Classic Teams 2.0 - ALCS Game 3

 

A triumphant return by Mike Torrez in front of the Fenway Faithful paced the 1978 Red Sox to a 4-0 Game 3 win over the 1998 New York Yankees and a 2-1 lead in their ALCS. Torrez was struck in the head on a hard ground ball back to the mound in Game 2 of the ALDS forcing him to leave to game and land on the injured list. He showed no ill effects in this outing tossing a dazzling seven innings of shutout baseball and racking up nine strikeouts.

Boston got the drop on the Yankees in the first inning by a familiar offensive catalyst. Carl Yastrzemski drove in his first of two runs in the game with an RBI base hit to open the scoring at 1-0. Yastrzemski now has 12 RBI in seven postseason games and is batting .407

After Yaz's single, New York starter Andy Pettitte shut things down retiring the next nine Boston batters as the Red Sox were clinging to their slim margin. The Yankee offense was provided with three consecutive opportunities to break through after that first inning putting a runner in scoring position in each stanza. Torrez tiptoed through the minefield but left his best Houdiniesque escape in the fourth. Yankee catcher Jorge Posada initiated the threat with a one-out triple, but Torrez caught Tino Martinez window shopping on an inside fastball and Scott Brosius went down chasing a fastball up and in.

That missed opportunity in the fourth would be costly for New York as the momentum seemed to swing Boston's way in the fifth. After Dwight Evans took a free pass, Rick Burleson hit an infield single to bring Butch Hobson to the plate. Hobson drove a Pettitte offering deep into center field. Yankees' all-star centerfielder Bernie Williams went back to track it down but the ball dropped between him and the wall. Evans came across to score, and Jerry Remy followed with an RBI ground out the extend the Boston lead to 3-0. Yastrzemski tacked on the final Red Sox run with an RBI double in the eighth.

Game 4 will see Bill Lee toe the rubber against New York's David Wells. Lee's last playoff start was the ALDS Game 4 clincher. He wasn't involved in the decision in an uneven outing, but he'll have a chance to help push the Yankees to the precipe in this series.