Tudor got in trouble in the top of the first inning when Billy Sample led off with a double to right. Mike Richardt grounded out to third but Sample swiped third. Buddy Bell walked to put runners at the corners but Tudor somehow struck out Dave Hostetler. Larry Parrish flied out to right to end the inning. Texas starter Rick Honeycutt was greeted by a Wade Boggs single to center to start the bottom of the first. Dwight Evans flied out to center and Boggs was erased on the force by Jim Rice. Tony Armas flied out to center to end the inning.
Tudor punched out Bob Johnson to start the top of the second but Jim Sundberg walked. George Wright popped up to third and Wayne Tolleson popped up to first to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the second as Reid Nichols grounded out to third to start. Dave Stapleton flied out to center and Glenn Hoffman grounded out to third to end the inning.
Sample popped up to second to begin the top of the third before Richardt grounded out to short. Bell singled to left but Hostetler struck out again to end the inning. Gary Allenson grounded out to second to start the bottom of the third before Jery Remy lined out to center. Boggs flied out to left to end the inning.
Tudor cruised in the top of the fourth as Parrish popped up to first to start. Johnson flied out to left and Sundberg popped up to second to end the inning. Evans walked to open the bottom of the fourth but Rice banged into a double play. Armas struck out to end the inning.
Tudor dominated the top of the fifth although Wright singled to left to start. Tolleson banged into a double play and Sample struck out to end the inning. Honeycutt matched Tudor in the bottom of the fifth as Nichols flied out to right to begin. Stapleton grounded out to short and Hoffman struck out to end the inning.
Richardt flied out to left to start the top of the sixth before Bell did the same. Hostetler grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox got a rare baserunner in the bottom of the sixth although Allenson grounded out to third to begin. Remy singled to left but was erased on the force by Boggs. Evan grounded into a force to end the inning.
The Rangers threatened in the top of the seventh as Parrish popped up to third to begin. Johnson walked, Sundberg singled and Johnson swiped third to put runners at the corners. Tudor froze Wright for strike three as Bill Stein pinch hit to Tolleson only to take strike three to end the inning. Jim Anderson took over for Stein in the bottom of the seventh as Rice singled to center to start. Rice was forced at second by Armas before Tony was thrown out to steal to end the inning on a "strike em out, throw em out" double play by Nichols.
Sample lined back to the mound to begin the top of the eighth before Richardt grounded back to the mound. Bell popped up to second to end the inning. The Sox blew their only chance for a lead in the bottom of the eighth when Stapleton singled but was thrown out trying to stretch a double. Hoffman singled but Allenson struck out. Remy flied out to left to end the inning.
Tudor cruised in the top of the ninth as Hostetler popped up to third to start. Parrish struck out and Johnson flied out to left to end the inning. If the game had ended, Tudor would have tossed a complete game 4 hit shutout. Instead the game moved to the bottom of the ninth where the Sox blew a chance to win the game against Odell Jones. Boggs doubled to left and Evans walked to put the winning run on second. Rather than have his best hitter drop down a bunt, Sox manager Ralph Houk let Rice hit away. All Rice did was fly out to right, but Boggs moved to third to put the winning run 90 feet away. Armas walked to load the bases and Ed Jurak pinch ran for him. All Nichols needed was a sac fly but he could only pop up to center. Stapleton popped up to second to end the inning, what a waste.
Tudor had one last inning in him and he cruised in the top of the tenth inning. Sundberg hit one up the elevator shaft before Wright grounded out to short. Anderson popped up to first to end the inning. Tudor tossed 10 innings of shutout ball, he deserved the win big time.
Hoffman singled to start the bottom of the tenth and Rich Gedman pinch hit for Allenson just to drop down a bunt to sacrifice Hoffman to second. Remy was intentionally walked but the rally ended as Boggs flied out to left and Evans popped up to second to end the inning.
Bob Stanley came on for the top of the eleventh and walked Sample to start. Richardt banged into a double play and Bell grounded out to short to end the inning. Rice flied out to center to start the bottom of the eleventh before Carl Yastrzemski pinch hit for Jurak...just to ground out to short. Nichols popped up to second to end the inning.
Stanley struck out Hostetler to start the top of the 12th inning but Parrish doubled to left. Bucky Dent ran for Parrish as Pete O'Brien pinch hit for Johnson only to line out to right. Sundberg popped up to first to end the inning. Larry Biittner took over at first for the bottom of the 12th and Stapleton flied out to center to begin. Hoffman popped up to second and Gedman grounded out to first to end the inning.
Stanley hung tough in the top of the 13th inning although Wright doubled to left to start. Anderson sacrificed Wright over to third but Sample grounded out to third. Richardt flied out to right to end the inning. Remy grounded out to third to start the bottom of the 13th before Boggs flied out to left. Evans singled to center but Rice grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Rangers finally took command in the top of the 14th inning although Bell grounded out to short to start. Hostetler struck out and all Stanley needed was one more out but Biittner singled to center. O'Brien doubled off the Monster and Biittner made a mad dash home. Rice threw to Hoffman who airmailed the throw over Gedman's head for an error to score Biittner with the game's only run. Sundberg grounded out to third to end the inning but the Rangers surged ahead on an unearned run 1-0.
Dave Tobik came in to close out the bottom of the 14th and Yaz flied out to right to start. Nichols doubled to left to put the tying run at second but Stapleton struck out. With a chance to atone for his error....Hoffman grounded out to third to end the game. The Rangers had won it 1-0.
Jackass of the Night is Glenn Hoffman. His throwing error allowed the winning run to score and grounded out with the tying run on to end the game.
The Good:
Wade Boggs was 2 for 6.
John Tudor was amazing, tossing 10 shutout innings while allowing just 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 7.
The Bad:
Carl Yastrzemski was 0 for 2.
Gary Allenson was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Rich Gedman was 0 for 1.
The Ugly:
Dwight Evans was just 1 for 4 but walked twice.
Jim Rice was just 1 for 6.
Tony Armas was 0 for 3 but walked.
Reid Nichols was just 1 for 6.
Dave Stapleton was just 1 for 6.
Jerry Remy was just 1 for 4 but walked.
Bob Stanley was the hard luck loser, allowing an unearned run in 4 innings of work.
Honorable Mention:
Ed Jurak pinch ran for Armas.
Final Thoughts:
What a bore that was. Its bad enough the offense was completely incompetent but to have the winning run score on an error is even worse. John Tudor pitched amazing and its a shame he didn't get the win for this. Pitching 9 innings of shutout ball is impressive and he did 10. The Sox thought Tony Armas would be a difference maker but so far he hasn't been that great. The Sox are still desperate for offense in the bottom of the order but hopefully Jerry Remy's knees can hold up. It was a boring loss but its only one game. If the Sox want to make a statement against the current AL Champion Milwaukee Brewers, they have their chance now with the Brewers coming to Fenway for a set. Tomorrow morning the Sox play their Patriots Day game with Mike Brown (1-0) on the hill opposite Don Sutton at 11:05 AM at Fenway Park.
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