Jack McDowell didn`t know how the umpires figured out that Jose Canseco`s ninth-inning roof shot was fair or foul.
They called it foul, but not before the ball disappeared into the blackness beyond Comiskey Park`s left-field roof.
”It`s the farthest ball I`ve ever seen hit, and I`m sure 30,000 people think the same thing,” said McDowell, who went on to fan Canseco to the fans` delight.
”I don`t know how you could tell that ball was fair or foul. I think it went over the roof on its way up. I don`t think it even hit the roof.”
Who needs rest? Greg Hibbard, coming off his best start of the season, will start Tuesday on three days` rest. He allowed just two hits and no runs in eight innings of a game the Sox eventually lost 1-0 in 13 innings Friday in Texas.
That start came just three days after Hibbard had lasted three-plus innings in his previous start.
Hibbard threw 97 pitches on Friday, but he doesn`t expect a stamina problem against Oakland`s Mike Moore (10-11, 4.33 ERA).
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”I think later in the season, it`s better to get back out there,” said Hibbard, who`s 9-7 with a 3.13 earned-run average. ”You`ve got to throw on the side, and they think I`ve been throwing too much on the side anyway.”
Rain foils sellout: Game 1 of the year`s biggest series drew a paid crowd of 39,294 to Comiskey Park, and the Sox sold obstructed-view seats, but rain prevented a sellout.
”We had less than 1,000 walk-up (sales),” said Rob Gallas, senior vice president for marketing and broadcast. ”The rain just killed us.”
The series` largest crowd is expected Wednesday. The Sox have sold 36,000 tickets, and are holding another 9,000 for coupon redemption by straight-A students.
Thigpen`s dizzy pace: Bobby Thigpen has reached 40 saves 21 days and 23 games earlier than any of the other seven pitchers to achieve the total. It`s been done 10 times, the last by Thigpen on Sunday night in Texas.
”I didn`t realize it was that big of a deal, or a feat,” Thigpen said.
Thigpen needs just seven to top Yankee Dave Righetti`s big-league record, set in 1986. He`s on a pace to save 55, but Thigpen said, ”If we could win the division and I didn`t get another save, I`d be the happiest guy alive.”
Fisk I: Carlton Fisk received a prolonged standing ovation when he came to bat in his first Comiskey Park appearance since he set the major-league record for home runs by a catcher. Fisk doffed his batting helmet, and two pitches later knocked a bloop to center field to tie the game at 1-1.
Fisk II: Fisk received an advance copy of a life-sized poster of him in the black-pinstriped uniform the Sox will wear next season. They`ll be given away Wednesday.