John Matlack got the start for Texas and Rick Burleson greeted him with a pop up to second base to start the top of the first inning. Dave Stapleton and Fred Lynn stroked back to back singles but Tony Perez popped up to second. Jim Rice grounded out to third to end the inning. Torrez got the ball in the bottom of the first and Mickey Rivers flied out to right to start. Bump Wills struck out and Al Oliver grounded out to second to end the inning.
Boston struck first in the top of the second as Carlton Fisk and Dwight Evans pounded back to back doubled to put Boston on top. Evans moved to third on the grounder by Gary Allenson. Glenn Hoffman hit his second home run of the year to cap off the inning. Burleson lined out to right and Stapleton grounded out to third to end the inning but the Sox were up 3-0.
Torrez kept the lead in the bottom of the second as Buddy Bell grounded out to third to start. Rusty Staub grounded out to short and Pat Putnam struck out to end the inning.
The Sox tried to rally in the top of the third as Lynn and Perez stroked back to back singles to start. Rice beat out a double play ball and Fisk walked to load the bases. Evans banged into a double play to end the inning. Torrez cruised in the bottom of the third as Johnny Grubb flied out to right to start. Jim Sundberg flied out to center and Pepe Frias struck out to end the inning.
Allenson got a base hit to left to start the top of the fourth before moving to second on the sacrifice bunt by Hoffman. Burleson grounded out to third and Stapleton grounded out to short to end the inning. Rivers got an infield single to third to start the bottom of the fourth but Wills flied out to left. Rivers was doubled off first on the line drive to first by Oliver to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the fifth although Lynn grounded back to the mound to start. Perez grounded out to short but Rice singled to left. Fisk and Evans stroked back to back base hits to load the bases and Allenson singled home Rice. Hoffman singled home Fisk to wrap up the scoring and chase Matlack. Charlie Hough came in and Burleson flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-0.
Torrez suddenly fell apart in the bottom of the fifth as Bell singled to left to start. Staub doubled him to third but Putnam struck out. Grubb singled home Bell but Staub was thrown out at home on a ground ball by Sundberg. Jim Norris pinch hit for Frias and doubled home Sundberg. Rivers grounded out to first to end the inning with the Rangers down 6-2. Torrez only went 5 innings but allowed just 2 runs.
Dave Roberts took over at short for the top of the sixth and Stapleton grounded out to third to start. Lynn also grounded out to third and Jim Dwyer pinch hit for Perez only to ground out to first to end the inning. Dick Drago came in for the bottom of the sixth and threw up on himself. Wills singled to center and Oliver singled him to third. Bell beat out a double play ball to score Wills to cut the lead in half. Staub grounded into a double play to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-3.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the seventh as Rice grounded out to third to start. Fisk grounded back to the mound and Evans took strike three to end the inning. Drago got the Rangers to beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the seventh as Putnam grounded out to first to start. Grubb also grounded out to first but Sundberg grounded out to third to end the inning.
Allenson took strike three to start the top of the eighth but Hoffman walked. Hoffman swiped second but Burleson struck out. Stapleton grounded out to first to end the inning. Drago ran out of steam in the bottom of the eighth although Roberts struck out to start. Rivers singled to center but was forced at second by Wills. Oliver singled and Bell doubled home Wills to cut the lead and put the tying run at second. Richie Zisk pinch hit for Staub and Sox manager Don Zimmer countered by bringing in Tom Burgmeier to face him. Zisk lined out to short to end the inning with the Sox still ahead 6-4.
Lynn walked to begin the top of the ninth and John Henry Johnson came in to pitch to Dwyer. A wild pitch moved Lynn to second but Dwyer struck out. One and done for Johnson as Danny Darwin came in and got Rice to hit a fly out to center. Fisk was intentionally walked and Evans struck out to end the inning. Burgmeier returned for a crazy bottom of the ninth as Billy Sample pinch hit for Putnam and was hit with a pitch. John Ellis pinch hit for Grubb and banged into a double play. Sundberg singled to center and Zimmer pulled off the move of the century. The next batter was Roberts but Rivers was on deck. He wanted Burgmeier to face Rivers if it got to that point but didn't want him pitching to the righty hitting Roberts. Zimmer then had Burgmeier trot out to left field to take Jim Rice out of the game and brought in Skip Lockwood to face Roberts, praying he didn't hit the ball to left. Lockwood got Roberts to hit one up the elevator shaft to end the game. A bit of razzle dazzle by Zimmer worked and the Sox had won it 6-4.
Hero of the Night is Glenn Hoffman. He was 2 for 2 with a walk, a 2 run homer, a stolen base and 4 total runs batted in.
The Good:
Fred Lynn was 2 for 4 with a walk.
Tony Perez was 1 for 3.
Carlton Fisk was 2 for 3 with 2 walks and 2 runs scored.
Dwight Evans was 2 for 5 with an rbi and 2 runs scored.
Gary Allenson was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Mike Torrez got the win with 5 innings of 2 run ball.
Tom Burgmeier pitched a full scoreless inning.
Skip Lockwood earned his second save by retiring the last batter in the ninth inning.
The Bad:
Rick Burleson was 0 for 5 with a strikeout.
Jim Dwyer was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
Dick Drago allowed 2 runs in 2 1/3 innings.
The Ugly:
Dave Stapleton was just 1 for 5.
Jim Rice was just 1 for 5 with a run scored.
Final Thoughts:
Gice props for creativity to Zimmer for putting Burgmeier in left hoping Skip Lockwood could get Roberts to hit the ball anywhere but left field in the bottom of the ninth. Still, it was a good victory for the Sox who need to get hot real quick if they want to get anywhere close to the New York Yankees. Dwight Evans seems to be finding his groove and Glenn Hoffman had a hell of a game. The Sox pitching is still their achillies heel but they found a way to win this game. The win improved the Sox to 52-50, 12.5 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it three in a row when they start a series with the Milwaukee Brewers. Steve Renko (5-4) goes for the Sox against old pal Reggie Cleveland at 7:35 PM at Fenway Park.
