Red Sox Walkoff White Sox (5/29/70)

What a comeback win for the Boston Red Sox. In danger of losing their fourth straight game, they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox took a 3-0 over Sonny Siebert and the Red Sox due to the brilliant pitcher of Tommy John. Then a sac fly by Rico Petrocelli made the score 3-1 and Jim Lonborg (4-1, 3.09 ERA) held the fort in the top of the ninth. In the bottom of the ninth, old friend Wilbur Wood gave up a two run single to Billy Conigliaro to tie the game. Danny Murphy then allowed an rbi single by Jerry Moses to give the game to the Red Sox. Boston had won it 4-3 at Fenway Park.

                                                        Leslie Caron approves of the win

Siebert got the ball in the top of the first inning and Tommy McCraw flied out to left to start. Luis Aparicio grounded out to third but Gail Hopkins singled in the hole at short. Carlos May grounded out to second to end the inning. John got the ball in the bottom of the first and Mike Andrews grounded out to short to start. Reggie Smith grounded out to second but Carl Yastrzemski singled to center. Tony Conigliaro grounded back to the mound to end the inning.

The White Sox struck first in the top of the second as Duane Josephson flied out to right to start. Bill Melton doubled to center but Sid O'Brien grounded out to third. Buddy Bradford got a base hit to center to score Melton and John flied out to right to end the inning with Chicago up 1-0.

                                                                    Chicago strikes first

Rico Petrocelli flied out to right to start the bottom of the second and George Scott took strike three. Luis Alvarado grounded out to third to end the inning. 

McCraw flied out to left to start the top of the third and Aparicio did the same. Hopkins popped up to third to end the inning. Tom Satriano singled to right to start the bottom of the third and Siebert's bunt failed as Tom was out at second. Andrews forced Siebert at second but Smith walked. Yaz flied out to center to end the inning.

All of a sudden Smith was rushed to the local ICU for no reason and Billy Conigiliaro took over for him to start the top of the fourth. May got a base hit to right but Josephson grounded into a double play. Melton then bashed a home run all the way into the Charles River to increase the lead. O'Brien singled in the hole at short and Bradford took strike three to end the inning with the White Sox up 2-0.

                                                               Home run Melton

Tony C reached on an error by John to start the bottom of the fourth and pulled up lame, leaving the game as well, Jerry Moses ran for Tony and Petrocelli flied out to center. Scott walked but Alvarado flied out to center and Satriano grounded back to the mound to end the inning.

John walked to start the top of the fifth but McCraw hit one up the elevator shaft. Aparicio forced John at second but promptly stole second. Hopkins walked but May took strike three to end the inning. Siebert grounded out to short to start the bottom of the fifth and Andrews struck out swinging. O'Brien dropped a pop up by Billy C but Yaz grounded out to short to end the inning.

Josephson got a base hit to left to start the top of the sixth but Melton popped up to first in foul territory. O'Brien grounded into a double play to end the inning. O'Brien booted a grounder by Moses to start the bottom of the sixth but Petrocelli forced Jerry at second. Scott walked but Alvarado beat out a double play ball to put runners at the corners. Don Pavletich pinch hit for Satriano and forced Alvarado at second to end the inning.

Bradford popped up to first to start the top of the seventh and John grounded out to first. McCraw got a base hit to left and Aparicio doubled to left as well. Hopkins grounded out to short to end the inning. Ken Berry came in for Hopkins to start the bottom of the seventh and Dick Schofield pinch hit for Siebert. Dick grounded out to short, Andrews grounded out to third and Smith lined out to short to end the inning.

Jim Lonborg came in to pitch the top of the eighth and May doubled to center to start. A wild pitch moved May to third and Carlos scored on the Josephson sac fly to center. Melton popped up to first but O'Brien got a base hit to right. O'Brien got picked off to end the inning with Chicago up 3-0.

                                                              Another run for Chicago

The Red Sox struck back in the bottom of the eighth with Bobby Knoop in for O'Brien. Yaz got a base hit to center and took second on a wild pitch. Moses flied out to center to move Carl to third and Petrocelli hit a sac fly to center to score Yaz. Scott grounded out to first to end the inning with the Red Sox down 3-1.

                                                              Petrocelli drives in a run

Bradford struck out swinging to start the top of the ninth and John flied out to center. McCraw got a base hit to right but Aparicio grounded back to the mound to end the inning. The Sox rallied in the bottom of the ninth as Alvarado walked to start. Wilbur Wood came in to pitch with Ed Herrmann in to catch. Pavletich flied out to center but Jose Santiago pinch hit for Lonborg. Santiago got a base hit to left and Andrews walked to load the bases. Billy C got a base hit to left to score both Alvarado and Santiago to tie the game. Yaz walked to re-load the bases and Danny Murphy came in to face Moses. Jerry got a base hit to left to score Andrews to win the game. The Sox had won it 4-3.

Hero of The Night is Jerry Moses. He came off the bench to deliver the game ending blow.

                                                              Hero Moses

The Good:

Reggie Smith walked in two plate appearances.

Billy Conigliaro was 1 for 3 with 2 rbis.

Carl Yastrzemski was 2 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.

George Scott walked twice in four plate appearances.

Tom Satriano was 1 for 2.

Jose Santiago singled and scored as a pinch hitter.

Sonny Siebert allowed just 2 runs in 7 innings off 9 hits and 2 walks.

The Bad:

Tony Conigliaro was 0 for 2.

Don Pavletich was 0 for 2.

Dick Schofield was 0 for 1.

The Ugly:

Mike Andrews was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.

Rico Petrocelli was 0 for 3 with an rbi.

Luis Alvarado was 0 for 3 but walked and scored.

Jim Lonborg got the win by allowing a run in 2 innings.

Final Thoughts:

The bad news was both Reggie Smith and Tony Conigliaro left the game but the good news was their replacements both helped win the game. Billy Conigliaro got the game tying hit and Moses got the winning hit. That was a hell of a rally in the ninth because the Sox had accomplished almost nothing the entire game. Siebert deserved the win but Lonborg got it instead. You're going to need your role players to step up eventually and today they did. Kudos to Eddie Kasko for making the balsy decision to have Santiago pinch hit for Lonborg. Santiago's single was integral to the game winning hit and every run counted. The Sox may be under .500 but you can't stay that game wasn't exciting. The win improved the Sox to 19-24, 12.5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the White Sox tomorrow afternoon when Mike Nagy goes for the Sox against Bart Johnson of Chicago. The game begins at 2:05 PM at Fenway Park.

Sox Snap Streak, Beat Indians (5/16/70)

Hey look, the Boston Red Sox finally won a game. After getting walked off twice and dropping 5 straight games, the Sox are back in the win column....briefly anyway. Ray Culp (3-4, 2.39 ERA) was the stopper in this one, outdueling Dean Chance of the Cleveland Indians while tossing a complete game 5 hitter. Culp went the distance allowing 2 unearned runs to help the Sox win the game. Offensively the Sox put two runs up against Chance but got 4 more against Dennis Higgins to put themselves up for good. Tony Conigliaro, Carl Yastrzemski and Rico Petrocelli all went deep to help the Sox snap their streak with a 6-2 win over the Indians at Fenway Park.

                                                   Helen Mirren approves of the win

Culp got the ball in the top of the first inning and Larry Brown popped up to short to start. Ted Uhlaender struck out swinging but Tony Horton singled to left. Horton swiped second but Vada Pinson took strike three to end the inning. Chance got the ball in the bottom of the first and Dick Schofield grounded back to the mound to start. Reggie Smith singled to center but Carl Yastrzemski flied out to center. Tony Conigliaro singled Smith to third but Rico Petrocelli forced Tony at second to end the inning.

Duke Sims flied out to right to start the top of the second before Graig Nettles struck out swinging. Ray Fosse struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the second as George Scott grounded back to the mound to start. Mike Andrews popped up to second and Gerry Moses grounded out to third to end the inning.

Jack Heidemann singled to left to start the top of the third and Chance hit a routine grounder to Culp. Ray tried to kick the ball over to first for an error but Brown beat out a double play ball. Uhlaender popped up to first and Horton forced Brown at second to end the inning. Culp grounded back to the mound to start the bottom of the third before Schofield was plunked. Smith doubled to right and Yaz was intentionally walked to load the bases. Tony C banged into a double play to end the inning.

The Indians struck first in the top of the fourth as Pinson singled to right to begin. Sims flied out to right but Nettles singled to center. Culp had Pinson picked off second but he airmailed the throw, allowing Pinson to score and Nettles made it all the way to third. Fosse then dropped down a suicide squeeze to score Nettles to increase the lead. Heidemann grounded out to first to end the inning with the Indians up 2-0.

                                                       Stop throwing the ball away

Petrocelli tried to start a rally with a base hit to left to start the bottom of the fourth but Scott struck out swinging. Andrews banged into a double play to end the inning.

Culp froze Chance for strike three to start the top of the fifth and Brown grounded out to third. Uhlaender popped up to third to end the inning. Chance matched Culp in the bottom of the fifth as Moses flied out to left to start. Culp grounded out to third and Schofield struck out swinging to end the inning.

Horton grounded out to third to open the top of the sixth but Pinson singled to center. Sims struck out swinging and Nettles grounded out to second to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the sixth as Smith lined out to center to start. Yaz doubled to right and Tony C whalloped his eighth home run of the season to tie the game. Petrocelli and Scott both grounded out to short to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.

                                                           Tony C ties it

Foss struck out swinging to start the top of the seventh before Heidemann walked, Russ Nagelson pinch hit for Chance but struck out swinging before Brown flied out to left to end the inning. Dennis Higgins came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Andrews was plunked to start. Andrews was thrown out trying to steal second and Moses grounded out to third. Culp took strike three to end the inning.

Uhlaender walked to start the top of the eighth but Horton hit into a double play. Pinson flied out to right to end the inning. The Sox took command in the bottom of the eighth as Schofield walked to start. Smith walked as well and Yaz pulverized a 3 run home run to give the Sox the lead. Tony C grounded out to first but Petrocelli smashed his fifth home run of the season to ice the game. Scott grounded back to the mound but Andrews walked. Moses was intentionally walked to get to Culp and Ray hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-2.

                                                          Yaz with a 3 run bomb

Culp returned to finish the job in the top of the ninth and Sims flied out to center to start. Nettles flied out to left and Fosse also flied out to left to end the game. The Sox had snapped their losing streak with a 6-2 win.

We have Co-Heroes of the Night is Ray Culp. He went the distance allowing just 5 hits and 2 unearned runs for the complete game win.

                                                                Culp The Hero

The Good:

Reggie Smith was 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.

Carl Yastrzemski was 2 for 3 with a walk, 3 run homer and 2 total runs scored.

Tony Conigliaro was 2 for 4 with a 2 run homer.

Rico Petrocelli was 2 for 4 with a home run.

The Bad:

George Scott was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

The Ugly:

Dick Schofield was 0 for 2 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.

Mike Andrews was 0 for 2 but walked.

Gerry Moses was 0 for 3 but walked.

Final Thoughts:

Thank god the Sox finally won a game. Its a shame the Sox fell flat on their face after the April they had but the pitching just isn't that good. If Jim Lonborg could rediscover his 1967 self and Mike Nagy developed into the ace everyone thought he would, they'd be right there with the Baltimore Orioles this season. A rotation of ace Lonborg, Sonny Siebert, Culp and Nagy all doing well could put them with Baltimore but it doesn't look like it'll happen. It was a good win today with the offense producing but down the road offense can only do so much without pitching. Still, a win is a win even if its over the worthless Cleveland Indians. The win improved the Sox to 15-17, 8.5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East. The Sox now welcome the Detroit Tigers to Fenway for a set. Mike Nagy goes for the Sox up against Joe Niekro of the Tigers tomorrow night at 7:05 PM at Fenway Park.

Krausse, Brewers Stymie Sox (5/7/70)

The good news was the Boston Bruins defeated the St. Louis Blues in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The bad news was it was another day, another miserable performance by the Boston Red Sox bats. Lew Krausse of the Milwaukee Brewers was the latest to shut them down as he allowed just 1 measly run in 7 2/3 innings. Ray Culp (2-4, 3.07 ERA) was game but allowed 2 runs in 7 innings. The game turned in the eighth inning when Mike Andrews booted a bases loaded grounder by Russ Snyder to put the game out of reach. The Sox bats did nothing against John Gelnar in the top of the ninth and the Brewers had won the game 5-1 at County Stadium.

                                                 "Well that was boring" - Gary Lockwood

Krausse got the ball in the top of the first inning and Mike Andrews struck out swinging to start. Reggie Smith grounded out to first but Carl Yastrzemski walked. Yaz stole second but Tony Conigliaro struck out swinging to end the inning. The Brewers got to Culp right away in the bottom of the first as Tommy Harper doubled to left to start. Mike Hegan grounded out to first to move Harper to third and Russ Snyder grounded out to second to score Harper. Danny Walton got a base hit to center but Steve Hovley popped up to first to end the inning with the Brewers up 1-0.

                                                             Brewers strike first

Rico Petrocelli popped up to short to start the top of the second and George Scott lined out to right. Luis Alvarado singled to center but was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning. Ted Kubiak grounded out to first to start the bottom of the second and John Kennedy grounded out to third. Phil Roof struck out swinging to end the inning.

Jerry Moses grounded out to short to start the top of the third and Culp swung and missed for strike three...but took first on a wild pitch. Andrews flied out to center and Smith grounded out to second to end the inning. Krausse took strike three to start the bottom of the third and Harper popped up to third. Hegan walked but Snyder grounded out to second to end the inning.

Yaz grounded out to third to start the top of the fourth and Tony C walked. Petrocelli and Scott both struck out swinging to end the inning. Walton grounded out to third to open the bottom of the fourth but Hovley walked. Kubiak grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Alvarado flied out to left to start the top of the fifth but Moses singled to left. Moses was thrown out at second trying to steal and Culp flied out to right to end the inning. Kennedy struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fifth but Roof walked. Roof was thrown out at second trying to steal and Krausse struck out swinging to end the inning.

Andrews hit a little roller to third that was thrown away by Harper for an error to start the top of the sixth. Smith popped up to first and Yaz grounded out to second to move Andrews to third. Tony C flied out to center to end the inning. Harper popped up to second to start the bottom of the sixth and Hegan hit one up the elevator shaft. Snyder lined out to right to end the inning.

Petrocelli flied out to center to start the top of the seventh and Scott did the same. Kubiak booted a grounder by Alvarado for an error but Moses flied out to right to end the inning. The Brewers struck again in the bottom of the seventh as Walton hit a home run all the way to Green Bay to increase the lead. Hovley popped up to short, Kubiak grounded out to second and Kennedy struck out swinging to end the inning with the Brewers up 2-0.

                                                           Home run Walton

The Sox finally broke through in the bottom of the seventh as Dick Schofield pinch hit for Culp to start. Dick walked to start and Andrews got a base hit to center, but Smith grounded into a double play. Yaz got a base hit to center to score Andrews and that was it for Krausse. John Gelnar came in to face Conigliaro and Tony flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox down 2-1.

                                                              Yaz drives in a run

Sparky Lyle got failed by bad defense as he took the mound for the bottom of the eighth. Roof popped up to second but somehow Lyle walked Gelnar. Harper walked and Hegan got a base hit to center to load the bases. Snyder hit a routine grounder to second....under the glove of Andrews, All 3 runners scored on the error to ice the game. Walton was intentionally walked but Hovley took strike three. Kubiak forced Walton at second to end the inning with the Brewers up 5-1.

                                                           "Thanks a lot Andrews" - Lyle

Petrocelli flied out to center to start the top of the ninth and Scott struck out swinging. Alvarado got a base hit to center and Moses beat out a roller to the mound. Mike Derrick pinch hit for Lyle and popped up to short to end the game. The Brewers had won it 5-1.

Jackass of the Night is Mike Andrews. His error allowed 3 runs to score to put the game away.

                                                            Jackass Andrews

The Good:

Carl Yastrzemski was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.

Luis Alvarado was 2 for 4.

Jerry Moses was 2 for 4.

Dick Schofield walked and scored as a pinch hitter.

One of the rare times the losing pitcher ends up on the Good list but Ray Culp held the Brewers to just 2 runs in 7 innings off 3 hits and 3 walks.

The Bad:

Reggie Smith was 0 for 4.

Rico Petrocelli was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

George Scott was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Mike Derrick was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.

Sparky Lyle didn't get any help from his defense but still allowed 3 runs in the ninth inning.

The Ugly:

Tony Conigliaro was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.

Final Thoughts:

That game was awful and its a shame because Culp pitched well. The Sox bats did absolutely nothing against a mediocre pitcher and the Sox can't afford to lose games to pitchers like that with the Baltimore Orioles red hot right now. The key to the game was Lyle walking John Gelnar. Its one thing to walk a pitcher, its another thing to walk a relief pitcher. Not that the Sox were going to score any runs in the ninth, but a 2 or 3-1 deficit is better than 5-1. Andrews had a pretty good day at the plate so its unfortunate that his error cost them the game. Only thing you can do is not make any mistakes tomorrow in the next game. The loss dropped the Sox to 13-11, 3.5 games behind the Orioles for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to rebound tomorrow as they travel to Oakland for a three game set with the Athletics. Jim Lonborg (2-0) gets the start against Chuck Dobson of Oakland. The game begins at 10 PM eastern time at Oakland Coliseum.

Sox Beat Angels for 5th Straight Win (5/1/70)

Don't look now but the Boston Red Sox have gotten hot. After wiping out the Oakland A's in four straight games, the Sox made it five in a row with the California Angels as their latest victims. Ray Culp (2-3, 3.16 ERA) went the distance, allowing 6 hits and 3 runs to earn his second win of the season. On the offensive side, the Red Sox pounded out four home runs. 2 from Carl Yastrzemski and one from both Reggie Smith and George Scott. The Sox as a team pounded out 12 hits and 8 runs as they defeated the Angels 8-3 at Fenway Park.

                                                        Barbara Hillary approves of the win

Culp got the ball in the top of the first inning and Sandy Alomar lined a base hit to center to start. Alomar stole second but Roger Repoz struck out swinging. Jim Fregosi singled to left to put runners at the corners but Alex Johnson banged into a double play to end the inning. The Sox struck first against Angels starter Tom Murphy as Mike Andrews popped up to third to start. Reggie Smith singled to right, took second on a wild pitch and stole third. Carl Yastrzemski then smashed a 2 run bomb to put Boston on top. Tony Conigliaro walked but Rico Petrocelli banged into a double play to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.

                                                                      Yaz goes deep

Culp cruised in the the top of the second as Jim Spencer grounded out to first to start. Ken McMullen struck out swinging and Bill Voss flied out to center to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the second as George Scott belted his fourth home run of the season to increase the lead. Luis Alvarado doubled to left and moved to third on a fly ball to right by Gerry Moses. Culp aided his own cause with a base hit to center to score Alvarado to add to the lead. Andrews banged into a double play to end the inning but the Sox were ahead 4-0.

                                                          Scott goes deep

The Angels struck back in the top of the third as Joe Azcue hit one up the elevator shaft to start. Murphy grounded out to short but Alomar reached on an error by Alvarado. Repoz walked and Fregosi lashed a base hit to left to load the bases. Johnson singled to left to score Alomar and Repoz to cut the lead. Spencer struck out swinging to end the inning with the Angels down 4-2.

                                                       Johnson inches the Angels closer

The Sox beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the third as Smith grounded out to first to start. Yaz grounded out to second and Tony C grounded out to third to end the inning.

The Angels got another run in the top of the fourth as McMullen doubled to center to start. McMullen moved to third on a grounder by Voss to first and scored on the sac fly to center by Azcue. Murphy struck out swinging to end the inning with the Angels down 4-3.

                                                     Azcue drives in a run

The Sox fought back in the bottom of the fourth as Petrocelli doubled to left to start. Scott doubled home Rico to chase Murphy from the game. Eddie Fisher came in and Alvarado moved Scott to third with a grounder to first. Moses grounded out to short and Culp grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-3.

                                                              Petrocelli scores a run

Culp cruised in the top of the fifth as Alomar flied out to center to start. Repoz grounded out to first and Fregosi grounded out to second to end the inning. The Sox got another run in the bottom of the fifth as Andrews grounded out to third to start. Smith grounded out to second but Yaz smashed his second home run of the game to ice it. Tony C singled to left but Petrocelli flied out to left to end the inning with Boston ahead 6-3.

                                                              Yaz with another home run

Johnson flied out to center to open the top of the sixth before Spencer struck out swinging. McMullen struck out swinging to end the inning. Scott singled to left to start the bottom of the sixth before Alvarado struck out swinging. Moses flied out to left and Culp forced Scott at second to end the inning.

Voss flied out to center to start the top of the seventh before Azcue struck out swinging. Jay Johnstone pinch hit for Fisher and popped up to first to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the seventh as Wally Wolf came in to pitch. Andrews flied out to right but Smith clobbered his fourth home run of the season to add to the lead. Yaz walked and stole second before Tony C struck out swinging. Petrocelli doubled to left to score Yaz but Scott struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 8-3.

                                                            Smith with his fourth homer

Alomar took strike three to open the top of the eighth and Repoz struck out swinging. Fregosi grounded out to short to end the inning. Alvarado flied out to center to start the bottom of the eighth before Moses took strike three. Culp took strike three to end the inning.

Culp came back to finish the job in the top of the ninth as Johnson grounded back to the mound to start. Spencer flied out to center but McMullen singled to left. Voss popped up to third to end the game. The Sox had won it 8-3.

Hero of the Night is Ray Culp. Not only did he go the distance to earn the win, he also knocked in a run of his own.

                                                                  Hero Culp

The Good:

Reggie Smith was 2 for 4 with a stolen base, solo home run and 2 runs scored.

Carl Yastrzemski was 2 for 3 with a walk, stolen base, 2 home runs, 3 total rbis and 3 total runs scored.

Tony Conigliaro was 1 for 3 with a walk.

Rico Petrocelli was 2 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.

George Scott was 3 for 4 with a home run and 2 total rbis.

The Bad:

Mike Andrews was 0 for 4.

Gerry Moses was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

The Ugly:

Luis Alvarado was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.

Final Thoughts:

After the up and down month of April the Red Sox have, starting May on the right foot is just what the doctor ordered. Culp looked good in this one and the Sox needed a start like that from him big time. The offense is clicking even if Moses has come down to earth. Swapping Tony C and Scott in the batting order has done wonders since Scott has been tearing the cover off the ball lately. The offense was always going to score runs, its preventing them that's the problem. Culp got the job done today and hopefully the trend can continue this month. The win improved the Sox to 12-8, 2 games behind the Orioles for first place in the AL East. The Sox look for win number six in a row tomorrow afternoon when Vicente Romo gets the start against Clyde Wright of the Angels. The game begins at 2:00 PM at Fenway Park.