After he'd set the major league record for career saves Monday night, all Jeff Reardon felt was relief.
"This was the hardest save of the year for me," said the Boston stopper, who had just passed Rollie Fingers on the all-time list with career save No. 342."I just wanted to get it over with. Those were three tough hitters and that also made it special."
Facing the heart of the New York order with a 1-0 lead in the ninth, the Massachusetts native set down the rival Yankees swiftly to preserve the Red Sox' victory, throwing 12 of 16 pitches in the inning for strikes.
Reardon took the mound in the ninth in relief of starter John Dopson. He got Mel Hall to ground out and Roberto Kelly to fly out, allowed a single to Don Mattingly, then struck out Kevin Maas to break the tie with Fingers.
"He was so excited when he got out there," catcher Tony Pena said. "I told him just to throw hard. On the base hit by Mattingly, it was a fastball down. I told him if they get anything, make them hit it to right - don't let them have left field."
As Maas swung and missed for the final out, Reardon pumped his fist as he did a pirouette off the mound, where he was surrounded by congratulatory teammates.
The adrenaline began pumping for Reardon as early as the fourth inning of a scoreless game.
"My heart was pumping from the fourth inning on," he said. "I wanted the ball. I realized how big a thing this is and it was special to get it in Fenway in front of my family and friends."
Reardon, 36, set a Red Sox saves record last year with 40. He has 342 saves in his 14th major-league season. Fingers posted his 341 saves in 17 seasons.
Phil Plantier scored the only run when he led off the fifth inning for the Red Sox by hitting his fourth home run of the season and second in the last three games.
Reardon thanked Joe Torre, his manager with the New York Mets in 1979, for making him into a relief pitcher.
"We had Neil Allen on that club in the setup role, so the pressure wasn't all on me," Reardon said. "I never dreamed when I got my first save that I would go this far."
Reardon, who also pitched for Montreal and Minnesota before joining the Red Sox, is the only major-league pitcher with 10 straight seasons of 20 or more saves. He was named Reliever of the Decade for the 1980s by the Rolaids Relief Man Award program.
Royals 7, Twins 0
At Minneapolis, George Brett, starting at third base for the first time in five years, belted out three hits and drove in a run to lead Kansas City over Minnesota. Winner Mike Magnante, 3-5, has not given up an earned run in 14 2-3 innings against Minnesota this year. Bill Krueger dropped to 6-1.
Orioles 6, Indians 5
At Cleveland, Randy Milligan homered on the first pitch of the ninth inning to lift Baltimore. Milligan hammered the first offering from Dennis Cook, 1-5, over the right-field fence for his sixth home run of the season. Storm Davis improved to 3-2. Gregg Olson earned his 18th save.
Mariners 4, White Sox 1
At Seattle, Rich DeLucia won his first major league game in more than two months and Jay Buhner had a key two-run single to lead Seattle over Chicago. DeLucia, 2-3, entered the game with a 10.38 earned run average and no wins since April 10. Russ Swan earned his second save. Kirk McCaskill fell to 3-6.
Rangers 5, Angels 2
At Anaheim, Calif., Juan Gonzalez belted a three-run homer in the first inning and Todd Burns pitched eight strong innings en route to his first victory in nearly a year to lift Texas over California. Jeff Russell earned his 17th save - the 100th of his career. Jim Abbott fell to 2-9.
Athletics 5, Brewers 2
At Oakland, Jerry Browne stroked a bases-loaded single in the 10th inning to lift Oakland over Milwaukee. Dennis Eckersley, 2-0, picked up the win in relief. Mike Fetters fell to 2-1. Lance Blankenship tripled in a run and doubled for Oakland.
National League
Reds 7, Giants 5
Cincinnati Manager Lou Piniella shook up his lineup again Monday night, but the results were the same.
Chris Sabo stroked a two-run double to highlight a four-run fifth inning Monday night, leading the Reds to their fourth straight win with a victory over the San Francisco Giants.
The Reds, who trailed San Francisco 4-1 in the third inning, added two in the seventh to post their 10th victory in their last 13 outings.
"It was a good come-from-behind win," Piniella said as the Reds maintained a 3 1/2-game lead in the National League West. "We're playing with confidence right now, and that's what it takes."
"We just kept plugging away, took the lead and scored a couple of insurance runs and (Scott) Bankhead and (Norm) Charlton did the rest."
The Reds have come from behind in 18 of their 36 wins this season.
Phillies 4, Pirates 1
At Pittsburgh, Dave Hollins homered and scored a pair of runs as Philadelphia snapped the Pirates' winning streak at five games. Hollins had three hits and racked up his seventh homer for the Phillies. Terry Mulholland, 6-4, fired a five-hitter in posting his fourth complete game. Zane Smith, 5-5, took the loss.
Expos 4, Mets 1
At New York, Moises Alou capped a two-run fifth inning with a sacrifice fly as the Expos handed the Mets their fifth straight loss. Mark Gardner, 5-5, gave up just two hits over seven-plus innings for the win, and John Wetteland went two innings for his 10th save. Anthony Young, 2-5, was the loser.
Braves 2, Dodgers 0
At Atlanta, Steve Avery pitched a five-hitter as the Braves won their fifth straight game and 14th in their last 16 outings. Avery, 5-5, outdueled the Dodgers' Orel Hershiser, 6-4, who allowed only four hits. Deion Sanders belted his fourth home run of the season for Atlanta.
Cubs 7, Cardinals 1
At Chicago, Greg Maddux hurled a four-hitter and added two RBI singles in leading the Cubs to their fifth straight win. Hector Villanueva belted a three-run homer to back Maddux, who struck out five in posting his third complete game. The loss went to Bob Tewksbury, 6-2, who entered the game with the National League's best ERA.
Padres 7, Astros 1
At Houston, Fred McGriff and Dan Walters each drove home two runs to help the Padres snap a three-game losing streak. Craig Lefferts, 8-4, scattered eight hits over 7 2-3 innings for the win. San Diego sent 10 men to the plate in the first inning.