After off-days and a huge blizzard that postponed an entire series against the Milwaukee Brewers sent the Sox to a five day "vacation", the Sox came back to win their fourth straight game over the New York Yankees. Luis Tiant (2-0, 3.18 ERA) pitched a beauty, holding the Yankees to a single run through 8 innings. Fritz Peterson held the Sox in check for the most part but a few small-ball runs and a home run by Doug Griffin gave the Sox all they needed. Bob Veale worked out 9f a jam in the bottom of the ninth and the Sox had their 4th straight win against the Yankees 3-1 at Yankee Stadium.
Peterson got the ball in the top of the first inning and Tommy Harper hit one up the elevator shaft to start. Luis Aparicio singled to right but Carl Yastrzemski hit into a double play to end the inning. Tiant got Horace Clarke to fly out to center to begin the bottom of the first but Roy White walked. White stole second and moved to third on the Ron Blomberg grounder to first. Bobby Murcer struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the second inning as Reggie Smith hit a roller back to Peterson who threw the ball away for an error that allowed Smith to reach second. Orlando Cepeda dropped a base hit to right to move Smith to third and Rico Petrocelli scored Reggie with a sac fly to put the Sox on top. Carlton Fisk singled to right and Doug Griffin singled to right to load the bases but Dwight Evans banged into a double play to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
The Yankees struck back in the top of the third inning as Graig Nettles struck out swinging to start. Johnny Callison grounded out to second but Felipe Alou hit a home run all the way to Omaha to tie the game. Thurman Munson grounded out to first to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
The Sox answered in the bottom of the third as Harper tripled into the centerfield triangle to start. Aparicio walked and Harper scored on the grounder to second by Yaz to put Boston in the lead. Smith was intentionally walked but Cepeda grounded out to first to move the runners over. Petrocelli grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-1.
Tiant cruised in the bottom of the third as Gene Michael grounded out to second to start. Clarke grounded out to third and White took strike three to end the inning.
The Sox blew a rally in the top of the fourth as Fisk beat out an infield single to third to start. Griffin slapped a base hit to left to move Fisk to third but Carlton was thrown out at home on a grounder to short by Evans. Harper grounded out to third to move both runners over but Aparicio flied out to center to end the inning. Blomberg popped up to second to begin the bottom of the fourth bur Murcer singled to right. Murcer moved to second on the grounder to short by Nettles and Callison popped up to third in foul territory to end the inning.
Peterson cruised in the top of the fifth as Yaz flied out to left to start. Smith popped up to right and Cepeda also flied out to right to end the inning. Tiant cruised in the bottom of the fifth as Alou flied out to left to start. Munson flied out to right and Michael popped up to third to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the sixth as Petrocelli popped up to second to start. Fisk struck out swinging but Griffin launched his first home run of the season to increase the lead. Evans struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-1.
Tiant allowed a single to Clarke in the hole at short to begin the bottom of the sixth but White popped up to short. Blomberg struck out looking and Murcer struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox blew another rally in the top of the seventh as Harper caught the Yankees asleep with a bunt single to start. Aparicio beat out a roller to third but Yaz banged into a double play. Smith flied out to center to end the inning. Rick Miller came in for Harper for the bottom of the seventh as Nettles grounded out to first to begin. Callison grounded out to third and Alou hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning.
The Sox blew another rally in the top of the eighth as Cepeda grounded out to short to start. Petrocelli flied out to center but Fisk lashed a base hit to center. Griffin singled to right but Evans grounded out to second to end the inning. Tiant returned for the bottom of the eighth and Munson popped up to first to start. Bernie Allen pinch hit for Michael and flied out to center before Clarke took strike three to end the inning.
Hal Lanier took over at short to begin the top of the ninth as Miller singled to right to begin. Aparicio forced Miller at second and Yaz hit a routine grounder to first....booted for an error. Lindy McDaniel came in to pitch to Smith and Reggie walked to load the bases. Cepeda struck out swinging and Petrocelli forced Smith at second to end the inning. Tiant came back to complete his work in the bottom of the ninth and White singled to right to start. Blomberg walked and that was it for Luis. Bob Veale was brought in and he struck out Murcer swinging to get to Nettles. Graig hit into a double play to end the game. The Sox had won it 4-0.
The Good:
Tommy Harper was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Rick Miller was 1 for 1 at the plate.
Luis Aparicio was 2 for 4 with a walk.
Reggie Smith was 1 for 3 with 2 walks and a run scored.
Carlton Fisk was 3 for 4.
Doug Griffin was 4 for 4 with a solo home run.
Bob Veale earned his second save with a scoreless inning.
The Bad:
Dwight Evans was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Carl Yastrzemski was 0 for 5 but drove in a run.
Orlando Cepeda was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout.
Rico Petrocelli was 0 for 4 but drove in a run.
Final Thoughts:
Good win by the Sox and a great performance by Tiant. The Sox have been desperate for good starting pitching outside of Ray Culp and Sonny Siebert for years and hopefully Tiant is that answer. The offense was borderline offensive with so many left on base while scratching just three runs across. Still, when the pitching is as good as it is, you can afford to have a few games where you can't get a clutch hit to save your life. Still, the offense will be there this season and the only question is will the starting pitching be able to hold up. The Sox missed winning the division by an eyelash last year and hopefully they've corrected the problems that they had. The Sox look to make it 5 straight wins to start the season when they take on the Yankees again tomorrow. John Curtis gets the start for the Red Sox opposite Mel Stottlemyre of New York. The game begins at 2:30 PM at Yankee Stadium.
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