Tigers Rout Sox at Fenway (4/18/73)

It was bad news all around for the city of Boston tonight. The Boston Celtics got crushed in Game 2 of the NBA East Finals against the New York Knicks and the Boston Red Sox dropped their fourth straight game and third in a row to the Detroit Tigers. Jim Perry dazzled the Red Sox, tossing a complete game 5 hitter on the road. Luis Tiant (2-1, 4.82 ERA) got hammered for 4 runs before being yanked in the second inning. The Tigers scored 3 runs against Bill Lee and Mike Garman while the Sox didn't get a run in until the ninth inning. It was a bad day all around as the Sox dropped their fourth straight game after winning the first four 7-1 at Fenway Park.

                                                         "STOP LOSING GAMES!"

The Tigers wasted no time getting to Tiant in the top of the first although Dick McAuliffe grounded out to first to start. Bill Freehan popped up to short but Al Kaline hit a home run all the way to Finland to put the Tigers on top. Norm Cash walked but Gates Brown took strike three to end the inning with the Tigers up 1-0.

                                                                Home run Kaline

Jim Perry got the ball in the bottom of the first and Tommy Harper grounded out to third to start. Luis Aparicio grounded out to third but Carl Yastrzemski got a base hit to left. Reggie Smith struck out swinging to end the inning.

The Tigers mauled the Sox in the top of the second as Willie Horton led off with a bomb to Australia to start. Aurelio Rodriguez was hit with a pitch and Mickey Stanley got a base hit to center. Ed Brinkman lashed a base hit to right to score Rodriguez and Stanley moved to third on the fly ball to center by McAuliffe. Freehan hit a comebacker to the mound and Stanley was thrown out at home but Kaline singled home Brinkman to chase Tiant from the game after allowing 4 runs in just 1 2/3 innings. Bill Lee came in and Cash grounded out to second to end the inning with the Tigers ahead 4-0.

                                                                Tiant gets rocked

Perry cruised in the bottom of the second as Orlando Cepeda popped up to first to start. Rico Petrocelli grounded out to short and Carlton Fisk popped up to short to end the inning.

Brown grounded out to first to start the top of the third but Horton singled to center. Rodriguez and Stanley both struck out swinging to end the inning. Doug Griffin grounded back to the mound to begin the bottom of the third and Dwight Evans took strike three. Harper singled in the hole at second but Aparicio forced Harper at second to end the inning.

The Tigers got another run in the top of the fourth when Brinkman hit a home run back to Detroit to increase the lead. McAuliffe singled up the middle but Freehan popped up to short. Kaline grounded out to short and Cash took strike three to end the inning with the Tigers up 5-0.

                                                            Brinkman hits one out

Yaz flied out to right to start the bottom of the fourth and Smith flied out to center. Cepeda singled to left but Petrocelli forced him at second to end the inning.

Frank Howard pinch hit for Brown to start the top of the fifth and grounded out to third before Horton singled up the middle. Rodriguez flied out to center and Jim Northrup pinch hit for Stanley. Northrup caught Lee asleep with a bunt single but Brinkman forced him at second to end the inning. Fisk flied out to center to open the bottom of the fifth and Griffin popped up to second. Evans grounded out to third to end the inning. 

McAuliffe doubled to left to start the top of the sixth but was thrown out at third on the Freehan grounder to Lee. Kaline lined out to third but Cash got a base hit to left. Howard forced Cash at second to end the inning. Harper grounded out to short to start the bottom of the sixth and Aparicio grounded out to third. Yaz walked but Smith flied out to right to end the inning. 

Horton singled to center to start the top of the seventh but was thrown out trying to steal. Rodriguez lined out to left and Northrup popped up to third in foul territory to end the inning. Rich Reese took over for Cash in the bottom of the seventh and Cepeda struck out swinging to start. Petrocelli flied out to deep left and Fisk popped up to shallow left to end the inning.

The Tigers pounced in the top of the eighth as Brinkman singled to center to start. McAuliffe dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Ed to second and Brinkman took third on the base hit to center by Freehan. That was it for Lee as Mike Garman made his season debut to pitch to Kaline and Al greeted him with a base hit to center to score Brinkman. Reese popped up to first and Howard forced Kaline at second to end the inning with the Tigers up 6-0.

                                                   Garman makes his season debut

The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the eighth as Griffin grounded out to third to start. Evans popped up to first in foul territory and Harper grounded out to short to end the inning. 

The Tigers tagged Garman in the top of the ninth as Horton walked to start. Rodriguez singled to left and Northrup singled to center to score Horton. Brinkman walked to load the bases but McAuliffe took strike three. Freehan struck out swinging and Kaline grounded out to third to end the inning with Detroit up a touchdown 7-0.

                                                       Northrup drives in a run.

The Sox finally woke up too little too late in the bottom of the ninth as Aparicio singled to center to start. Yaz flied out to left but Aparicio moved to second on a grounder to first by Smith. Cepeda got a base hit to left and John Kennedy pinch ran for him only for Petrocelli to pop up to second to end the game. The Sox lost their fourth game in a row 7-1.

Jackass of the Night is Luis Tiant. He got knocked out in the second inning and put the Sox in a hole they couldn't climb out of.

                                                                  El Jackass

The Good:

Carl Yastrzemski was 1 for 3 with a walk.

Orlando Cepeda was 2 for 4 with an rbi.

The Bad:

Reggie Smith was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

Rico Petrocelli was 0 for 4.

Carlton Fisk was 0 for 3.

Doug Griffin was 0 for 3.

Dwight Evans was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Mike Garman allowed an inherited runner to score and one if his own in 1 2/3 innings. 

The Ugly:

Tommy Harper was just 1 for 4.

Luis Aparicio was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.

Bill Lee allowed 2 runs in 5 2/3 innings.

Honorable Mention:

John Kennedy ran for Cepeda in the ninth inning.

Final Thoughts:

Guess the first four games of the season was fools gold for the Red Sox. The last 4 games they looked completely incompetent on both sides of the ball. They amassed just 5 hits against Jim Perry and Tiant got knocked out in the second inning. Willie Horton had 4 hits by himself and the entire Sox team had 5. It's only April so there's plenty of time to turn things around but losing 4 in a row puts a bad taste in everyone's mouth. The offense will be there eventually but the Sox can't afford to far too far back against Detroit. We all saw last year what happens if you lose too much ground too early. The Sox look to avoid a 4 game sweep by the Tigers tomorrow afternoon when John Curtis (0-1) takes the mound against Woodie Fryman of Detroit. The game begins at 1:30 PM at Fenway Park.