McLemore the Man: His Key Single Helps Angels Beat Boston

A tie score in the late innings, the bases loaded, a big crowd on its feet imploring, no, begging for an Angel hit. . . .

This is where Mark McLemore wanted to be, standing at home plate with so much at stake on Saturday night in Anaheim Stadium. McLemore was a long way from Edmonton and a cramped minor league ballpark.

The Angels and Boston Red Sox headed into the eighth inning tied, 5-5. For a time it seemed there was no chance they would be close, no less tied, with an opportunity to take the lead. Oil Can Boyd had held the Angels hitless through four innings and Boston led, 3-0.

But now they had rallied and appeared ready to take the lead.

With two outs, Devon White had singled, stolen second and gone to third on Wally Joyner’s infield single. Chili Davis had been walked intentionally and had moved to second on Joyner’s single.

And up stepped McLemore, who entered the game as a replacement for second baseman Johnny Ray in the seventh. McLemore came into the game hitting .234 in 64 at-bats with the Angels this season.

He had hit .244 with just 34 RBIs in 114 games with Edmonton, the Angels’ triple-A affiliate. One of the reasons that McLemore had spent most of the season at Edmonton is that Ray is a better hitter and drives in more runs. Ray’s .296 average is tops among the club’s regulars. Ray also has 59 RBIs.

But it was McLemore who stood at the plate staring out at Red Sox relief pitcher Rob Murphy as 42,033 fans stood cheering.

McLemore delivered a bases-clearing single giving the Angels an 8-5 lead that Bryan Harvey held in the ninth.

“It was very sweet,” McLemore said as reporters crowded around in the Angels’ clubhouse after the game.

What was going through McLemore’s mind as he came up to bat?

“Get a hit,” he said. “I just wanted to stay within myself and get a good swing.”

Murphy gave McLemore a couple of good pitches he liked, but he wound up fouling them off down the right-field line.

Finally, Murphy delivered and McLemore sent the ball sailing into open space in right field.

White jogged in from third, Davis sped around from second and Joyner scored when right fielder Carlos Quintana overthrew the cut-off man.

A game-winning single and two runs batted-in (Joyner’s run was unearned) is not a bad night’s work for McLemore, who was brought up from Edmonton Sept. 1.

“I’m sure everybody thinks about that (coming through with a game-winning hit,” McLemore said. “The only thing missing was that it wasn’t the bottom of the ninth. Oh, and the seventh game of the World Series.

“We won the game, that’s all that really mattered.”

On a night when A.L. West leading Oakland and second-place Kansas City won, the Angels needed a victory to keep their fading title hopes alive.

With Boyd pitching so well and the Angels trailing for so long, it seemed a cinch they would fall to six games behind Oakland.

But that didn’t happen, thanks in part to McLemore.