1988 Boston Red Sox season

The 1988 Boston Red Sox season was the 88th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished first in the American League East with a record of 89–73 but were then swept by the Oakland Athletics in the ALCS.

1988 Boston Red Sox
American League East champions
League	American League
Division	East
Ballpark	Fenway Park
City	Boston, Massachusetts
Record	89–73 (.549)
Divisional place	1st
Owners	Jean Yawkey, Haywood Sullivan
President	John Harrington[a]
General manager	Lou Gorman
Managers	John McNamara (43–42) Joe Morgan (46–31)
Television	WSBK-TV, Ch. 38 (Sean McDonough, Bob Montgomery) NESN (Ned Martin, Jerry Remy)
Radio	WPLM-FM 99.1 WPLM-AM 1390 (Ken Coleman, Joe Castiglione) WRCA (Bobby Serrano, Hector Martinez)
Stats	ESPN.com Baseball Reference
← 1987 Seasons 1989 →

The team is best remembered for its change of fortune following its change of manager; after John McNamara was replaced by Joe Morgan, the team won its next 12 games in a stretch nicknamed "Morgan Magic".^[3]

Offseason

• December 8, 1987: Lee Smith was traded by the Chicago Cubs to the Red Sox for Al Nipper and Calvin Schiraldi.^[4]
• January 5, 1988: Dennis Lamp was signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.^[5]

Regular season

Record by month^[6]

Month	Record		Cumulative		AL East		Ref.
	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Position	GB
April	14	6	14	6	2nd	1	[7]
May	11	16	25	22	4th	7	[8]
June	14	12	39	34	3rd	6	[9]
July	21	9	60	43	3rd	1+1⁄2	[10]
August	13	16	73	59	2nd	2	[11]
September	16	12	89	71	1st	+3	[12]
October	0	2	89	73	1st	+1	[13]

Highlights

A rough beginning

The 1988 team seemed to start much better than their chaotic 1987 predecessors, going 14–6 in April;^[6] however, the team went sour thereafter, especially for Jim Rice as he moved from left field to designated hitter. Dwight Evans also had problems when he played first base, and the usually reliable Lee Smith had problems closing, including giving up a game-winning home run to the Detroit Tigers on Opening Day.^[14]

Joe Morgan

The Red Sox had an 11–16 record in May,^[6] followed by a slightly better June with a 14–12 record,^[6] but lost pitcher Jeff Sellers when he was hit by a line drive in Cleveland that broke his hand. Wes Gardner was moved from the bullpen to the rotation, but the team and its fans were losing patience.

"Morgan Magic"

At the All-Star break, the Red Sox were 43–42, nine games behind the Tigers in the AL East standings.^[15] Management had seen enough, firing John McNamara and elevating third base coach Joe Morgan to manager.^[16]

On July 15, the first game after the All-Star break, the Red Sox and Roger Clemens beat the Kansas City Royals and Bret Saberhagen, 3–1.^[17] This began a 12-game winning streak,^[17] which launched the Red Sox to first place over the slumping Tigers and New York Yankees. The Red Sox would later set an American League record of 24 straight home victories. Two months after Morgan became manager, the team was 81–63 and in first place by 4+1⁄2 games.^[18] The team cooled off in the final two weeks of the season, finishing with nine losses in their final 13 games,^[17] but held on to win the AL East, finishing one game ahead of the Tigers, for their second division title in three seasons.

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

AL East

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Boston Red Sox	89	73	.549	—	53‍–‍28	36‍–‍45
Detroit Tigers	88	74	.543	1	50‍–‍31	38‍–‍43
Milwaukee Brewers	87	75	.537	2	47‍–‍34	40‍–‍41
Toronto Blue Jays	87	75	.537	2	45‍–‍36	42‍–‍39
New York Yankees	85	76	.528	3½	46‍–‍34	39‍–‍42
Cleveland Indians	78	84	.481	11	44‍–‍37	34‍–‍47
Baltimore Orioles	54	107	.335	34½	34‍–‍46	20‍–‍61

Record vs. opponents

1988 American League record v t e Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Baltimore	—	4–9	5–7	4–7	4–9	5–8	0–12	4–9	3–9	3–10	4–8	7–5	6–6	5–8
Boston	9–4	—	8–4	7–5	8–5	6–7	6–6	10–3	7–5	9–4	3–9	6–6	8–4	2–11
California	7–5	4–8	—	9–4	8–4	5–7	5–8	3–9	4–9	6–6	4–9	6–7	8–5	6–6
Chicago	7–4	5–7	4–9	—	3–9	3–9	7–6	6–6	4–9	3–9	5–8	9–4	8–5	7–5
Cleveland	9–4	5–8	4–8	9–3	—	4–9	6–6	9–4	5–7	6–7	4–8	5–7	6–6	6–7
Detroit	8–5	7–6	7–5	9–3	9–4	—	8–4	5–8	1–11	8–5	4–8	9–3	8–4	5–8
Kansas City	12–0	6–6	8–5	6–7	6–6	4–8	—	3–9	7–6	6–6	8–5	7–5	7–6	4–8
Milwaukee	9–4	3–10	9–3	6–6	4–9	8–5	9–3	—	7–5	6–7	3–9	8–4	8–4	7–6
Minnesota	9–3	5–7	9–4	9–4	7–5	11–1	6–7	5–7	—	3–9	5–8	8–5	7–6	7–5
New York	10–3	4–9	6–6	9–3	7–6	5–8	6–6	7–6	9–3	—	6–6	5–7	5–6	6–7
Oakland	8–4	9–3	9–4	8–5	8–4	8–4	5–8	9–3	8–5	6–6	—	9–4	8–5	9–3
Seattle	5–7	6–6	7–6	4–9	7–5	3–9	5–7	4–8	5–8	7–5	4–9	—	6–7	5–7
Texas	6–6	4–8	5–8	5–8	6–6	4–8	6–7	4–8	6–7	6–5	5–8	7–6	—	6–6
Toronto	8–5	11–2	6–6	5–7	7–6	8–5	8–4	6–7	5–7	7–6	3–9	7–5	6–6	—

Notable transactions

• April 15, 1988: Rick Cerone signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.^[19]
• July 29, 1988: Brady Anderson was traded by the Red Sox with minor league pitcher Curt Schilling to the Baltimore Orioles for Mike Boddicker.^[20]

Opening Day lineup

5	Brady Anderson	CF
17	Marty Barrett	2B
26	Wade Boggs	3B
14	Jim Rice	LF
39	Mike Greenwell	RF
24	Dwight Evans	1B
30	Sam Horn	DH
10	Rich Gedman	C
7	Spike Owen	SS
21	Roger Clemens	P

Source:^[14]

Alumni game

The team held an old-timers game on May 14, before a scheduled home game against the Seattle Mariners. The alumni game marked the 40th anniversary of the 1948 Red Sox team, which had lost a one-game playoff to the Cleveland Indians.^[21] The visiting (non-Red Sox) alumni team, skippered by Lou Boudreau—who had been player-manager of the 1948 Cleveland squad—prevailed by an 8–2 score, led by four RBIs from former Pittsburgh Pirate Manny Sanguillén.^[21]

Roster

1988 Boston Red Sox
Roster
Pitchers 52 Mike Boddicker 50 Tom Bolton 23 Oil Can Boyd 21 Roger Clemens 56 Zach Crouch 53 Steve Curry 28 Steve Ellsworth 44 Wes Gardner 47 Bruce Hurst 15 Dennis Lamp 54 Mike Rochford 19 Jeff Sellers 48 Lee Smith 41 Mike Smithson 46 Bob Stanley 42 John Trautwein 45 Rob Woodward		Catchers  6 Rick Cerone 10 Rich Gedman 20 John Marzano Infielders 17 Marty Barrett 38 Todd Benzinger 26 Wade Boggs 27 Pat Dodson  7 Spike Owen 25 Larry Parrish  3 Jody Reed 11 Ed Romero		Outfielders  5 Brady Anderson 12 Ellis Burks 24 Dwight Evans 39 Mike Greenwell 55 Randy Kutcher 18 Carlos Quintana 14 Jim Rice 16 Kevin Romine Other batters 30 Sam Horn		Manager  2 John McNamara 35 Joe Morgan Coaches 37 Al Bumbry (First Base) 34 Bill Fischer (Pitching) 33 Walt Hriniak (Hitting) 32 Jerry McNertney (Bullpen) 35 Joe Morgan (Third Base) 36 Rac Slider (Bullpen, Third Base)

Game log

Past Games Legend
Red Sox Win (#bfb)	Red Sox Loss (#fbb)	Game Postponed (#bbb)	All-Star Game (#bbcaff)	Clinched Division (#039)
Bold denotes a Red Sox pitcher

1988 Regular Season Game Log (89–73) (Home: 53–28; Road: 36–45)
April (14–6) (Home: 8–4; Road: 6–2) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Crowd Record Streak 1 April 4 Tigers 3–5 (10) Morris (1–0) Smith (0–1) Henneman (1) 34,781 0–1 L1 2 April 6 Tigers 6–5 Lamp (1–0) Hernández (0–1) Smith (1) 16,965 1–1 W1 3 April 7 Tigers 6–11 Tanana (1–0) Ellsworth (0–1) 13,807 1–2 L1 4 April 8 @ Rangers 4–0 Boyd (1–0) Jeffcoat (0–1) 18,470 2–2 W1 5 April 9 @ Rangers 2–1 Clemens (1–0) Hough (1–1) Smith (2) 27,527 3–2 W2 6 April 10 @ Rangers 1–4 Kilgus (1–0) Sellers (0–1) Williams (2) 14,024 3–3 L1 — April 11 Brewers Postponed (Cold); Makeup: July 29 7 April 12 Brewers 3–1 Hurst (1–0) Bosio (1–1) Smith (3) 12,045 4–3 W1 8 April 13 Brewers 6–3 Boyd (2–0) Nieves (0–2) Smith (4) 14,114 5–3 W2 9 April 14 Brewers 2–0 Clemens (2–0) Wegman (0–2) 15,693 6–3 W3 10 April 15 Rangers 2–3 (10) Hough (2–1) Gardner (0–1) 12,369 6–4 L1 11 April 16 Rangers 0–2 Kilgus (2–0) Ellsworth (0–2) Williams (4) 25,936 6–5 L2 12 April 17 Rangers 15–2 Hurst (2–0) Jeffcoat (0–2) 32,243 7–5 W1 13 April 18 Rangers 4–3 Smith (1–1) Williams (0–1) 33,976 8–5 W2 14 April 19 @ Tigers 7–3 Clemens (3–0) Morris (2–2) 11,920 9–5 W3 — April 20 @ Tigers Postponed (Rain); Makeup: August 5 15 April 21 @ Tigers 12–3 Ellsworth (1–2) Robinson (1–2) 13,862 10–5 W4 — April 22 @ Brewers Postponed (Rain); Makeup: April 25 — April 23 @ Brewers Postponed (Rain); Makeup: August 9 16 April 24 @ Brewers 4–0 Clemens (4–0) Higuera (2–1) 16,379 11–5 W5 17 April 25 @ Brewers 5–1 Hurst (3–0) Wegman (1–3) 11,109 12–5 W6 — April 26 @ White Sox Postponed (Rain); Makeup: July 8 — April 27 @ White Sox Postponed (Rain); Makeup: July 9 18 April 28 @ White Sox 0–6 LaPoint (3–1) Boyd (2–1) 8,204 12–6 L1 19 April 29 Twins 6–5 Smith (2–1) Berenguer (3–3) 32,022 13–6 W1 20 April 30 Twins 8–3 Hurst (4–0) Lea (0–3) Gardner (1) 32,708 14–6 W2
May (11–16) (Home: 6–8; Road: 5–8) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Crowd Record Streak 21 May 1 Twins 0–2 Viola (3–1) Sellers (0–2) 31,124 14–7 L1 22 May 2 Royals 0–2 Bannister (4–1) Ellsworth (1–3) Garber (4) 20,400 14–8 L2 23 May 3 Royals 3–9 Saberhagen (4–2) Boyd (2–2) 21,602 14–9 L3 24 May 4 White Sox 2–6 McDowell (2–2) Clemens (4–1) 21,191 14–10 L4 25 May 5 White Sox 16–3 Hurst (5–0) Horton (3–4) 24,135 15–10 W1 26 May 6 @ Twins 0–5 Viola (4–1) Sellers (0–3) 29,767 15–11 L1 27 May 7 @ Twins 2–5 Blyleven (2–3) Ellsworth (1–4) 33,416 15–12 L2 28 May 8 @ Twins 10–6 Boyd (3–2) Mason (0–1) 28,896 16–12 W1 29 May 9 @ Royals 2–0 Clemens (5–1) Gubicza (3–4) 24,806 17–12 W2 30 May 10 @ Royals 2–7 Bannister (5–2) Hurst (5–1) 21,645 17–13 L1 31 May 13 Mariners 14–8 Boyd (4–2) Campbell (2–5) Gardner (2) 29,582 18–13 W1 32 May 14 Mariners 3–0 Clemens (6–1) Bankhead (0–1) 33,846 19–13 W2 33 May 15 Mariners 7–11 Jackson (1–1) Smith (2–2) 33,109 19–14 L1 34 May 16 Athletics 0–3 Davis (4–1) Sellers (0–4) Eckersley (14) 24,642 19–15 L2 35 May 17 Athletics 7–12 Ontiveros (2–1) Ellsworth (1–5) Honeycutt (4) 28,407 19–16 L3 36 May 18 Athletics 4–1 Boyd (5–2) Stewart (8–2) Smith (5) 24,683 20–16 W1 37 May 20 Angels 2–4 (10) Buice (1–2) Clemens (6–2) Harvey (2) 31,032 20–17 L1 38 May 21 Angels 8–4 Hurst (6–1) Krawczyk (0–1) Smith (6) 32,180 21–17 W1 39 May 22 Angels 12–4 Stanley (1–0) Fraser (4–3) 32,678 22–17 W2 40 May 23 @ Mariners 3–14 Swift (4–1) Boyd (5–3) 15,511 22–18 L1 41 May 24 @ Mariners 1–14 Campbell (3–5) Smithson (0–1) 9,473 22–19 L2 42 May 25 @ Mariners 4–0 Clemens (7–2) Langston (4–4) 17,968 23–19 W1 43 May 27 @ Athletics 2–3 Young (4–2) Hurst (6–2) Eckersley (15) 32,723 23–20 L1 44 May 28 @ Athletics 5–7 Honeycutt (1–0) Lamp (1–1) Eckersley (16) 43,177 23–21 L2 45 May 29 @ Athletics 4–5 Nelson (3–2) Sellers (0–5) Plunk (2) 43,427 23–22 L3 46 May 30 @ Angels 5–2 Clemens (8–2) Petry (2–4) 46,598 24–22 W1 47 May 31 @ Angels 4–3 Smithson (1–1) Fraser (4–4) 24,005 25–22 W2
June (14–12) (Home: 7–6; Road: 7–6) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Crowd Record Streak 48 June 2 Blue Jays 4–5 Wells (3–2) Hurst (6–3) Eichhorn (1) 32,144 25–23 L1 49 June 3 Blue Jays 3–6 Stottlemyre (2–7) Boyd (5–4) Henke (10) 32,292 25–24 L2 50 June 4 Blue Jays 2–10 Clancy (3–5) Clemens (8–3) Ward (4) 33,067 25–25 L3 51 June 5 Blue Jays 4–12 Ward (2–0) Smithson (1–2) 33,756 25–26 L4 52 June 6 @ Yankees 3–2 Hurst (7–3) Allen (2–1) Smith (7) 37,244 26–26 W1 53 June 7 @ Yankees 3–4 Hudson (5–2) Boyd (5–5) Guante (6) 37,081 26–27 L1 54 June 8 @ Yankees 4–3 Clemens (9–3) John (4–2) Smith (8) 42,804 27–27 W1 55 June 10 @ Blue Jays 0–3 Stieb (8–3) Sellers (0–6) Henke (11) 35,201 27–28 L1 56 June 11 @ Blue Jays 3–4 (10) Ward (3–0) Lamp (1–2) 40,461 27–29 L2 57 June 12 @ Blue Jays 8–2 Boyd (6–5) Cerutti (3–3) 40,123 28–29 W1 58 June 13 Yankees 6–12 Dotson (7–1) Clemens (9–4) Guante (7) 34,288 28–30 L1 59 June 14 Yankees 7–3 Smithson (2–2) Allen (2–2) Smith (9) 33,367 29–30 W1 60 June 15 Yankees 8–3 Hurst (8–3) Leiter (4–3) 33,870 30–30 W2 61 June 16 @ Orioles 4–8 Ballard (3–3) Trautwein (0–1) Williamson (1) 24,499 30–31 L1 62 June 17 @ Orioles 2–3 (11) Schmidt (3–2) Lamp (1–3) 34,340 30–32 L2 63 June 18 @ Orioles 5–0 Clemens (10–4) Bautista (2–6) 32,175 31–32 W1 64 June 19 @ Orioles 15–7 Gardner (1–1) Noles (0–2) 31,046 32–32 W2 65 June 20 @ Indians 14–7 Hurst (9–3) Swindell (10–5) 19,870 33–32 W3 66 June 21 @ Indians 10–6 Stanley (2–0) Rodriguez (0–1) Smith (10) 26,681 34–32 W4 67 June 22 @ Indians 1–3 Farrell (8–4) Boyd (6–6) Jones (17) 18,843 34–33 L1 68 June 24 Orioles 2–6 Bautista (3–6) Clemens (10–5) 35,333 34–34 L2 69 June 25 Orioles 10–3 Stanley (3–0) Williamson (1–5) 34,573 35–34 W1 70 June 26 Orioles 10–1 Smithson (3–2) Peraza (1–3) 34,374 36–34 W2 71 June 27 Indians 9–5 Lamp (2–3) Farrell (8–5) 33,318 37–34 W3 72 June 28 Indians 6–1 Gardner (2–1) Bailes (6–7) 34,661 38–34 W4 73 June 29 Indians 5–1 Clemens (11–5) Candiotti (7–7) Smith (11) 35,035 39–34 W5
July (21–9) (Home: 15–0; Road: 6–9) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Crowd Record Streak 74 July 1 @ Royals 7–8 Montgomery (1–1) Ellsworth (1–6) Farr (6) 25,970 39–35 L1 75 July 2 @ Royals 1–3 Leibrandt (4–10) Boyd (6–7) Farr (7) 37,098 39–36 L2 76 July 3 @ Royals 2–3 Montgomery (2–1) Smith (2–3) Farr (8) 36,220 39–37 L3 77 July 4 @ Royals 9–2 Clemens (12–5) Power (4–2) 40,804 40–37 W1 78 July 5 @ Twins 4–6 Berenguer (8–3) Smith (2–4) Reardon (23) 44,091 40–38 L1 79 July 6 @ Twins 1–8 Viola (14–2) Hurst (9–4) 41,027 40–39 L2 80 July 7 @ Twins 4–3 Boyd (7–7) Lea (5–4) Stanley (1) 32,724 41–39 W1 81 July 8 @ White Sox 5–6 John Davis (2–2) Smithson (3–3) Thigpen (16) – 41–40 L1 82 July 8 @ White Sox 10–7 Lamp (3–3) Long (3–4) 18,963 42–40 W1 83 July 9 @ White Sox 7–8 Pérez (8–5) Bolton (0–1) Thigpen (17) – 42–41 L1 84 July 9 @ White Sox 8–2 (10) Smith (3–4) Horton (4–7) 23,699 43–41 W1 85 July 10 @ White Sox 1–4 LaPoint (7–9) Curry (0–1) Thigpen (18) 15,163 43–42 L1 ASG July 12 AL @ NL 2–1 Viola (1–0) Gooden (0–1) Eckersley (1) 39,071 — N/A — July 14 Royals Postponed (Rain); Makeup: July 15 86 July 15 Royals 3–1 Clemens (13–5) Saberhagen (10–8) – 44–42 W1 87 July 15 Royals 7–4 Smithson (4–3) Leibrandt (5–11) Smith (12) 35,412 45–42 W2 88 July 16 Royals 7–6 Smith (4–4) Farr (2–2) 34,466 46–42 W3 89 July 17 Royals 10–8 Gardner (3–1) Power (4–4) 34,181 47–42 W4 90 July 18 Twins 6–5 Lamp (4–3) Blyleven (7–9) Smith (13) 33,397 48–42 W5 91 July 19 Twins 5–0 Smithson (5–3) Anderson (6–7) 32,036 49–42 W6 92 July 20 Twins 9–7 (10) Bolton (1–1) Atherton (5–5) 35,313 50–42 W6 93 July 21 White Sox 6–1 Boyd (8–7) McDowell (4–8) Stanley (2) 32,049 51–42 W7 94 July 22 White Sox 4–3 Gardner (4–1) John Davis (2–3) Smith (14) 33,477 52–42 W8 95 July 23 White Sox 11–5 Smithson (6–3) LaPoint (7–11) 35,129 53–42 W9 96 July 24 White Sox 3–2 Hurst (10–4) Long (4–5) Smith (15) 33,394 54–42 W10 97 July 25 @ Rangers 2–0 Clemens (14–5) Hough (9–11) 34,175 55–42 W11 98 July 26 @ Rangers 8–9 McMurtry (2–0) Bolton (1–2) Williams (14) 20,456 55–43 L1 99 July 27 @ Rangers 10–7 Stanley (4–0) Williams (1–4) Smith (16) 17,639 56–43 W1 100 July 29 Brewers 6–4 Hurst (11–4) Wegman (10–8) Smith (17) – 57–43 W2 101 July 29 Brewers 5–4 Lamp (5–3) Bosio (6–13) Stanley (3) 35,169 58–43 W3 102 July 30 Brewers 3–2 Clemens (15–5) Higuera (7–7) 33,964 59–43 W4 103 July 31 Brewers 5–0 Boddicker (7–12) August (5–5) 33,527 60–43 W5
August (13–16) (Home: 9–5; Road: 4–11) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Crowd Record Streak 104 August 2 Rangers 7–2 Gardner (5–1) Russell (8–4) 35,462 61–43 W6 105 August 3 Rangers 5–4 Lamp (6–3) Witt (3–7) Smith (18) 34,380 62–43 W7 106 August 4 @ Tigers 6–11 Terrell (6–8) Clemens (15–6) 40,980 62–44 L1 107 August 5 @ Tigers 1–3 Morris (9–11) Stanley (4–1) Henneman (17) – 62–45 L2 108 August 5 @ Tigers 2–3 King (2–1) Boddicker (7–13) Henneman (18) 44,334 62–46 L3 109 August 6 @ Tigers 2–4 Alexander (11–6) Gardner (5–2) 44,838 62–47 L4 110 August 7 @ Tigers 3–0 (10) Hurst (12–4) Robinson (13–5) 41,623 63–47 W1 111 August 9 @ Brewers 2–3 Crim (5–5) Clemens (15–7) – 63–48 L1 112 August 9 @ Brewers 5–1 Boddicker (8–13) Wegman (10–9) Stanley (4) 20,816 64–48 W1 113 August 10 @ Brewers 3–8 Higuera (8–8) Smithson (6–4) 19.739 64–49 L1 114 August 11 @ Brewers 0–4 August (7–5) Gardner (5–3) 32,351 64–50 L2 115 August 12 Tigers 9–4 Hurst (13–4) Alexander (11–7) Stanley (5) 34,732 65–50 W1 116 August 13 Tigers 16–4 Boddicker (9–13) Robinson (13–6) Bolton (1) 33,601 66–50 W2 117 August 14 Tigers 6–18 King (3–1) Clemens (15–8) 33,757 66–51 L1 118 August 16 Mariners 0–7 Bankhead (6–7) Gardner (5–4) 33,924 66–52 L2 119 August 17 Mariners 7–2 Hurst (14–4) Swift (6–10) 31,548 67–52 W1 120 August 18 Mariners 1–6 Langston (9–10) Boddicker (9–14) 33,944 67–53 L1 121 August 19 Athletics 7–6 Stanley (5–1) Stewart (15–11) 33,993 68–53 W1 122 August 20 Athletics 7–5 Sellers (1–6) Burns (5–1) Smith (19) 34,372 69–53 W2 123 August 21 Athletics 4–5 Honeycutt (3–2) Stanley (5–2) Eckersley (35) 33,282 69–54 L1 124 August 22 Angels 6–2 Hurst (15–4) Clark (5–2) 33,828 70–54 W1 125 August 23 Angels 10–2 Boddicker (10–14) Finley (7–12) 34,313 71–54 W2 126 August 24 Angels 3–4 Witt (10–12) Clemens (15–9) Harvey (13) 32,522 71–55 L1 127 August 26 @ Mariners 5–3 Boyd (9–7) Bankhead (7–8) Smith (20) 16,109 72–55 W1 128 August 27 @ Mariners 6–8 Wilkinson (2–2) Bolton (1–3) Schooler (10) 19,706 72–56 L1 129 August 28 @ Mariners 7–2 Hurst (16–4) Moore (7–14) 17,047 73–56 W1 130 August 29 @ Athletics 1–3 Welch (15–7) Boddicker (10–15) Eckersley (36) 40,423 73–57 L1 131 August 30 @ Athletics 0–1 Stewart (16–11) Clemens (15–10) 35,220 73–58 L2 132 August 31 @ Athletics 2–7 Davis (14–4) Smithson (6–5) 37,151 73–59 L3
September (16–12) (Home: 8–5; Road: 8–7) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Crowd Record Streak 133 September 1 @ Angels 4–2 Gardner (6–4) Clark (6–3) Smith (21) 27,771 74–59 W1 134 September 2 @ Angels 2–3 Finley (9–12) Hurst (16–5) Harvey (14) 29,325 74–60 L1 135 September 3 @ Angels 1–2 Witt (12–12) Lamp (6–4) 33,376 74–61 L2 136 September 4 @ Angels 6–5 (10) Stanley (6–2) Harvey (6–5) Smith (22) 30,224 75–61 W1 137 September 5 @ Orioles 4–1 Smithson (7–5) Schmidt (7–4) Smith (23) 19,614 76–61 W2 138 September 6 @ Orioles 6–1 Gardner (7–4) Tibbs (4–13) 19,124 77–61 W3 139 September 7 @ Orioles 3–4 Thurmond (1–6) Stanley (6–3) 35,569 77–62 L1 140 September 9 Indians 7–4 Boddicker (11–15) Yett (8–5) Smith (24) 33,349 78–62 W1 141 September 10 Indians 6–0 Clemens (16–10) Black (4–4) 34,099 79–62 W2 142 September 11 Indians 2–4 Candiotti (12–8) Stanley (6–4) Jones (32) 33,154 79–63 L1 143 September 12 Orioles 6–1 Hurst (17–5) Schilling (0–1) 32,619 80–63 W1 144 September 13 Orioles 6–4 Smithson (8–5) Harnisch (0–1) Smith (25) 32,842 81–63 W2 145 September 14 Orioles 4–3 Boddicker (12–15) Bautista (6–14) Smith (26) 32,745 82–63 W3 146 September 15 Yankees 3–5 Rhoden (11–10) Clemens (16–11) Righetti (22) 35,320 82–64 L1 147 September 16 Yankees 7–4 Gardner (8–4) Shields (4–5) Smith (27) 35,226 83–64 W1 148 September 17 Yankees 3–1 Hurst (18–5) Hudson (6–6) 35,051 84–64 W2 149 September 18 Yankees 9–4 Smithson (9–5) Guidry (1–3) Smith (28) 35,146 85–64 W3 150 September 19 @ Blue Jays 4–5 Clancy (10–13) Lamp (6–5) Ward (14) 28,455 85–65 L1 151 September 20 @ Blue Jays 13–2 Clemens (17–11) Musselman (6–5) 30,352 86–65 W1 152 September 21 @ Blue Jays 0–1 Flanagan (12–13) Gardner (8–5) Ward (15) 30,344 86–66 L1 153 September 23 @ Yankees 10–9 Lamp (7–5) Mohorcic (4–8) Smith (29) 51,511 87–66 W1 154 September 24 @ Yankees 4–5 Guetterman (1–1) Smith (4–5) 51,392 87–67 L1 155 September 25 @ Yankees 6–0 Clemens (18–11) Rhoden (12–11) 54,774 88–67 W1 156 September 26 Blue Jays 1–11 Musselman (7–5) Gardner (8–6) 33,953 88–68 L1 157 September 27 Blue Jays 9–15 Flanagan (13–13) Smithson (9–6) 34,442 88–69 L2 158 September 28 Blue Jays 0–1 Key (12–5) Hurst (18–6) 34,873 88–70 L3 159 September 29 @ Indians 12–0 Boddicker (13–15) Nichols (1–7) 5,879 89–70 W1 160 September 30 @ Indians 2–4 [b] Yett (9–6) Clemens (18–12) Jones (36) 15,497 89–71 L1
October (0–2) (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–2) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Crowd Record Streak 161 October 1 @ Indians 0–1 Farrell (14–10) Sellers (1–7) Jones (37) 14,972 89–72 L2 162 October 2 @ Indians 5–6 Candiotti (14–8) Lamp (7–6) Black (1) 10,456 89–73 L3

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Rich Gedman	95	299	69	.231	9	39
1B	Todd Benzinger	120	405	103	.254	13	70
2B	Marty Barrett	150	612	173	.283	1	65
3B	Wade Boggs	155	584	214	.366	5	58
SS	Jody Reed	109	338	99	.293	1	28
LF	Mike Greenwell	158	590	192	.325	22	119
CF	Ellis Burks	144	540	159	.294	18	92
RF	Dwight Evans	149	559	164	.293	21	111
DH	Jim Rice	135	485	128	.264	15	72

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Rick Cerone	84	264	71	.269	3	27
Spike Owen	89	257	64	.249	5	18
Larry Parrish	52	158	41	.259	7	26
Brady Anderson	41	148	34	.230	0	12
Kevin Romine	57	78	15	.192	1	6
Ed Romero	31	75	18	.240	0	5
Sam Horn	24	61	9	.148	2	8
Pat Dodson	17	45	8	.178	1	1
John Marzano	10	29	4	.138	0	1
Randy Kutcher	19	12	2	.167	0	0
Carlos Quintana	5	6	2	.333	0	2

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Roger Clemens	35	264.0	18	12	2.93	291
Bruce Hurst	33	216.2	18	6	3.66	166
Oil Can Boyd	23	129.2	9	7	5.34	71
Mike Boddicker	15	89.0	7	3	2.63	56
Steve Ellsworth	8	36.0	1	6	6.75	16
Steve Curry	3	11.0	0	1	8.18	4

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Wes Gardner	36	149.2	8	6	3.50	106
Mike Smithson	31	126.2	9	6	5.97	73
Jeff Sellers	18	85.2	1	7	4.83	70

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Lee Smith	64	4	5	29	2.80	96
Bob Stanley	57	6	4	5	3.19	57
Dennis Lamp	46	7	6	0	3.48	49
Tom Bolton	28	1	3	1	4.75	21
John Trautwein	9	0	1	0	9.00	8
Zach Crouch	3	0	0	0	6.75	0
Mike Rochford	2	0	0	0	0.00	1
Rob Woodward	1	0	0	0	13.50	0

ALCS

Main article: 1988 American League Championship Series

Game 1

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Oakland	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	6	0
Boston	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	6	0
W: Rick Honeycutt (1-0)   L: Bruce Hurst (0-1)  S: Dennis Eckersley (1)
HR: OAK – José Canseco (1)

Game 2

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Oakland	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	1	4	10	1
Boston	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	3	4	1
W: Gene Nelson (1-0)   L: Lee Smith (0-1)  S: Dennis Eckersley (2)
HR: OAK – José Canseco (2)   BOS – Rich Gedman (1)

Game 3

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Boston	3	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	6	12	0
Oakland	0	4	2	0	1	0	1	2	X	10	15	1
W: Gene Nelson (2-0)   L: Mike Boddicker (0-1)  S: Dennis Eckersley (3)
HR: OAK – Mark McGwire (1)  Carney Lansford (1)  Ron Hassey (1)  Dave Henderson (1)  BOS – Mike Greenwell (1)

Game 4

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Boston	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	4	0
Oakland	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	X	4	10	1
W: Dave Stewart (1-0)   L: Bruce Hurst (0-2)  S: Dennis Eckersley (4)
HR: OAK – José Canseco (3)

Awards and honors

Awards

• Wade Boggs, Silver Slugger Award (3B)
• Roger Clemens, AL Pitcher of the Month (July)
• Mike Greenwell, Silver Slugger Award (OF), AL Player of the Month (June)
• Bruce Hurst, AL Pitcher of the Month (September)

Accomplishments

• Wade Boggs, American League Batting Champion, (.366)
• Wade Boggs, American League Leader, Runs (128)
• Wade Boggs, American League Leader, Doubles (45)
• Wade Boggs, American League Leader, Walks (125)
• Wade Boggs, Major League Baseball Leader, On-base percentage (.476)
• Roger Clemens, American League Leader, Complete Games (14)
• Roger Clemens, American League Leader, Shutouts (8)

All-Star Game

• Wade Boggs, third base, starter
• Roger Clemens, pitcher, reserve
• Mike Greenwell, outfield, reserve

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

The Lynchburg Red Sox replaced the Greensboro Hornets as a Class A affiliate. The Arizona League Red Sox/Mariners (a cooperative team) were added as a Rookie League affiliate.

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Pawtucket Red Sox	International League	Ed Nottle
AA	New Britain Red Sox	Eastern League	Dave Holt
A	Lynchburg Red Sox	Carolina League	Dick Berardino
A	Winter Haven Red Sox	Florida State League	Doug Camilli
A-Short Season	Elmira Pioneers	New York–Penn League	Bill Limoncelli
Rookie	AZL Mariners/Red Sox	Arizona League	Mike Verdi and Myron Pines

Arizona League team affiliation shared with the Seattle Mariners^[23]
Source:^[2][24]

Notes

1. The Red Sox list 1987–2001 as Harrington's tenure as president,^[1] although the team's 1988 media guide listed Jean Yawkey as president.^[2]
2. Though the Red Sox lost, they clinched the division title when the Milwaukee Brewers lost 7–1 to the Oakland Athletics.^[22]