Thirty Years Ago Today. On June 14, 1974, the California Angels beat the Red Sox 4-3 in 15 innings (box score). ... Nolan Ryan of the Angels lasted 13 innings, struck out 19 batters, walked 10 and threw 235 pitches (Boston's Luis Tiant pitched 14.1 innings). And it clearly had no adverse effect in his next few outings. Ryan said that back then, he averaged between 160 and 180 pitches per outing. ... Bill James: "It obviously ruined his arm because he had to retire 19 years later."

Last night at Fenway, the Pedro and Pokey show led the Red Sox to a 4-1 win over the Dodgers. Good thing, too, because Boston needed the victory to keep pace with the Yankees. Check out this linescore:

San Diego  001 000 100 003 - 5 12 2
New York   000 000 002 004 - 6 12 2

Unbelievable. The two runs in the bottom of the 9th came on two solo home runs with 2 outs. ... Both Boston and New York are off today. Tuesday night, the Red Sox visit the Rockies and the Yankees are in Arizona.