Torrez got the ball in the top of the first and Mickey Rivers walked to start on four pitches not even close. Rivers immediately stole second but Thurman Munson struck out swinging. Lou Piniella grounded out to third and Reggie Jackson flied out to right to end the inning. Guidry got the ball in the bottom of the first and Rick Burleson led off by striking out swinging. Jerry Remy popped up to left and Jim Rice struck out swinging to end the inning.
Graig Nettles led off the top of the second with a pop up to Burleson to start. Chris Chambliss grounded out sharply to George Scott and Roy White struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the second as Carl Yastrzemski pounded his 17th home run of the year off the right field façade to put Boston on top. The wind knocked down a sure Carlton Fisk home run to left and Fred Lynn hit a fly out to the centerfield warning track. Butch Hobson grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Brian Doyle led off the top of the third by popping up to Remy to start. Bucky Dent lined out to a running Rice but Rivers doubled down the right field line. Munson struck out swinging to end the inning. George Scott tried to start a rally with a double off the centerfield wall to start the bottom of the third. Jack Brohamer dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Scott to second but Burleson grounded out to third. Remy flied out to left to end the inning.
Piniella singled off the glove of Burleson to start the top of the fourth but Jackson hit a rocket right to Rice. Nettles popped up to left and Chambliss forced Rivers at second to end the inning. Guidry cruised in the bottom of the fourth as Rice grounded out to short to start. Yaz struck out swinging and Fisk flied out to center to end the inning.
White walked to start the top of the fifth before moving to second on the grounder to second by Doyle. Dent popped up to short and White was thrown out at third on the grounder to short by Rivers to end the inning. Lynn check swinged a dribbler back to Guidry to start the bottom of the fifth but Hobson beat out a roller to third. Scott struck out swinging but Brohamer flied out to right to end the inning.
Munson was rung up by first base umpire Jim Evans for strike three to start the top of the sixth. Piniella flied out to the centerfield warning track and Jackson grounded out to second to end the inning. The Sox rallied in the bottom of the sixth as Burleson doubled down the left field line to start. Remy dropped down a sacrifice bunt and Rice dropped a base hit in front of Rivers to score Burleson. Yaz grounded out to first to move Rice to second and Fisk was intentionally walked. Lynn flied out to the right field warning track to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Things fell apart in the top of the seventh as Nettles flied out to right to start. Chambliss punched a base hit to left and White poked a base hit to center to put the tying run on. Jim Spencer pinch hit for Doyle and flied out to left to bring up Dent. After fouling a pitch off his foot, Dent shocked the world by hitting a 3 run home run just over the Monster in left to put the Yankees up for good. Torrez was demoralized and the Yankees pounced as Rivers walked to chase Mike. Torrez was amazing for 6 innings but made one mistake to Dent to cost the team big time. Bob Stanley came in to pour gas on the fire as Rivers stole second and Munson doubled into the gap in center to score him. Piniella flied out to right but Fenway was deflated with the Yankees up 4-2.
The iconic image of Dent
Nice relief Stanley
Fred Stanley took over at second to start the bottom of the seventh and Hobson struck out swinging to start. Scott grounded a base hit into right and that was it for Guidry. Yankees manager Bob Lemon took no chances and brought in relief ace Goose Gossage to face Brohamer. Sox manager Don Zimmer sent Bob Bailey to pinch hit for Brohamer and Gossage effortlessly struck him out swinging on three pitches. A passed ball moved Scott to second but Burleson grounded out to short to end the inning.
Frank Duffy came in to play second for the top of the eighth but Jackson iced the game with a home run to dead center to increase the lead. That was it for Stanley as Andy Hassler came in to strike out Nettles swinging. Chambliss and White both grounded out to second to end the inning with the Yankees up 5-2.
The Sox rallied in the bottom of the eighth as Remy doubled down the right field line to start. Rice popped up to right but Yaz ripped a base hit up the middle to score Remy. Fisk dumped a base hit to center and Lynn scored Yaz with a base hit to left. With the game on the line....Hobson flied out to right and Scott struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox down 5-4.
Stanley grounded out to second to start the top of the ninth and Dent took strike three. Paul Blair pinch hit for Rivers and singled under Duffy to chase Hassler. Dick Drago was brought in to face Munson and Thurman forced Blair at second to end the inning. Gary Thomasson took over for White to start the bottom of the ninth and injured Dwight Evans pinch hit for Duffy. Evans flied out to left but Burleson walked. Remy then hit a deep fly ball that Piniella lost in the sun and couldn't find it. He literally stuck his glove out and the ball fell in it and his powerful arm kept Burleson at second base.
That break proved crucial as Rice flied out to deep right that would have scored Burleson if he was on third but instead all it did was move him to third. With the game on the line....Yaz popped up to third to end the game. The Yankees had beaten the Red Sox and stole the AL East division title with a 5-4 win.
Yankees win the division
Jackass Torrez
Dwight Evans was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
Rick Burleson was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.
Frank Duffy played second base in the final two innings.
Jackass of the Night is Mike Torrez. How do you serve up a 3 run home run to Bucky Dent?
The Good:
Jerry Remy was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Carl Yastrzemski was 2 for 5 with a home run, two total rbis and 2 total runs scored.
Carlton Fisk was 1 for 3 with a walk.
George Scott was 2 for 4.
Andy Hassler tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
Dick Drago got the final out in the ninth inning.
The Bad:
Jack Brohamer was 0 for 1.
Bob Bailey struck out as a pinch hitter.
Dwight Evans was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
Bob Stanley allowed an inherited runner to score and 1 of his own in just 1/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Rick Burleson was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.
Jim Rice was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but drove in a run.
Fred Lymn was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Butch Hobson was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Honorable Mention:
Frank Duffy played second base in the final two innings.
Final Thoughts:
How do you come back from this? For the second straight year the Red Sox won more than 96 games but have nothing to show for it because the Yankees beat them again. This was even more painful than 1977 considering the Sox had a 14.5 game lead on them at one point. They still had an 8 game lead in August that they pissed away in September. Hell, the Yankees were so hot that the Sox lost ground going 7-3 in the middle of September. Butch Hobson getting hurt, Dwight Evans getting hurt, Zimmer not trusting Lee, the trades of Wiloughby and Carbo which led to the bullpen and bench faltering. It was a perfect storm of incompetence and it all came to ahead today. Torrez giving up a home run to Dent and Stanley giving up the jack to Jackson to seal it was bad enough, but Piniella making the luckiest stab in history just goes to show why the Yankees are the champs. I have no doubt they'll steamroll the Kansas City Royals tomorrow night in the American League Championship series. As for the Sox, what can they do to improve? They had their best win total since 1946 and didn't even make the playoffs. Improving the bench and bullpen while praying everyone stays healthy seems to be the course of action. The rotation is fine with Luis Tiant, Dennis Eckersley, Torrex and Dennis Eckersley but some more arms in the bullpen might help. That Sparky Lyle for Danny Cater trade back in 72 looks even worse now. Fans are going to be angry for a long time and hopefully the Sox can bounce back next year with even more determination to get to the playoffs.