At one point in the fifth inning at Comiskey Park Monday night, the scoring went R-K-R. Translated, rain, strikeout, rain.
The weather played havoc with the White Sox`s game with Baltimore. The Orioles, leading 4-1, needed three outs in the fifth for a regulation game.
The elements didn`t make it easy for them. Rain delayed the game for 29 minutes. During a brief interlude, Orioles reliever Doug Corbett struck out Gary Redus. Then the rains hit again and delayed the game for 48 minutes.
Once the rains ceased, Corbett got Harold Baines to hit into a double-play.
It was a strange night at the ballpark, where the temperature dropped about 20 degrees at game time. The rain, though, did hold up long enough to allow Neil Allen to pitch.
He had mixed results in his first start since June 16. He pitched out of trouble to keep the Orioles scoreless through four innings. But his control problems sent him to the showers in the fifth, when Baltimore erupted for four runs.
Allen was coming back after pulling his right hamstring. The Sox`s initial fears were that he had torn the muscle and would be out for the season.
But the injury proved to be not quite as serious. Still, it was enough to knock out Allen for another month.
It was just another in a series of injuries that have plagued Allen since last year. He missed the first part of this season with a sore arm. Entering Monday`s game, he had pitched only 16 2/3 innings this season.
”It will important for us tonight to have Neil Allen pitch well,” said manager Jim Fregosi. ”He`s coming off numerous injuries. It`s important for him to come back, not only for the club, but for Neil Allen`s career.”
But Allen left in the fifth with one out and the bases loaded, two of the runners reaching on walks. For the night, he threw 82 pitches.
Bobby Thigpen came on in relief, but he didn`t get the job done. It appeared that he might get out of the inning when Cal Ripken Jr. hit a tapper back to the mound. Thigpen gunned the ball to catcher Carlton Fisk and forced Larry Sheets at the plate.
But Thigpen had control problems of his own, walking Eddie Murray to force in the first run. Ken Gerhart then dropped a two-run single into center field, and Mike Young singled in another run.
Baltimore starter Mike Griffin also failed to survive the fifth. He gave up three straight hits, the last being an RBI single by Ozzie Guillen. Manager Cal Ripken Sr. pulled him just as the first rains hit.
Allen got off to a shaky start in the first, pitching his way out of trouble. The Ripken brothers, Bill and Cal Jr., hit consecutive singles. But Allen got out of the jam by forcing Eddie Murray to hit into a double-play.
The Sox, meanwhile, didn`t have anything to show for clubbing Griffin in the bottom of the first. Ozzie Guillen led off with a single, and Redus followed with a walk.
Baines then sent a rocket to right-center. The ball would have been a home run an hour earlier when the wind was blowing out. But instead, the stiff breeze, now blowing in, turned it into a routine flyball.
Ivan Calderon then followed with a shot back at Griffin, who somehow managed to knock the ball down and make the play at first. Greg Walker flied out to right to end the inning.
Griffin continued to ride on good fortune again in the second. With two out, Donnie Hill tripled. Steve Lyons then sent a liner to center, directly at Fred Lynn, who made the catch.
Allen had a perfect second. In the third, he gave up a leadoff single to Sheets. But he had little trouble retiring the side, striking out Alan Wiggins along the way.
The Sox blew another scoring opportunity in the third. With two outs, Baines drilled a double to center. The hit extended Baines` streak to 15 games. But Calderon struck out to end the inning.
Allen pitched through trouble again in the fourth. He gave up a leadoff walk to Cal Ripken Jr. and a two-out single to Mike Young. Allen then got Terry Kennedy to fly to left to retire the side.
