Burns took the mound in the top of the first inning and Jerry Remy grounded out to second to start. Dwight Evans was robbed of extra bases by Rusty Kuntz in center and Jim Rice hit a comebacker to the mound to end the inning. Hurst began his dominance in the bottom of the first and Tony Bernazard popped up to center to start. Carlton Fisk walked but Harold Baines banged into a double play to end the inning.
Tony Armas began the top of the second inning by whiffing on a full count fastball. Dave Stapleton whiffed but Wade Boggs singled to left. Reid Nichols popped up to first to end the inning. Greg Luzinski led off the bottom of the second with a walk but Tom Paciorek flied out to right. Ron Kittle singled over the head of Glenn Hoffman but Kuntz grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Gary Allenson flied out to right to begin the top of the third inning before Hoffman looked at strike three. Remy popped up to left to end the inning
Hurst ran into some trouble in the bottom of the third inning. Lorenzo Gray whiffed but Jerry Dybzinski singled in the hole at short. Bernazard beat out a double play ball and stole second, but Fisk grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Sox did absolutely nothing in the top of the fourth inning as Evans grounded out to third, Rice watched strike three go by and Armas whiffed to end the inning. Hurst matched Burns in the bottom of the fourth as Baines hit a comebacker to start. Luzinski grounded out to third and Paciorek flied out to the left field warning track to end the inning.
The Sox did mount a threat in the top of the fifth although Stapleton flied out to right to start. Boggs drew a walk and Nichols lined a base hit to left to put some pressure on. Unfortunately Allenson popped up to left and Hoffman whiffed to end the inning. Hurst kept up the pace in the bottom of the inning as he whiffed Kittle to open the frame. Kuntz singled but Gray banged into a double play to end the inning.
Remy led off the top of the sixth with a laser to center for a base hit but Evans hit into a double play. Baines ran down a line drive by Rice to end the inning. Hurst was unhittable in the bottom of the sixth as Dybzinski flied out to left to start. Bernazard flied out to right and Fisk popped up to third to end the inning.
Burns stayed tough in the top of the seventh inning as Armas whiffed and Stapleton just missed as home run by 10 feet before he grounded out to short. Boggs popped up to left to end the inning. There was no stopping Hurst in the bottom of the seventh as Baines grounded out to third, Luzinski popped up to third and Paciorek watched strike three go by to end the inning.
Nichols led off the top of the eighth with a base hit just over the jumping Dybzinski. Allenson dropped down a sacrifice bunt to advance Reid to second but Hoffman popped up to center. Remy lined a ball almost as high as where Nichols hit it but this time Dybzinski was able to snare it for the third out to retire the side. Hurst came out firing in the bottom of the eighth, getting Kittle to ground out to third to start. Kuntz froze on a borderline pitch for strike three and Gray grounded out to third to end the inning.
The BoSox finally broke through in the top of the ninth as Dennis Lamp replaced Burns on the mound. Evans sliced a single to right field but was erased on the force by Rice. Armas popped up to center but Stapleton hit a ground ball out of the glove of Bernazard at second. Boggs walked to load the bases and Nichols blooped a single to right to score Rice and Stapleton for the first runs of the game. Allenson was plunked to re-load the bases but Hoffman was rung up on a check swing strike three to end the inning but the BoSox were up 2-0.
Hurst came back to finish the job in the bottom of the ninth inning. Jerry Hairston pinch hit for Dybzinski and was rung up on a borderline payoff pitch for the first out. Bernazqrd whiffed badly and Fisk grounded out to third to end the game. Hurst had thrown a complete game 3 hit shutout to give the Bosox a 2-0 win.
Hero of the Night is Reid Nichols. Yes, Hurst tossed a shutout but it was Nichols who had the game winning hit, also going 3 for 4 total in the game.
The Good:
Wade Boggs was 1 for 2 with 2 walks.
Bruce Hurst was outstanding. He tossed a complete game 3 hit shut-out, the first of his career while walking just two batters.
The Bad:
Tony Armas was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Glenn Hoffman was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
The Ugly:
Jerry Remy was just 1 for 4.
Dwight Evans was just 1 for 4.
Jim Rice was 0 for 4 but scored a run.
Dave Stapleton was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Gary Allenson was 0 for 2 but was hit with a pitch.
Final Thoughts:
Check out those first place Red Sox. The season has been a surprise so far and the key to it has been the development of Hurst. He's always had the talent but never could get out of the box, this season he has. If John Tudor and Bob Ojeda can follow suit, this could be a devastating young trio for years to come. As for the offense, they got the timeliest of timely offense to win but need to do better overall. The win improved the Sox to 23-17, tied for first place in the AL East with the Toronto Blue Jays. It just so happens the Sox now travel to Toronto for a 3 game set, tomorrow night Ojeda goes one on one with Dave Stieb at 7:30 PM at the Skydome.
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