Dodger's centerfielder Rick Monday "Buckneresque" moment in the bottom of the ninth has put Boston on the brink of a World Series title. With the bases loaded, Fred Lynn sent a routine fly ball toward Monday that clanked off his glove giving Boston a walk-off 6-5 Game 4 win (score displayed incorrectly in the above summary) over the 1977 Los Angeles Dodgers. The 1975 Red Sox now hold a commanding 3-1 series lead and could do something their real-life counterparts couldn't do against the Cincinnati Reds - capture a World Series on home soil.
Monday's error was his third of the series. His error in Game 3 led to an unearned run as he misjudged another ball off the bat of Denny Doyle. Doyle came in to count on a two-run homer by Cecil Cooper allowing Boston to get back into that contest.
Another common thread in this game was a second consecutive collapse of the Dodger bullpen. This time, closer Charlie Hough would suffer through a gut-wrenching rally by Boston after he cornered the Red Sox, retiring the first two batters in the ninth. Just as they did twice in Game 3, Boston orchestrated a two-out bloodletting which was capped by Monday's unthinkable miscue.
Dodger shortstop Bill Russell had a terrific game driving in Los Angeles' first 3 runs. Russell roped a couple of doubles and came across to score the Dodgers' fifth run in the ninth which appeared to be the terminal moment of the game. Russell led off the inning with a single, and broke for second on a hit and run dialed up by Dodger skipper Tommy Lasorda. Red Sox centerfielder Fred Lynn corralled the Davey Lopes single and double-clutched his throw back into the infield. It seemed Lynn was caught off guard by the scurrying Russell, and his offering was too later for a play at the plate. Boston was now down 5-3.
The bottom part of the Dodger order has been consistent contributors in the series. Number eight hitter Steve Yeager is batting .500 with 7 hits in 14 ABs. With Russell's 3 hit performance, he is now batting 6-15 in the nine hole. The Dodger offense has really done an effective job driving up pitch counts of the Boston starters and taxing the Red Sox bullpen for the past three games.
Hough was making his second appearance of the series as he had pitched a scoreless ninth in the Dodgers' 3-0 loss in Game 1. He set down Carl Yastrzemski on a pop-up and struck out Carlton Fisk. With Dwight Evans down to his last strike, Hough was unable to finish him off. Evans poked a single to right on a 1-2 count to give Boston a pulse. Sawx manager Darrell Johnson went to the bench and sent Bernie Carbo up to pinch hit for Rico Petrocelli. Petrocelli had just homered in the eighth to bring Boston within one run as the score read 4-3 at that juncture. Carbo delivered with a single to right. Rick Burleson made the score 5-4 with a single to left to bring Evans home and sent Carbo hustling to third. Denny Doyle whacked a floating knuckler to right center for the game-tying RBI. It was Boston's fourth consecutive single and forced Hough to give way to Al Dowling.
Dowling walked Cecil Cooper to load the bases, but it seemed redemption was forthcoming. Fred Lynn stroked a routine fly ball to center that Monday may have lost in the lights. By the time he regained the flight of the ball, he reached out only to see the ball glance off the thumb of his glove and find the grass. It was an incredulous moment at Fenway and quite ironic. Lynn failed to deliver the ball in a timely manner in the top half of the inning to allow an insurance run for Los Angeles. Now, his innocuous fly ball ended up to be the deciding factor in an unforgettable victory.
Dodger starter Doug Rau gave his club seven solid innings surrendering 3 runs on 6 hits leaving with a 4-3 lead. Boston right-handed sluggers Rice, Fisk and Petrocelli took him deep, but Rau was able to limit the damage as all homers were solo shots. After Petrocelli's dinger to start off the eighth, Los Angeles turned to Lance Rautzhan for another scoreless inning to close out the eighth. Rautzhan has pitched 2.2 scoreless innings in the series and has been the one bright spot in an otherwise dismal Dodger relief corps.
The Red Sox bullpen has not been starry either as they have been bailed out by their offense in the last two games. Jim Willoughby picked up his fifth win of the playoffs, but he has not been as effective in the World Series. Willoughby has tossed 3.1 innings, appearing in every game except the series opener, but has given up 6 hits and 4 runs making him the least effective relief arm in this series. In total, Boston relievers have thrown 11.1 innings and have an unsettling 4.86 ERA in the last three games.
Part of the reason for this could be the fact that Boston is not getting much length from their starting pitching. With the exception of Tiant's 8th inning outing in Game 1, Boston starters are averaging a tad under 5 innings over the last three games. If Boston wants to close the series out, they need an inning-eating performance from Luis Tiant who will oppose Burt Hooten in a rematch of Game 1.
Another common thread in this game was a second consecutive collapse of the Dodger bullpen. This time, closer Charlie Hough would suffer through a gut-wrenching rally by Boston after he cornered the Red Sox, retiring the first two batters in the ninth. Just as they did twice in Game 3, Boston orchestrated a two-out bloodletting which was capped by Monday's unthinkable miscue.
Dodger shortstop Bill Russell had a terrific game driving in Los Angeles' first 3 runs. Russell roped a couple of doubles and came across to score the Dodgers' fifth run in the ninth which appeared to be the terminal moment of the game. Russell led off the inning with a single, and broke for second on a hit and run dialed up by Dodger skipper Tommy Lasorda. Red Sox centerfielder Fred Lynn corralled the Davey Lopes single and double-clutched his throw back into the infield. It seemed Lynn was caught off guard by the scurrying Russell, and his offering was too later for a play at the plate. Boston was now down 5-3.
The bottom part of the Dodger order has been consistent contributors in the series. Number eight hitter Steve Yeager is batting .500 with 7 hits in 14 ABs. With Russell's 3 hit performance, he is now batting 6-15 in the nine hole. The Dodger offense has really done an effective job driving up pitch counts of the Boston starters and taxing the Red Sox bullpen for the past three games.
Hough was making his second appearance of the series as he had pitched a scoreless ninth in the Dodgers' 3-0 loss in Game 1. He set down Carl Yastrzemski on a pop-up and struck out Carlton Fisk. With Dwight Evans down to his last strike, Hough was unable to finish him off. Evans poked a single to right on a 1-2 count to give Boston a pulse. Sawx manager Darrell Johnson went to the bench and sent Bernie Carbo up to pinch hit for Rico Petrocelli. Petrocelli had just homered in the eighth to bring Boston within one run as the score read 4-3 at that juncture. Carbo delivered with a single to right. Rick Burleson made the score 5-4 with a single to left to bring Evans home and sent Carbo hustling to third. Denny Doyle whacked a floating knuckler to right center for the game-tying RBI. It was Boston's fourth consecutive single and forced Hough to give way to Al Dowling.
Dowling walked Cecil Cooper to load the bases, but it seemed redemption was forthcoming. Fred Lynn stroked a routine fly ball to center that Monday may have lost in the lights. By the time he regained the flight of the ball, he reached out only to see the ball glance off the thumb of his glove and find the grass. It was an incredulous moment at Fenway and quite ironic. Lynn failed to deliver the ball in a timely manner in the top half of the inning to allow an insurance run for Los Angeles. Now, his innocuous fly ball ended up to be the deciding factor in an unforgettable victory.
Dodger starter Doug Rau gave his club seven solid innings surrendering 3 runs on 6 hits leaving with a 4-3 lead. Boston right-handed sluggers Rice, Fisk and Petrocelli took him deep, but Rau was able to limit the damage as all homers were solo shots. After Petrocelli's dinger to start off the eighth, Los Angeles turned to Lance Rautzhan for another scoreless inning to close out the eighth. Rautzhan has pitched 2.2 scoreless innings in the series and has been the one bright spot in an otherwise dismal Dodger relief corps.
The Red Sox bullpen has not been starry either as they have been bailed out by their offense in the last two games. Jim Willoughby picked up his fifth win of the playoffs, but he has not been as effective in the World Series. Willoughby has tossed 3.1 innings, appearing in every game except the series opener, but has given up 6 hits and 4 runs making him the least effective relief arm in this series. In total, Boston relievers have thrown 11.1 innings and have an unsettling 4.86 ERA in the last three games.
Part of the reason for this could be the fact that Boston is not getting much length from their starting pitching. With the exception of Tiant's 8th inning outing in Game 1, Boston starters are averaging a tad under 5 innings over the last three games. If Boston wants to close the series out, they need an inning-eating performance from Luis Tiant who will oppose Burt Hooten in a rematch of Game 1.
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