Hatcher Heats It Up for Boston

And now, presenting All-Star candidate . . . Billy Hatcher?

The Boston outfielder scorched the Angels with a four-for-five performance Monday night, putting the Red Sox ahead with a two-run, ninth-inning homer and then driving home the winning run with an 11th-inning sacrifice fly.

Then, Boston Manager Butch Hobson made his case.

“He had an outstanding night,” Hobson said after Boston defeated the Angels, 4-3, at Anaheim Stadium. “He’s had a heck of a first half. To me, he’s a guy who could be considered for the All-Star game.”

Excuse the Red Sox for their excitement, but they have as good an excuse as anybody else. They have won five consecutive games, 12 of their past 13 and 13 of 18. They moved to within five games of first-place Toronto, the closest they have been to the top spot in the American League East in a month.

And Hatcher has been Mr. Clutch. Eighteen of his 34 runs batted in--including his two-run, ninth-inning homer against Russ Springer Monday--have come with two outs.

He is batting .315, including a cool .429 over his past 56 at-bats. During that span, he has four home runs and 13 RBIs, and he has scored another 13 runs.

All-Star candidate?

“I don’t worry about that,” Hatcher said. “I’m worried about catching Toronto. I very seldom worry about things like (the All-Star game).”

His four hits on Monday came one day after he left a game in Seattle in the sixth inning after being hit on the left wrist with a pitch. Although it wasn’t in tip-top shape, he disguised it well.

“It was sore today,” Hatcher said. “Sometimes you try to put it out of your mind and play. I could hold the bat, I could grip it.

“It hurt more when I swung and missed.”