The White Sox wasted no time getting to Tiant in the top of the first inning as Pat Kelly doubled to left to start. Carlos May dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Kelly to third and Pat scored on the Dick Allen grounder to short to put Chicago on top. Bill Melton doubled to right but old pal Ken Henderson struck out swinging to end the inning with Chicago up 1-0.
Bahnsen began his dominance in the bottom of the first as Tommy Harper grounded out to third to start. Luis Aparicio grounded out to short but Carl Yastrzemski tripled into the centerfield triangle. Orlando Cepeda took strike three to end the inning.
Old friend Mike Andrews popped up to second to begin the top of the second before Ed Herrmann ripped a base hit to left. Jorge Orta and Eddie Leon both struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the second as Carlton Fisk lined out to left to start. Ben Oglivie doubled off the Monster and John Kennedy beat out a roller to third before Doug Griffin dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners over. Rick Miller grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
The White Sox struck again in the top of the third as Kelly again doubled to left to start. May popped up to center and Allen struck out swinging but Melton doubled to right to score Kelly to increase the lead. Henderson took strike three to end the inning with Chicago ahead 2-0.
The Red Sox finally rallied in the bottom of the third as Harper and Aparicio drew back to back walks to start. Yaz banged into a double play but Cepeda walked to put runners at the corners. Fisk stepped up with a double to left to score Aparicio but Cepeda remained at third. With a chance to tie the game...Oglivie grounded out to first to end the inning with Chicago still ahead 2-1.
Andrews struck out swinging to start the top of the fourth before Herrmann grounded out to second. Orta struck out swinging to end the inning. The Red Sox blew another rally in the bottom of the fourth as Kennedy flied out to right to begin. Griffin grounded out to short but Miller lined a base hit to center. Harper walked and with a chance to tie the game....Aparicio popped up to center to end the inning.
Leon struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth but Kelly doubled to right. May was intentionally walked to set up a double play and Allen struck out swinging. Melton forced Kelly at third to end the inning. Once again the Red Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the fifth as Yaz grounded out to second to start. Cepeda singled to right and Fisk was hit with a pitch....but Oglivie lined out to center. Kennedy grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
Aparicio booted a grounder by Henderson to start the top of the sixth for an error and Andrews dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Ken to second. Herrmann popped up to Griffin in foul territory and Orta took strike three to end the inning. Griffin struck out swinging to start the bottom of the sixth before Miller lined out to second. Harper drew a walk but Aparicio flied out to left to end the inning.
Leon popped up to first in foul territory to start the top of the seventh but Kelly walked. May singled to left but Allen struck out swinging. Melton flied out to right to end the inning. Yaz grounded out to first to start the bottom of the seventh but Cepeda singled to center to chase Bahnsen. Terry Forster came in to pitch and Danny Cater came in to run for Orlando. Fisk singled to left and Sox manager Eddie Kasko sent Dwight Evans in to pinch hit for Oglivie. The gamble failed as Evans struck out swinging and Kennedy also went down hacking to end the inning.
Henderson lined out to third to start the top of the eighth but Andrews drew a walk. Herrmann flied out to center and Orta grounded back to the mound to end the inning. The Red Sox blew yet another rally in the bottom of the eighth with Johnny Jeter taking over for Kelly at first. Griffin and Miller both took strike three but Harper doubled to center. Aparicio beat out a roller to second and Yaz walked to load the bases. Kasko's decision to run for Cepeda came back to haunt him as Cater took strike three to end the inning.
Tiant came back to go the distance in the top of the ninth and Leon hit one up the elevator shaft to start. Jeter flied out to left and May flied out to center to end the inning. Tiant went the distance and allowed just 2 runs on just 7 hits while striking out 11 batters. Too bad he got almost no run support.
Fisk singled to right to put the tying run on in the top of the ninth but Evans popped up a bunt to third. Kennedy forced Fisk at second and Rico Petrocelli pinch hit for Griffin. Petrocelli popped up to left to end the game. The White Sox had won it 2-1.
Jackass of the Night is a tough one with everyone leaving someone on base but I'll go with Dwight Evans. He came up with two men on in the seventh and struck out before stranding Fisk in the ninth by popping up a bunt.
The Good:
Tommy Harper was 1 for 2 with 3 walks.
Orlando Cepeda was 2 for 3 with a walk.
Carlton Fisk was 3 for 4 with a hit by pitch and an rbi.
Ben Oglivie was 1 for 3.
One of the rare times the losing pitcher ends up on the Good list but Luis Tiant tossed a complete game 7 hitter, striking out 11 batters while allowing 2 runs.
The Bad:
Danny Cater struck out as a pinch hitter.
Doug Griffin was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
Rico Petrocelli popped up as a pinch hitter.
The Ugly:
Luis Aparicio was just 1 for 4 with an error but walked and scored a run.
Carlton Yastrzemski was just 1 for 4 but walked.
John Kennedy was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout.
Rick Miller was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Final Thoughts:
That game was a kick in the gonads considering the Sox left 10 guys on base. They had chances in almost every inning to tie the game and they failed each and every time. Leaving the bases loaded in the seventh was inexcusable and the fact they wasted Tiant going the distance is embarrassing. The BoSox actually outhit the ChiSox 10 to 7 but couldn't get anything done. Who knows why Kasko chose Dwight Evans over Reggie Smith to pinch hit but Cater over Petrocelli with the bases loaded as out and out asinine. Bad decisions aside, its been that kind of month for the Red Sox. Thankfully there's only one more game left this month and that's tomorrow afternoon. The Sox look to end April on a high note tomorrow afternoon against the White Sox. Marty Pattin (1-3) looks to get back on track against old friend and current White Sox ace Wilbur Wood. The game begins at 2:25 PM at Fenway Park.
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