John Matlack got the start for Texas and Wade Boggs greeted him by walking to begin the top of the first inning. Dwight Evans quickly grounded into a double play and Jim Rice lined out to center to end the inning. Dennis Eckersley looked good in the bottom of the first, getting Mickey Rivers to ground out to first to start. Mike Richardt grounded out to third and Billy Sample flied out to center to end the inning.
The Sox laid waste to Matlack in the top of the second inning. Tony Armas and Reid Nichols stroked back to back singles then Glenn Hoffman was plunked to load the bases. Ed Jurak got a base hit that scored both Armas and Nichols to give the Sox the lead. Gary Allenson struck out and Julio Valdez reached on an error by the shortstop to load the bases. Boggs struck out but Evans cleared the bases with a big double. Rice flied out to center but it was 5-0 Sox.
Eck kept the lead intact in the bottom of the second when Larry Biittner grounded back to the mound to start. Buddy Bell also grounded back to the mound but Pete O'Brien singled. Jim Sundberg lined out to first to end the inning.
The Sox once again rallied in the top of the third as Armas, Nichols and Hoffman all singled to load the bases and chase Matlack from the game. Danny Darwin relieved Matlack and Jurak beat out a double play to score Armas with another run. Allenson hit a sac fly to score Nichols but Valdez was plunked. Boggs grounded out to short to end the inning but it was now 7-0.
The lead quickly evaporated when Eckersley vomited up his intestines in the bottom of the third. George Wright singled before Wayne Tolleson hit a routine ground ball to Valdez. Rather than field it, Julio threw his glove at the ball and cartwheeled over it for a bizarre error. Rivers popped up to short but Richardt tripled home both runners. Sample scored Richardt with a sac fly but Biittner singled. Bell then crushed a 5,000 foot home run to cut the lead to two before O'Brien popped up to first to end the inning. Somehow Eck turned a 7-0 lead into a 7-5 nailbiter, nice going.
Things settled down in the top of the fourth as Evans popped up to third to start. Rice grounded out to short but Armas beat out an infield single to third. Nichols watched strike three go by to end the inning. Eckersley settled down in the bottom of the fourth as Sundberg was caught looking to start. Wright and Tolleson both flied out to left to end the inning.
Darwin remained tough in the top of the fifth as Hoffman grounded out to second to start. Jurak reached on an error but the third baseman but Allenson struck out. Valdez struck out as well to end the inning. Rivers began the bottom of the fifth with a single but the alert Allenson gunned him down trying to steal. Richardt flied out to right and Sample struck out to end the inning.
Charlie Hough came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Boggs flied out to center to start. Evans singled but Rice popped up to first. Evans stole second and took third on a passed ball but Armas struck out to end the inning. Eckersley returned for one last inning in the bottom of the sixth. Biittner singled but Bell flied out to center. Biittner moved to second on a ground out by O'Brien. Sundberg grounded out to third to end the inning. Eck gave up 5 runs but was only charged with 1 in 6 innings.
The Sox failed to score in the top of the seventh inning as Nichols grounded back to the mound to start. Hoffman popped up to second but Jurak walked and stole second. Allenson walked but the incompetent Valdez struck out to end the inning. Bob Stanley replaced Eck and promptly crapped his pants. Wright singled and advanced to second on the ground out by Tolleson. Rivers popped up to short as Richardt hit a routine grounder to short. Hoffman dove on top of the ball and started punching it for a bizarre error that allowed Richardt to advance to second, scoring Wright. Richardt stole second and scored the tying run on a Sample single. Biittner flied out to left to end the inning but it was tied 7-7.
The Sox offense was done for the night in the top of the eighth with Bucky Dent now in the game for Texas. Boggs grounded out to short before Evans struck out. Rice singled to center but Armas grounded into a force to end the inning. The Rangers took command in the bottom of the eighth inning. Bell singled to right but O'Brien flied out to center. Sundberg grounded out to short but Bell moved to second. Wright was intentionally walked to create a force but Bill Stein pinch hit for Tolleson....and singled home Bell to give the Rangers the lead. Rivers singled home Wright for the insurance run but Dent popped up to second to end the inning with the Rangers ahead 9-7.
Hough returned to close out the top of the ninth and Nichols popped up to third to start. Hoffman grounded out to short and Jurak flied out to right to end the game. The Rangers had taken the game 9-7.
Jackass of the Night is Bob Stanley. He came in with a 7-5 lead and coughed up four runs to take the loss.
The Good:
Dwight Evans was 2 for 5 with 3 rbi's and a stolen base.
Tony Armas was 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored.
Reid Nichols was 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored.
The Bad:
Dennis Eckersley was lit up for 5 runs in 6 innings although only one of the runs was earned. He gave up 7 hits and a home run.
The Ugly:
Wade Boggs was 0 for 4 but walked.
Jim Rice was just 1 for 5.
Glenn Hoffman was just 1 for 4 with an error but was hit with a pitch and scored a run.
Ed Jurak was just 1 for 4 but drove in 3 runs, scored one and stole a base.
Gary Allenson was 0 for 2 but walked and drove in a run.
Julio Valdez was 0 for 3 with an error but was hit with a pitch and scored.
Final Thoughts:
How did Dennis Eckersley go from a bonafide ace in 1978 to Ooga Booga these days? In his starts this year he's been batting practice and it doesn't look like he can turn it around. The offense produces but if the pitching can't hold up, it won't matter. Stanley sucked hard in this one but once the Rangers rallied the offense went dead. Its only been 5 games but Armas and Rice haven't hit well, I'm sure that will change. Tomorrow night the Sox begin a 3 game set in Kansas City against the Royals. Bruce Hurst goes for the Sox up against Dennis Leonard at 7:35 PM at Royals Stadium.
No comments:
Post a Comment