Rick Reuschel got the start for the Yankees and Jerry Remy grounded out to second to begin. Dwight Evans grounded out to short and Jim Rice was frozen for strike three to end the inning. Ojeda got the ball in the bottom of the first and Willie Randolph grounded out to second to begin. Jerry Mumphrey was frozen for strike three on a changeup before Lou Piniella drew a full count walk. Reggie Jackson whiffed on a curveball to end the inning.
Carl Yastrzemski led off the top of the second inning by taking a borderline pitch on the inside corner for strike three. Carney Lansford flied out deep to center before Dave Stapleton launched his 7th home run of the season just into the left field bleachers to give the Sox the lead. Rich Gedman hit a bullet but right to Randolph to end the inning but the Sox were ahead 1-0.
Bob Watson flied out deep to center to start the bottom of the second before Craig Nettles was frozen for strike three with a fastball on the outside corner. Barry Foote also flied out to deep center to end the inning.
Rick Miller led off the top of the third inning by lining out to short. Glenn Hoffman grounded out to short and Remy popped up to left to end the inning. Dennis Werth took strike three at the knees to begin the bottom of the third before Andre Robertson whiffed on a high curve. Randolph grounded out to short to end the inning.
Evans led off the top of the fourth inning by popping up to center to begin. Rice flied out to the left field wall but Yaz singled off the right field wall. Lansford hit a seeing eye single to second but Stapleton grounded into a force at third to end the inning. Ojeda got Mumphrey to pop up to right on a bad pitch before Piniella popped up to center. Jackson whiffed to end the inning.
Gedman grounded out to second to begin the top of the fifth before Miller grounded out on a comebacker to the mound. Hoffman grounded out to short to end the inning. Ojeda cruised in the bottom of the fifth inning as Watson popped up to right to begin. Nettles grounded out to second and Foote grounded out to short to end the inning.
Reuschel got Remy to line out to Watson to start the top of the sixth inning before Evans grounded out to third. Rice whiffed on a foul tip into the mitt to end the inning. Ojeda kept the no-no going in the bottom of the sixth as Werth grounded out to third to begin. Robertson flied out to left and Randolph flied out to right to end the inning.
Yaz led off the top of the seventh inning by striking out swinging. Lansford popped up to a running Randolph but Stapleton hit a routine fly to right. The ball dropped and skipped away from Jackson which allowed Stapleton to make it to third. Gedman made Jackson pay with a base hit to right to score Stapleton with the insurance run. Miller grounded into a force to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Ojeda went back to work in the bottom of the seventh inning and Mumphrey whiffed badly to begin. Piniella grounded out to short and Miller sprinted to rob Jackson of a bloop single to end the inning. Ojeda was six outs away from a no-hitter.
Hoffman and Remy both grounded out to short to start the top of the eighth inning before Evans also grounded out to short to end the inning in short order. Ojeda came back for the bottom of the eighth inning and Watson knocked his glove off with a comebacker. Ojeda quickly picked the ball up barehanded and threw it to first for the out. Nettles popped up to second but Stapleton caught it for the second out. Foote flied out to right to end the inning and he was 3 outs away from becoming the first pitcher to no-hit the Yankees since Hoyt Wilhem did it in 1958.
The sad part was Reuschel pitched a hell of a game himself and he got Rice to ground out to third to begin the top of the ninth. Yaz lined a base hit to left but was thrown out trying to stretch a double. Lansford dumped a single to center but Stapleton grounded out to short to end the inning.
Suddenly the Yankees came alive in the bottom of the ninth against the exhausted Ojeda. Rick Cerone pinch hit for Werth and hit a rocket just out of reach of Evans for a double to break up the no-no. Sox manager Ralph Houk immediately had Mark Clear warm up as Dave Winfield pinch hit for Robertson. Winfield lined a double to left to score Cerone and chase Ojeda from the game. Ojeda went from throwing a no-no to leaving with the tying run at second. Still, he left after 8 innings of 1 run ball while allowing just two hits, earning a standing ovation from the Yankee Stadium crowd.
Now Mark Clear had to deal with the tying run on second with nobody out. Randolph squared to bunt but was rung up for strike three on a borderline pitch. Mumphrey whiffed on a fastball before Oscar Gamble pinch hit for Piniella. Gamble walked but Jackson popped up to right to end the game. The Sox held on to win it 2-1.
Hero of the Night is Bob Ojeda. He tossed 8 no-hit innings before settling for the victory.
The Good:
Carl Yastrzemski was 2 for 4.
Carney Lansford was 2 for 4.
Dave Stapleton was 2 for 4 with a solo home run and 2 runs scored.
Rich Gedman was 1 for 3 with an rbi.
Mark Clear earned his 8th save with a scoreless 9th inning.
The Bad:
Jerry Remy was 0 for 4.
Dwight Evans was 0 for 4.
Jim Rice was 0 for 4.
Rick Miller was 0 for 3.
Glenn Hoffman was 0 for 3.
The Ugly:
None
Final Thoughts:
As the season comes to a close, this was a nice preview of the future with Ojeda doing well. The Sox haven't had a good lefty since Bill Lee left town 3 years ago and Ojeda could be the answer. Dennis Ecksersley and Mike Torrez haven't been the same since 1978 so Ojeda could be the next ace. The Sox have some talent heading into next year offensively but they definitely need more pitching to match the Yankees. As for this game, it was a lot of fun. Ojeda had to be perfect because the Sox offense mustered little against Reuschel. It was a damn good, hard fought win even if Ojeda didn't get the no-no. The win improved the Sox to 47-40, 4.5 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow afternoon the Sox look to inch further closer in the standings when they play the Yankees again. Ron Guidry goes for the Yankees opposite Frank Tanana (3-8) of the Sox at 2:00 PM at Yankee Stadium.
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