Though the Red Sox came into the All-Star break at 56-31 and with a 7 game lead over the Yankees, all was not well in Sox Nation. Not only had the team limped into the break with a 7-6 homestand, but the actions of talented but troubled hurler Oil Can Boyd was worrying front office, teammmates, and fans alike.
Five of the victories were slugfests in which the Sox had to overcome mediocre pitching with a strong batting attack. Also, Cthe impossible occurred-Roger Clemens lost a pair of games, lowering his mark to 14-2.
The Sox beat Toronto 10-9 in ten innings, pounding out 15 hits and rallying from a 9-5 deficit. Al Nipper was knocked around for 6 runs and 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings and left trailing 6-3. Reliever Tim Lollar fared little better. Boston would rally, however, with 4 in the sixth to tie the contest at 9, and it remained that way until Dwight Evans' bases-loaded walk plated Marty Barrett with 2 outs. Bob Stanley hurled 3 scoreless innings for the victory.
The following night, Tom Seaver made his Sox debut a winning one, hurling 7 innings and leaving with a 7-4 lead in a 9-7 triumph. Larry Whiteside wrote: "not once did it seem he was not in command."The Bosox notched 14 hits, including 3 by Jim Rice while Evans hit a three-run homer.
The Rocket had to lose sometime, and he did in the third game of the series, surrendering 3 in the eighth for a 4-2 defeat. Ironically, Clemens would leave Boston for Toronto in 1997 and pick up two more Cy Young Awards before moving on to the Yankees. Rance Mullinicks' eighth-inning double, in the words of the Globe's Sean O'Sullivan,"cast Clemens from Olympus."
The Jays continued strong the following day before a subpar crowd of 21,000. Toronto teed off on Oil Can and reliever Mike Brown for an 8-5 triumph and a split in the series. Rice continued hot with 3 hits, but so did Mullinicks and Jesse Barfield, with 3 safeties each.
Fifth-place Seattle came into Fenway on the 4th of July and the Boston stopper was 22-year-old Jeff Sellers, who won his second straight by a 6-5 score. Tony Armas led the way with 3 hits, but the home squad had to survive a late rally. The Sox would not be so fortunate the next evening, as the lowly Mariners smashed 17 hits against three Boston pitchers in a 9-5 triumph. Al Nipper saw his mark fall to 4-5, allowing 11 hits and 5 runs. The late Dick Williams, on the Seattle bench, praised the Boston rooters, if not the front office. "I was treated very nicely here", he was quoted as saying. "I always had a good rapport with the fans."
Tom Seaver was proving to be a huge pickup, as he ran his Sox record to 2-0 the following night, hurling 7 innings and allowing 1 unearned run in a 7-3 triumph. A three-run homer came from a surprising bat-catcher Marc Sullivan.
The Oakland A's invaded Fenway on July 7 with the worst record in baseball, but managed a 6-4 win that sent the Rocket to his second straight defeat. The home squad would rally to take the next two games, 8-7 and 7-6, but both were tough contests. Boyd was hit hard one night but survived as Bill Buckner, Rey Quinones, and Tony Armas all managed 3 hits. The next night, present Sox pitching coach Curt Young started for the A's and was batted for 12 hits and 7 runs in 7 2/3 innnings, as Sellers and Joe Sambito pulled the Sox through.
The final series before the break was a strange one, to say the least. The Angels and Sox split 4 games, with California (as they were then called) triumphing 5-0 and 12-3 and the Sox winning 8-7 and 3-2 in Clemens' 15th victory. There were huge highs, such as a Boston win on a 4-run rally in the twelfth inning. The walkoff victory was really one for the books- a bases-loaded balk by Cal reliever Todd Fischer. Before he even threw a pitch, Evans trotted home with the winning run as the Angel players walked off in disgust and bewilderment. There were lows, however. Learning that he had again been passed over for an All-Star spot., Boyd stormed out of the clubhouse in an expletive-filled rage, got into his Olds Cutlass, and drove home to Chelsea. His manager and teammates had tried to calm him down, but to no avail. Boyd eventually apologized, but he was suspended for 3 days and fined over $6,000. It was not the first time Boyd had acted out, but this one even surprised his friends on the team.
At the break, the Sox seemed in good shape. Wade Boggs still led the majors at .363 with Rice sixth at .334. Jim was also among the leaders with 60 rbi's. The Rocket still dominated, leading the AL in percentage, ERA, and strikeouts. Don Baylor was still the team's top homer man, with 15 and 56 rbi's, but Evans and Buckner also had strong power stats.
Meanwhile, the Mets led Montreal by a whopping 13 games and had five of the league's top pitchers, led by Sid Fernandez and former Sox hurler Bobby Ojeda. It was a surprisingly strong first half for the Sox, but there was a long way to go.
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