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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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