Righetti got the ball in the top of the first and Jerry Remy struck out swinging on a high fastball to start. Wade Boggs took strike three on the outside corner but Jim Rice took a close pitch for ball four. Tony Armas struck out swinging to end the inning. Tudor got the ball to start the bottom of the first and Bert Campaneris led off with a base hit to left. Campaneris swiped second but Don Mattingly flied out to left. Dave Winfield drew a walk and Lou Piniella hit a bullet...right to Glenn Hoffman who stepped on second for the double play to end the inning.
Dwight Evans led off the top of the second by striking out swinging on a curveball before Reid Nichols lined out to a running Steve Kemp. Dave Stapleton struck out swinging on the same pitch that got Evans to end the inning. Don Baylor led off the bottom of the second by popping up to a running Rice to start. Butch Wynegar hit a bullet right through the legs of Boggs for an "error" but he ended up on second base. Wynegar moved to third on a grounder to first by Kemp and Roy Smalley grounded out to Stapleton to end the inning.
Jeff Newman led off the top of the third by striking out swinging before Glenn Hoffman struck out swinging on a slider down and in before Remy grounded out to short to end the inning. Andre Robertson flied out to left to begin the bottom of the third but Campaneris blooped a single to right. The Yankees goofed when Campaneris had second base stolen....had Mattingly not popped up to Remy. Remy doubled Bert off first to end the inning.
Righetti was unhittable in the top of the fourth as Boggs lined out to center to start. Rice flied out to right and Armas grounded out to third to end the inning. Tudor stayed tough in the bottom of the fourth as Winfield flied out to center to start. Piniella flied out to the left field wall and Baylor flied out to Armas to end the inning.
Evans led off the top of the fifth by striking out swinging to start. Nichols drew a walk but was immediately picked off. Stapleton popped up to Robertson to end the inning. The Yankees struck first in the bottom of the fifth as Wynegar popped up to Remy to start. Kemp then hit a ball off the glove of Stapleton but it was ruled a base hit. The Yankees made Stapleton pay as Smalley grounded a base hit to right and Robertson singled to left to score Kemp with the go-ahead run. Campaneris walked to load the bases but Mattingly struck out swinging. Winfield struck out swinging to end the inning with the Yankees up 1-0.
Newman flied out to right to start the top of the sixth inning before Hoffman popped up to a running Smalley. Remy popped up to third to end the inning. Righetti was just nine outs away from a no-hitter. The Yankees iced the game in the bottom of the sixth as Piniella flied out to the centerfield warning track to start. Baylor then hit a home run all the way to Yonkers to increase the lead. Rice then caught a Wynegar line drive at the left field wall and Kemp grounded out to first to end the inning with the Yankees leading 2-0.
Boggs flied out to Winfield to start the top of the seventh before Rice drew a walk. Armas banged into a double play to end the inning. Righetti was six outs from the no-no. Smalley popped up to a running Rice to start the bottom of the seventh before Robertson flied out to right. Campaneris also flied out to right to end the inning.
Kemp jumped into the right field bleachers to catch a fly ball by Evans to start the top of the eighth. Nichols flied out to center and Stapleton popped up to Mattingly in foul territory to end the inning. Righetti was three outs from the no-hitter. The Yankees finally chased Tudor in the bottom of the eighth as Mattingly popped up to first to start. Winfield hit a routine grounder to Hoffman but the throw was low and Stapleton dropped it for a "hit." Jeff Newman dove into the stands to corral a pop up by Piniella but Winfield made a heads up play to run to second base. Umpire Steve Palermo knocked himself goofy running into the wall trying to follow Newman. Baylor was intentionally walked but Wynegar walked on a very close pitch to load the bases. Kemp lashed the first pitch he saw into right field for a base hit to score Winfield and Baylor to put the game out of reach. That was it for Tudor who did the best he could but got knocked out in the eighth inning, surrendering 4 runs in 7 2/3 innings. Bob Stanley came in and with one pitch, got Smalley to ground out to first to end the inning with the Yankees ahead 4-0.
Somehow the Sox got a baserunner when Newman walked to start. Hoffman just barely beat out a double play ball and moved to second on a grounder by Remy to Robertson, but there were two outs. Yankee Stadium went crazy when Boggs struck out swinging to end the game. Righetti had pitched a no-hitter and the Yankees had won it 4-0.
Jackass of the Night is a tough one since nobody got a hit. I gotta go with Wade Boggs. Not only did he go 0 for 4 with the final out, but he booted a grounder for an error.
The Good:
Jim Rice walked twice in three at-bats.
Bob Stanley retired the only man he faced.
The Bad:
Jerry Remy was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Tony Armas was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Dwight Evans was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
Dave Stapleton was 0 for 3 with a strikeout
Glenn Hoffman was 0 for 3.
John Tudor allowed 4 runs in 7 2/3 innings to take the loss. He allowed 8 hits and 4 walks while striking out two.
The Ugly:
Reid Nichols was 0 for 2 but drew a walk.
Jeff Newman was 0 for 2 with a strikeout but drew a walk.
Final Thoughts:
What a way to lose a game. The Sox needed this game to take three out of four from New York and keep pace in the division race and instead they get no-hit. The only thing close to a hit was Jerry Remy's grounder to short in the top of the third. That was as dominant a performance as anyone's ever seen despite the walks. Tudor ran out of gas in the eighth inning otherwise he pitched well. If he was removed after the seventh after allowing just two runs, more often than not that would win the game. Once again the bottom of the order makes you want to hurl with the way the bats have performed this season. Remember last year when we said that if the bullpen wasn't great, the Sox wouldn't be either? Here we are. There's not much they can do but hope the starters can pull it together in the second half. The loss drops the Sox to 39-38, 4.5 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for first place in the AL East. The Sox now take a three day break for the All-Star game and come back on Friday night against the California Angels. Looks like it'll be Dennis Eckersley (5-5) getting the ball for Boston against Bruce Kison of the Angels. The game begins at 7:00 PM at Fenway Park.
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