The bad news was the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of their NBA Eastern Conference Semifinal series and the New York Rangers eliminated the Boston Bruins with a Game 5 victory in their NHL Quarterfinal series, but the good news was the Boston Red Sox walked off the New York Yankees. It took three games but new Red Sox designated hitter Orlando Cepeda finally got his first hit with the team and it came at a big time. The Yankees jumped out to a 2-0 lead against John Curtis but Reggie Smith put the Sox ahead in the sixth inning. Once again the lead was blown when another error by Doug Griffin led the tying run scoring in the top of the ninth. Cepeda didn't wait around, smashing the first pitch thrown by old friend Sparky Lyle into the net in left field for a walkoff home run. That gave the Sox a 4-3 win over the Yankees at Fenway Park.
The Yankees wasted no time getting to Curtis in the top of the first as Horace Clarke lined out to second to start. Roy White flied out to left but Matty Alou walked. Bobby Murcer singled to right and Graig Nettles singled to center to score Alou with the first run. Felipe Alou struck out looking to end inning with the Yankees up 1-0.
Doc Medich got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Tommy Harper led off with a grounder to second. Luis Aparicio singled to left but Carl Yastrzemski flied out to left. Reggie Smith struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Yankees struck again in the top of the second inning as Thurman Munson hit a home run all the way to Puerto Rico to increase the lead. Rob Swoboda took strike three but Gene Michael beat out a roller to third. Clarke walked but White banged into a double play to end the inning with the Yankees up 2-0.
The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the second as Orlando Cepeda grounded out to third to start. Rico Petrocelli and Carlton Fisk both flied out to center to end the inning.
Matty Alou grounded back to the mound to begin the top of the third before Murcer singled to right. Harper made a great diving catch to rob Nettles of extra bases but Murcer tagged up and took second. Felipe Alou popped up to third to end the inning. Doug Griffin took strike three to start the bottom of the third before Dwight Evans grounded out to third. Harper flied out to center to end the inning.
All of a sudden Luis Aparicio keeled over in the dugout and had to be hauled off on a gurney and rushed to Mass General's ICU. Mario Guerrero took his place in the field and Munson flied out to right to start the top of the fourth. Swoboda flied out to right and Michael grounded out to third to end the inning. The Sox beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the fourth inning as Guerrero grounded back to the mound to begin. Yaz and Smith both grounded out to second to end the inning.
It was the Yankees turn to beat the ball in the dirt in the top of the fifth inning. Clarke grounded out to short, White grounded out to third and Matty Alou grounded out to first to end the inning. Cepeda grounded out to second to start the bottom of the fifth before Petrocelli grounded out to short. Fisk struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox were plagued by bad defense in the top of the sixth although Murcer flied out to left to start. Nettles grounded back to the mound but Felipe Alou hit a routine grounder to short. Guerrero cartwheeled over the ball for an error. A wild pitch by Curtis moved Alou to second and Guerrero booted a grounder by Munson for another error. Swoboda forced Munson at second to end the inning. The Sox broke through in the bottom of the sixth as Griffin singled to left to start. Evans popped up to right but Harper singled to center. Guerrero atoned for his errors with a seeing eye single to right to load the bases. That was it for Medich as old friend Sparky Lyle came in to face Yaz and Carl grounded out to second to score Griffin. Smith smacked a double to center to clear the bases nd took third when Nettles muffed the relay throw to third. Cepeda grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-2.
Smith was a busy man in the top of the seventh as Michael, Clarke and White all flied out to him to begin and end the inning. Lyle cruised in the bottom of the seventh as Petrocelli grounded out to third to start. Fisk popped up to short and Griffin grounded out to short to end the inning.
Curtis cruised in the top of the eighth as Matty Alou took strike three to start. Murcer flied out to center and Nettles lined out to first to end the inning. The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the eighth as Evans popped up to left to start. Harper walked and Guerrero beat out an infield single to second before both pulled off a double steal. Yaz hit a grounder to second but Harper was thrown out at home. Smith flied out to left to end the inning.
Curtis came back to finish the job in the top of the ninth as Harper was benched for Rick Miller to start. Felipe Alou and Munson stroked back to back singles to left to chase Curtis after 8 solid innings. Bob Veale came in and got Swoboda to hit one up the elevator shaft before Michael hit a routine grounder to short. Guerrero flipped to Griffin to force Munson but Doug turned and threw the ball into the net in left field for an error to score Alou with the tying run. Clarke popped up to first in foul territory to end the inning with the game tied 3-3.
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The Yankees had no time to celebrate tying the game because Lyle's first pitch of the bottom of the ninth was smashed by Cepeda into the net in left field for a game winning home run. The Sox had walked off the Yankees 4-3.
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The Good:
Tommy Harper was 1 for 3 with a walk, stolen base and a run scored.
Luis Aparicio was 1 for 1 before leaving.
Mario Guerrero was 2 for 3 with a stolen base and a run scored.
John Curtis was outstanding, tossing 8 plus innings and gave up 3 runs (2 earned). He allowed 7 hits and struck out 3.
Bob Veale got the win with a scoreless ninth inning even though the tying run scored on an error.
The Bad:
Rico Petrocelli was 0 for 3.
Carlton Fisk was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Dwight Evans was 0 for 3.
The Ugly:
Carl Yastrzemski was 0 for 4 but drove in a run.
Reggie Smith was just 1 for 4 but drove in 2 runs.
Doug Griffin was 1 for 3 with a run scored but struck out and made a key error in the ninth.
Honorable Mention:
Rick Miller played left field in the top of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
The Sox defense is TERRIBLE! Committing 3 errors in the game is not a recipe for success, especially when the third one almost cost them the game. Curtis was denied a win amd Veale a save because Griffin threw the ball away. Still, Griffin and Guerrero got it done at the plate and Cepeda cake through big time. Sox fans may have PTSD from Cepeda on the 67 Cardinals but that was 6 years ago now. Bottom line is he helped win the game. Hopefully he can help win a lot of games as the team's first Designated Hitter. Winning 3 in a row against the Yankees is always a good thing and the Sox look to make it 4 in a row on Tuesday afternoon. The Sox bow travel to Milwaukee for a set with the Brewers. Sonny Siebert gets the start against Skip Lockwood. The game begins at 8 PM Eastern time at County Stadium.
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