The Sox threatened in the top of the first inning as Luis Aparicio walked to start. Reggie Smith moved Luis to second on a grounder but Carl Yastrzemski struck out. Rico Petrocelli walked but George Scott struck out to end the inning. Siebert cruised in the bottom of the first as Larry Brown lined out to left to start. Graig Nettles and Vada Pinson both grounded out to first to end the inning.
Duane Josephson walked to open the top of the second but Billy Conigliaro and Doug Griffin both struck out. Siebert grounded out to second to end the inning. Ray Fosse popped up to second to start the bottom of the second but old friend Ken "Hawk" Harrelson took strike three. Roy Foster flied out to center to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the third as Aparicio cracked his first home run of the season to put Boston on top. Smith struck out and Yaz flied out to left, but Petrocelli walked. Scott struck out again to end the inning with Boston ahead 1-0.
Siebert cruised in the bottom of the third as Eddie Leon flied out to right to start. Buddy Bradford grounded out to short and McDowell struck out to end the inning.
Nothing happened in the top of the fourth as Josephson grounded out to third to start. Billy C and Griffin both struck out to end the inning. Brown singled to left to start the bottom of the fourth but was forced at second by Nettles. Pinson flied out to left and Fosse popped up to right to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the fifth as Siebert himself pulverized his first home run of the season to increase the lead. Aparicio flied out to left, Smith flied out to center and Yaz popped up to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Siebert kept up the pace in the bottom of the fifth as Harrelson grounded out to short to start. Foster struck out and Leon grounded out to second to end the inning.
Ted Ford took over for Foster to start the top of the sixth and Petrocelli lined one off McDowell but was thrown out at first. Scott flied out to center and Josephson grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Siebert got in trouble in the bottom of the sixth although Bradford struck out to start. McDowell took strike three but Brown singled to right and Nettles walked. Pinson popped up to short to end the inning.
The Sox threatened in the top of the seventh although Billy C took strike three to start. Griffin flied out to left but Siebert was plunked. Aparicio walked but Smith flied out to left to end the inning. Fosse took strike three to start the bottom of the seventh before Harrelson grounded out to first. Ford popped up to first to end the inning.
Vince Colbert took over on the mound with John Lowenstein now in left to start the top of the eighth. Yaz struck out, Petrocelli popped up to second and Scott grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Siebert ran out of gas in the bottom of the eighth as Gomer Hodge pinch hit for Leon and doubled to left. Ted Uhlaender pinch hit for Bradford and singled Hodge to third. Lowenstein himself singled home Hodge to chase Sonny. Sparky Lyle came in and got Brown to bang into a double play and Nettles to fly out to left to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-1.
The Sox failed to get some insurance in the top of the ninth as Josephson grounded out to first to start. Billy C flied out to right but Griffin singled to right. Mike Fiore pinch hit for Lyle and flied out to left to end the inning. New Sox closer Ken Tatum came in for the bottom of the ninth and Pinson greeted him with a base hit to left. Fosse was plunked and both runners were moved over on the bunt by Harrelson. Lou Camilli pinch hit for Colbert and hit a grounder to Scott who fired home to get Pinson. Hodge then blasted a long single to score both runners to win the game. A crushing loss for the Sox as the Indians walked it off 3-2.
The Good:
Luis Aparicio was 1 for 2 with 2 walks, an rbi and a run scored.
Rico Petrocelli walked twice in four plate appearances.
Sonny Siebert tossed 7 plus innings of 1 run ball while allowing just 5 hits. He also homered and was hit by a pitch.
Sparky Lyle pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Reggie Smith was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Carl Yastrzemski was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
George Scott was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Billy Conigliaro was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Mike Fiore was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
The Ugly:
Duane Josephson was 0 for 3 but walked.
Doug Griffin was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Final Thoughts:
Well that game was a sucker punch to the gonads. Siebert and the Sox had the Indians dead to rights but Tatum didn't get it done. Its a good thing this game wasn't at Fenway because fans still angry at Tony Conigliaro being traded certainly aren't going to accept the guy he was trading for, blowing saves. It wasn't all Tatum's fault, the Sox 2-4 hitters went a combined 0-12 with 5 strikeouts. Siebert tried to win the game by himself and damn near did it. Still if Siebert and Ray Culp can keep this up for a full season, that's good news if they hope to contend with the World Series champion Baltimore Orioles. After an off-day tomorrow the Sox travel to meet the Cleveland Indians for a set. Cal Koonce makes his season debut for the Red Sox up against Steve Hargan of the Indians. The game begins at 4 PM Eastern time at Cleveland Stadium.
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