Two Home Runs in the 1986 ALCS
This one is a twofer as two of the most important home runs in Red Sox history were hit in the same inning of the same game. Having recently written about the epic 1986 ALCS, these two home runs are fresh on my mind since I re-watched the series only a couple of weeks ago. For those who haven’t read my article on the series, here’s some background.
After splitting the first two games in Boston, the Red Sox dropped the first two in Anaheim including a crushing loss in Game Four in which they blew a 3-0 lead in the ninth inning and lost in extra innings. The fought valiantly in Game Five but entered the ninth inning trailing 5-2 and Angels starter Mike Witt was dealing, hoping to go the distance.
That changed when Red Sox DH Don Baylor muscled an outside pitch and pulled it to left field for a two-run homer on a two-strike count to pull the Red Sox to within a run at 5-4. That knocked Witt for a loop, but he retired the next batter before being pulled out of the game. Baylor’s home run (which often gets forgotten when remembering this series) seemed to only prolong the inevitable, at least in the minds of the rabid Angels fans in the crowd.
After Angels reliever Gary Lucas hit Rich Gedman with his first pitch, California manager Gene Mauch brought in their closer Donnie Moore and he promptly got two strikes on Sox center fielder Dave Henderson. Down to their last strike, Henderson took two balls and then fouled off two pitches. He seemed to be just trying to stay alive before he hit the next pitch over the left field wall for a two-run homer and a 6-5 Red Sox lead.
While there were some hairy moments in the bottom of the inning (when the Angels tied it and squandered a chance to win), the Red Sox held on to win in the eleventh inning (on a sacrifice fly RBI from Henderson). These two homers changed the complexion of the series and the Red Sox won the next two games in a rout to complete their shocking comeback and win the pennant.
While the World Series that followed didn’t turn out the way Red Sox fans wanted and its ending cruelly and eerily mirrored the ALCS, Baylor and Henderson’s home runs helped the team capture they first pennant in eleven years and propelled them to within a strike of ending the World Series drought eighteen years earlier than they eventually would.