Yesterday Sonny Siebert and Sam McDowell had a wonderful pitcher's duel that ended with the Cleveland Indians walking off the Boston Red Sox. Today it was a slugfest but the result was the same, the Indians won. Sox starter Cal Koonce was knocked out in the second inning after allowing 5 runs while Indians starter Steve Hargan also got blasted for 5 runs in just 2 innings. Ken Brett (0-1, 16.20 ERA) allowed 6 runs of his own and although the Sox did put up 10 total runs, it wasn't enough as the Indians outslugged them 11-10 at Cleveland Stadium.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the first against Hargan as Luis Aparicio grounded out to third to start. Reggie Smith lined out to first and Carl Yastrzemski flied out to center to end the inning. The Indians wasted no time smacking Koonce in the bottom of the first as Larry Brown walked to start. Graig Nettles banged into a double play but Vada Pinson singled. Ray Fosse then smashed a home run all the way to Argentina to put the Indians on top. Ken "Hawk" Harrelson grounded out to second to end the inning but the Indians led 2-0.
The Sox answered in the top of the second with a big rally. Rico Petrocelli walked before George Scott singled him to third. Duane Josephson singled home Rico to put the Sox on the board. Billy Conigliaro hit a ball to the centerfield wall that advanced the runners into scoring position although Doug Griffin flied out to right. Somehow Koonce walked to load the bases and Aparicio cleared them with a grand slam to put the Sox on top. Smith flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-2.
The Indians counterpunched in the bottom of the second as John Lowenstein walked to start. Eddie Leon singled to right but Buddy Bradford struck out. Indians manager Al Dark rolled the dice by having Ted Uhlaender pinch hit for Hargan, thus trusting the next 7 innings to his bullpen. The gamble worked as Uhlaender doubled home Lowenstein to cut the lead. Sox manager Eddie Kasko felt Koonce had nothing and brought in Ken Brett to save the day. Brown grounded out to third but Leon scored and Uhlaender moved to third. A wild pitch by Brett scored Uhlaender to tie the game before Nettles flied out to right to end the inning. Both starters were gone and the game was tied 5-5.
Camilo Pascual came in to pitch the top of the third and Yaz grounded back to the mound to start. Petrocelli and Scott both walked but Josephson banged into a double play to end the inning. Brett settled down in the bottom of the third as Pinson flied out to left to start. Fosse took strike three and Harrelson grounded out to third to end the inning.
Billy C took strike three to start the top of the fourth but Griffin walked. Griffin stole second but Brett took strike three. Aparicio was also caught looking to end the inning. The Indians took command in the bottom of the fourth as Lowenstein, Leon and Bradford all walked to load the bases with nobody out. Brett did get Pascual looking but Brown doubled home Lowenstein and Leon to put Cleveland on top. Nettles hit a ground ball to second but Griffin didn't bother to throw anywhere which allowed Bradford to score. Pinson popped up to short and Fosse grounded into a force to end the inning but the Indians were up 8-5.
The Sox failed to rally in the top of the fifth although Smith singled to left to start. Yaz flied out to center and Smith was forced at second by Petrocelli. Scott doubled Rico to third but Josephson flied out to left to end the inning. The Indians iced the game in the bottom of the fifth as Harrelson singled to right to start. Lowenstein sacrifice bunted Hawk to second and Ken scored on the base hit by Leon. Bradford walked and Pascual dropped down a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners. Naturally Brown singled home both runners to chase Brett. The Sox pulled off a double switch by bringing in Don Pavletich to catch and Bill Lee in to pitch. Lee walked both Nettles and Pinson but Fosse grounded out to short to end the inning with the Indians ahead 11-5.
The Sox refused to go quietly in the top of the sixth although Billy C struck out to start. Griffin struck out swinging but Pavletich singled to left. Aparicio and Smith walked to load the bases and chase Pascual from the game. Rick Austin came in to pitch to Yaz and Carl smashed a base hit to left to score Pavletich and Aparicio. Vince Colbert came in to pitch to Petrocelli and Rico singled home Smith to bring the tying run to the plate. Scott took strike three to end the inning but the Sox were down 11-8.
Harrelson singled to left to start the bottom of the sixth and moved to second on a passed ball. Lowenstein flied out to center but Pavletich muffed a strike three ball to Leon to allow him to reach first. Bradford banged into a double play to end the inning.
The Sox inched closer in the top of the seventh as Joe Lahoud pinch hit for Lee only to fly out to center. Billy C doubled to left and moved to third on the Griffin grounder before Pavletich walked. Aparicio doubled home Billy C and Pavletich before taking third on the throw home. With the tying run 90 feet away....Smith grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox down 11-10.
Bobby Bolin came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and struck out Colbert to start. Brown struck out but Nettles drew a walk. Pinson struck out to end the inning.
The Sox threatened in the top of the eighth when Yaz doubled to left to start. Petrocelli moved Yaz to third with a grounder before Chuck Machemehl came in to pitch. Scott grounded back to the mound before Mike Fiore pinch hit for Bolin. Fiore walked to put runners at the corners but Billy C grounded into a force to end the inning. Ken Tatum came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Fosse grounded out to second to start. Harrelson grounded out to third but Lowenstein walked. Leon lined out to first to end the inning...where the hell was that yesterday?
The Sox went quietly in the top of the ninth as Griffin popped up to second to start. Pavletich struck out and Aparicio popped up to short to end the game. The Indians had won the slugfest 11-10.
Jackass of the Night is Ken Brett. He was completely ineffective by allowing 6 runs after Koonce was pulled. Even a halfway decent outing and the Sox would have won the game.
The Good:
Luis Aparicio was 2 for 5 with a walk including a grand slam and 6 total rbis.
Carl Yastrzemski was 2 for 5 with 2 rbis.
Rico Petrocelli was 1 for 3 with 2 walks, an rbi and a run scored.
George Scott was 2 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.
Duane Josephson was 1 for 3 with an rbi and a run scored.
Mike Fiore walked as a pinch hitter.
Don Pavletich was 1 for 2 with a walk and 2 runs scored.
Bill Lee tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Bobby Bolin tossed a scoreless inning.
Ken Tatum pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Joe Lahoud was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
Cal Koonce got hammered for 5 runs in just 1 1/3 innings. He did walk at the plate.
The Ugly:
Reggie Smith was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored a run.
Billy Conigliaro was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.
Doug Griffin was 0 for 4 but walked.
Final Thoughts:
A day after the Sox couldn't buy a run, they score 10 and still lose. Go figure! Still, Aparicio is looking like a good signing so far but when Cal Koonce is your third starter, that's not a good thing. Ken Brett stunk the joint out in relief and the Sox had chances to tie the game in the late innings but couldn't. At least this game was entertaining even if the Sox came out on the losing end. The Sox are gonna miss Tony Conigliaro this season if Doug Griffin is nothing but a slap hitter but still, the season is only three games in. The Sox look to bounce back tomorrow against the Indians when Gary Peters makes his season debut opposite Alan Foster of Cleveland. The game begins at 2 PM Eastern time at Cleveland Stadium.
No comments:
Post a Comment