Nagy got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jay Johnstone lined out to right to start. Mike Andrews lined out to right as well and Carlos May grounded out to second to end the inning. Johnson got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and John Kennedy popped up to first to start. Reggie Smith singled to right and took second on a wild pitch, but Carl Yastrzemski popped up to short. Rico Petrocelli struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Indians struck first in the top of the second inning as Bob Melton singled to left to start. Lee Maye walked but Rick Reichardt banged into a double play. Ed Herrmann singled to right to score Melton and Luis Alvarado singled to right. Smith booted the ball in right field which allowed Herrmann to score from first with another run. Johnson grounded out to third to end the inning but it was 2-0 White Sox.
George Scott popped up to second to start the bottom of the second but Duane Josephson singled to center. Josephson moved to second on the Billy Conigliaro ground out but Doug Griffin grounded out to third to end the inning.
Nagy cruised in the top of the third as Johnstone grounded out to first to start. Andrews struck out swinging and May grounded out to second to end the inning. Nagy took strike three to start the bottom of the third and Kennedy caught the White Sox asleep with a bunt single. Smith banged into a double play to end the inning.
Melton grounded out to short to start the top of the fourth but Maye flied out to right. Reichardt singled to center but Herrmann grounded out to second to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the fourth as Yaz caught the Sox asleep with a bunt single and Petrocelli smashed his second home run of the season to tie the game. Scott popped up to second but Josephson singled to left. Billy C doubled to left but Griffin was intentionally walked to load the bases. Nagy grounded out to short to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.
Alvarado flied out to left to start the top of the fifth before Johnson flied out to center. Johnstone caught Petrocelli asleep with a bunt single but was forced at second by Andrews to end the inning. Ed Stroud took over for Johnstone in center to start the top of the fifth. Kennedy grounded out to third, Smith grounded out to first and Yaz flied out to right to end the inning.
May singled to left to start the top of the sixth but was thrown out at second by Yaz trying to stretch a double. Melton flied out to right and Maye popped up to third to end the inning. Tom Egan took over for May at first in the bottom of the seventh and Petrocelli walked to start. Scott took strike three and Josephson whiffed. Billy C grounded out to short to end the inning.
Nagy got out of a big jam in the top of the seventh as Reichardt singled to third and Herrmann singled to center to start. Lee Richard pinch ran for Herrmann and Alvarado moved both runners over with a sacrifice bunt. Rich McKinney pinch hit for Johnson and popped up to right. Stroud walked to load the bases but Andrews popped up to third to end the inning. Old friend Vincente Romo came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh with Chuck Brinkman now behind the plate. Griffin walked to start but Nagy somehow bunted into a double play. Kennedy and Smith drew back to back walks but Yaz lined out to center to end the inning.
Egan flied out to left to begin the top of the eighth before Melton popped up to short. Maye singled to left but Reichardt grounded into a force to end the inning. The Sox took the lead in the bottom of the eighth although Petrocelli struck out to start. Scott then belted his second home run of the season to give the Sox the lead. Josephson grounded out to third but Billy C crushed his third home run of the season for the insurance run. Griffin tripled to center but Nagy grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-2.
Nagy returned to finish the job in the top of the ninth and Rich Morales pinch hit for Brinkman. Morales singled to center and that was it for Nagy. 8 innings of 2 run ball is nothing to sneeze at. Ken Tatum came in and Alvarado singled to left. Walt Williams pinch hit for Romo and banged into a double play. Stroud flied out to center to end the game. The BoSox had won it 4-2.
Hero of the Night is Mike Nagy. He tossed 8 innings of 2 run ball to earn the victory, damn near going the distance.
Nagy is the Hero
The Good:
John Kennedy was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Rico Petrocelli was 1 for 3 with a walk and a 2 run homer.
Duane Josephson was 2 for 4.
Billy Conigliaro was 2 for 4 with a home run.
Doug Griffin was 1 for 2 with 2 walks.
Ken Tatum earned his 3rd save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
None
The Ugly:
Reggie Smith was 1 for 3 with a walk but his error led to the only 2 runs scoring.
Carl Yastrzmeski was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
George Scott was just 1 for 4 but the one hit was the go-ahead home run.
Final Thoughts:
It wasn't the Baltimore Orioles or Oakland Athletics but Mike Nagy pitched a great game today. Like has been mentioned all year, if the Sox are going to compete against the elite teams in the American League they're going to need SOMEBODY to step up and be an ace. Nagy had a good rookie season last season and if he takes a big step this season, they may very well challenge Baltimore for AL supremacy. This game was more timely hitting than an onslaught and sometimes that's all you need to win. Scott, Billy C and Petrocelli bashed the ball out of the yard but guys like Kennedy and Griffin got on base as well. You need a complete team effort and this was one of those games. The Sox have won third straight and look to sweep the Chicago White Sox out of Fenway tomorrow afternoon. Gary Peters goes for the Red Sox against old friend Wilbur Wood of Belmont, Mass. The game begins at 1 PM at Fenway Park.
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