The Sox wasted no time scoring in the top of the first inning against Oakland starter Mike Norris. Wade Boggs flied out to center but Dwight Evans clocked his second home run of the season to put the Sox up two batters into the game. Jim Rice flied out to right and Carl Yastrzemski grounded out to second to end the inning but the Sox were ahead 1-0.
The A's wasted no time getting to Tudor in the bottom of the first as Rickey Henderson led off with a walk. Mike Davis got a base hit to left and both runners pulled off a double steal. Tudor managed to strike out Carney Lansford and get Henderson throw out at home on a grounder by Jeff Burroughs, but a Dwayne Murphy single scored Davis with the tying run. Davey Lopes flied out to center to end the inning but the game was tied 1-1.
Tony Armas beat out an infield single to third to open the top of the second but Rich Gedman banged into a double play. Dave Stapleton flied out to center to end the inning. Kelvin Moore flied out to center to open the bottom of the second before Bob Kearney struck out. Tony Phillips walked and stole second before Henderson walked. Davis popped up to third to end the inning.
Glenn Hoffman opened the top of the third with a ground out to short but Ed Jurak reached on a dropped fly ball by Murphy. Boggs flied out to left and Evans grounded out to third to end the inning. The A's ran the Sox ragged in the bottom of the third although Lansford flied out to center to start. Burroughs beat out an infield single to short but Murphy struck out. Lopes and Moore stroked back to back singles to score Burroughs with the go-ahead run. Lopes and Moore pulled off a double steal but Kearney flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox down 2-1.
The Sox failed to respond in the top of the fourth as Rice struck out to start. Yaz flied out to right and Armas popped up to short to end the inning. Tudor got in trouble in the bottom of the fourth inning although Phillips flied out to center to start. Henderson singled to left and swiped second before moving to third on a balk. Tudor managed to get Davis to pop up to second and Lansford to fly out to right to end the inning.
Gedman singled to start the top of the fifth but Stapleton flied out to center. Hoffman struck out and Jurak popped up to first to end the inning. Tudor cruised in the bottom of the fifth as Burroughs flied out to center to start. Murphy grounded back to the mound and Lopes flied out to left to end the inning.
Boggs beat out an infield single to start the top of the sixth but Evans hit one up the elevator shaft. Rice flied out to right but Yaz got a base hit to put the tying run at second. Armas popped up to short to end the inning. Moore got plunked to open the bottom of the sixth but was thrown out trying to steal second. Kearney popped up to first and Phillips hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning.
Norris cruised in the top of the seventh inning as Gedman grounded out to second to start. Stapleton popped up to third and Hoffman flied out to right to end the inning. Henderson walked to start the bottom of the seventh inning but was gunned down by the alert Gedman trying to steal. Davis popped up back to Tudor and Lansford struck out to end the inning. That was it for Tudor who allowed 2 runs in 7 innings of work.
The Sox stormed back in the top of the eighth inning as Jurak and Boggs stroked back to back singles to chase Norris. Steve Baker came in and Evans pounded a 3 run home run to put the Sox on top. Rice singled to chase Baker and old pal Tom Burgmeier came in to get Yaz to bang into a double play. Armas hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning with the Sox 6 outs from victory with a 4-2 lead.
Mark Clear came in for the bottom of the eighth and threw up on himself. Burroughs walked and was replaced by pinch runner Mitchell Page. Murphy walked and Sox manager Ralph Houk had seen enough. Bob Stanley came in and both runners moved over on the sacrifice bunt by Lopes. Wayne Gross pinch hit for Moore and he was intentionally walked to load the bases. The gamble worked as Kearney banged into a double play to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the ninth inning as Gedman grounded out to second to start. Stapleton flied out to left but Hoffman reached on an error by Lansford. Jurak flied out to right to end the inning. Stanley came back to close out the bottom of the ninth and Bill Almon pinch hit for Phillips, lining a base hit to left. Henderson flied out to right, Davis forced Almon at second and Lansford grounded out to short to end the game. The Sox had come back to win the game 4-2.
Hero of the Night is Dwight Evans. He drove in all 4 runs himself including swatting two home runs.
The Good:
Wade Boggs was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
John Tudor got the win with 7 innings of 2 run ball. He gave up 6 hits and struck out 4.
Bob Stanley earned his 4th save with 2 shutout innings.
The Bad:
Dave Stapleton was 0 for 4.
Glenn Hoffman was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Mark Clear walked the only two batters he faced.
The Ugly:
Jim Rice was just 1 for 4.
Carl Yastrzemski was just 1 for 4.
Tony Armas was just 1 for 4.
Rich Gedman was just 1 for 4.
Ed Jurak was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
Good pitching by Tudor and clutch hitting by Evans is what the doctor ordered for the Sox in this one. Not much to complain about with Tudor stepping up to win a big game like Bruce Hurst did on Friday night. Hopefully Hurst and Tudor can ride the momentum moving forward because the team is counting on them to carry the pitching with Dennis Eckersley on the decline. The only drawback was Mark Clear's control issues but Stanley saved the day this time. A win is a win and the Sox have to keep pace with the Milwaukee Brewers any way they can. The Sox look to win their fourth game in a row Tuesday night when they send Mike Brown (1-1) to the mound to take on 44 year old Gaylord Perry at 10:30 PM Eastern time at the Kingdome.
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