The Berkshire Eagle from Pittsfield, Massachusetts • 37

The BcMbii-e Eagle p(Q)UW Monday, June 29, 1987 Classifieds Inside: Automotive, Real Estate I Announcements, Personals 1 1 Page Dl iiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitjijiiiitiiiiiijiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiittiiiiiiiiiiiiiitliiitiiiiiiiiiiitlllllililllllliltllililllilirui Nipper makes Yanks knuckle under 1 Red Sox salvage finale, 6-2 v- i 1 Til oil 4 AJiL. 1 ii 1 NEW YORK (UPI) Al Nipper scattered five hits and Jim Rice drove in two runs yesterday to lift the Boston Red Sox to a 6-2 victory over the New York Yankees and salvage the finale of a three-game series. Nipper, 7-6, struck out eight and walked two in his fourth complete game of the season. One of the two Yankee runs was unearned. Nipper said establishing his knuckleball early was important.

"From the first inning I knew that I would have a good knuckleball," Nipper said. "I struck out Henry Cotto with one and knew they were looking for the knuckler, which means I can throw my fastball by 5 them. Six runs make it easier to pitch." Rick Rhoden, 9-5, had a 2-0 lead 2 going into the fourth but was reached for three runs on three hits. Buckner back in business With one out, Todd Benzinger Boston scored three more runs in the sixth to go ahead 6-2. Boggs led off with a single to center, and scored on Rice's double to right-center.

Rhoden hit Baylor with a pitch, allowing Baylor to establish a major-league record for hit by pitches with 244. Rice advanced to third and Baylor went to second on a wild pitch by Rhoden. After Evans grounded out with the runners holding, Rhoden was replaced by Pat Clements. "I could not get my breaking ball over the plate and especially in the American League that's not good," said Rhoden, whom the Yankees acquired from Pittsburgh in the offseason. "They hit the fastball when I came in." Buckner hit a soft ground ball to second baseman Bobby Meacham, who bobbled the ball for an error that allowed Buckner to reach and Rice to score.

Baylor, who had reached third on the play, scored on Spike Owen's infield out. New York scored twice in the third as tenn Sakata tripled and scored when Buckner allowed a Wayne Tol-leson grounder to go between his legs and into right field. It was Buckner's first game in New York since the World Series, when he mishandled Mookie Wilson's roller to allow the winning run to score in Game 6. Cotto then doubled to right-center, scoring Tolleson. Sakata injured his right ankle in the fifth inning as he slid back into second base on a pickoff attempt.

He was taken to the hospital for X-rays. TrP i tTsasmm rnZ Susan Plageman 1 MAKING CONTACT with his usual smooth swing is I Pittsfield Cubs' hard-hitting outfielder Dwight Smith. I Dwight right on tune I Cubs' torrid Smith is Mr. Versatility ByBillEverhart 1 doubled to right and Wade Boggs walked. Rice singled to right, scoring Benzinger and sending Boggs to second.

Don Baylor walked to load the bases. Dwight Evans hit a sacrifice fly that scored Boggs. Bill Buckner, missing his moustache and playing in his first game since returning from the disabled list, followed with a single to right that scored Rice. "Today was a good win for us against their top pitcher," Boston Manager John McNamara said, "Playing Buckner worked out, he got a big hit, but how much he plays depends on the pitcher." i urv 5 rv ft '''lx'--x I i UPI COMING IN FOR A LANDING at home plate is Red Sox runner Jim Rice, who beats the throw to Yankee catcher Mark Salas during fourth inning of yesterday's game at Yankee Stadium. Red Sox won, 6-2.

Baylor (ouch!) sets record with birthday slap on back NEW YORK (UPI) Don Baylor broke Ron Hunt's major-league record for being hit by pitches yesterday when the Boston designated hitter was struck in the back by a pitch from New York's Rick Rhoden in the sixth inning. Baylor, celebrating his 38th birthday yesterday, has been hit 17 times this season. "I always think of doing something a little bit different on my birthday," he said. "After he hit me, I just ran to first base; it didn't hurt. The key is to avoid a direct hit on the elbow or the wrist.

If you take it on your back or upper arm, where it is protected by muscle, you have a chance. "Everyone says I should figure out a way to get out of the plate, but I can't do that." Baylor has been plunked 244 times in his 16-year career, eclipsing Hunt's record set from 1963-74 with the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Montreal Expos and St. Louis Cardinals. "Now I'll be able to put a bit more distance and a few more numbers on this record," Baylor said, "so that guys will have to play a long time to break it. I have never missed a game or broken a bone from being hit by pitch." The 6-foot-l, 210-pound native of Austin, Texas, stands extremely close to the plate.

V. "It's the way I know how to hit," Baylor said Saturday after he tied Hunt's mark. "There is no way I'm going to back off." Baylor was congratulated by his teammates after returning to the Boston dugout with the team's sixth run of the game. The Red Sox defeated the Yankees 6-2. Baylor, a former Yankee, has also played for the Baltimore Orioles, California Angels and Oakland Athletics.

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiifiiiiifiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiBiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Scoreboard on Page C12 Pittsfield Cubs outfielder Dwight Smith gives whole new meaning to the word versatility. He is in the top three in the Eastern League in batting average, leads the league in hits, runs and stolen bases and sings an impressive soul version of the National Anthem. He can begin a game with his voice and end it with his bat. Smith began the season at a torrid pace and hasn't let up. He was named on 97 per cent of the ballots for the Eastern League all-star team, by far the highest percentage of any player, he is batting .359 and with 36 steals it is likely he'll keep the stolen base title in Pittsfield, where it has been for two seasons.

"You've got to like the way he can swing the bat," said Cub manager Jim Essian. "And he can flat out run." The success Smith has enjoyed isn't that surprising, based on his past performances. But even Smith admits he didn't plan on tearing the league apart like he has. "I expected a good season but no one can join a new team in a new league and expect to hit around .350," said Smith before the Cubs took on Reading in a recent double-header at Wahconah Park (he went four-for-eight). "You try to hit around .315 or .320 and breeze along.

I didn't anticipate this." It's a long way from Varnville, S.C., to Chicago, but it's a road Smith seems intent on travelling. Smith says growing up in the small, rural community was a factor in the development of his positive, easy-going attitude. "There aren't many people there but they're the most lovable people in the world," says Smith with a smile. The muscular 5-foot-ll Smith played both baseball and football at Wade Hampton High School and acknowledges that, "like most kids I really loved to play football." He stuck with baseball, however, because he believed it would be the best way for him to earn a college scholarship and pursue a professional career. In 1983, Smith entered Spartanburg Methodist College in his home state, partly because it was a small school, which made him feel comfortable coming from a small town, and partly because it has a good music program.

In his freshman year at the two-year school, the' music major got to play in the Junior College World Series in Colorado. "A lot of people scouts saw me play there and wanted me to come out then," says Smith. "But I wanted to get my education. That's an important thing to have in coping with the outside world. Smith went back to Spartanburg and is now just a couple of hours short of his associate degree in music.

Drafted by the Cubs in the June 1984 draft, he got off to a slow start with Pikeville in the Class A Appalachian League, batting just .236 in 61 games. He did, however, lead the league in stolen bases with 39. Smith got untracked at the plate with Geneva of the New York-Penn League in 1985, batting .289 with 30 steals. He batted .310 with 53 steals at Peoria of the, Class A Midwest League last year and has exploded offensively this season. The lefthanded-hitter has hit southpaws -V UPI PROlD OF THEIR MAN are Toni Azinger, right, and young daughter bara Jean, who look on as Sara Jean's daddy, Paul, accepts $126,000 first prize yesterday for winning the Greater Hartford Open.

Azinger holds on to win GHO title VIDEO MM STUDIO 180 Elm St. Pittsfield (4 13) 447-7595 9-9, SUN. 12-5 ONE WEEK ONLY i Versatility' Continued on Page D2 I Vermont ace Lopez blanks Pittsfield, 3-0 ByBillEverhart I The Pittsfield Cubs Teached the all-star break on a down note yesterday afternoon, thanks to the junk and offbeat delivery of Vermont right-hander Rob Lopez. I Lopez scattered eight hits and improved his record to 9-3 with a 3-0 win over the Cubs at Wahconah Park. The shutout loss was only the second suffered by the Cubs this season and the first at Wahconah i Park.

Both shutouts came courtesy of the Reds. After a rainout Saturday night, yesterday's victory enabled Ver- mont to even the series at two wins apiece. The washout will be made I up as part of a twin bill Aug. 30, I First place at All-Star break The Cubs struggled to a 4-7 record on the home stand but still hold a one-game lead over second-place Reading, which was idle yesterday. I The schedule is interrupted briefly for tonight's all-star game in New 1 Britain and resumes tomorrow night with Pittsfield visiting Glens Falls for a quick two-game series.

The Cubs return home for games I Thursday and Friday with the Tigers. Lopez doesn't blow anybody out of the batter's box with a hopping fastball, but there are a couple of good reasons why he is 9-3 and leads the league with a 1.89 ERA. He has an excellent curveball and a tantalizing change-up, which yesterday kept the Cubs off 'balance. And his herky-jerky delivery June 26 thru July 3 GEVHSHQ TABLE MODEL CROMWELL, Conn. (UPI) Paul Azinger rolled in an 8-foot putt on the 18th hole yesterday to save par and preserve a one-shot triumph at the Greater Hartford Open, his third tour victory of the year.

Azinger's closing round of 1-over-par 72 gave him a 269 total, edging Dan Forsman and Wayne Levi. Azinger's closing round was the highest by a PGA event winner this year. The $126,000 top prize returned Azinger to No. 1 on the tour's money list, giving him a $576,462 total, the third highest single-season total in PGA history. U.S.

Open winner Scott Simpson, the former earnings leader, has won he did not play this week. Azinger, who held a three-stroke lead entering the final round, held a one-shot advantage going into the par-4 18th hole. He appeared to have the tournament won when his second shot stopped on the back apron, 25 feet from the cup. 'Good grief putt Azinger, in what he later described as a "good grief putt," rolled the downhill putt 8 feet past the hole. "I knew it was fast, I didn't think it was that fast." After looking at the putt "from all sides," Azinger hit the decisive putt inside the left lip and it curled in.

"When I put the putter head down, it was quivering a little bit in my hand," said Azinger, who "woke up nervous" yesterday. "I felt defensive," he said. "I was probably more nervous than anybody else on the first tee today." To reassure himself before his second putt on No. 18, he thought of his 25-foot winning putt at the Las Vegas Invitational two months ago. "I said to myself, people won't think I choked because of the one 1 made in Las Vegas," he explained.

Azinger parred his first 11 holes, bogeyed No. 12, got the stroke back with a birdie at No. 16. On the narrow par-4 17th, his drive went into the water on the right of the fairway. His second shot went over the green, but Azinger chipped back and sank the 5-foot putt for a bogey.

Asked if he second-guessed his choice of club for the tee shot, Azinger replied, "I'd still hit a driver, but I'd hit it further left." He said he hadn't started the day with a particular strategy for the Tournament Players Club of Connecticut course, "but when you get a nice lead, you're supposed to play safe. I won today because I had a three-shot lead." Forsman and Levi each won $61,600. Forsman, who did not qualify for last week's U.S. Open, started the week ranked No. 81 on the money list with $61,047.

Forsman, who finished with a 4-under-par 67, said his four rounds of sub-par golf "are a feather in the cap forme." Levi, who finished with a 1-under-par 70, said yesterday's crosswinds and tougher pin placements help the leader because "with the lead you want difficult conditions. It keeps the scores higher. He Azinger kept making pars and nobody else was doing anything." Tied for fourth place, three shots back, were Lee Trevino and Gene Sauersat272. Azinger, 27, had not won a PGA event until his January triumph at the Phoenix Open, and then added the Las Vegas Invitational in May. He carded rounds of 69 and 65 before Saturday's 8-under-par 63, his best round as a pro.

VCR model 9-7500 Quartz Tuning Frequency Synthesized 100 Channel Cable Compatible Special Effects in EP Mode 2 Event7 Day Timer 14 Function Wireless Remote regular price $279.95 3 i PRICE features an odd motion in which he takes the ball out of his glove early in the delivery and hides it behind his back. "I had a good fastball and change-up today, and I just let them go after the bad stuff," said Lopez. "My delivery is different at least, that's what they tell me." Losing pitcher Roger Williams (8-6) pitched effectively but was up -PLUS- 11 FREEZTals CASH, CHECK Or CECAF ONLY I Cubs drop homestand finale, 3-0 I Continued on Page D2 1 IIIIIlllIIIIIfllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllllllllllMlflllll IllllllflUIlItllllllllllllllllllllttllllll iW tm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm I if IIU TIii TNll i'i nil 'rlh'ili'l i' ti fl ifr'- 'iti'n'i.