Witt’s Pitching Leads Angels to Playoff Victory

Mike Witt pitched a five-hitter as the Angels beat the Boston Red Sox, 8-1, Tuesday night at Boston in the opener of their American League championship series.

The expected pitching duel between Witt and Boston’s Roger Clemens never took place. Witt held Boston hitless for 5 innings, but Clemens, the most dominant pitcher in baseball this season, had his worst outing of the year, allowing 8 runs on 10 hits in 7 innings.

Witt flirted with the first no-hitter in division playoff history before Wade Boggs beat out an infield chopper for a single in the sixth inning. The hit broke a string of 16 straight batters retired by Witt after walking Boggs, the major league batting champion, leading off the first inning.

Game 2 is scheduled for today in the best-of-seven series.

Details in Sports.