The 1990 American League Championship Series was a best-of-seven series that matched the East Division champion Boston Red Sox against the West Division champion Oakland Athletics. For the second time in three years, the Athletics swept the Red Sox four games to none. The sweep was capped by a Roger Clemens ejection in Game 4 for arguing balls and strikes. The Athletics would go on to lose to the Cincinnati Reds in the 1990 World Series in a four-game sweep. Background The Athletics finished the regular season with the best record in baseball, at 103–59 (.636), easily winning their third consecutive American League West division title by nine games over the Chicago White Sox. By contrast, the Red Sox ended the season with a record of 88–74 (.543), finishing two games ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays, and claiming their third American League East division title in five years. Summary Boston Red Sox vs. Oakland Athletics Game summaries Game 1 Saturday, October 6, 1990, at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts The opening game of the series saw a battle of aces, as Oakland sent Dave Stewart to the hill against Boston's Roger Clemens. The game was a scoreless pitchers' duel until the bottom of the fourth, when Red Sox third baseman Wade Boggs launched a home run off Stewart. Despite mounting scoring threats in each of the next two innings, the Athletics failed to deliver against the "Rocket." The shot by Boggs turned out to be the only home run in the 1990 ALCS. Oakland finally came through in the seventh, when Larry Andersen replaced Clemens on the mound. Andersen walked Mark McGwire, who then was forced out at second by the next batter, Walt Weiss. A single by pinch-hitter Jamie Quirk moved Weiss to third, and he came home on a sacrifice fly by Rickey Henderson. In the eighth, the A's took the lead via small ball, as José Canseco singled, was sacrificed over to second by Harold Baines, stole third, and then plated on a single by Carney Lansford. In the ninth, the wheels came off for the Red Sox bullpen, as Oakland blew the game wide open by erupting for seven runs, a historic distinction done only twice before in the postseason and the first in twenty years. Henderson led the way with a two-run single and a stolen base, Terry Steinbach and Willie Randolph added RBI