Palmer got the ball in the top of the first and Jerry Remy led off by flying out to left to begin. Dwight Evans flied out to center and Carl Yastrzemski struck out swinging to end the inning. Eckersley began his day by getting pounded in the bottom of the first inning. Al Bumbry walked to start before swiping second base. Rich Dauer singled Bumbry to third and Jim Dwyer singled home Bumbry to give the O's the lead. Ken Singleton crushed a home run all the way to the White House to put the O's up four without an out. Suddenly Eck flipped the switch and John Lowenstein grounded out to first. Terry Crowley flied out to center and Rick Dempsey took strike three to end the inning with Baltimore up 4-0.
The Sox began their comeback in the top of the second although Jim Rice grounded out to short to start. Tony Perez walked but Carney Lansford popped up to second. Gary Allenson clubbed his third home run of the season to put the Sox on the board. Glenn Hoffman and Rick Miller stroked back to back singles but Remy grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Sox down 4-2.
Doug DeCinces flied out to left to begin the bottom of the second and Mark Belanger struck out swinging. Bumbry also whiffed to end the inning.
The Sox got another run back in the top of the third as Evans walked to start. Yaz singled Dwight to third but Rice popped up to second. Perez hit a sac fly to score Evans and Lansford singled to left. Allenson flied out to left to end the inning but the Sox were down 4-3.
The O's struck back in the bottom of the third although Dauer flied out to left to start. Dwyer singled to right and Singleton doubled him home. Lowenstein struck out swinging but Crowley was intentionally walked. Dempsey singled to left but Singleton was thrown out at home by Rice to end the inning with the O's up 5-3.
Hoffman lined out to third to start the top of the fourth and Miller grounded back to the mound. Remy grounded out to second to end the inning. Eck settled down in the bottom of the fourth as DeCinces grounded out to third to start. Belanger struck out swinging and Bumbry grounded out to short to end the inning.
Palmer cruised in the top of the fifth as Evans struck out swinging to start. Yaz grounded back to the mound and Rice flied out to right to end the inning. Dauer struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fifth and Dwyer flied out to left. Singleton doubled to left but Lowenstein grounded out to short to end the inning.
Perez flied out to center to start the top of the sixth and Lansford lined out to left. Allenson walked but Hoffman flied out to right to end the inning. Crowley hit one up the elevator shaft to start the bottom of the sixth and Dempsey popped up to short. Dauer popped up to second to end the inning.
The Sox inched closer in the top of the seventh as Miller singled to left to begin. Remy lined out to left and that was it for Palmer. Tim Stoddard came in and Evans singled to left. Yaz lined out to short but Rice was hit with a pitch to load the bases. Perez hit a swinging bunt down the third base line to score Miller and re-load the bases. Lansford grounded into a force to end the inning but it was now 5-4 Orioles.
Belanger flied out to right to start the bottom of the seventh before Bumbry grounded out to first. Dauer popped up to second to end the inning.
The Sox rallied in the top of the eighth although Allenson whiffed to start. Hoffman singled to center and Miller doubled him to third. Remy put the Sox on top with a base hit that scored both runners. Sammy Stewart replaced Stoddard and Evans walked. Yaz hit a drive to deep right that scored Remy all the way from second to increase the lead. Rice walked but Perez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 7-5.
Eck now had the lead and Dwyer grounded out to third to start the bottom of the eighth. Who else but Singleton singled to left but Lowenstein struck out swinging. Crowley got the first hit by anyone other than Singleton since the third inning with a rocket to center but Dempsey grounded into a force to end the inning.
Lansford took strike three to start the top of the ninth but Allenson singled to left. Allenson got picked off and Hoffman lined out to first to end the inning. After the first inning, no one expected Eck to still be standing by the bottom of the ninth but there he was. DeCinces flied out to right and Dan Graham pinch hit for Belanger. Graham grounded out to first and Bumbry flied out to center to end the game. Somehow Eck went the distance and the Sox came back to win 7-5.
Hero of the Night is Jerry Remy. He got the 2 run single to put the Sox up for good.
The Good:
Dwight Evans was 1 for 3 with 2 walks and a run scored.
Tony Perez was 1 for 3 with a walk, 2 rbis and a run scored.
Gary Allenson was 2 for 4 with a walk and a 2 run home run.
Glenn Hoffman was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Rick Miller was 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored.
The Bad:
None
The Ugly:
Carl Yastrzemski was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Jim Rice was 0 for 3 but walked and was hit with a pitch.
Carney Lansford was just 1 for 5.
Dennis Eckersley tossed a complete game to get the win but he allowed 5 runs, 9 hits and 2 walks.
Final Thoughts:
That was a gutsy win for sure by the Sox. Eckersley was down 4-0 without an out in the bottom of the first and not only did the Sox come back to win, Eck survived to go the distance. Its been an up and down month to this point but the Sox are hanging in there 12 games into the season. There's been rumors of a player's strike that may hit during the season so fans need to enjoy these games while they last. Once again Allenson is never going to be Carlton Fisk but he's started out decent this season so far. Glad to see the bottom of the order getting it done with Allenson, Hoffman and Miller getting on base for the other guys. Not every win is going to be pretty and that was as ugly as it gets. The Sox look to keep the momentum going as they head to Texas to face the same Rangers they played a week ago. Tomorrow night its the big rematch with Mike Torrez (1-0) once again taking on Doc Medich at 10:05 PM Eastern time at Arlington Stadium.
No comments:
Post a Comment