Sox 88 – September Days

One of the advantages of the 88 Sox run for the division title is that they were not seriously challenged as 
September wore on. The injury-riddled Tigers continued to lose. And with the Left Coast trip behind them, the Townies came home to beat up on Cleveland and Baltimore, who were both playing out the string.

 

On the tenth, Boston made relatively easy work of the sixth-place Indians by a 7-4 margin. The Bosox went out to a 6-0 lead after four, slamming journeyman Rich Yett for 6 runs in 3 1/3 innings. The Sox pretty much breezed in, though Mike Boddicker was off his game. A three-run rally in the seventh off  Boddy and Dennis Lamp cut it to 6-4, but still-hot Dewey Evans homered to lead off the bottom half. Lee Smith picked up his 24th save.

 

Beset by injuries in August, Roger Clemens rebounded to throw perhaps his finest game of the season, a 6-0 one-hit shutout. The Rocket only fanned 5, but took a no-hitter into the eighth when Dave Clark singled with one out. The victory brought his career mark versus the Indians to 9-0. Sox hitters had their way against present Padres manager Bud Black and reliever Don Gordon, with 14 hits including a 4-for-4 night for the still-torrid Evans. Detroit continued to lose, slipping 3 1/2 games behind. They had now lost 16 of 19.

 

The Bosox failed in their attempt to sweep, however, losing 4-2 in game 3. Cleveland tallied runs in their final three frames to overcome a 2-1 deficit. Wes Gardner permitted just 5 hits and 2 runs in 7 innings, but Smith and Bob Stanley failed in relief. Slugger Joe Carter contributed a game-tying homer and triple, while ace Tom Candiotti gave a strong performance. It was not a good week for either Oil Can Boyd or candidate Mike Dukakis. Boyd was declared out for the season, while Dukakis' famous "tank photo" appeared.

The pitiful Orioles then came to town and were swept by scores of 6-1, 6-4, and 4-3. The second contest featured a grand slam by Jim Rice, now reduced to being a part-time DH. The homer came off rookie Pete Harnisch, who pitched fairly well. The O's cut the lead to 5-4 off Stanley in the eighth, but Jody Reed singled in an insurance tally in the bottom hald. The other two victories saw strong pitching performances from Bruce Hurst, who ran his mark to 17-5, and Boddicker, who was aided by a cycle-hitting performance from Mike Greenwell. The Gator began in the second with his 21st homer, doubled in the fourth, tripled in the sixth, and singled in the eighth after a pop foul just made it into the stands. Announcers Ken Coleman and Joe Castiglione pointed out that hitting for the cycle was rarer than a no-hitter. It was Greenie's first cycle since high school, and put an exclamation point on the sweep. The win was Boddicker's first over his former team, and ran his Boston record to 6-3.

 

The Sox now prepared to face the Yankees, who had overtaken Detroit for second place and trailed by 4 1/2. But at 81-63, sporting a 38-21 mark since the all-star break, and with Evans and Greenwell smacking the ball, things seemed in good shape.