Hurst Comes Through In Clutch, Puts Boston a Game From a Clinch

The media had Bruce Hurst surrounded in the Boston Red Sox clubhouse.

Roger Clemens smiled, nodded in that direction and said, “The way Bruce is pitching, he probably wishes the season wouldn’t end until December.”

The way Hurst had again pitched Thursday night put Clemens in position to end his, Hurst’s and every season North of the Mexican, Dominican and Puerto Rican Winter Leagues.

Hurst, who shut out the New York Mets, 1-0, in Game 1, came back to win Game 5, 4-2.

The Red Sox now lead the World Series, 3-2, and have Clemens, their 24-game winner, going after the clincher Saturday night on five days’ rest.

“I like our chances,” Hurst said. “When you have the best pitcher in baseball well rested and pitching the biggest game of the year, you have to feel confident.”

Hurst, himself, was well rested Thursday night.

Manager John McNamara selected Al Nipper as the Game 4 starter so that Hurst, who had made two straight starts on three days’ rest, would get a fourth day and Clemens, who had made three straight starts on three days’ rest, would get a fourth and fifth day if he was needed.

Asked if Hurst’s performance justified his decision, Manager John McNamara said: “There was never a question in my mind. You people in the media are the only ones who raised the question. The way it came down, we had one of the hottest pitchers in baseball going tonight, and now we have the winningest pitcher in baseball going Saturday night.”

Said Hurst: “I definitely think it was the right decision. I certainly felt stronger pitching on four days’ rest tonight than pitching on three days’ rest in the playoffs.”

Having allowed only 4 hits over 8 innings of Game 1, Hurst shut out the Mets for another seven innings of this one, then yielded solo runs in the eighth and ninth before striking out the persistent Lenny Dykstra, who represented the tying run, to end a performance reminiscent of his 11-hit victory over the Angels in Game 2 of the playoffs.

This time, Hurst gave up 10 hits, walked only 1 and struck out 6. He retired the side in order only in the second but forced the Mets to strand eight runners.

“I wasn’t nervous,” he said. “I didn’t go out there thinking about the consequences of winning or losing. I also didn’t really have my best stuff. I got a lot of pitches up and let a lot of hitters get away in two-strike situations. I was fortunate to be able to make good pitches when I was in trouble or to have them hit the ball in the vicinity of our fielders. I had a lot of good defensive support, and it helped to have that 4-0 lead early.”

In four postseason starts, Hurst was 3-0 and the Red Sox 4-0 when he pitched. He permitted only 7 runs in 32 innings after going 5-0 in September, when he was the American League’s pitcher of the month.

Is Clemens right?

Would he like to keep pitching until December?

Hurst laughed and said:

“I’m definitely having a good time now and feel real comfortable about the way I’m pitching. I’ve learned an awful lot during the second half of this season. All I can do now is maintain my conditioning program and try to carry it all over into next season. That’s the key for any player. You have to be able to sustain it.”

Of his postseason success, Hurst said, “It’s a dream come true, but I can’t really express how I feel. It may not really hit me until Christmas.”

There was a time when everyone seemed to hit Hurst.

The story of how his courage and fortitude was questioned by previous managers and their pitching coaches here has been chronicled.

Hurst himself has said, “I was thought to be too shy, too timid, too left-handed and too Mormon. If I listened to what some people said, I wouldn’t be here now.”

Fortitude is no longer an issue. Hurst, in fact, said it never should have been. He said it was simply a matter of mechanics, gaining the skills that would allow him to challenge right-handed hitters inside. Then, in June of this year, he developed a forkball that gave him an offspeed complement to his fastball and curve.

“He was a two-pitch pitcher who was down to one pitch if he couldn’t get the curve over,” pitching coach Bill Fischer said. “He also had such high expectations that he put too much stress on himself.

“If he gave up a couple runs he thought it was the end of the world. If he gave up a home run he would think he had lost it.

“The forkball gave him the extra weapon he needed. Now guys who hit him for four straight seasons are swinging at pitches that aren’t even halfway to the plate.”

Said Don Baylor, the Boston team leader: “Bruce has disproved the theory that he wasn’t tough enough. He’s come along way in a year. You don’t hear about him because of Clemens, but he’d have won 20, too, if it hadn’t been for the injury.”

A groin pull sidelined Hurst for six weeks in midseason. Baylor cited Hurst’s comeback as one indication of his toughness. His work in Fenway Park, a notorious graveyard for left-handed pitchers, is another. Hurst was 9-3 here this years, winning seven of his last eight decisions. His win Thursday night was the first for a Boston left-hander in a World Series at Fenway Park since 1918, when a young prospect named Babe Ruth beat the Chicago Cubs in Game 4.

“That business about a left-hander not being able to win here is a myth,” Hurst said. “You just have to pitch your game. You can’t be intimidated by the wall. It can take awhile to learn that, but if you have the confidence and skill, you can win anywhere.”

Bruce Hurst has all of it now. Said Met Manager Davey Johnson, in the wake of Thursday night’s loss, “It was just a case of too much Hurst.”

HURST’S POSTSEASON RECORD

American League Championship Series

Date Game Site IP H R ER BB SO Oct. 8 Game 2 Fenway Park 9 11 2 1 0 4 Oct. 12 Game 5 Anaheim Stadium 6 7 3 3 1 4 TOTALS Record: 1-0 15 18 5 4 1 8

World Series

Date Game Site IP H R ER BB SO Oct. 18 Game 1 Shea Stadium 8 4 0 0 4 8 Oct. 23 Game 5 Fenway Park 9 10 2 2 1 6 TOTALS Record: 2-0 17 14 2 2 5 14