May  2, 1991, Thursday, City Edition

SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. 39
LENGTH: 776 words
HEADLINE: Twins, Erickson ace out Sox
BYLINE: By Steve Fainaru, Globe Staff
DATELINE: MINNEAPOLIS

 BODY:
   The Red Sox ran into perhaps the best young pitcher in baseball last night. They came away raving about him, but they also came away with a 1-0 loss to the Twins at the Metrodome that does not take long to describe.

    Righthander Scott Erickson, whose sinkers hurtle toward the plate like 90-mile-per-hour shotputs, held the Sox to just two hits, none until there were two out in the sixth and Jody Reed blooped one of his rare changeups into left field.

    Greg Harris matched Erickson pitch for pitch until the seventh, when he left after 104 pitches. Jeff Gray started the eighth and gave up a home run to the first batter he faced, Dan Gladden, who rifled a 2-0 fastball about 15 rows deep into the left-field seats.

    "No use trying to pick it apart and dissect it, the guy just pitched a great game," said Jack Clark, who struck out to end it.

    Afterward, about all anyone could talk about was Erickson (3-2, 1.58 ERA), who might be 5-0 had the Twins not been shut out in his first two starts. At this time last year, he was pitching at Double A Orlando, but Minnesota called him up in midseason to impressive results: he is 11-6 with a 2.54 ERA since his
promotion.

    His success underscores the unpredictability of scouting baseball talent. The Twins selected him in the fourth round of the 1989 draft, the same draft that produced Ben McDonald, the Orioles' high-profile righthander. McDonald beat Erickson to the majors, but he has been bothered by injuries and has been
hammered in his first two starts, while Erickson's reputation is growing with each outing.

    "Let me tell you, that kid we faced tonight was the toughest pitcher we faced all year," said Joe Morgan, a statement that encompasses Dave Stieb, Tom Candiotti and Bret Saberhagen. "And I'll tell you, I was watching him warm up. He must have thrown 100 pitches just warming up. He scaled many a pitch up there tonight."

    "Have you talked to him?" Steve Lyons asked a reporter. "Everybody was talking about it, how he had the best stuff we've faced this year. I only had one pinch-hit at-bat against him, but that was enough. I don't swing hard enough to break my bat, but it felt like I was trying to hit a rock."

    Erickson, 23, looks the part. He is 6 feet 4 inches, 225 pounds with dark, classic features and a truly awesome sinking fastball. The Sox hit just three balls out of the infield the entire night. He walked one and struck out seven.

They never really threatened. In the fourth, with runners on first and second and two out, Erickson fanned Ellis Burks on a sinker. He retired the hero of the night before, Carlos Quintana, on a ground ball after Tom Brunansky ripped a two-out double in the seventh.

"I'm feeling very good right now, I'm feeling very lucky," he said. "A year ago right now, I was busting my ass to make the Double A team. The Twins stuck their necks out for me by bringing me up, and I wanted to prove they made the right decision."