For 6 innings it looked like the Boston Red Sox were going to sweep the Washington Senators out of Washington. Mike Nagy had tossed 6 shutout innings and the Sox enjoyed a 5-0 lead....but the wheels fell off. The Senators exploded for 6 runs in the bottom of the seventh, 4 off Nagy and 2 off his replacement Bobby Bolin (0-1, 27.00). The Sox offense were shellshocked the remaining 2 innings and the Senators avoided a sweep with a 6-5 win at RFK Stadium.
Jim Shellenbeck got the start for Washington in the top of the first and Luis Aparicio grounded out to second to start. Reggie Smith struck out but Carl Yastrzemski tripled to center. Rico Petrocelli walked but George Scott flied out to right to end the inning. Mike Nagy made his season debut in the bottom of the first and Del Unser popped up to left in foul territory to start. Tim Cullen flied out to right and Mike Epstein flied out to center to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the second as Duane Josephson grounded out to short to start. Billy Conigliaro walked and Doug Griffin dropped down a bunt to advance him to second. Nagy helped his own cause with an rbi double to center. Aparicio singled home Nagy to increase the lead but Smith grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.
Joe Foy flied out to right to start the bottom of the second but Frank Howard walked. Richie Scheinblum lined out to second but Howard swiped second base. Jim French walked but Toby Harrah popped up to second to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the third as Yaz singled off the pitcher to start. Petrocelli singled to second and Scott singled home Yaz. Josephson singled home Petrocelli to increase the lead but Billy C forced Scott at third. Griffin beat out a double play ball but Nagy struck out to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-0.
Curt Flood pinch hit for Shellenbeck in the bottom of the third and grounded out to second to begin. Unser walked and Cullen banged into a double play to end the inning.
Joe Grzenda came in to pitch the top of the fourth and made the Sox beat the ball in the dirt. Aparicio grounded out to short, Smith grounded out to third and Yaz grounded out to short to end the inning. Epstein singled to center to begin the bottom of the fourth but Foy banged into a double play. Howard grounded out to short to end the inning.
The Sox ran themselves out of the top of the fifth inning but Petrocelli doubled to left to start. Petrocelli made a mad dash to third on a base hit by Scott and George took second on the throw over. Josephson grounded out to third and Billy C was intentionally walked to load the bases. Griffin hit a sac fly to score Petrocelli but Billy C was foolishly thrown out at second base to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-0.
Scheinblum walked to start the bottom of the fifth but French took strike three. Smith made a great diving catch off a Harrah liner and doubled off Scheinblum at first to end the inning.
Nagy grounded out to second to start the top of the sixth before Aparicio grounded out to third. Smith flied out to center to end the inning. Bernie Allen pinch hit for Grzenda to start the bottom of the sixth and flied out to center. Unser singled to right but Cullen banged into a double play to end the inning.
Darold Knowles came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Yaz struck out to start. Petrocelli took strike three and Scott grounded out to third to end the inning. The wheels fell off in the bottom of the seventh as Epstein walked to start. Foy singled to left and Howard singled Epstein home. Scheinblum singled home Foy and that was it for Nagy. He ran out of gas big time and Bobby Bolin came in to pour gas on the fire. French dropped down a bunt and Bolin threw it completely out of RFK Stadium to load the bases. Tommy McCraw pinch hit for Harrah and walked home Howard. Elliott Maddox pinch hit for Knowles and walked home the tying run to chase Bolin. Bill Lee came in and Dick Billings pinch hit for Unser. Billings forced French at home on a grounder but Cullen singled home Maddox and McCraw to put the Senators on top. Epstein took strike three and that was it for Lee. Ken Tatum came in and walked Foy to re-load the bases. Howard flied out to right to end the inning but the Senators knocked around four Sox pitchers to take the lead 6-5.
Horacio Pina took over on the mound with Tom Ragland in for Billings for the top of the eighth inning. Josephson flied out to center and Billy C grounded out to short but Joe Lahoud pinch hit for Griffin. Lahoud singled to center and Mike Fiore pinch hit for Tatum. Fiore lined out to second to end the inning. Ken Brett came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth with John Kennedy taking over at second base. Scheinblum popped up to first but French doubled to center. McCraw flied out to center but Maddox was intentionally walked. Ragland struck out to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the ninth as Aparicio and Smith struck out to start. Denny Riddleberger came in to pitch to Yaz and Carl walked. Gerry Janeski came in to pitch to Petrocelli and Rico grounded out to short to end the game. The Senators had stunned the Sox 6-5.
The Good:
Carl Yastrzemski was 2 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.
Rico Petrocelli was 2 for 4 with a walk and 2 runs scored.
George Scott was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Billy Conigliaro walked twice and scored a run in 4 plate appearances.
Doug Griffin dropped down a perfect bunt and drove in a run.
Joe Lahoud singled as a pinch hitter.
Ken Brett tossed a scoreless inning.
The Bad:
Reggie Smith was 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
Mike Fiore was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
The Ugly:
Luis Aparicio was just 1 for 5 but drove in a run.
Duane Josephson was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Mike Nagy was charged with 4 runs in 6 plus innings of work. He was 1 for 3 at the plate with an rbi single.
Bill Lee allowed two inherited runners to score but none of his own in 2/3 of an inning.
Ken Tatum only retired one of the two men he faced.
Honorable Mention:
John Kennedy played second base in the bottom of the eighth.
Final Thoughts:
That was one to forget. It looked like the Sox were about to sweep the Senators on the road but the bullpen blew that to smithereens. That's the third time in 7 games the bullpen blew a big lead and this time it proved fatal. How are the Sox supposed to compete with Baltimore this season if they have bullpen issues already? Sox manager Eddie Kasko used 4 pitchers in one inning and barely got through it, how are they supposed to get Frank & Brooks Robinson out down the road? The offense did what they could to put 5 runs on the board but it just wasn't enough. The Sox continue their road trip Friday afternoon in Detroit. Gary Peters (0-1) goes for the Sox up against Joe Niekro of the Tigers. The game begins at 2:00 PM Eastern time at Tiger Stadium.
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