The Sox jumped on Tidrow in the top of the first inning as Tommy Harper beat out a roller to third to start. Tidrow threw the pickoff throw away to allow Tommy to reach second and Harper moved to third on the grounder to third by Luis Aparicio. Carl Yastrzemski lined out to first but Reggie Smith walked. Cepeda then smashed his fourth home run of the season to put the Sox on top. Rico Petrocelli and Carlton Fisk drew back to back walks and Ben Oglivie doubled to center to score both runners. Indians manager Ken Aspromonte cut his losses and yanked Tidwell in favor of Milt Wilcox. Doug Griffin struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 5-0.
McGlothen got the ball in the bottom of the first and Rusty Torres flied out to left to start. Jack Brohamer grounded back to the mound and Chris Chambliss flied out to left to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the second as Harper grounded out to short to start. Aparicio grounded out to second but Yaz drew a walk. Smith then doubled to left to score Yaz and took third on the throw home. Cepeda struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-0.
The Indians struck back in the bottom of the second as Charlie Spikes and Dave Duncan stroked back to back base hits to left to start. Oscar Gamble walked to load the bases and Spikes scored when George Hendrick beat out a double play ball. Buddy Bell hit one up the elevator shaft and Leo Cardenas lined out to center to end the inning with the Indians down 6-1.
Petrocelli walked to start the top of the third but Fisk struck out swinging. Petrocelli took second on a wild pitch but Oglivie popped up to third. Griffin grounded out to second to end the inning. The Indians struck back in the bottom of the third as Torres hit a home run to the Fiji Islands to start. Brohamer flied out to left, Chambliss grounded out to second and Spikes hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning with the Indians down 6-2.
Torres hits one out
Harper singled to left to start the top of the fourth but Aparicio hit one up the elevator shaft. Yaz lined out to center and Smith took strike three to end the inning. Duncan flied out to center to begin the bottom of the fourth before Gamble popped up to center. Hendrick walked but Bell popped up to first in foul territory to end the inning.
Cepeda grounded out to second to start the top of the fifth before Petrocelli popped up to first. Fisk took strike three to end the inning. Cardenas flied out to right to start the bottom of the fifth before Torres grounded out to first. Brohamer lined out to center to end the inning.
Oglivie got a base hit to right to start the top of the sixth before moving to second on the grounder to the mound by Griffin. Harper popped up to first and Aparicio grounded out to short to end the inning. Things got hairy in the bottom of the sixth as Chambliss lined out to center to start. Spikes singled in the hole at second, Duncan singled to left and Gamble hit a home run all the way to Mississippi to cut the lead. That was it for McGlothen who ran out of gas quickly after allowing 5 runs in 5 1/3 innings. Bill Lee came in to pitch and Hendrick popped up to first. Bell walked but Cardenas struck out swinging to end the inning with the Indians down 6-5.
With the lead shrinking the Sox bats stepped up in the top of the seventh with Mike Kilkenny on the mound. Yaz struck out swinging and Smith took strike three, but Cepeda launched his second home run of the night to increase the lead. Ed Farmer came in and Petrocelli greeted him with a solo home run to ice the game. Fisk grounded out to end the inning but the Sox got some breathing room and led 8-5.
Torres struck out swinging to open the bottom of the seventh before Brohamer grounded out to second. Chambliss walked but Spikes struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox poured it on in the top of the eighth as Oglivie singled in the hole at second to start. Griffin dropped down a bunt and Duncan tried to get Ben at second but Brohamer went OLE! on the throw and Oglivie came all the way around to score with Griffin making a mad dash to third. Harper made the Indians pay by belting his first home run of the season to wrap up the scoring. Tom Hilgendorf came in to pitch to Aparicio and Luis grounded back to the mound. Yaz grounded out to second and Smith popped up to first to end the inning with the Sox ahead 11-5.
Rick Miller took over in left to start the bottom of the eighth and Duncan grounded out to short to start. Walt Williams pinch hit for Gamble and flied out to right before Hendrick grounded out to short to end the inning.
Cepeda got a base hit to left to start the top of the ninth and Dwight Evans came in to run for him. Petrocelli forced Evans at second but Fisk lined a base hit to center. Oglivie struck out swinging and Griffin forced Fisk at second to end the inning. Lee returned to close out the bottom of the ninth and Bell grounded out to third to start. Cardenas flied out to center and Torres flied out to right to end the game. The Sox had snapped their losing streak with an 11-5 win.
Hero of the Night is Orlando Cepeda. He hit two big home runs and drove in 4 total runs
The Good:
Tommy Harper was 3 for 5 with a 2 run homer and 2 total runs scored.
Rico Petrocelli was 1 for 3 with 2 walks, a home run and 2 runs scored.
Ben Oglivie was 3 for 5 with 2 rbis and a run scored.
Bill Lee tossed 3 2/3 scoreless innings to earn the save.
The Bad:
Luis Aparicio was 0 for 5.
The Ugly:
Carl Yastrzemski was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.
Reggie Smith was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked, drove in a run and scored a run.
Carlton Fisk was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked and scored a run.
Doug Griffin was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Lynn McGlothen got the win but allowed 5 runs in 5 1/3 innings.
Honorable Mention:
Rick Miller played left field in the top of the ninth.
Dwight Evans pinch ran for Cepeda.
Final Thoughts:
The Sox needed a win like that to prove that they can compete with other teams in the American League. Losing 6 straight games put them in a tailspin and the Sox are going to need a hot streak to climb out of their hole. The only drawback is McGlothen didn't look good and if the Sox are basically trying to go younger by replacing Ray Culp and Sonny Siebert with McGlothen and John Curtis, they're going to have to do better than that. Still, the bats came to play and the Sox are definitely reaping the benefits of the new designated hitter position. Orlando Cepeda has 5 home runs already this month and he doesn't have to run around the field at 35 years old now. Hopefully this team can be a juggernaut offensively with Harper as the speedster and the others as the boppers. The question will come down to the pitching, hopefully they have enough this season. It was a good win and hope the Sox can ride the momentum into their next game. The Sox look to make it two in a row over the Cleveland Indians tomorrow with a doubleheader against the Tribe. Luis Tiant gets the ball in Game 1 taking on Brent Strom of Cleveland. The first game game begins at 1:05 PM at Cleveland Stadium.
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