outfield misplay by Mike Greenwell led to two more tallies. The Rocket suffered his sixth loss in seven decisions and saw his mark fall to 16-11.
Any worries about the ghosts of 78 disappeared as the Bosox took the next three by scores of 7-4, 3-1, and 9-4 to effectively eliminate the visitors. In the first one, Boston exploded from a 2-2 tie with 5 in the fifth. The home squad did it the old-fashioned way, with 5 hits, a hit batsman and a bases-loaded walk to rookie Carlos Quintana. Wes Gardner continued to surprise, going 7 2/3 frames allowing 6 hits and 4 runs before Dennis Lamp and Lee Smith finished up. Hurst's 18th win the next afternoon was even better- a complete-game three-hit effort with 2 walks and 9 K's. A Dewey Evans homer and Larry Parrish double in the eighth broke a 1-1 tie, as the lefty increased his standing in the Cy Young race (he would finish fifth). The visitors were pretty much buried in game 4, as Boston exploded to a 7-1 advantage after two. There was extra satisfaction in that the Sox chased Ron Guidry, the hero of 78 but now a shell of his former self. The outburst made it easy for Mike Smithson to capture his ninth win against 5 defeats in a six-innning performance. Wade Boggs and Marty Barrett led a 13-hit attack with 3 hits each.
The Sox now led the fading Yanks by 6 1/2, with Detroit and Milwaukee barely hanging on at 6 behind. But the celebration would have to wait a while, as the pesky Blue Jays took two out of three at soon-to-be-abandoned Exhibition Stadium. In the first contest, Mike Boddicker couldn't hold a 3-0 lead as the Jays erupted for 5 in the seventh, with a miscue by reliever Lamp playing a big role. Boston bats revived the next night in a 13-2 drubbing with 4 in the first and 7 more in the sixth to break it open. Gedman and Jim Rice contributed homers, and Clemens seemed to be returning to form with 7 innings of six-hit ball. The Jays hung tough in game 3, however, as old nemesis Mike Flanagan went 8 scoreless innings in a 1-0 shutout over an equally-tough Gardner. A Lloyd Moseby triple and Fred McGriff sac fly provided the only run. The contest was over in 2:10, a short amount even for 1988. The Jays now had taken 8 of 10 from the Bosox.
The Townies' lead was now 4 games over Milwaukee, who had recently joined the hunt. Their magic number was now 7, and fears of a late fold were beginning to fade. Statistically, Boston appeared in pretty goood shape, leading the AL in hitting at .286 and seventh in pitching with a 4.00 ERA. But Oakland, their certain playoff opponent, was second in pitching and, despite a .262 average, were tied for the lead in homers, courtesy of Bash Brothers Canseco and McGuire. But a statistic which had often doomed Sox teams stood out dramatically. Their home record was a league-best 51-25, but away from the Fens they were 32-39. The Athletics, on the other hand, excelled both at home and away. Unless baseball suddenly changed its rules, playoff series were to take place in two cities. For some reason, Morgan Magic seemed limited to Fenway.
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