Thanks to adverse weather conditions, the Boston Red Sox regularly scheduled season opening series against the Chicago White Sox was postponed to a doubleheader on Monday April 26th. Then last night's scheduled game against the Baltimore Orioles was also wiped out by the same snowstorm that was in Chicago, leading to today's doubleheader. The Sox took Game 1 as their technical season opener behind the brilliant pitching of Dennis Eckersley (1-0, 0.00 ERA). Eckersley was outstanding, tossing a complete game six hit shutout. Scott McGregor went the distance for the Baltimore Orioles but got tagged for two runs. Jim Rice knocked in the only two runs in the third and it was enough to blank the Orioles 2-0 at Memorial Stadium.
McGregor got the ball in the top of the first and Dwight Evans led off with a fly out to center. Glenn Hoffman popped up to first and Jim Rice grounded out to second to end the inning. Eck got the ball in the bottom of the first and Al Bumbry flied out to left to start. Joe Nolan struck out swinging but Dan Ford singled to right. Ken Singleton struck out swinging to end the inning.
Carl Yastrzemski popped up to third to start the top of the second but Carney Lansford drew a walk. Dave Stapleton flied out to center but Tony Perez grounded into a force to end the inning. Eddie Murray grounded out to second to start the bottom of the second and John Lowenstein struck out swinging. Cal Ripken Jr flied out to center to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the third inning as Gary Allenson doubled to left to start. Allenson was thrown out at third on a grounder in front of the plate by Reid Nichols. Evans doubled to to right but Hoffman flied out to center. Rice lashed a base hit to left to score both runners and give the Sox the lead. Yaz walked but Lansford lined out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Lenn Sakata flied out to center to start the bottom of the third but Bobby Bonner singled to right. Bumbry struck out swinging and Nolan popped up to third to end the inning.
Stapleton caught the O's asleep with a bunt single to start the top of the fourth but Perez banged into a double play. Allenson grounded out to third to end the inning. Ford popped up to second to start the bottom of the fourth but Singleton flied out to center. Murray flied out to left to end the inning.
Nichols popped up to first to start the top of the fifth and Evans flied out to right. Hoffman grounded out to third to end the inning. Eckersley cruised in the bottom of the fifth as Lowenstein grounded out to first to start. Ripken Jr popped up to third and Sakata popped up to Stapleton in foul territory to end the inning.
The Sox beat the ball in the dirt in the top of the sixth as Rice grounded out to third to start. Yaz and Lansford both grounded out to short to end the inning. Bonner flied out to center to start the bottom of the sixth and Bumbry lined out to second. Nolan grounded out to first to end the inning.
Stapleton hit one up the elevator shaft to open the top of the seventh and Perez struck out swinging. Allenson flied out to left to end the inning. The O's only rally came in the bottom of the seventh although Ford flied out to center to start. Singleton flied out to center but Murray lined a base hit to right. Murray dug for second and Evans gunned the ball to second but Hoffman threw his glove at the ball and screamed for an error. Lowenstein singled off the first base bag to put runners at the corners but Ripken Jr struck out swinging to end the inning.
Nichols caught the O's asleep with a bunt single to start the top of the eighth but was forced at second by Evans. Hoffman flied out to left and Rice grounded into a force to end the inning. Old pal Jim Dwyer pinch hit for Sakata and struck out swinging to start the bottom of the eighth. Terry Crowley pinch hit for Bonner and popped up to short. Bumbry flied out to left to end the inning.
Rich Dauer took over at second and Floyd Rayford came in for Bonner/Crowley for the top of the ninth and Yaz flied out to right to start. Lansford grounded out to short but Stapleton doubled to left. Perez popped up to first to end the inning. Sox manager Ralph Houk let Eck come back to finish off the O's in the bottom of the ninth. Nolan popped up to third and Ford flied out to center, but Singleton dropped a base hit into right field. Benny Ayala pinch ran for Singleton and Murray singled to right. Lowenstein flied out to right to end the game. The Sox had won Game 1 of the doubleheader 2-0.
Hero of the Night is Dennis Eckersley. He tossed a complete game 6 hit shutout while striking out six batters.
The Good:
Dave Stapleton was 2 for 4.
Gary Allenson was 1 for 3.
Reid Nichols was 1 for 3 with a run scored.
The Bad:
Glenn Hoffman was 0 for 4 with an error.
Tony Perez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Dwight Evans was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Jim Rice was just 1 for 4 but knocked in 2 runs.
Carl Yastrzemski was 0 for 3 but walked.
Carney Lansford was 0 for 3 but walked.
Final Thoughts:
After all Mother Nature did to derail the start to the season, the Sox overcame it all to at least win the first game of today's doubleheader. Eckersley pitched like an ace today and considering the rise of pitching prospects in the minors, they're going to need him to be the veteran of the staff when the kids come up. Rice got the only rbis today but they were all the Sox needed. Its pretty damn cold out so the dead air may kill a lot of bills that would be out of the park in June. The offense will be there this season but if Eckersley can put together a season like 1978 again, that would be nice. The Sox came within an eyelash of winning the second half of last season and getting off to a good start season is the goal. Unfortunately the Sox have no time to celebrate their win because Game 2 starts in 20 minutes. Bob Ojeda makes his season debut against Dennis Martinez of the Orioles at Memorial Stadium.
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