After an excellent start, the 99 Sox were stumbling a bit. Their pitching, which had been generally good, was hurt by injuries to star closer Tom Gordon and no.2 starter Bret Saberhagen.
Traveling to Minnesota, who were 7-12 and fourth in the AL Central, the Townies fell 6-2 as Tim Wakefield continued to struggle. The big blow was a fourth-inning grand slam by Torii Hunter, which wiped out a 1-0 Sox lead. The home squad added two in the sixth off Wakefield and Tim Harikkala for a commanding 6-1 advantage. Starter Brad Radke went 6 innings for the victory, with Mike Tremblay notching the three-inning save. The Sox threatened often but stranded 12. Wakefield fell to 1-3 with a 7.36 ERA.
Things were no better the following night as the Bosox squandered a 4-0 lead and fell 6-5. Boston leaped to a 4-run advantage in the second with a two-run triple by Damon Buford and a two-run homer by Darren Lewis. The Twins picked away in the fourth and fifth with single runs off starter Mark Portugal. A Marty Cordova homer then narrowed the lead to one, and Minnesota would tie it off reliever Rheal Cormier. Jim Corsi and Mark Guthrie then failed in the eighth, with the winning runs scoring on a single by future Soxer Todd Walker. Troy O’Leary homered in the ninth, but the Twins escaped. Former Boston reliever Rick Aguilera copped the save.
It looked a bit bleak on the 28th with no.5 starter Pat Rapp going in the final game. However, the righty gave 6 good innings in a 9-4 victory, allowing only a run on six hits. The Sox again jumped out 4-0, taking advantage of wildness by rookie starter Mike Lincoln. Jose Offerman plated two with a triple. Lincoln departed after four, but the Sox hit reliever Joe Mays with 4 more in the seventh and struggling Trot Nixon (.105) ended the scoring with a solo homer in the seventh. Cormier, Guthrie, and Derek Lowe held the Twins in relief.
As the Sox prepared to travel to Oakland, the news came that Saberhagen would miss his next start with a sore shoulder. There were several options to take his spot, with Jimy Williams considering reliever Kip Gross as a possibility. The prospect of Saberhagen on the DL was disheartening, since the righty led Sox starters with a 1.99 ERA. With Gordon still disabled, the staff was in a sort of flux; only Pedro Martinez could really be counted on.
As of Thursday the 29th, the 11-10 Sox trailed the Yanks by 3 games.
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