The Sox did manage to strike first against Texas starter Pete Broberg as Tommy Harper doubled to right to start. Luis Aparicio drew a walk but Carl Yastrzemski struck out swinging. Reggie Smith singled to left to score Harper but Rico Petrocelli lined out to center. Danny Cater flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Siebert cruised in the bottom of the first as Lenny Randle grounded out to second to start. Dave Nelson also grounded out to second and Don Mincher struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the second as Doug Griffin caught Broberg asleep with a bunt single to start. Carlton Fisk walked and both runners moved over on the grounder by Siebert. Harper walked to load the bases and Aparicio scored Griffin with a sac fly to right. Yaz took strike three to end the inning but the Sox were ahead 2-0.
Hal King doubled to right to start the bottom of the second but Frank Howard struck out swinging. King moved to third on the fly out to right by Larry Bittner but Elliott Maddox flied out to center to end the inning.
Smith lined out to center to start the top of the third and Petrocelli flied out to right. Cater struck out swinging to end the inning. The Rangers roared back in the bottom of the third as Toby Harrah hit a routine grounder to Griffin who picked up the ball and dove with his arm outstretched onto the mound for an error to start. Broberg dropped down a bunt to move Harrah to second and Randle walked. Nelson singled to left to score Harrah and both runners moved over on the grounder to second by by Mincher. King walked to load the bases and Howard singled to right to score both Randle and Nelson to give Texas the lead. Bittner lined out to center to end the inning but the Rangers were on top 3-2.
Griffin atoned for his error by beating out an infield single to first to start the top of the fourth but Fisk popped up to second. Siebert doubled to left but Harper hit a bullet....right to Harrah who doubled off Siebert to end the inning. Siebert cruised in the bottom of the fourth as Maddox struck out swinging to start. Harrah flied out to center and Broberg went down hacking to end the inning.
Aparicio lined back to Broberg to begin the top of the fifth and Yaz grounded out to second. Smith flied out to right to end the inning. The Rangers struck again in the bottom of the fifth as Randle popped up to third to start. Nelson singled to right, stole second and scored on the base hit to right by Mincher. King banged into a double play to end the inning with the Rangers up 4-2.
Nelson adds to the lead
The Sox exploded in the top of the sixth as Petrocelli singled in the hole at short to begin. Cater and Griffin both walked to load the bases and chase Blomberg. Casey Cox came in to pitch and Fisk drew a bases loaded walk. Sox manager Eddie Kasko sent in Bob Burda to pinch hit for Siebert so Rangers manager Ted Williams countered by bringing in Dick Billings to catch and Paul Lindblad in to pitch. Kasko countered that move by pinch hitting Burda with Phil Gagliano to face Billings. The gamble worked as Gagliano singled to left to score both Cater and Griffin to give the Sox the lead. Harper dropped down a bunt to move both runners over and Fisk scored on a wild pitch. Aparicio flied out to center but it was too shallow for Gagliano to try for home. Yaz was retired on a dribbler in front of the plate to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-4.
Bill Lee came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and the Rangers began their comeback. Howard singled to left and Ted Ford pinch hit for Bittner. Ford walked but Maddox bunted foul for strike three. A passed ball moved both runners over and Howard scored on the sac fly by Harrah. Billings flied out to center to end the inning with the Rangers down 6-5.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the seventh as Smith grounded out to short to start. Petrocelli flied out to right and Cater lined out to center to end the inning. Lee returned for the bottom of the seventh and Randle doubled to left to begin. Nelson and Mincher both struck out swinging but Williams sent Tom Grieve to pinch hit for Lindblad. The dice roll worked as Grieve singled to left to score Randle to tie the game. Howard walked and Kasko brought in Bobby Bolin to pitch to Ford. That gamble backfired as Ford hit a home run all the way back to Washington to put the Rangers ahead. Maddox singled to left but Harrah flied out to right to end the inning with the Rangers ahead 9-6.
Horacio Pina came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Griffin grounded out to third to start. Fisk doubled to center and Ben Oglivie pinch hit for Bolin. Oglivie struck out swinging and Harper also went down hacking to end the inning. Gary Peters came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth batting fourth with Oglivie taking over in Right for Smith, and Billings walked to start. Cater let a routine pop up drop for a base hit by Randle and Billings moved to third on a fly ball to right by Nelson. Fisk gunned down Randle trying to steal second and Mincher struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox went quietly in the top of the ninth as Aparicio grounded back to the mound to start. Yaz struck out swinging and with nobody left on the bench, Peters popped up to third to end the game. The Rangers had won it 9-3.
The Good:
Tommy Harper was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Doug Griffin was 2 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored.
Carlton Fisk was 1 for 2 with 2 walks an rbi and a run scored.
Phil Gagliano drove in 2 runs in his only plate appearance.
Gary Peters pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Carl Yastrzemski was 0 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Ben Oglivie was 0 for 1 at the plate.
Bill Lee took the loss by being charged with 4 runs (3 earned) in 1 2/3 innings.
The Ugly:
Luis Aparicio was 0 for 3 but walked and scored a run.
Reggie Smith was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Rico Petrocelli was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Danny Cater was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.
Sonny Siebert allowed 4 runs in 5 innings of work but only 1 of them was earned. He also went 1 for 2 at the plate.
Honorable Mention:
Bill Burda "pinch hit" in the top of the sixth.
Final Thoughts:
Between the players strike and all the off-days and bad weather the Sox haven't looked this bad since near the end of the 1969 season after they quit on Dick Williams. Can't really blame the manager either unless you want to him to hold the players accountable for not being ready to play this season following the strike. The Sox have now lost 6 of their first 9 games of the season and every day its a new way to lose it seems. The Sox desperately needed a shutdown inning from the bullpen in the seventh inning and didn't get it. The errors, the bad offense, the bad pitching, its all adding up to a whole pile of garbage and the season isn't even 10 games old yet. The good news is the Sox have 5 months left in the season to turn it around. The Sox look to bounce back tomorrow afternoon when Luis Tiant gets the start for the Sox opposite Bill Gogolewski of the Rangers. The game begins at 2:30 PM Eastern time at Arlington Stadium.
No comments:
Post a Comment