Six Run Third Sinks Orioles (4/21/82)

The bad news was the Quebec Nordiques defeated the Boston Bruins in Game 5 of their second round NHL playoff series but the good news was the Boston Red Sox defeated the Baltimore Orioles. The Sox only scored in one inning out of nine but it just happened to be enough. Down 2-0, the Sox rallied for a few runs to chase O's starter Dennis Martinez from the game. Sammy Stewart came in and Carney Lansford put the Sox ahead with an rbi single. With the bases loaded, Rich Gedman cleared them with a double to make it a 6 run inning. Dennis Eckersley (2-1, 2.59 ERA) wasn't particularly sharp as he allowed 5 runs before getting knocked out in the seventh inning. Mark Clear bounced back from his previous outing to slam the door as the Sox won their second game in a row over the Orioles 6-5 at Fenway Park.

                                                      Kimberly McArthur approves of the win

Eckersley got the ball in the top of the first inning and the O's wasted no time tagging him. Al Bumbry led off with a double to left but Joe Nolan struck out looking. Bumbry moved to third on the Dan Ford grounder to first and Eddie Murray drove in Al with a double to right. Ken Singleton walked but Gary Roenicke took strike three to end the inning with the O's ahead 1-0.

                                                              Murray drives in a run

Martinez got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jerry Remy led off with a base hit to center. Dwight Evans struck out swinging and Remy was doubled off first on a smash by Rice to first to end the inning.

The O's struck again in the top of the second as Cal Ripken Jr struck out swinging to start. Rich Dauer singled to right but Lenn Sakata took strike three. Bumbry singled to left and Nolan drove home Dauer with a base hit to right. Ford forced Nolan at second to end the inning but the O's led 2-0.

                                                           Nolan adds to the lead

The Sox blew a rally in the top of the second as Carl Yastrzemski flied out to center to begin. Carney Lansford singled to center and took third on the base hit to right but Dave Stapleton. Glenn Hoffman walked to load the bases but Rich Gedman grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Murray struck out swinging to start the top of the third before Singleton grounded out to short. Roenicke struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox exploded in the bottom of the third as Miller and Remy drew back to back walks to start. Evans took strike three but Rice singled home Miller to cut the lead. Yaz singled to right to score Remy to tie the game and chase Martinez. Sammy Stewart came in and Lansford drove home Rice with a base hit to left to give the Sox the lead. Stapleton flied out to right but Hoffman walked to load the bases. Gedman smacked a double into the gap in left to clear the bases. Ross Grimsley replaced Stewart and Miller grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-2.

                                                                   Rice gets the party started

Eck struck out Ripken Jr swinging to start the top of the fourth but Dauer singled to center. Sakata flied out to right and Bumbry flied out to center to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the fourth as Remy struck out swinging to start. Evans popped up to first in foul territory and Rice grounded back to the mound to end the inning.

Nolan hit one up the elevator shaft to begin the top of the fifth before Ford popped up to second. Murray grounded out to first to end the inning. Yaz grounded out to short to start the bottom of the fifth before Lansford grounded out to third. Stapleton singled to center but Hoffman popped up to third in foul territory to end the inning.

Eck cruised in the top of the sixth as Singleton flied out to right to start. Roenicke popped up to third in foul territory and Ripken Jr stuck out swinging to end the inning. Gedman singled to right to start the bottom of the sixth but was thrown out at second trying to steal. Miller grounded back to the mound but Remy singled to left. Remy was picked off but Grimsley threw the ball away allowing Jerry to take second. Evans was retired on a squibber in front of the plate to end the inning.

Eck ran out of gas in the top of the seventh as Dauer singled to right to start. Sakata singled to left and Bumbry doubled home Dauer to cut the lead. Nolan hit a sac fly to right to score Sakata and move Bumbry to third before Ford singled to right to score Al. That was it for Eckersley who lasted 6 1/3 innings and was charged with 5 runs. Mark Clear came in and walked Murray but got Singleton to fly out to right. John Lowenstein pinch hit for Roenicke and struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox holding on to a 6-5 lead.

                                                         Eck didn't have much in this one

Rice flied out to center to start the bottom of the seventh before Yaz flied out to left. Lansford flied out to right to end the inning.

Clear returned for the top of the eighth and Jim Dwyer pinch hit for Ripken only to ground out to second. Dauer hit a routine grounder to short but Stapleton dropped the throw for an error. Terry Crowley pinch hit for Sakata and grounded out to short. Bumbry beat out a roller to first and Nolan grounded out to first to end the inning. Bobby Bonner took over at short with Floyd Rayford taking over at third to start the bottom of the eighth. Stapleton took strike three but Hoffman singled to left to chase Grimsley. Tippy Martinez came in to pitch to Gedman but Sox manager Ralph Houk countered by bringing in Tony Perez to pinch hit. Perez struck out swinging and Miller forced Hoffman at second to end the inning.

Clear returned to finish off the top of the ninth with Gary Allenson now behind the plate. Ford grounded out to short but Murray walked. Singleton singled to left to put the winning run on but Lowenstein struck out swinging. Jose Morales pinch hit for Rayford and struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had won it 6-5.

Hero of the Night is Rich Gedman. His 3 run double proved to be the difference in the game.

                                                            Gedman is the Hero

The Good:

Jerry Remy was 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.

Carney Lansford was 2 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.

Dave Stapleton was 2 for 4.

Glenn Hoffman was 1 for 2 with 2 walks and a run scored.

Mark Clear tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings to earn his second save of the year.

The Bad:

Dwight Evans was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Tony Perez struck out as a pinch hitter.

The Ugly:

Jim Rice was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run and scored a run.

Carl Yastrzemski was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run and scored a run.

Dennis Eckersley got the win but allowed 5 runs in 6 1/3 innings. He allowed 10 hits but struck out 8.

Rick Miller was 0 for 3 but walked and scored a run.

Honorable Mention:

Gary Allenson caught the bottom of the ninth.

Final Thoughts:

Good win by the Sox and thank goodness Clear brought his A game. Eckersley didn't have his best stuff and the Sox managed to score in only one inning. Still, if you score enough runs in that one inning you could win the game and they did in this one. The offense has scored more than 5 runs in back to back games and maybe now they'll heat up for a change. The Sox are going to need to go on a run because falling too far behind in April is never a good strategy. Still, Gedman stepped up big today and hopefully he can be the next good Sox catcher. After an off-day tomorrow the Sox are back in action Friday night in Toronto for a three game series against the Toronto Blue Jays. John Tudor (2-0) takes on Jim Clancy of the Jays this Friday night at 7:30 PM at Exhibition Stadium.