Ron Romanick got the ball to start the top of the first inning and Jerry Remy hit a comebacker to the mound to start the game. Dwight Evans popped up to second and Wade Boggs flied out to center to end the inning. Dennis Eckersley got the start in the bottom of the first inning and Brian Downing flied out to right to start. Rod Carew grounded out to second and Daryl Sconiers popped up to short to end the inning.
The Sox went quietly in the top of the second inning as Jim Rice grounded out to third to start. Mike Easler struck out and Tony Armas flied out to right to end the inning. The Angels struck first in the bottom of the second when Doug DeCinces singled. Eckersley got Fred Lynn to fly out to right and struck out Bobby Grich, but DeCinces stole second. Dick Schofield Jr singled home DeCinces to give the Angels the lead. Schofield swiped second but Bob Boone popped up to short to end the inning with the Angels up 1-0.
Rich Gedman singled to open the top of the third inning but Dave Stapleton grounded into a double play. Glenn Hoffman grounded out to first to end the inning. Eckersley matched Romanick in the bottom of the third inning. Garry Pettis and Downing struck out before Carew flied out to left to end the inning.
The Sox mustered nothing in the top of the fourth inning as Remy flied out to left before both Evans and Boggs flied out to center to end the inning. Eckersley tried to keep pace in the bottom of the fourth inning. Sconiers singled but DeCinces banged into a double play. Lynn grounded out to second to end the inning.
Rice looked to get things going in the top of the fifth inning with a base hit to start. Easler walked but Armas killed the rally with a double play. Gedman grounded out to second to end the inning. Grich singled to lead off the bottom of the fifth but Schofield Jr popped up to third. The alert Gedman gunned down Grich trying to steal and Boone popped to third to end the inning.
Romanick dominated in the top of the sixth as Stapleton grounded out to short to start. Hoffman flied to center and Remy grounded to short to end the inning. Eckersley matched Romanick in the bottom of the sixth inning as Pettis flied out to right to start. Downing popped to short and Carew grounded out to second to end the inning.
Evans looked to get things started in the top of the seventh inning with a lead-off double...but he was stranded. Boggs flied out to right, Rice grounded out to short and Easler popped up to third to end the inning. The Angels struck again in the bottom of the seventh although Sconiers flied out to center to start. DeCinces grounded out to short but Lynn singled. Grich doubled home Lynn to increase the lead but Schofield Jr flied out to center to end the inning with the Angels up 2-0.
The Sox roared back in the top of the eighth inning. Juan Beniquez took over in left for the Angels as Armas started it off with a base hit. Gedman singled to put the tying run on as Reid Nichols pinch ran for him. Stapleton dropped down a bunt and Romanick fired to third....OVER HIS HEAD AND INTO LEFT! Armas scored and Nichols motored around home.....AND BENIQUEZ THREW IT AWAY! Nichols scored and Stapleton ended up on third with the game tied. Hoffman punctuated the bad baseball by California with a double to score Dave and take the lead. Remy dropped down and was thrown out at first, but Hoffman moved to third. Glenn scored on the sac fly by Evans as Boggs singled. Rice flied out to end the inning but the Sox had taken a 4-2 lead with 6 outs to go.
Gary Allenson took over behind the plate as the Angels struck back in the bottom of the eighth inning. Eckersley got Boone to ground out to third as Reggie Jackson pinch hit for Pettis only to pop up to first. One out away from going into the ninth with the lead, Beniquez singled and CAREW blasted a 87,648 foot home run into the Pacific Ocean to tie the game. Nice going Eck! That was it for Eckersley who was just one out away from 8 innings of 2 run ball. Bob Stanley chugged in from the bullpen and got Sconiers to hit a routine grounder to second. Unfortunately Jerry Remy was playing air guitar and the ball went through his legs for an error. Rob Wilfong pinch ran for Sconiers but DiCinces flied out to center to end the inning with the score tied 4-4.
The Sox answered in the top of the ninth with Ron Jackson now in left field. Easler started the rally with a double but Armas flied out to left and Allenson popped up to third. Stapleton gave the Sox the lead with a go-ahead double as Hoffman worked a walk. Remy atoned for his error by scoring Stapleton with a single to chase Kaufman. Talk about leaving someone in for too long. Frank LaCorte came in to pitch and Evans greeted him with a double to score Hoffman to ice the game. Boggs flied out to left but the Sox now led 7-4 with 3 outs to go.
Stanley came back for the ninth and slammed the door shut. Lynn grounded out to second and Grich struck out. Schofield hit a comebacker to Stanley to end the game. The Sox had rallied twice in the late innings to take the game 7-4.
Hero of the Night is Dave Stapleton. His go-ahead double in the top of the ninth was the deciding run.
The Good:
Dwight Evans was 2 for 4 with 2 rbi's.
Mike Easler was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Rich Gedman was 2 for 3.
Jeff Newman scored as a pinch runner.
Glenn Hoffman was 1 for 3 with a walk, rbi and 2 runs scored.
Bob Stanley earned the win by getting out of the 8th inning jam and slamming the door in the 9th.
The Bad:
Gary Allenson was 0 for 1 at the plate.
The Ugly:
Jerry Remy was just 1 for 4 with an error but drove in a run.
Wade Boggs was just 1 for 5.
Jim Rice was just 1 for 4.
Tony Armas was 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Dennis Eckersley went 7 2/3 innings allowing 4 runs and leaving with a no-decision. His failure to retire Carew in the 8th cost him the victory.
Final Thoughts:
Now that was a balsy win. Any time you win on the West Coast is one less road game to worry about and this was a big win. Stapleton and Hoffman picked up the slack for the cleanup crew and Stanley was lights out in the end. Its a shame Eck couldn't get Carew in the eighth but there will be another time. Nobody really had a bad game which is a sign of good things. Hopefully the Sox can keep the momentum tomorrow against the Oakland A's when the Sox visit Oakland. Larry Sorenson goes for the A's while Oil Can Boyd makes his season debut for the Sox.
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