After going hitless in four at-bats against Boston ace Roger Clemens, Alan Trammell gave Lee Smith a rough welcome to the American League.
"I guess I'm a little lucky," Trammell said after his two-run homerun off Smith with two outs in the 10th inning gave the Detroit Tigers a 5-3 victory over the Red Sox in the first game of the 1988 season.
"I had never seen him before and I hit a homerun off him," Trammell said. "I got the good part of the bat on the ball and it went out."
Smith, acquired from the Chicago Cubs in December to be Boston's relief ace, quickly became familiar with Fenway Park and the left field wall when Trammell sent a 2-1 fastball into the screen.
"I was trying to throw a strike and Alan Trammell hit it," Smith said. "I thought it was a good pitch, down low where I wanted it."
Boston manager John McNamara said, "We played decently." But the Sox skipper disagreed with Smith on the homerun pitch. "He just got the ball up to Trammell," McNamara said.
Read more in Sports
Big Green Totemism and Other August Oddities
