win, the Red Sox took the field with one series of at-bats left in the bottom of the eighth. Lee Smith, ineffective in Game 2, was again ineffective as the A's pushed across two insurance runs. Canseco singled, stole second, and came home on a McGwire single. Stan Javier bunted to move McGwire to second and wound up on first due to poor execution by the Red Sox. A walk to Luis Polonia loaded the bases with nobody out. Don Baylor hit a sacrifice fly that scored McGwire and made the score 4–1. Smith retired the next two hitters, but the Red Sox were finished. Eckersley finished the ninth to get his fourth save in only four games, an all-time record (since matched by John Wetteland in the 1996 World Series and Greg Holland in the 2014 ALCS). Eckersley won the Most Valuable Player Award for his efforts. Composite box 1988 ALCS (4–0): Oakland Athletics over Boston Red Sox References External links 1988 ALCS at Baseball-Reference 1988 ALCS Official Souvenir Program American League Championship Series American League Championship Series Oakland Athletics postseason Boston Red Sox postseason American League Championship Series American League Championship Series American League Championship Series Baseball competitions in Boston 20th century in Oakland, California American League Championship Series Baseball competitions in Oakland, California