June 4, 1990
A 4-5 road trip has Boston heading home at 17-38 on the season. While they have been playing better over the last few weeks, if the Red Sox are going to be able to salvage this season, they will need to rip off a winning streak in the very near future. The upcoming homestand features 4 game series against the rival New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians.
After a poor start in Cleveland, starting pitcher John Dopson was demoted back to AAA Pawtucket. The team announced the Wes Gardner, who has served in a relief role so far this season, would take Dopson’s next turn. After just two appearances, reliever Joe Johnson was designated for assignment over the weekend as well. In corresponding moves, Boston recalled right handed relief pitchers Jeff Gray and Todd Worrell.
Recently, Joe Morgan has been playing veteran Dwight Evans more sparingly, and even when he’s been in the lineup, he’s been dropped to 7th in the order. Evans is hitting .156 with 4 home runs and 13 RBI across 160 at bats. The 38 year old legend is signed for $1.5 million this year, and the team has a $1.5 million option for 1991. Unless he turns things around, the Red Sox may have a tough and unpopular decision to make on Evans at year end.
Around the League
The American League doled out their awards for the month of May on Friday morning. Oakland’s Rickey Henderson earned Player of the Month honors with a power surge of 11 home runs during the month to go along with his .315 batting average. Another Oakland A’s player took home the Pitcher of the Month award, as Mike Moore was the recipient for the second consecutive month. He went 6-0 with a 2.42 ERA in May and is now 11-0 on the season.
In the National League, Chris Sabo of the Cincinnati Reds went .301 with 12 home runs, 26 RBI and a .379 on base percentage during the month. San Diego’s Bruce Hurst earned the NL Pitcher of the Month award by going 4-0 with a 0.53 ERA.
The leagues also handed out their Rookie of the Month awards, with Cleveland’s Jeff Manto earning the award in the American League after a month that saw him hit .278 with 6 home runs and 18 RBI. In the National League, Shawn Boskie of the Chicago Cubs won the award with a 4-0 record and 1.29 ERA.
Today, outfielders Gene Larkin of the Minnesota Twins and Lonnie Smith of the Atlanta Braves were named the leagues’ players of the week. Both earned the honors largely due to their strong batting averages, as Larkin went 15-for-30 and Smith went 12-for-25.
Seattle’s Harold Reynolds is currently riding a 25 game hitting streak. Seattle is about to embark on a midwestern road trip to Chicago and Detroit.
In other news, Kansas City veteran second baseman Frank White announced this weekend that this would be his last season. The 38 year old is a 5 time All-Star and 8 time Gold Glove Award winner.
Week in Review
The Red Sox made the trip to Arlington to take on the Rangers in a three game series. The series opened with Tom Bolton squaring off against knuckleballer Charlie Hough. After falling behind 1-0 early, Kevin Romine announced his return to Boston's roster with a grand slam in the second inning. He went 2-4 and drove in 5 runs overall in the 6-3 win. Bolton was wild but effective in his 5 innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and 4 walks to earn the win. Boston will turn to ace Roger Clemens in tomorrow's game to try to keep it rolling.
Boston won its second straight against the Texas Rangers, this one by a score of 8-1. Roger Clemens started for the Red Sox and went 7.2 inning, allowing 1 run to earn his 6th win of the season. Serving as the DH tonight, Mike Greenwell took Texas starter Scott Chiamparino deep twice as part of a 3-for-4 effort. Carlos Quintana added 3 hits, including his second home run of the season as well. Boston will look for its first series sweep of the season tomorrow behind starter Mike Boddicker.
The Rangers were able to salvage the third and final game of this series against the Red Sox with a 3-2 win at Arlington Stadium. Both teams scored 2 runs in the first inning, and the difference in the game was an RBI single by Harold Baines in the third to put Texas in front. After sitting out the last two games, Marty Barrett returned the lineup and went 2-for-2 in the 9 spot. DH Dwight Evans had also been on the bench for both games so far in the series. He dropped to 7th in the lineup upon his return and went 0-3 to drop his average to .158.