As has often happened in team history, a trip to the West Coast did not bring much joy to Red Sox Nation. The first blow was the long-awaited return of Bruce Hurst, which resulted in a 5-2 loss in Oakland. The southpaw seemed a bit rusty, allowing 7 hits and 4 earned runs in 5 1/3 innings. Meanwhile, Curt Young, who is now on our side, won his seventh of the year, giving up just 3 hits and 2 runs. Forner Soxer Carney Lansford went 3-for-3 to lead a nine-hit attack.
The following evening, Tom Seaver could not stem the tide, losing a 4-2 decision to the Athletics’ 41-year-old Joaquin Andujar. The A’s mustered only 6 hits, but jumped to an early 3-0 lead as Lansford and Dave Kingman drove in runs. The Sox had now lost 7 of 9 and were not hitting. Catcher Rich Gedman, for example, was at .270 with only 6 homers and 34 rbi’s , far below his normal pace.
The news did not get any better on Wednesday the 24th. Not only were Al Nipper and the Sox swept by Oakland in a 9-2 rout, but Oil Can news was not going away. Still a patient at UMass Medical Center, he was in a car in which his wife was stopped for speeding on Route 495 in Foxborough. According to the Sox’ Dick Bresciani, Boyd had been issued a pass by team physician Arthur Pappas so he could have dinnner with his wife. GM Lou Gorman’s statement was very noncommittal: “He’s totally in the hands of doctors. I don’t have any control. If they thought they could have sent him out to dinner, that’s their prerogative.” On the field, the three-game sweep by sixth-place Oakland was their first over the Sox in 10 years. The lead over the Yankees was down to 3. New York outfielder Rickey Henderson was saying “we’re going to catch them any second.”
The news was a little better Friday night, as Roger Clemens, the stopper of stoppers, began a series in Anaheim with a two-hit 8-1 win, his 17th. The Bosox broke it open in the fifth on Gedman’s second career grand slam. Meanwhile, Boyd was released from the hospital, but his Sox future remained very much in doubt.
The Rocket’s victory was only a temporary respite, as the Townies fell 4-1 the next night to Mike Witt and the Angels. Hurst was again hit hard, lasting only 3 1/3 innings and giving up 5 hits and 4 runs to see his mark fall to 5-5. “I just don’t feel I have a lot of arm strength,” Hurst was quoted as saying. “I don’t have a very good fastball and I didn’t think it was any better today..”
A duel between 300-game winners Seaver and Don Sutton the next day also turned out badly, as Sutton went 6 shutout innings in a 3-0 win before 61,000 fans in Anaheim. Tom pitched fairly well in his 6 innings, but saw his overall mark fall to 4-9. Frustration was showing, as John McNamara and Don Baylor were both tossed by plate umpire Tim McClelland.
As of July 27, the Sox had lost 10 of 13 and led the New Yorkers by 4 and the Orioles by 5 1/2. Clemens’ stats were still awesome. His ERA of 2.50 and his strikout total of 161 led the AL, and no one in the majors could touch his 17-2 mark. Dan Shaughnessy suggested that he might possibly win 30 ( a bit far-fetched), and that he was a lock on the Cy Young and maybe MVP. On the other hand, Boggs had slumped to .348, with Jim Rice third in the league at .342. Gedman, Baylor, Dwight Evans and Bill Buckner were all fading.
The Mets seemed to have a wrap on their division, leading the NL East by 16 1/2. Incidentally, neither Seaver nor Mets ace Sid Fernandez would be able to pitch in the World Series a few months later.
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