John Tudor got the start for the Sox and he immediately crapped his pants. Damaso Garcia grounded out to short to begin the top of the first but Dave Collins singled. The alert Rich Gedman gunned down Collins trying to steal but Barry Bonnell walked. Cliff Johnson then blasted a 2 run bomb halfway to Nashua to give the Jays the quick lead. Jesse Barfield struck out to end the inning but the Jays had struck first.
The Sox responded by beating the daylights out of Jays starter Luis Leal in the bottom of the first inning. Wade Boggs and Dwight Evans stroked back to back singles before Jim Rice walked to load the bases. Tony Armas struck out but Carl Yastrzemski singled home Boggs and Evans to tie the game. Stapleton smashed a 3 run bomb to give the Sox a shocking lead just like that. Gedman lined out to center but Glenn Hoffman doubled. Julio Valdez hit a comebacker to the mound to end the inning but the Sox were up 5-2.
Tudor ran into trouble in the top of the second inning when Garth Iorg singled to start the frame. Iorg was erased on the force by Willie Upshaw before Buck Martinez lined one off the Monster. Iorg made it to third but Martinez was gunned down by the alert Rice trying to stretch a double. Alfredo Griffin bunted his way on as the Sox defense held Upshaw at third, then he swiped second. Garcia walked to load the bases but Collins popped up to short to end the inning. Tudor looked like crap so far. Boggs singled to open the bottom of the second but Evans whiffed. Rice grounded out back to the mound but Boggs made it to second. Armas hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning.
The Jays struck back in the top of the third inning although Bonnell grounded out to second to begin. Johnson flied out to right but Barfield crushed a 700,000 foot home run halfway to Montreal to cut the lead. Iorg grounded out to end the inning but it was now 5-3 Sox.
The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the third as Yaz flied out to left to begin. Stapleton grounded out to short but Gedman and Hoffman struck back to back singles. Valdez grounded into a force to end the inning.
Tudor finally settled down in the top of the fourth as Upshaw grounded out to second to start. Martinez grounded out to third but Griffin doubled. Garcia flied out to center to end the inning. The Sox iced the game in the bottom of the fourth as Boggs doubled not only to start the inning, but chase Leal as well. Jays manager Bobby Cox brought in Mike Morgan and immediately regretted his decision when Evans crushed a 2 run home run to increase the lead. Rice grounded out to third but Armas flied out to right. Yaz walked but Stapleton grounded into a force to end the inning with the Sox up 7-3.
Sox manager Ralph Houk decided that was enough out of Tudor and brought in Bob Stanley for the big 5 inning save in the top of the fifth. Collins struck out but Bonnell grounded out to third. Johnson lined out to third to end the inning. The Sox offense was done for the day in the bottom of the fifth as Gedman grounded out to second to start. Hoffman flied out to right and Valdez flied out to center to end the inning.
Cox decided to empty the bench in the top of the sixth inning after Barfield singled to start. Rance Mulliniks pinch hit for Iorg and singled. Upshaw singled to load the bases with nobody out and Ernie Whitt pinch hit for Martinez. He singled to score Barfield and re-load the bases to bring the go-ahead run to the plate. Lloyd Moseby pinch hit for Griffin and popped up to center with Mulliniks holding at third. Stanley got the biggest out of the game when he got Garcia to bang into a double play to end the inning. What could have been a huge inning for Toronto ended with the Sox holding a 7-4 lead with 9 outs to go.
Mickey Klutts took over at third for the bottom of the sixth and Boggs walked to chase Morgan. Jim Acker replaced him and got Evans to fly out to right. Rice bounced into a double play to end the inning.
Stanley got Collins to fly out to right to begin the top of the seventh inning. Hosken Powell pinch hit for Bonnell only to ground out to first. Johnson froze for strike three to end the inning. The Sox beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the seventh inning. Armas grounded out to short, Yaz grounded out back to the mound and Stapleton grounded out to third to end the inning.
Stanley was unhittable in the top of the eighth inning as Barfield flied out to center, Mulliniks grounded out to short and Upshaw struck out in short order. Joey McLaughlin replaced Acker for the bottom of the eighth inning and got Gedman to fly out to right to start. Hoffman grounded out to short and Valdez flied out to right to end the inning.
Stanley came back out to finish the job in the top of the ninth inning. Whitt struck out but Klutts singled. Klutts was forced at second on a force by Garcia and Collins grounded out to first to end the game. The Sox had posted their first win 7-4.
Hero of the Night is Dave Stapleton. His 3 run home proved to be the difference in the game.
The Good:
Wade Boggs was 3 for 3 with a walk.
Dwight Evans was 2 for 4 with 2 total runs scored and a two run home run.
Carl Yastrzemski was 1 for 3 with a walk, 2 rbis and a run scored.
Glenn Hoffman was 2 for 4.
Bob Stanley earned the win with 5 innings of relief while allowing just 1 earned run.
The Bad:
Tony Armas was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Julio Valdez was 0 for 4.
John Tudor lasted just 4 innings and gave up 3 runs before being pulled.
The Ugly:
Jim Rice was 0 for 3 but walked and scored.
Rich Gedman was just 1 for 4.
Final Thoughts:
Guess the Sox are gonna have to bop their way to victory this year if the pitching is going to be this bad moving forward. If Dennis Eckersley is never going to be the ace he was in 1978 then they're going to have to rely on John Tudor, Bob Ojeda or Bruce Hurst to step up....not good. Still, the team does have the offensive firepower to bash their way through most teams but they're going to have to do it consistently to make up for the average at best starting pitching. Tudor's effort isn't going to cut it going forward but then again, it was his first start of the year. Tomorrow the Sox hit the road and visit the Texas Rangers for a set down in Arlington Park. John Butcher goes for the Rangers while the Sox counter with rookie Mike Brown, who made 3 relief appearances at the end of last year.
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