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 It was Sept. 22, 1979.
"I'm (playing) in the Eastern League in West Haven, Connecticut --
you ever been there? Four lights on a pole, light towers inside the
field," manager Buck Showalter said after his team moved 10 games
ahead in the division with a 4-0 win over the Boston Red Sox on
Monday night. "(George) Steinbrenner came in there and moved us to
Nashville after the year was over.
"We had two nails for a locker. Two nails and a piece of tape with
your name on it."
Flash forward 35 years, and the Orioles are 42-20 since June 20 in
galloping off with the division. They won the pennant in '79 before
blowing a 3-1 lead and losing the World Series to the "We Are
Family" Pittsburgh Pirates.
Obviously, another World Series is down the road. For now, there is
the rest of September to play and, on Monday, right-hander Miguel
Gozanlez continued his torrid second half to key the win.
Gonzalez (9-7) pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings, the ninth time in
his past 10 starts he allowed two earned runs or fewer. He pitched
his first career shutout in his previous start, and he has yielded
one earned run in 22 1/3 innings over his past three starts (0.40
ERA), four runs in 34 2/3 innings (1.04 ERA) over his past five.
"Any time he has the type of outing he had last time, you're
wondering how he's going to respond the next time out, but I think
he answered those questions pretty well," Showalter said. "Miggy's
attacking the strike zone with a lot of different pitches, and he's
really pitching confidently because he's got command of three
different pitches."
Gonzalez gave up six hits, three of them among the last three
hitters he faced. He left with the bases loaded and one out, and
right-hander Tommy Hunter came on to strike out third baseman Will
Middlebrooks and catcher David Ross.
"He kept us off-balance," Red Sox manager John Farrell said of
Gonzalez. "When we did have opportunities, especially in the seventh
inning, Hunter comes in with two big strikeouts."
Hunter struck out three of the four batters he faced before
left-hander Brian Matusz's first pitch was drilled for an
eighth-inning double by designated hitter David Ortiz. Right-hander
Darren O'Day relieved, and Boston left fielder Yoenis Cespedes, who
earlier dropped a line drive, reached on an error by third baseman
Chris Davis. O'Day then struck out first baseman Mike Napoli.
Right-hander Ryan Webb worked a perfect ninth and finished off the
Orioles' 11th shutout of the season.
The key was Gonzalez, whose confidence is sky high.
"We're in a good spot, but we have to keep working hard in September
and we're going to be fine," he said.
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Baltimore first baseman Steve Pearce drove in one run and created
two others with a nifty takeout of shortstop Xander Bogaerts on a
potential inning-ending double play in the sixth. Hit by what
appeared to be Pearce's hands as he made his relay, Bogaerts bounced
the throw past pitcher Joe Kelly covering first.
The two runs made it 3-0, and more defensive miscues by the Red Sox
helped deliver another run in the seventh.
"We were not sharp defensively," Farrell said. "We had a lot of
opportunities to turn some double plays. That probably factored into
some runs allowed, and we rolled into a couple ourselves."
Kelly fell to 1-2 for the Red Sox, the defending World Series
champions who were officially eliminated from the division race
Sunday.
Boston, shut out for the 14th time this season, is 5-16 in its past
21 home games. The Red Sox would need to go 18-0 the rest of the way
just to finish at .500.
NOTES: Red Sox INF/OF Brock Holt missed his third consecutive game
because of lightheadedness and dizziness. "Better today, still not
available," manager John Farrell said. "Brock continues to show some
improvement. He's still going to need a couple of days." ... Boston
1B Mike Napoli, who left Saturday's game and was out Sunday with the
same problem as Holt, was back in the lineup and went 1-for-4. ...
Baltimore SS J.J. Hardy missed his third straight game with a
lower-back issue. After working out at Fenway Park on Monday, he was
headed back to Baltimore to see team orthopedist Michael Jacobs and
have an MRI. The hope is he can play Friday. ... RHP Chris Tillman,
who has lost only once since June 15, pitches for the Orioles
against Red Sox rookie RHP Anthony Ranaudo in the second game of the
series Tuesday night. ... The Red Sox purchased the contract of RHP
Matt Barnes from Triple-A Pawtucket, shifting RF Shane Victorino,
out for the season with back surgery, to the 60-day disabled list to
make room.
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