Jim Colborn got the start for the Brewers and Tommy Harper took strike three to start the season. Juan Beniquez whiffed and Cecil Cooper grounded out to first to end the inning. The Brewers wasted no time pouncing on Tiant to start the bottom of the first. Don Money flied out to centr but Ken Berry singled to left. Dave May lined out to right but old friend George "Boomer" Scott walked. John Briggs then pounded a three run home run to put the Brewers up big early. Darrell Porter flied out to right to end the inning but it was 3-0 Milwaukee.
The Sox struck back in the top of the second inning although Yaz flied out to left to start. Rico Petrocelli lined out to third but Bernie Carbo singled to left. Bob Montgomery stepped up big by swatting his first home run of the year to cut into the lead. Doug Griffin walked but Mario Guerrero grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Sox down 3-2.
The Brewers pounced again in the bottom of the second although Bob Coluccio flied out to center to start. Pedro Garcia tripled into the right field corner and Robin Yount walked. Money scored Garcia with a sac fly and Berry flied out to right to end the inning with the Brewers up 4-2.
The Sox exploded in the top of the third inning although Harper looked at strike three to start. Beniquez and Cooper worked back to back walks before Yaz beat out a double play to put runners at the corners. Petrocelli singled home Beniquez but pulled up lame and had to leave the game. John Kennedy replaced Rico and Carbo walked to load the bases. Montgomery singled home Cooper to tie the game, reload the bases and chased Colborn from the game. Jerry Bell came in and Griffin cleared the bases with a double to give the Sox the lead. Guerrero grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 7-4.
Tiant kept the Brewers down in the bottom of the third as May flied out to right to begin. Scott looked at strike three before Briggs lined out to second to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the fourth as Harper grounded out to third to begin. Beniquez whiffed before Cooper watched strike three go by to end the inning. Tiant kept pace in the bottom of the fourth as Porter grounded out to first to start. Coluccio grounded out to short before Garcia popped up to first to end the inning.
Yaz singled to start the top of the fifth but Kennedy banged into a double play. Carbo grounded out to first to end the inning. Tiant kept pace in the bottom of the fifth as Yount flied out to left to begin. Money doubled and Berry reached when Cooper dropped a pop up. Tiant recovered to get May to bang into a double play to end the inning.
The Sox threatened in the top of the sixth although Montgomery flied out to right to begin. Griffin and Guerrero strokes back to back singles but Guerrero made a boo boo by getting picked off. With Gurerrro in trouble Griffin tried to run to third but he was the one thrown out with Guerrero at least going to second. Harper grounded out to third to end the inning. Tiant lost it and the Brewers pounced in the bottom of the sixth. Scott singled but Briggs popped up to first. Porter and Coluccio drew back to back walks to load the bases and Garcia walked to score Scott and chase Tiant. El Tiante lasted just 5 1/3 innings and would eventually be charged with 8 runs, yikes. Diego Segui came in and poured gas on the fire. Felipe Alou pinch hit for Yount and as passed ball scored Porter but Alou would eventually strike out. Two straight wild pitches not only scored Coluccio and Garcia to give the Brewers the lead but Money walked in the process. Money swiped second but Berry looked at strike three to end the inning with the Brewers ahead 8-7.
The Sox wasted no time storming back in the top of the seventh inning with Tim Johnson playing short and Kevin Kobel on the mound. Beniquez grounded out to second but Cooper singled. Yaz dropped the hammer on the Brewers with a two run bomb to give the Sox the lead. Eduardo Rodriguez came in to pitch and got Kennedy to ground out to third. Carbo grounded out to first to end the inning but the Sox were up 9-8.
Pitching with the lead, Segui slammed the door in the bottom of the seventh. May flied out to center, Scott whiffed and Briggs popped up to short to end the inning.
The Sox failed to get any insurance in the top of the eighth as Montgomery flied out to center to begin. Griffin grounded out to third and Guerrero flied out to right to end the inning. Segui stayed hot in the bottom of the eighth as Porter grounded back to the mound to start. Coluccio and Garcia both whiffed to end the inning.
The Sox threatened to ice the game in the top of the ninth as Harper singled and stole second to start. Unfortunately Harper was thrown out at third on a grounder to short by Beniquez. On top of that Beniquez got thrown out trying to steal second to boot. Cooper was plunked but Yaz flied out to center to end the inning. Rick Miller came in for Carbo in the bottom of the ninth as Segui looked to nail down the game. Things got hairy when Johnson doubled and was sacrificed to third to start the inning but Segui whiffed both Berry and May to end the game. The Sox had held on to win their first game of the year 9-8.
Hero of the Night is Carl Yastrzemski. His two run home run put the Sox on top and they held on to win.
The Good:
Cecil Cooper was 1 for 3 with a wak and a run scored.
Rico Petrocelli wa 1 for 2 with an rbi before leaving the game.
Bernie Carbo was 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored.
Bob Montgomery was 2 for 4 with 2 total runs scored, 3 total rbis and a 2 run home run.
Doug Griffin was 2 for 3 with a walk and 3 rbis.
Diego Segui got the win with 3 2/3 scoreless innings after Tiant faltered, striking out 7.
The Bad:
Luis Tiant got rocked for 8 runs (7 earned) in 5 1/3 innings. He gave up 5 hits and walked 5.
The Ugly:
Tommy Harper was just 1 for 5 but stole a base.
Juan Beniquez was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts and a caught stealing but walked and scored.
Mario Guerrero was just 1 for 4.
John Kennedy was 0 for 2 but scored a run.
Honorable Mention:
Rick Miller played center in the bottom of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
A win on opening day is always good to get the season started on the right foot. Bob Montgomery stepped up big with his home run and Yaz saved the day again. Seeing Tiant falter is alarming considering the lack of rotational depth but maybe it was just rust. We'll see going forward how this turns out but the Sox are going to need Tiant at his best if they want to topple the Oakland A's for AL supremacy. Sox manager Darrell Johnson says they're going with a youth movement which is why Luis Aparacio and Orlando Cepeda were released two weeks ago. We'll see if the trades with the St. Louis Cardinals will pay dividends with Carbo, Rick Wise, Terry Hughes, Segui and Reggie Cleveland replacing some talent that was shown the door. A win is a win and the Sox are back in action tomorrow afternoon in Milwaukee. Bill Lee makes his season debut opposite Jim Slaton at 2:30 PM Eastern time (1:30 local) at County Stadium.
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