The O's got to Lonborg quickly in the top of the first inning as Don Buford and Mark Belanger stroked back to back singles to start. Both runners moved over on the Frank Robinson grounder to the mound and Buford scored on the sacrifice fly by Boog Powell. Paul Blair singled home Belanger to increase the lead and stole second. Brooks Robinson grounded out to short to end the inning with the O's up 2-0.
The Sox blew an early rally against McNally in the bottom of the first as Mike Andrews singled to center to start. Reggie Smith walked and Carl Yastrzemski beat out a double play ball to put runners at the corners. George Scott did not beat out a double play ball to end the inning.
Davey Johnson singled to center to begin the top of the second but Andy Etchebarren struck out looking. McNally struck out swinging and Buford flied out to right to end the inning. Rico Petrocelli flied out to center to begin the bottom of the second and Tony Conigliaro flied out to right. Luis Alvarado got a base hit to center but Gerry Moses struck out swinging to end the inning.
Belanger took strike three to start the top of the third and Frank Robinson singled to left. Powell struck out swinging and Blair grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the third as Lonborg doubled to right to start. Andrews doubled off the Monster to score Lonborg and moved to third on a wild pitch. Smith got a base hit to left to score Andrews but was erased at second on a force by Yaz. Carl moved to second on the grounder to third by Scott but Petrocelli grounded out to third to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.
Brooks Robinson grounded out to short to begin the top of the fourth but Johnson flied out to center. Etchebarren singled to right but McNally struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the fourth as Tony C flied out to center to begin. Alvarado hit one up the elevator shaft and Moses struck out swinging to end the inning.
Buford struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth and Belanger popped up to second. Frank Robinson singled to left but Powell flied out to left to end the inning. Lonborg singled to left to start the bottom of the fifth but was doubled off first on a line drive to center by Andrews. Smith popped up to third to end the inning.
Lonborg cruised in the top of the sixth as Blair grounded out to third to start. Brooks Robinson lined out to left and Johnson struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the sixth as Yaz grounded out to first to start. Scott singled to center but Petrocelli flied out to right. Tony C got a base hit to left and Alvarado walked to load the bases, but Moses forced Alvardo at second to end the inning.
The O's knocked out Lonborg in the top of the seventh although Etchebarren grounded out to short to start. Somehow McNally walked and Buford walked as well to chase Lonborg. Vicente Romo came in and got Belanger to ground into a double play to end the inning. Lonborg did well but only went 6 1/3 innings, allowing 2 runs.
The Sox naturally rallied once Lonborg was gone in the bottom of the seventh as Romo flied out to right to start. Andrews flied out to center but Smith singled to center. Smith stole second and Yaz singled him home to give the Sox the lead. Scott grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-2.
Frank Robinson singled to center to start the top of the eighth and moved to second on a grounder to second by Powell. Blair flied out to center and Brooks Robinson popped up to first to end the inning. The Sox got some insurance in the bottom of the eighth as Petrocelli singled to left to start. Tony C moved Petrocelli to second with a grounder to the mound and Alvarado scored Rico with a double to left. That was it for McNally as Dave Leonhard came in to pitch and Moses got a base hit to left. Alvarado scored but Moses was thrown out at second trying to stretch a double. Romo watched strike three go by to end the inning with the Sox up 5-2.
Romo came back to close out the top of the ninth and Johnson struck out swinging to start. Dave May pitch hit for Etchebarren and ripped a base hit to right before Terry Crowley pinch hit for Leonhard. Crowley forced May at second and Buford singled to right. Merv Rettenmund pinch hit for Belanger but flied out to center to end the game. The Sox had won it 5-2.
Hero of the Night is Carl Yastrzemski. He knocked in the go-ahead run in the seventh to put Boston up for good.
The Good:
Mike Andrews was 2 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.
Reggie Smith was 2 for 3 with a walk, stolen base, rbi and a run scored.
Luis Alvarado was 2 for 3 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.
Jim Lonborg tossed 6 1/3 innings of 2 run ball. He allowed 7 hits and 2 walks while striking out 7. He was 2 for 2 with a run scored at the plate as well.
Vicente Romo got the win with 2 2/3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
None
The Ugly:
George Scott was just 1 for 4.
Rico Petrocelli was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Tony Conigliaro was just 1 for 4.
Gerry Moses was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but drove in a run.
Final Thoughts:
After getting hoodwinked out of a win because of rain the other night, beating the Orioles straight up today was a big victory. Lonborg matched McNally every step of the way but just couldn't finish. The key to the game was the bottom of the order getting it done with Alvarado, Moses and Lonborg getting hits and scoring runs. Moses has been as good as any catcher in the league so far and everyone seems to get at least one hit or walk per game. A balanced offense is going to win many games this year but the question is can they prevent runs from scoring? Today they did as they held the defending AL champs to just 2 runs with great pitching from Lonborg and Romo. The Orioles won 109 games last year and are the team to beat this year, the Sox have to be able to beat them consistently to have any chance of competing this year. It was a good win and after yet another off-day, the Sox return to action Friday night against the Milwaukee Brewers. Sonny Siebert goes for the Sox against Lew Krausse of the Brewers at 7:05 PM at Fenway Park.
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