Mike Nagy got the start for the Sox in the top of the first inning and Ted Uhlaender struck out looking to start. Vada Pinson flied out to left but Ray Fosse singled to center. Graig Nettles popped up to first to end the inning. Alan Foster got the start for the Indians and Luis Aparicio started the bottom of the first with a fly out to left. Reggie Smith flied out to right and Carl Yastrzemski popped up a bunt back to Foster to end the inning.
Old pal Ken "Hawk" Harrelson grounded back to the mound to start the top of the second before John Lowenstein flied out to right. Larry Brown popped up to second to end the inning. The Sox threatened in the bottom of the second as Rico Petrocelli walked to start. George Scott struck out but Duane Josephson walked. Billy Conigliaro struck out but Doug Griffin walked. Nagy popped up to second to end the inning.
Buddy Bradford flied out to center to start the top of the third before Foster struck out looking. Uhlaender grounded out to first to end the inning. Aparicio grounded out to third to begin the bottom of the third but Smith singled to right. Smith was forced at second by Yaz and Petrocelli popped up to first in foul territory to end the inning.
The Indians struck first in the top of the fourth as Pinson singled to center to start. Pinson stole second but Fosse grounded out to short. Nettles walked and Harrelson clobbered a home run into the Charles River to give the Indians the lead. Lowenstein flied out to center and Brown grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Indians ahead 3-0.
The Sox failed to answer in the bottom of the fourth as Scott grounded out to short to start. Josephson grounded out to third and Billy C flied out to center to end the inning.
The Indians ran themselves out of the top of the fifth as Bradford flied out to right to start. Foster grounded out to third but Uhlaender singled to right. Uhlaender was thrown out trying to steal by the alert Josephson to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the fifth as Griffin struck out to start. Nagy hit one up the elevator shaft and Aparicio flied out to center to end the inning.
Nagy got Pinson to ground out to first to start the top of the sixth but Petrocelli threw away a grounder by Fosse for an error. Nettles walked but Harrelson banged into a double play to end the inning. The Sox fought back in the bottom of the sixth as Smith walked to start. Yaz singled Smith to third and Petrocelli singled Reggie home...but was thrown out trying to stretch a double. Scott singled home Yaz to cut the lead and that was it for Foster. Chuck Machemehl came in and struck out Josephson before Billy C flied out to right to end the inning. The Sox had cut the lead 3-2 despite the Petrocelli blunder.
Lowenstein grounded out to second to start the top of the seventh before Brown flied out to center. Bradford grounded out to short to end the inning. Griffin flied out to right to begin the bottom of the seventh and Joe Lahoud pinch hit for Nagy. Lahoud flied out to center and Aparicio popped up to first to end the inning. Nagy was officially out of the game but had held the Indians to 3 runs in 7 innings.
Sparky Lyle came in for the top of the eighth and the pitcher Machemehl singled to center to start. Chuck Hinton pinch hit for Uhlaender and flied out to center before Pinson flied out to left. Fosse singled to left but Nettles flied out to left to end the inning. The Sox rallied in the bottom of the eighth with Ted Ford now in left. Smith walked to start the frame and Phil Gagliano ran for him. Yaz struck out but Petrocelli reached on an error by Nettles. Scott singled home Gagliano and Petrocelli advanced to third, but Josephson struck out. Billy C grounded out to first to end the inning with the game tied 3-3.
George Thomas took over in right for the top of the ninth and Harrelson singled to center to start. Roy Foster ran for Hawk and Lowenstein sacrificed him to second with a bunt. Sox manager Eddie Kasko brought Bobby Bolin in to pitch to Brown and Larry grounded out to third. Bradford struck out to end the inning. Griffin grounded out to third to start the bottom of the ninth and Mike Fiore pinch hit for Bolin. Fiore walked...but was thrown out at second trying to steal. Aparicio grounded out to short to end the inning.
Ken Brett came in for the top of the tenth with Gomer Hodge pinch hitting for Machemehl to start. Hodge singled to left and Vince Colbert pinch ran for him. Ford sacrificed Colbert to second and Pinson walked, but Fosse flied out to center. Nettles grounded out to second to end the inning. The Sox had a chance to end it in the bottom of the tenth although Thomas grounded back to the mound to start. Yaz grounded back to the mound but Petrocelli and Scott drew back to back walks. With the winning run at second....Josephson grounded out to third to end the inning.
Foster popped up to second to start the top of the eleventh but Lowenstein doubled to left. Brown popped up to first and Bradford was intentionally walked. Eddie Leon pinch hit for Colbert and flied out to left to end the inning. The Sox had a chance to end it again in the bottom of the eleventh against Steve Mingori but Billy C watched strike three go by to start. Griffin flied out to left and Don Pavletich pinch hit for Brett. Pavletich and Aparicio drew back to back walks and with the winning run at second....Thomas popped up to first to end the inning.
Bill Lee came in to pitch the top of the 12th and Ford grounded out to third to start. Pinson grounded out to second and Fosse struck out to end the inning. Yaz popped up to second to start the bottom of the 12th before Petrocelli grounded out to short. Scott also grounded out to short to end the inning.
The Indians took command in the top of the 13th as Nettles walked to start. Foster hit a home run all the way to Alaska to give Cleveland the lead. Lowenstein struck out looking and Brown whiffed. Bradford swung at air to end the inning but the Indians now led 5-3.
The Sox didn't go quietly in the bottom of the 13th as Josephson singled to to center to start. Billy C singled to left and Griffin walked to load the bases with nobody out. Sox manager Eddie Kasko sent the pitcher Gary Peters to pinch hit for Lee and he took strike three. Aparicio beat out a double play ball to score Josephson and put runners at the corners. With the tying run at third....Thomas flied out to center to end the game. The Indians had held on to win 5-4 in 13 innings.
Jackass of the Night is a tough one but I'll go with George Thomas. He was 0 for 3 and failed twice with a chance to win or tie the game.
The Good:
Reggie Smith was 1 for 2 with 2 walks and a run scored.
Rico Petrocelli was just 1 for 4 but walked twice and drove in a run.
Reggie Smith was 1 for 2 with 2 walks and a run scored.
Phil Gagliano scored a run as a pinch runner.
George Scott was 2 for 5 with a walk and 2 rbis.
Don Pavletich walked as a pinch hitter.
Mike Nagy tossed 7 solid innings of 3 run ball. His only mistake was the home run by Harrelson.
Sparky Lyle tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Bobby Bolin retired the only two men he faced.
Ken Brett tossed 2 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Joe Lahoud was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
Gary Peters struck out as a pinch hitter.
Bill Lee took the loss by allowing a 2 run homer in the top of the 13th.
The Ugly:
Luis Aparicio was 0 for 6 but walked and drove in a run.
Carl Yastrzemski was just 1 for 6 but scored a run.
Rico Petrocelli was just 1 for 4 but walked twice and drove in a run.
Duane Josephson was just 1 for 5 but walked and scored a run.
Billy Conigliaro was just 1 for 6.
Doug Griffin was 0 for 4 but walked twice.
Mike Fiore walked as a pinch hitter but was thrown out trying to steal.
Final Thoughts:
Sox manager Eddie Kasko needs his head examined. Why in the world would you pinch run George Thomas for Reggie Smith? Thomas ended up going 0 for 3 after Smith was out of the game, you don't think Reggie could have made a difference? Also with the bases loaded in the 13th why would you pinch hit Lee with another pitcher? There was nobody out, you could have had Lee bunt and catch everyone asleep. The Sox had plenty of chances to win this one but just couldn't get out of their own way. Mike Fiore getting thrown out trying to steal, Petrocelli getting thrown out trying to stretch a double...it all added up to a 13 inning defeat. Kasko was supposedly better to the players than Dick Williams was but I'd rather have Dick right now, at least he made moves that made sense even if he was a jerk to the players. Mike Nagy gave it his all and you can't even blame Lee for giving up the bomb if the game was over long before that. Once again, the Indians have won 5 games this year and beat the Sox for 4 of them. The Sox look to avoid another ignominious defeat to the Indians tomorrow afternoon when they send Gary Peters (1-1) against Camilo Pasqual at 1 PM at Fenway Park.
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