Boyd took the mound to start the top of the first and Jack Perconte took a fastball on the outside corner for strike three to start. Toby Harrah dumped a base hit to left but Mike Hargrove struck out swinging and Andre Thornton tapped a grounder to short to end the inning. Sorensen got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jerry Remy led off by popping a bunt back to Larry to start. Wade Boggs lined out to center and Jim Rice struck out swinging to end the inning.
Ron Hassey led off the top of the second by popping up to short to start. Alan Bannister grounded out to third and George Vukovich grounded out to second to end the inning. The Sox beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the second as Tony Armas grounded out to first to start. Carl Yastrzemski grounded out to first and Rick Miller grounded out to short to end the inning.
Kevin Rhomberg grounded back to the mound to start the top of the third before Mike Fischlin got a base hit to center. Fischlin took second but Perconte took strike three. Harrah grounded out to third to end the inning. Dave Stapleton led off the bottom of the third by striking out on a nasty changeup to start. Jeff Newman hit a rocket to Mike Fischlin that was ruled a base hit but was doubled off first on a rocket liner to Sorensen by Jackie Gutierrez to end the inning.
The Indians struck first in the top of the fourth as Hargrove walked to start before taking second on a wild pitch. Thornton hit a deep fly to right to move Hargrove to third and Mike scored on the grounder to second by Hassey. Bannister grounded out to third to end the inning with the Indians up 1-0.
The Sox beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the fourth as Remy grounded out to second to start. Boggs and Rice also grounded out to second to end the inning.
Marty Barrett took over for Remy to start the top of the fifth and Vukovich singled to left to start...but was thrown out second trying to steal. Rhomberg ripped a base hit up the middle but was forced at second on a comebacker to Boyd by Fischlin. Perconte popped up to short to end the inning.
Armas flied out to right to start the bottom of the fifth and Yaz grounded out to second. Miller also grounded out to second to end the inning.
Chico Walker took over for Rice and Lee Graham came in for Armas to start the top of the sixth and Harrah hit a ground rule double down the left field line to start. Hargrove back to the mound but Harrah moved to third on the fly ball to Miller by Thornton. Hassey flied out to center to end the inning. Stapleton led off the bottom of the sixth by lining back to the mound and but Newman drew a walk. Gutierrez took strike three and Barrett flied out to right to end the inning.
Boyd cruised in the top of the seventh as Bannister took strike three to start. Vukovich flied out to right and Rhomberg struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the seventh as Boggs grounded out to second to start. Walker tripled off the centerfield wall and scored on the Graham sac fly to tie the game. Yaz grounded out to second to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
Boyd froze Fischlin for strike three to start the top of the eighth but Perconte doubled to right. Harrah flied out to the left field warning track and Hargrove flied out to left to end the inning. The Sox blew their best chance to take the lead in the bottom of the eighth as Miller grounded out to second to start. Stapleton grounded out to Fischlin but Newman slapped a base hit to center. Ed Jurak pinch ran for Newman and Gutierrez singled off the glove of Perconte. Barrett grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Indians finally broke through in the top of the ninth as Gary Allenson took over behind the plate. Thornton poked a double just over the third base bag to start and Bake McBride pinch ran for him. Hassey grounded out to Stapleton and Broderick Perkins pinch hit for Bannister. Perkins hit a liner to Boggs who booted it for an error to keep the inning going. This proved huge as Carmelo Castillo ran for Perkins and Vukovich lashed a base hit to left. McBride made a mad dash home but Walker's throw was in time for the out. Due to the error to Boggs, instead of being out of the inning there were runners on second and third with two out. Just like everything else that's gone wrong this season, Boyd uncorked a wild pitch that scored Castillo to put the Indians on top. Rhomberg ripped a base hit to center that scored Vukovich but was thrown out at second trying to stretch a double to end the inning with the Indians up 3-1.
Boggs atoned for his error with a base hit to right to start the bottom of the ninth but Walker flied out to the centerfield warning track. Graham grounded out to third to move Boggs to third and the crowd gave Yaz a standing ovation. Unfortunately Yaz grounded back to the mound to end the game. The Indians spoiled the party by winning the game 3-1.
Indians win
Bye Bye Jackass
Jackass of the Night is Carl Yastrzemski. In his own retirement ceremony game he went 0 for 4 including grounding back to the mound with the game on the line.
The Good:
Chico Walker was 1 for 2 with a run scored and outfield assist.
Lee Graham drove in the only run the Sox scored and got an outfield assist.
Jeff Newman was 2 for 2 with a walk.
Jackie Gutierrez was 1 for 3.
One of the rare times the losing pitcher ends up on the Good list but Oil Can Boyd threw a gutty game. He was failed by his defense and was charged with 3 runs in a complete game. Only one of the runs was earned.
The Bad:
Jerry Remy was 0 for 2.
Marty Barrett was 0 for 2.
Jim Rice was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
Tony Armas was 0 for 2.
Rick Miller was 0 for 3.
Dave Stapleton was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Wade Boggs was just 1 for 4 with an error.
Honorable Mention:
Ed Jurak pinch ran for Newman in the eighth inning.
Gary Allenson caught the top of the ninth inning.
Final Thoughts:
This season can't end fast enough and its a shame Yaz cost the team on his own day, but that's par for the course this season since nothing went right. Tony Armas hit .218 this season, Dave Stapleton regressed, Dwight Evans hit only .238 and Yaz was down to .266 with 10 homers in his final year. Still, Boggs is going to be league batting champion and Oil Can Boyd could be a future stud if he has better run support. As for this game, Boyd had one bad inning in the ninth and that's sometimes all it takes. Walker and Graham did the best they could to throw runners out but the error and wild pitch sealed the deal. Still, the true story was Sorensen shutting down the Boston bats in a complete game effort. Gotta tip your cap and admitted he was the better man on this day. The loss dropped the Sox to 77-84, good for 6th place in the AL East. Tomorrow is the final regular season game of the year and Carl Yastrzemski's last before he retires. Al Nipper (0-1) takes the ball in the season finale for the Sox against Bud Anderson of the Indians. The game begins at 1:05 PM at Fenway Park.
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