If the Sox hope to catch the Baltimore Orioles for the AL East crown, they're going to need to pitch a lot better the last two months of the season. Sox starter Mike Torrez held the mediocre Minnesota Twins to two runs in 7 innings of work. Then Torrez fell apart in the eighth inning and the Twins tied it against Tom Burgmeier to make the fans groan. Carl Yastrzemski stepped up with a 2 run bomb to give the Sox the lead back and Dick Drago (9-3, 3.00 ERA) slammed the door in the ninth inning. The Sox needed to outslug the Twins to win the game 9-5 at Fenway Park.
The Twins struck first in the top of the first inning as Butch Wynegar and Roy Smalley Jr struck back to back singles to start. Wynegar got caught in a run-down but Rob Wilfong tripled home Smalley. Mike Cubbage scored Wilfong with a sac fly to increase the lead before Ken Landreaux grounded out to second to end the inning with the Twins up 2-0.
Twins starter Roger Erickson got the ball in the bottom of the first and Rick Burleson singled to start. Burleson moved to second on the Carlton Fisk grounder then to third on the Fred Lynn grounder. Jim Rice flied out to center to end the inning.
The Twins beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the second as Glenn Adams grounded out to first to start. Danny Goodwin grounded out to second and Hosken Powell grounded out to short to end the inning. Carl Yastrzemski lined out to right to start the bottom of the second before Bob Watson singled to right. Watson took second on a balk and Butch Hobson singled him to third, but Jack Brohamer hit into a double play to end the inning.
Ron Jackson popped up to third to start the top of the third before Wynegar singled to right. Smalley Jr forced Wynegar at second and Wilfong singled to right. Cubbage grounded out to first to end the inning. The Sox fought back in the bottom of the third as Dwight Evans grounded out to short to start. Burleson struck out but Fisk doubled to left. Lynn singled home Fisk to cut the lead and moved to second on another balk. Rice lined out to right to end the inning but the Sox were on the board trailing 2-1.
Landreaux singled to center to start the top of the fourth but Adams struck out. Goodwin beat out an infield single to short but Powell grounded into a double play to end the inning. Yaz singled to right to start the bottom of the first but Watson struck out and Hobson banged into a double play to end the inning.
Jackson doubled to left to start the top of the fifth and moved to third on the Wynegar ground out. Smalley struck out but Wilfong walked. Cubbage popped up to short to end the inning. The Sox roared back in the bottom of the fifth although Brohamer flied out to left to start. Evans popped up to second but Burleson singled. Fisk hit a routine grounder to Cubbage who went OLE! and everyone was safe. Lynn singled home Burleson to tie the game and Rice pulverized his 32nd home run of the season to give the Sox the lead. Yaz flied out to center to end the inning but it was 5-2 Red Sox.
Landreaux grounded out to first to start the top of the sixth before Adams singled to right. Adams moved to second on another balk and Goodwin walked. Powell hit into another double play to end the inning. Watson flied out to right to begin the bottom of the sixth before Hobson popped up to second. Brohamer got a hit to center but Evans lined out to short to end the inning.
Torrez cruised in the top of the seventh as Jackson hit one up the elevator shaft to start. Wynegar took strike three and Smalley Jr grounded out to short to end the inning. Mike Bacsik took over on the mound for the bottom of the seventh and Burleson's bunt attempt was snuffed out by the catcher to start. Fisk struck out and Lynn grounded out to first to end the inning.
The walls closed in on Torrez in the top of the eighth although Wilfong grounded out to second to start. Cubbage singled, Landreaux doubled and Adams singled home both runners to cut the lead and chase Torrez. Jose Morales pinch hit for Goodwin and Dave Edwards pinch ran for Adams as Tom Burgmeier was brought in. Edwards moved to third on the Morales grounder and Powell singled him home to tie the game. Dick Drago came in and Jackson flied out to left to end the inning with the game tied 5-5.
The Sox got the lead back instantly in the bottom of the eighth as Rice singled to left and Yaz crushed his 20th home run of the season to give the Sox the lead back. Mike Marshall came in to pitch and Watson flied out to right. Hobson lined out to right but Brohamer singled. Evans doubled Brohamer to third and Burleson scored both runners with a double to ice the game. Fisk grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 9-5.
Drago returned for the top of the ninth to close out the game. Wynegar grounded out to first but Smalley Jr and Wilfong drew back to back walks. Cubbage singled to load the bases and bring the tying run to the plate but Landreaux popped up to center. Willie Norwood pinch hit for Edwards and struck out to end the game. The Sox had survived to beat the Twins 9-5.
The Good:
Rick Burleson was 3 for 5 with 2 rbis and a run scored.
Fred Lynn was 2 for 4 with 2 rbis and a run scored.
Jim Rice was 2 for 4 with 2 total runs scored and a 3 run home run.
Jack Brohamer was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Dick Drago tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win.
The Bad:
None
The Ugly:
Carlton Fisk was just 1 for 5 but scored 2 runs.
Bob Watson was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Butch Hobson was just 1 for 4.
Dwight Evans was just 1 for 4 with a run scored.
Mike Torrez cruised through 7 innings but was charged with 5 runs in 7 1/3 innings.
Tom Burgmeier allowed an inherited runner to score but none of his own in 1/3 of an inning.
Final Thoughts:
Good win but holy moly the Sox have pitching woes. Its bad enough Dennis Eckersley is having a down year compared to last year but what's with Torrez falling apart in the eighth inning? Still, if he was running out of gas, why didn't Sox manager Don Zimmer pull him sooner? Still, no sense being grouchy when the offense stepped up to win the game. Everyone pitched in one way or another and the Sox managed to score 9 runs. The rbis from Lynn and Burleson were just as important as the Yaz and Rice homers to put the Twins away. Hopefully the Sox can ride this momentum into a long winning streak so they can catch the Baltimore Orioles. The win improved the Sox to 73-44, 5 games behind the Orioles for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to continue their winning ways when they welcome the Chicago White Sox to Fenway for a set. 25 year old rookie John Tudor makes his ML debut tomorrow up against Mike Prolly of the ChiSox. The game begins at 7:30 PM at Fenway Park.
