Stottlemyre cruised in the top of the first inning as Mike Andrews grounded back to the mound to start. Reggie Smith flied out to center and Carl Yastrzemski grounded out to first to start. Brett got in trouble in the bottom of the first as Horace Clarke drew a leadoff walk. Bobby Murcer struck out but Clarke swiped second. Roy White and Danny Cater drew back to back walks to load the bases but Thurmon Munson flied out to center. John Ellis flied out to center to end the inning.
Tony Conigliaro drew a walk to begin the top of the second inning but Rico Petrocelli lined out to center. George Scott and Billy Conigliaro both popped up to second to end the inning. Ron Woods singled to left to begin the bottom of the second but was doubled off first on the Gene Michael to short. Stottlemyre singled to left but Clarke lined out to left to end the inning.
The Sox broke through in the top of the third inning although Jerry Moses grounded out to third. Brett singled to center to start the rally and Andrews got a base hit to left. Smith singled to right to score Brett and Yaz cleared the bases with his 17th home run of the season to put the Sox up big early. Tony C singled to left but Petrocelli banged into a double play to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-0.
Brett cruised in the bottom of the third as Murcer flied out to right to start. White lined out to left but Cater singled to right. Munson popped up to second to end the inning.
Stottlemyre matched Brett in the top of the fourth as Scott flied out to center to begin. Billy C and Moses both flied out to left to end the inning. Brett got Ellis to ground back to the mound to start the bottom of the fourth before Woods flied out to left. Michael lined out to short to end the inning.
Brett himself grounded out to third to start the top of the fifth inning before Andrews struck out. Smith grounded out to second to end the inning. Stottlemyre struck out to begin the bottom of the fifth before Clarke flied out to left. Murcer grounded out to first to end the inning.
The Sox threatened in the top of the sixth although Yaz flied out to right to start. Tony C grounded back to the mound but Petrocelli singled to center. Cater booted a Scott ground ball which allowed him to reach first but got picked off to end the inning. White flied out to center to open the bottom of the sixth before Cater lined out to left. Munson singled to center but Ellis popped up to first in foul territory to end the inning.
Billy C flied out to right to begin the top of the seventh but Moses beat out an infield single. Brett banged into a double play to end the inning. Brett made up for the DP by getting Woods to line out to left to start. Michael singled to center and Ron Hansen pinch hit for Stottlemyre. Brett struck out Hanson and Clarke popped up to short to end the inning.
John Cumberland was brought in to pitch the top of the eighth and Andrews popped up to first to start. Smith lined out to left but Yaz singled to left....just to get thrown out trying to steal to end the inning. Brett ran out of gas in the bottom of the eighth as Murcer belted a 750,000 foot home run into the Long Island Sound to put the Yankees on the board. White grounded out to third and Cater popped up to short but Munson crushed a 9,000 foot home run to cut the lead. Ellis popped up to short to end the inning with the Yankees down 4-2.
The Sox got a big insurance run in the top of the ninth although Tony C grounded out to third to start. Petrocelli flied out to right but Scott blasted his 8th home run of the season to increase the lead. Billy C grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-3.
Brett tried to finish the job in the bottom of the ninth but Woods homered to chase him. He went 8 innings and allowed 3 runs before being replaced by Sparky Lyle. Michael struck out and Curt Blefary pinch hit for Cumberland, drawing a walk. Clarke popped up to second and Murcer grounded into a force to end the game. The Sox had held on to win it 5-3.
Hero of the Night is Ken Brett. He held the Yankees to 3 runs in 8 innings of work. He allowed 8 hits while striking out 3. He was also 1 for 3 at the plate with a run scored.
The Good:
Carl Yastrzemski was 2 for 4 with a 3 run home run.
Tony Conigliaro was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Jerry Moses was 1 for 3.
Sparky Lyle earned his 11th save with a scoreless 9th.
The Bad:
Billy Conigliaro was 0 for 4.
The Ugly:
Mike Andrews was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Reggie Smith was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run and scored.
Rico Petrocelli was just 1 for 4.
George Scott was just 1 for 4 but the hit was a home run.
Final Thoughts:
That's a good start to today to take the opening game of a doubleheader. Brett pitched a great game and Lyle held the fort in the ninth inning. The Sox are gonna need more games like this from Brett if they have any hope of coming close to the Baltimore Orioles. The Sox offense is as good as anyone in the American League but the pitching needs to get a lot better if they hope to compete going forward. As for this game, great win. The win improved to 34-34 with Game 2 to be played mere hours from now. Ray Culp (6-7) goes for the Sox up against Stan Bahnsen at 3:45 PM at Yankee Stadium.
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