Sox Wipe Out, Sweep Senators (9/27/70)

Amazing how the Boston Red Sox flipped the switch too little, too late this season. The red hot Red Sox have now won 11 of their last 12 games including today's four game sweep of the lowly Washington Senators. Gary Peters (16-11, 4.06 ERA) finished his season strong by throwing a complete game 8 hitter while allowing just 1 run. The bats came to play big time by tagging Washington starter Dick Bosman for 4 runs before cracking the bullpen for another 6. George Scott, Tony Conigliaro and Peters himself all went deep as the Sox pounded out 14 hits and 10 runs against the hapless Senators. Poor Ted Williams could only watch as his Senators were swept with a 10-1 beat down at RFK Stadium.

                                                           Sharon Clark approves of the win

Bosman got the ball to start the top of the first inning and Luis Alvarado grounded back to the mound to start. Joe Lahoud popped up to third but Carl Yastrzemski singled to center. Tony Conigliaro grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Peters got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Ed Brinkman lined out to third to start. Tom Grieve grounded out to third and Frank Howard grounded out to second to end the inning.

George Scott took strike three to begin the top of the second inning before Billy Conigliaro struck out swinging. John Kennedy grounded out to third to end the inning. Rick Reichardt struck out swinging to begin the bottom of the second before Aurelio Rodriguez flied out to right. Mike Epstein struck out swinging to end the inning.

Bob Montgomery grounded out to short to start the top of the third inning before Peters grounded back to the mound. Alvarado struck out swinging to end the inning. Paul Casanova led off the bottom of the third with a base hit to center but Tim Cullen flied out to center. Bosman struck out swinging but Brinkman walked. Grieve flied out to left to end the inning.

The Sox struck first in the top of the fourth although Lahoud grounded out to second to start. Yaz singled to right, Tony C beat out a roller to first and Scott mashed his 15th home run of the season to put the Sox on top. Billy C singled to left and Kennedy doubled him to third, but Montgomery watched strike three go by. Peters took strike three to end the inning with the Sox up 3-0.

                                                            Scott hits a 3 run shot

Howard grounded out to short to begin the bottom of the fourth before Reichardt singled to right. Rodriguez and Epstein both struck out swinging to end the inning.

Alvarado struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth and Lahoud popped up to second. Yaz grounded out to second to end the inning. Peters cruised in the bottom of the fifth as Casanova popped up to second to start. Cullen flied out to right and Bosman grounded out to short to end the inning.

The Sox struck again in the top of the sixth when Tony C belted his 36th home run of the season to increase the lead. Scott grounded out to second, Billy C popped up tp short and Kennedy flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox up 4-0.

                                                          Number 36 for Tony C

Brinkman singled in the hole at short to begin the bottom of the sixth but Grieve banged into a double play. Howard walked but Reichardt struck out swinging to end the inning.

Darold Knowles came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Montgomery flied out to right to start. Peters grounded out to first and Alvarado grounded out to short to end the inning. Mike Fiore came in for Yaz to start the bottom of the seventh and Rodriguez singled to left to start. Epstein singled to center and Billy C threw himself on the ball and sang to it for an error to put runners at the corners. Casanova hit a fly ball to right and Rodriguez tried for home. Tony C came up gunning and Rodriguez was called out on the play. Cullen flied out to left to end the inning.

The Sox struck again in the top of the eighth as Lahoud grounded out to second to start. Fiore popped up to third but Tony C singled to left. Scott then blasted his second home run of the game to ice it. Billy C lined out to third to end the inning but it was 6-0 Red Sox.

                                                            Scott hits another one out

Greg Goossen pinch hit for Knowles to start the bottom of the eighth and flied out to right. Brinkman flied out to left and Grieve popped up to second to end the inning.

The Sox poured it on in the top of the ninth with Horacio Pina now on the mound. Kennedy singled to center, Montgomery singled to right and Peters himself mashed his first home run of the season to turn this into a laughter. Alvarado popped up to short but Lahoud doubled to right to chase Pina. Cisco Carlos came in to pitch and Fiore moved Lahoud to third with a ground out. Tony C blooped a single to center to score Lahoud to wrap up the scoring. Scott forced Tony C at second to end the inning with the Sox up 10-0.

                                                Gary driving in more runs than he's allowed

Peters returned to finish the job in the bottom of the ninth and Howard flied out to left. Reichardt hit a home run all the way to Walden Pond to break up the shutout and Rodriguez singled to left. Epstein struck out swinging but Casanova doubled to left. Cullen flied out to right to end the game. The Sox had won it 10-1.

Hero of the Night is Gary Peters. He threw a complete game while allowing just one run. He also hit a 3 run home run at the plate.

                                                           Peters The Hero

The Good:

Carl Yastrzemski was 2 for 3 with a run scored.

Tony Conigliaro was 4 for 5 with a two run homer and 3 total runs scored.

George Scott was 2 for 5 with two home runs and 5 total rbis.

John Kennedy was 2 for 4 with a run scored.

The Bad:

Luis Alvarado was 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.

Mike Fiore was 0 for 2.

The Ugly:

Joe Lahoud was just 1 for 5 but scored a run.

Billy Conigliaro was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout and an error.

Bob Montgomery was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.

Final Thoughts:

Amazing how once the pressure was off, the Sox can't lose. This little hot streak proves to be meaningless when it comes to this season but hopefully it carries over into next season. There was no stopping the Baltimore Orioles this season and the Sox could never get good enough pitching to compete with them this season. As for this game, the Sox beat around one of the worst teams in the league and swept them out of their own stadium. Tony Conigliaro had a hell of a season and its nice to see Scott have a late season surge as well. The Sox have a great core with Reggie Smith, Yaz, Tony C, Petrocelli and Scott but every other spot is a black hole. The Sox need a stud catcher, second baseman and shortstop and another ace to compete with Baltimore next season. But that's next year, this year there's still two games left. The win improved the Sox to 86-74, 19 games behind the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East. The Sox now return home to play their final two games of the season against the second place New York Yankees. Ken Brett gets the start for the Sox against Steve Kline of the Yankees. The game begins tomorrow night at 7:30 PM at Fenway Park.

Culp Wins Final Start Against Senators (9/25/70)

If nothing else, Ray Culp (17-14, 3.04 ERA) had a good season all things considering. If he had gotten a little bit of run support, maybe he could have won 20 games this season. As it was, he won his 17th and final game of the season by beating the Washington Senators tonight in front of a paltry crowd of 5,354 people. Culp no-hit the Senators for 6 innings but ended up going the distance, allowing just 1 run on 4 hits and 2 walks. Rico Petrocelli and George Scott both drove in 2 runs apiece to pace the offense as Culp mowed down Washington to earn the victory. The Sox are hopelessly out of playoff contention but at least they can hang their hat on beating Washington 5-1 at RFK Stadium.

                                                            Melodye Prentiss approves of the win

Jim Shellenback got the start for Washimngton in the top of the first inning and Mike Andrews flied out to left to start. Reggie Smith grounded out to short but Carl Yastrzemski walked. Tony Conigliaro flied out to right to end the inning. Culp got Ed Stroud to begin the bottom of the first to ground out to third. Del Unser popped up a bunt to Culp and Frank Howard popped up to second to end the inning.

Rico Petrocelli popped up to first in foul territory to start the top of the second but George Scott singled to right. Billy Conigliaro singled to right but Bob Montgomery grounded out to short to end the inning. Mike Epstein flied out to center to start the bottom of the second before Aurelio Rodriguez flied out to left. Ed Brinkman grounded out to short to end the inning.

Culp grounded out to short to start the top of the third but Andrews singled to left. Smith banged into a double play to end the inning. Dick Billings grounded out to first to start the bottom of the third before Dave Nelson popped up to third. Shellenback flied out to right to end the inning.

Yaz grounded out to short to start the top of the fourth but Tony C popped up to second. Petrocelli dropped a pop up in shallow left for a double but Scott flied out to center to end the inning. Stroud grounded out to second to start the bottom of the fourth but Unser walked. Howard banged into a double play to end the inning.

Billy C grounded out to third to start the top of the fifth before Montgomery grounded back to the mound. Culp took strike three to end the inning. Epstein flied out to center to start the bottom of the fifth before Rodriguez popped up to short. Brinkman grounded out to short to end the inning, that's 5 no-hit innings for Culp.

The Sox struck first in the top of the sixth as Andrews doubled to left to begin. Smith took strike three but Yaz singled Andrews to third. Tony C walked to load the bases and Petrocelli singled home Andrews and Yaz to give the Sox the lead. Casey Cox came in to pitch and a passed ball moved both runners over. Scott lashed a base hit to center to score Tony C and Petrocelli to increase the lead. Billy C popped up to left and Scott foolishly tried to tag up and go to second, getting thrown out to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-0.

                                                       Petrocelli puts the Sox ahead

Billings popped up to left to begin the bottom of the sixth before Nelson grounded out to short. Bernie Allen pinch hit for Cox and flied out to center to end the inning. Culp was 9 outs from a no-hitter.

Jackie Brown came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Montgomery singled to right to start. Bob moved to second on a passed ball but was thrown out at third. Culp struck out and Andrews popped up to short to end the inning. The Senators struck back in the bottom of the seventh as Stroud broke up the no-no with a base hit to second.  Unser singled Ed to third and he scored on the grounder by Howard. Epstein walked but Rodriguez struck out. Brinkman singled to second to load the bases but Billings struck out to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-1.

                                                            Damn Stroud

Denny Riddleberger came in for the top of the eighth and the Sox added an insurance run. Smith popped up to short but Yaz doubled to right, taking third on an error. Tony C scored Yaz with a sac fly before Petrocelli walked. Scott lined out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-1.

                                                          Herculean sac fly by Tony C

Nelson lined out to second to start the bottom of the eighth as Tom Grieve pinch hit for Riddleberger just to hit one up the elevator shaft. Stroud singled to first but Unser grounded into a force to end the inning.

Cisco Carlos came in for the top of the ninth and Billy C lined out to third to start. Montgomery grounded out to short and Culp struck out to end the inning. Culp returned to finish the job in the bottom of the ninth and Howard grounded back to the mound to start. Epstein struck out and Rodriguez flied out to center to end the game. The Sox had won it 5-1.

Hero of the Night is Ray Culp. Culp no-hit the Senators for 6 innings but settled for a complete game 4 hitter. He allowed just 1 run to earn his 17th win of the season.

                                                  Culp the Hero

The Good:

Mike Andrews was 2 for 4 with a run scored.

Carl Yastrzemski was 2 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored.

Rico Petrocelli was 2 for 3 with a walk, 2 rbis and a run scored.

George Scott was 2 for 4 with 2 rbis.

The Bad:

Reggie Smith was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

The Ugly:

Tony Conigliaro was 0 for 2 but walked, drove in a run and scored a run.

Billy Conigliaro was just 1 for 4.

Bob Montgomery was just 1 for 4.

Final Thoughts:

As the season winds to a close, the Sox suddenly got hot to finish the season respectably. Where was this a month ago? Still, Culp winning 17 games makes up for the fact Jim Lonborg hasn't been the same in 3 years. If only the Sox had the same Lonborg from 1967, they'd be able to match the Baltimore Orioles rather than be a mile behind them. Culp no-hit the Senators through 6 then held on to win the game. Good on the offense to give him some run support for once. The win improved the Sox to 84-74, nowhere near the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox look to beat the Senators again when they send Sonny Siebert (14-8) to the mound up against Bill Gogolewski of the Senators. The game begins at 7:05 PM at RFK Stadium.

Siebert Outduels Hand, Sox Win Sixth Straight (9/21/70)

Oh sure, NOW the Boston Red Sox get hot? With the Baltimore Orioles already clinching the division, the Red Sox have ripped off six consecutive wins. Tonight the Sox defeated the Cleveland Indians on the back of Sonny Siebert (14-8, 3.44 ERA). Siebert dazzled the Indians for 7 1/3 innings while allowing just 1 run. The Sox offense got just two runs off home runs by Carl Yastrzemski and Rico Petrocelli against Indians starter Rich Hand but that happened to be enough to win. It was a good pitcher's duel and the Sox came out on the right end of it by taking the game 2-1 at Fenway Park.

                                                 Yvonne De Carlo approves of the win

Siebert got the ball in the top of the first inning and Ted Uhlaender struck out to start. Graig Nettles grounded out to second but Vada Pinson singled to center. Roy Foster flied out to center to end the inning. The Sox struck first against Hand in the bottom of the first inning although Mike Andrews hit one up the elevator shaft to start. Reggie Smith popped up to third in foul territory but Carl Yastrzemski crushed his 40th home run of the season to put the Sox on top. Tony Conigliaro struck out to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.

                                                       Yaz hits number 40 of the season

The Indians fought back in the top of the second as Duke Sims grounded out to second to start. Chuck Hinton walked but was forced at second by John Lowenstein. Lowenstein took off for second and Sox catcher Bob Montgomery threw the ball to the first base umpire for some inane reason, which allowed John to take third on the error. Eddie Leon singled home Lowenstein to tie the game and Hand hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.

                                                               Nice error Bob

The Sox jumped back in the lead in the bottom of the second when Petrocelli cracked his 28th home run of the season to start. George Scott lined out to center, Billy Conigliaro also lined out to center and Montgomery struck out to end the inning with Boston ahead 2-1.

                                                             Petrocelli jacks one

Siebert settled down in the top of the third as Uhlaender popped up to short to start. Nettles grounded out to second and Pinson lined back to Siebert to end the inning. Boston failed to rally in the bottom of the third as Siebert singled to left to start. Sonny moved to second on the Andrews grounder and Smith flied out to center. Yaz was intentionally walked but Tony C grounded into a force to end the inning.

Foster flied out to left to start the top of the fourth before Sims grounded out to first. Hinton walked but was thrown out at second trying to steal by Montgomery to end the inning. The Sox blew another rally in the bottom of the fourth as Petrocelli singled to third to start. Scott walked but Billy C struck out and Montgomery banged into a double play to end the inning.

Lowenstein doubled to center to start the top of the fifth before moving to third on the liner to right by Leon. Hand struck out and Uhlaender flied out to right to end the inning. Hand cruised in the bottom of the fifth as Siebert grounded out to second to start. Andrews grounded out to short and Smith popped up to second to end the inning.

Things got hairy in the top of the sixth although Nettles flied out to right to start. Pinson singled to third but Foster flied out to center. Pinson swiped second and Sims walked, but Hinton grounded into a force to end the inning. Yaz flied out to left to begin the bottom of the sixth before Tony C popped up to second. Petrocelli grounded out to short to end the inning.

Lowenstein flied out to left to begin the top of the seventh but Leon singled to left. Ted Ford pinch hit for Hand and struck out but Uhlaender singled Leon to third. Nettles grounded out to second to end the inning. Vince Colbert came on for the bottom of the seventh and Scott got a base hit to left to start. Billy C banged into a double play and Montgomery grounded out to third to end the inning.

Siebert returned briefly for the top of the eighth to get Pinson to fly out to center. Foster and Sims struck back to back base hits to chase Siebert. Sonny was game for 7 1/3 innings and allowing just 1 run. Bobby Bolin came in and got Hinton to hit one up the elevator shaft. Lowenstein popped up to short to end the inning.

                                                         Siebert goes 7 1/3 strong

Bolin stepped to the plate to start the bottom of the eighth and grounded out to short to start. Andrews walked but Smith flied out to center. Yaz grounded out to first to end the inning.

Bolin came back to close out the top of the ninth and Ken "The Hawk" Harrelson pinch hit for Leon to draw a walk. Steve Hargen pinch ran for Ken and Buddy Bradford pinch hit for Colbert. Bradford popped up to short but Hargan moved to second on the grounder by Uhlaender. Nettles struck out to end the game. The Sox had won their 6th straight game with a 2-1 victory.

Hero of the Night is Sonny Siebert. He dazzled the Indians by allowing just 1 run in 7 2/3 innings. He won his 14th game of the season. He was also 1 for 2 at the plate.

                                                          Hero Siebert

The Good:

Carl Yastrzemski was 1 for 3 with a walk including his 40th home run of the season.

Rico Petrocelli was 2 for 3 with a home run.

George Scott was 1 for 2 with a walk.

Bobby Bolin earned his second save with 1 2/3 scoreless innings.

The Bad:

Reggie Smith was 0 for 4.

Tony Conigliaro was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Billy Conigliaro was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Bob Montgomery was 0 for 3 with a strikeout and an error.

The Ugly:

Mike Andrews was 0 for 3 with a walk.

Final Thoughts:

The Sox may be out of it but finishing strong in September gives hope for the future. Sonny Siebert had the season the Sox hoped Jim Lonborg could have given them. If Lonborg had stayed healthy and had 10 more wins at this point, the Sox would at least be in contention with Baltimore. Still, Siebert had a heck of a season and he pitched a great game. The offense didn't do much against Hand but home runs by Yaz and Petrocelli are always exciting. Its a shame so many things went wrong this season because the offense was so much fun to watch. Hopefully the Sox can make a few moves to shore up the pitching next season to complete with the Orioles. The win improved the Sox to 81-73, 18.5 games behind the Orioles for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow the Sox to make it 7 in a row when they send Gary Peters (14-11) to the mound up against 20 game winner Sam McDowell of the Indians. The showdown begins at 7:05 PM at Fenway Park.

Indians Thrash Sox in Game 2 (9/7/70)

Well so much for the feel good win of Game 1. The Boston Red Sox defeated the Cleveland Indians in the first game of today's doubleheader but got creamed in Game 2. Dean Chance held the offense to just two runs in 7 innings of work. Cal Koonce (3-6, 3.55 ERA) got lit up for 6 runs in just 4 innings. Chuck Hartenstein and Dick Mills each got tagged for runs and the Indians cruised to an easy 8-2 victory at Cleveland Stadium.

                                          "Hey Koonce, yeah you...you stink!" - BB

The Sox did manage to strike first in the top of the first although Mike Andrews popped up to first to start. Joe Lahoud grounded out to first but Carl Yastrzemski clobbered his 37th home run of the year to put the Sox on top. Tony Conigliaro followed with his 29th homer of the year to increase the lead. Billy Conigliaro grounded out to short to end the inning. As sad as this sounds, the Sox would have just 2 hits the rest of the game but led 2-0.

                                                          Back to back jacks

Koonce made the Indians beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the first as Graig Nettles grounded out to second to start. Eddie Leon grounded out to short and Vada Pinson grounded back to the mound to end the inning.

John Kennedy grounded out to third to start the top of the second before Luis Alvarado flied out to center. Tom Satriano grounded out to second to end the inning. The Indians struck back in the bottom of the second although Ken Harrelson grounded out to short to start. Duke Sims walked and Ted Uhlaender singled him to third. Roy Foster walked to load the bases and Larry Brown cleared them with a triple to give the Indians the lead. Chance whiffed and Brown was picked off by the alert Satriano to end the inning but the Indians led 3-2.

                                                   Brown gives the Indians the lead

The Sox went quietly in the top of the third as Koonce flied out to right to start. Andrews singled to left but Lahoud banged into a double play to end the inning. Nettles grounded out to first to start the bottom of the third but Leon singled to center. Pinson struck out and Harrelson grounded into a force to end the inning.

Yaz grounded out to short to start the top of the fourth before Tony C flied out to right. Billy C struck out to end the inning. Sims walked to begin the bottom of the fourth but was forced at second by Uhlaender. Foster caught the Sox asleep with a bunt singled and Uhlaender moved to third on the fly ball Brown. Chance grounded into a force to end the inning.

Kennedy got a base hit to center to start the top of the fifth but Alvarado hit into a double play. Satriano popped up to short to end the inning. The Indians iced it in the bottom of the fifth when Nettles walked to start. Leon singled to right and Pinson smashed a 500,000 foot home run to chase Koonce. Chuck Hartenstein came in and Harrelson singled to right. Chuck Hinton pinch ran for Harrelson but Sims grounded into a double play. Uhlaender singled to right and scored on the double to left by Foster. Brown was intentionally walked and Chance struck out to end the inning with the Sox down 7-2.

Dick Schofield pinch hit for Hartenstein to start the top of the sixth but grounded out to second to start. Andrews took strike three and Lahoud grounded out to first to end the inning. Dick Mills got tagged in the bottom of the sixth as Nettles singled to right to start. Leon sacrificed Graig to second and he moved to third on the Pinson grounder. Hinton singled home Nettles to wrap up the scoring. Sims grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox down 8-2.

Chance cruised in the top of the seventh as Yaz flied out to center to start. Tony C grounded out to third and Billy C flied out to right to end the inning. Uhlaender singled to right to start the bottom of the seventh and Foster flied out to right. Brown walked and John Lowenstein pinch hit for Chance only to fly out to center. Nettles struck out to end the inning.

Vince Colbert came in for the top of the eighth and Kennedy grounded out to short to start. Alvarado struck out and Satriano flied out to center to end the inning. Leon doubled to center to start the bottom of the eighth but Pinson flied out to right. Hinton lined out to short but Sims walked. Uhlaender took strike three to end the inning.

Mike Fiore pinch hit for Mills to start the top of the ninth and grounded out to second to start. Andrews popped up to first but Lahoud walked. Yaz walked but Tony C lined out to second to end the game. The Indians had won it 8-2.

Jackass of the Night is Cal Koonce. The Sox offense did nothing after the first inning but Koonce giving up 6 runs didn't help.

                                                       Koonce you Jackass



The Good:

Carl Yastrzemski was 1 for 3 with a walk and a home run.

John Kennedy was 1 for 3.



The Bad:

Billy Conigliaro was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Luis Alvarado was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Tom Satriano was 0 for 3.

Dick Schofield was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.

Mike Fiore was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.

Chuck Hartenstein allowed a run in an inning of work.



The Ugly:

Mike Andrews was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.

Joe Lahoud was 0 for 3 but walked.

Tony Conigliaro was just 1 for 4 but the one hit was a home run.

Dick Mills allowed a run in 3 innings of work.




Final Thoughts:

Good thing there are only 22 games left in this season. Watching the Sox throw guys like Koonce out to pitch while the Baltimore Orioles have four starters that could be an ace anywhere else is frustrating. The offense isn't really exciting apart from Yaz, Tony C and Reggie Smith either. The magic of 1967 is long gone and they have a long way to go to get back to the top. Koonce sucked today and using their bench in the second game because of the doubleheader wasn't going to yield much results. Still, the bright side is the season is almost over. Hopefully the Sox can make some moves in the off-season to shore up this mess and draft well. Say what you will about Dick Williams but he got the most out of the homegrown players on the 67 Sox. Hopefully Eddie Kasko can improve on this mediocre year with the right personnel. The loss dropped the Sox to 72-68, 17 games behind the Orioles for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night Ken Brett (6-7) goes for the Sox up against Steve Hargan of the Indians at 8:05 PM at Cleveland Stadium.

Sox Defeat Indians in Game 1 (9/7/70)

Today's doubleheader with the Cleveland Indians started well for the Boston Red Sox. Gary Peters (14-10, 4.15 ERA) won his fourteenth game of the season while Sparky Lyle earned his 20th save of the year. The Sox tag team of George's, Scott and Thomas, supplied the offense with three rbi's between them. The Sox haven't had much go right for them this season but as the season winds to a close, every win should be celebrated like today's 4-3 victory in Game 1 at Cleveland Stadium.

                                                  Roger Daltrey approves of the win

Sam McDowell got the start for Cleveland and Mike Andrews greeted him with a base hit to left. George Thomas drew a walk but Carl Yastrzemski banged into a double play. Tony Conigliaro struck out to end the inning. Peters took the mound in the bottom of the first and Graig Nettles popped up to first in foul territory to start. Eddie Leon also popped up to first and Vada Pinson struck out to end the inning.

Rico Petrocelli walked to start the top of the second but George Scott took strike three. Petrocelli moved to second on the grounder by Billy Conigliaro and Bob Montgomery grounded out to third to end the inning. Old pal Ken "The Hawk" Harrelson singled to left to start the bottom of the second before Roy Foster struck out. A wild pitch moved Harrelson to second but Buddy Bradford flied out to right. Duke Sims walked but Jack Heidemann took strike three to end the inning.

Peters whiffed to start the top of the third before Andrews grounded out to second. Thomas flied out to right to end the inning. McDowell bunted foul for strike three to start the bottom of the third before Nettles grounded out to short. Leon also grounded out to short to end the inning,.

Yaz walked to start the top of the fourth but was erased on the Tony C force. Petrocelli was plunked but Scott banged into a double play to end the inning. Pinson singled to right to start the bottom of the fourth but Harrelson popped up to right. Pinson was forced at second by Foster and Bradford flied out to center to end the inning.

The Sox struck first in the top of the fifth although Billy C grounded out to third to start. Montgomery and Peters drew back to back walks before both moved over on the grounder by Andrews. Thomas got a base hit to left and Montgomery scored easily but Peters had to beat the tag home for the second run. Thomas advanced to second on the throw but Yaz struck out to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.

                                               Thomas drives in a pair

Peters did his part in the bottom of the fifth as Sims struck out to start. Heidemann was plunked and moved to second on the McDowell grounder, but Nettles flied out to right to end the inning.

The Sox struck again in the top of the sixth as Tony C walked to start. Luis Alvarado pinch hit for Petrocelli and sacrificed Tony to second with a bunt. Scott lashed a base hit to center to score Conigliaro with another run. A passed ball moved Scott to second but he was thrown out trying to steal third. Billy C grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-0.

                                                    Scott drives in a run

The Indians struck back in the bottom of the sixth although Leon struck out to start. Pinson grounded out to second but Harrelson walked. Foster was hit with a pitch and Harrelson scored on the double by Bradford but Sims flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox still ahead 3-1.

                                                The Hawk scores a run

The Sox tried to rally when Montgomery singled to center to start the top of the seventh before moving to second on the sacrifice bunt by Peters. He was stranded as Andrews struck out and Thomas flied out to right to end the inning. John Kennedy took over for Andrews in the bottom of the seventh and Larry Brown pinch hit to Heidemann. Brown popped up to left in foul territory and Ted Ford pinch hit for McDowell only to strike out. Nettles grounded out to second to end the inning.

The Sox struck again in the top of the eighth with Jim Rittwage now on the mound. Yaz singled to center and took second on a passed ball before Tony C walked. Yaz moved to third on the fly out by Alvarado and Kennedy hit a pop up to Bradford...DROPPED! Conigilaro was forced at second but Yaz scored on the error to increase the lead. Billy C and Montgomery both walked to load the bases as Steve Mingori came in to pitch. Sox manager Eddie Kasko let Peters hit away and he struck out to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-1.

                                                      Yaz scored a run

The decision to let Peters hit came back to haunt Kasko as Leon singled to left to start the bottom of the eighth. Pinson then hit a home run all the way to Lake Michigan to cut the lead and chase Peters after 7 plus innings of 3 run ball. Gary Wagner came in and got Harrelson to fly out to left before Foster popped up to third. Bradford struck out to end the inning with the Sox still ahead 4-3.

                                                 7 good innings, 1 bad eighth

Vince Colbert came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Andrews flied out to right to start. Thomas singled to center but was picked off. Yaz flied out to center to end the inning. Wagner returned for the bottom of the ninth and Sims singled to right to start. Lou Camilli ran for Duke and Brown sacrificed Lou to second with a bunt. Ted Uhlaender was sent in to pinch hit for Colbert until Sox manager Eddie Kasko countered by bringing in Sparky Lyle. Uhlaender was called back and Chuck Hinton was put in to pinch hit. Hinton grounded out to third and Vern Fuller pinch hit for Nettles. Fuller grounded out to short to end the game. The Sox held on to win Game 1 by a score of 4-3.

Hero of the Night is George Thomas. He drove in 3 big runs to guide the Sox to victory.

                                                 Thomas the Hero


The Good:

Rico Petrocelli walked and was hit with a pitch before he left the game.

Tony Conigliaro walked twice and scored a run in 4 plate appearances.

George Scott was 1 for 3 with an rbi.

Bob Montgomery was 1 for 2 with 2 walks and a run scored.

Gary Peters tossed 7 innings of 2 run ball to earn the victory. He was 0 for 2 at the plate but walked and scored a run.

Gary Wagner tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

Sparky Lyle earned his 20th save by getting the final two outs of the ninth inning.



The Bad:

Luis Alvarado was 0 for 1.

John Kennedy was 0 for 1.



The Ugly:

Mike Andrews was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout.

Carl Yastrzemski was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored a run.

Billy Conigliaro was 0 for 3 but walked.




Final Thoughts:

As this ho-hum season draws to a close you have to look at any and all positives.....which aren't much. The Sox seem to be getting worse every year and can't come anywhere close to the Baltimore Orioles. The key to the game is pitching and the Sox just don't have enough to match Baltimore. They either need to make a trade or scout someone worth a damn if they hope to ever contend again. As for this game, good win by Peters and good on Lyle to get the final two outs. Everything else....yawn. The win improved the Sox to 72-67, nowhere near the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East. The Sox are back in action shortly against these same Indians in Game 2. Cal Koonce (3-5) goes for the Sox against Dean Chance at 5:05 PM Eastern Time at Cleveland Stadium