Brent Strom got the ball in the top of the first inning and Tommy Harper popped up to third in foul territory to start. Luis Aparicio grounded out to third and Carl Yastrzemski took strike three to end the inning. Luis Tiant got the ball in the bottom of the first and Rusty Torres doubled to right to start. Torres moved to third on the Jack Brohamer grounder to first but Chris Chambiss popped up to second. Charlie Spikes grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the second inning as Reggie Smith struck out swinging to start. Orlando Cepeda doubled to right and Rico Petrocelli belted his 5th home run of the season to put Boston on top. Fisk caught the Indians asleep with a bunt single but was immediately picked off. Doug Griffin popped up to left to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
The Indians struck right back in the bottom of the second as Oscar Gamble hit a home run all the way to Utica, New York to cut the lead. Dave Duncan struck out swinging, George Hendrick popped up to first and John Lowenstein struck out swinging to end the inning with the Indians down 2-1.
Dwight Evans took strike three to start the top of the third and Harper went down hacking. Aparicio grounded out to short to end the inning. Leo Cardenas grounded out to third to start the bottom of the third but Torres walked. Torres got picked off but Brohamer singled to right and Chambliss walked. Spikes popped up to left to end the inning.
Yaz grounded out to second to start the top of the fourth but Smith singled off the glove of Strom. Cepeda grounded into a double play to end the inning. Gamble grounded out to second to start the bottom of the fourth before Duncan flied out to center. Hendrick flied out to right to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the fifth as Petrocelli reached on an error by Chambliss to start. Fisk dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Rico to second and Petrocelli scored on the double to center by Griffin to increase the lead. Evans flied out to right but Harper walked. Aparicio lined out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-1.
Tiant cruised in the bottom of the fifth as Lowenstein grounded out to first to start. Cardenas struck out swinging and Torres grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Sox got another run in the top of the sixth although Yaz popped up to short to start. Smith then launched his third home run of the season to increase the lead. Cepeda took strike three but Petrocelli singled to left. Fisk lined out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-1.
.jpg)
Home run Smith
.jpg)
The Indians struck back immediately in the bottom of the sixth as Brohamer hit a home run all the way to Lexington, Kentucky to cut the lead. Chambliss hit one up the elevator shaft but Spikes walked. Duncan popped up to short and Duncan lined out to left to end the inning with the Indians down 4-2.
Home run Brohamer
Griffin lined out to center to start the top of the seventh and Evans took strike three. Harper flied out to right to end the inning. The Indians rallied in the bottom of the seventh after Hendrick knocked Tiant out of the game with a base hit to right. Bob Veale came in and Buddy Bell pinch hit for Lowenstein. Bell walked and Cardenas dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners over. Torres walked to load the bases and Walt Williams pinch hit for Brohamer. Williams singled to right to score Hendrick but Chambliss popped up to left. Bobby Bolin came in to pitch to Spikes and Charlie beat a roller to short to score Bell. John Curtis came in to pitch to Gamble but Ron Lolich pinch hit for Oscar. Lolich flied out to right to end the inning. 3 pinch hitters all got on base and the Indians tied the game 4-4.
Aspromonte can't miss today
Tom Ragland took over at second for the top of the eighth and Aparicio singled to center to chase Strom. Jerry Johnson came in to pitch and immediately struck Yaz out swinging. Smith got a base hit to center but Cepeda popped up to first in foul territory. Petrocelli walked to load the bases but Fisk lined out to third to end the inning. Duncan grounded out to short to start the bottom of the eighth and Hendrick also grounded out to short. Bell hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning.
The Sox surged ahead in the top of the ninth as Griffin walked to start. Ben Oglivie pinch hit for Evans and dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Doug to second. Harper grounded out to second to move Griffin to third and Aparicio doubled to center to score Griffin. Yaz crushed his third home run of the season to seemingly put the game away and Smith drew a walk. Cepeda ripped a base hit to left but Smith was foolishly thrown out at third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 8-5.
Rick Miller took over for Harper for the bottom of the ninth but Aparicio booted a grounder by Cardenas to start. The error turned out to be huge as Torres flied out to center but Ragland got a base hit to left. Chambliss walked to load the bases and Sox manager Eddie Kasko wanted Sonny Siebert to close the game out. Spikes struck out swinging which would have been the third out....but Lolich annihilated a grand slam all the way to the Grand Canyon to win the game. The Indians had stunned the Sox with a walkoff 9-8 victory in Game 1.
Jackass of the Night is Sonny Siebert. He allowed a walkoff grand slam to lose the game.
The Good:
Reggie Smith was 3 for 4 with a walk and a home run.
Orlando Cepeda was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Rico Petrocelli was 2 for 3 with a walk, a 2 run homer and 2 runs scored.
Carlton Fisk was 1 for 3.
Doug Griffin was 1 for 3 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.
Ben Oglivie was asked to drop down a bunt as a pinch hitter and he did.
Luis Tiant tossed 6 plus solid innings and was charged with 3 runs. He allowed 5 hits and struck out 3.
The Bad:
Dwight Evans was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
Bob Veale allowed an inherited runner to score and one of his own in 2/3 of an inning.
Bobby Bolin allowed a hit to the only guy he faced.
John Curtis was charged with 3 runs in 1 2/3 innings.
The Ugly:
Tommy Harper was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but walked.
Luis Aparicio was 2 for 5 with an rbi and a run score but his error in the ninth led to the grand slam.
Carl Yastrzemski was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts but hit a 2 run homer.
Honorable Mention:
Rick Miller played left field in the bottom of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
What a complete disaster. Not only did every move Ken Aspromonte make turn to gold but Kasko managed the bullpen like doo-doo. Bolin, Veale, Curtis and Siebert all allowed hits and runs to pinch hitters and that was long before the grand slam. The Sox lost a few runners on the bases and the Aparicio error was the difference in the game it turned out. The Sox are regretting trading Sparky Lyle for Danny Cater right about now since nobody in the bullpen can get an out. The offense scored 8 runs in the game and still lost, that's not a recipe for success. Still, its only one game and the Sox have another one to play to right the ship but its a bad look right now. 3 pinch hitters reached base in the seventh and the fourth hit the walkoff in the ninth. Tiant should have had a win but it was not meant to be. The Sox have no time to cry about the loss because they have Game 2 to play in a few minutes. Roger Moret gets the start in Game 2 against Steve Dunning of Cleveland. The game should start at 5:30 PM Eastern time at Cleveland Stadium.
No comments:
Post a Comment