Ojeda Spins Beauty, Tames Tigers (5/3/84)

The Detroit Tigers are red-hot at the moment but temporarily they have been cooled off. Bob Ojeda (2-2, 3.86 ERA) and the Boston Red Sox squeezed by with a pressure-packed 1-0 victory over the Tigers due to a late home run by Dwight Evans at Tiger Stadium.

                                                  ET approves of the win

Detroit's Jack Morris got the start for the Tigers as Marty Barrett led off with a ground out to short. Dwight Evans popped to short but Wade Boggs worked a walk. Jim Rice popped up to third to end the inning. Ojeda began his day by allowing a single to Lou Whitaker to begin the bottom of the first. Alan Trammell walked but the alert Rich Gedman cut down Whitaker at third on a double steal. Barbaro Garbey grounded to third and Lance Parrish flied out to center to end the inning.

Morris stayed tough in the top of the second as Mike Easler hit a comebacker to Morris for the first out. Tony Armas and Gedman both struck out to end the inning. Ojeda matched Morris in the bottom of the second as Larry Herndon struck out to start. Chet Lemon and Kirk Gibson both grounded out to end the inning.

Morris got Reid Nichols to ground to third to open the top of the third before Jackie Gutierrez grounded to first. Barrett flied to right to end the inning. Gedman again bailed out Ojeda as Tom Brookens singled to open the bottom of the third only to be thrown out trying to steal. Rusty Kuntz struck out as did Whitaker to end the inning.

                                                         Way to go Ojeda!

The Sox threatened in the top of the fourth but Evans led off by striking out. Boggs walked and Rice singled to put the pressure on but Easler struck out. Armas grounded into a force to end the inning, what a waste. Luckily Ojeda was ready for the bottom of the fourth. Trammell flied out and Garbey grounded out, but Parrish singled. Ojeda recovered to strike out Herndon to end the inning.

Once again the Sox threatened in the top of the fourth but could not score. Gedman walked but Nichols flied out to center. Gutierrez singled but Barrett struck out. Evans flied out to right to end the inning. It was the Tigers turn to threaten in the bottom of the fifth although Lemon flied out. Gibson singled but Brookens walked. Gibson moved to third on the fly out by Kuntz, but Whitaker also flied out to end the inning.

                                                 Ojeda gets it done in the 5th

Once again the Sox put two men on in the top of the sixth inning. Boggs singled but was erased on the force by Rice. Easler flied out to center but Armas singled Jim to third. With runners at the corners....Gedman struck out to end the inning, damn. Ojeda began the bottom of the sixth by getting Trammell to fly out before Garbey hit a routine grounder to Gutierrez....who he kicked over to second base for absolutely no reason, allowing Garbey to reach on the error. Gedman stepped up AGAIN on a strike em out, throw em out double play to get Garbey at second after Parrish struck out to end the inning.

The Sox failed to capitalize on the double play in the top of the seventh inning. Nichols grounded out to short, Gutierrez flied out to right and Barrett popped up to short to end the inning. Ojeda matched Morris in the bottom of the seventh although Herndon led off with a single. Bob turned up the heat to strike out Lemon, Gibson and Brookens all in order to end the inning.

The Sox finally struck first in the top of the eighth when Evans crushed a solo home run to put the Sox on top. Boggs grounded out and Rice struck out before Easler flied out to end the inning. Still, the Sox were 6 outs from victory thanks to the Dewey home run.

                                                   Evans puts the Sox on top 1-0

Could Ojeda pitch with the lead? You bet your bippy he could. Kuntz flied to center, Whitaker struck out and Trammell grounded out to end the inning.

Morris returned for the top of the ninth and struck out Armas to begin. Gedman and Nichols both grounded to third to end the inning. Ojeda came back to finish the job in the bottom of the ninth. Garbey flied out but things got hairy when Parrish singled and Herndon walked to put the winning run at first. Ojeda got Lemon to fly out and struck out Gibson to end the game. The Sox had beaten the Tigers 1-0 after an amazing start by Ojeda.

Hero of the Night is Bob Ojeda. He was masterful pitching a 6 hit complete game shut-out while striking out 10.

                                                               Ojeda The Hero



The Good:

Wade Boggs was 1 for 2 with 2 walks.

Jackie Gutierrez was 1 for 3.



The Bad:

Marty Barrett was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

Mike Easler was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

Reid Nichols was 0 for 4.



The Ugly:

Dwight Evans was just 1 for 4 but the one hit was a home run that ended up being the difference.

Jim Rice was just 1 for 4.

Tony Armas was just 1 for 4.

Rich Gedman was 0 for 3 but walked and made 3 great throws to nab basestealers.



Final Thoughts:

The Tigers are red hot but that was quite a nice roadblock put up by Bob Ojeda. The Sox need an ace to step up with Dennis Eckersley struggling, could Ojeda be the one? The offense was asleep but Jack Morris is pretty damn good, so not much you can do there. Thank God for Dwight Evans right? The unsung hero of this game was Rich Gedman, throwing out 3 would be base-stealers to preserve the shut-out plus calling the game that Ojeda pitched. With all the runs the Sox pitching have been given up, it was nice to see a shut-out for once. The win improved the Sox to 11-14, 9 games behind the Tigers for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow the Sox return to Fenway to take on old friend Carlton Fisk and the Chicago White Sox. It looks like a Monster match with Tom Seaver going up against Dennis Eckersley (2-2, 5.94 ERA) who beat the ChiSox the last time he pitched in Chicago.

Sox Hold On, Defeat Tigers (5/2/84)

It was a good day for Boston sports. The Boston Celtics defeated the New York Knicks in Game 2 of their second round NBA playoff series and the Boston Red Sox defeated the AL East leading Detroit Tigers. Dwight Evans and Jim Rice powered the Sox offense to 5 runs and Mike Brown (1-2, 5.19 ERA) held the fort for 5 2/3 innings to earn his first win of the season. Bob Stanley ran out of gas in the 9th inning but still held on to earn the save. The Tigers are the team to beat this season and the Sox did just that as they held on to win 5-4 at Tiger Stadium.

                                                     Cedric Maxwell approves of the win

The Sox wasted no time getting to Tigers starter Juan Berenguer as Jerry Remy walked to start. Dwight Evans clobbered his second home run of the season to put Boston on top two batters into the game. Wade Boggs flied out to center, Jim Rice popped up to first and Mike Easler flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.

                                                         Evans with a home run

Brown got the ball in the bottom of the first and Lou Whitaker grounded out to second to start. Alan Trammell grounded out to short and Kirk Gibson flied out to right to end the inning.

Tony Armas grounded out to short to start the top of the second and Rich Gedman popped up to third. Reid Nichols got a base hit but Glenn Hoffman struck out to end the inning. Darrell Evans popped up to short to start the bottom of the second and Johnny Grubb popped up to third. Chet Lemon singled but Dave Bergman grounded out to second to end the inning.

The Sox struck again in the top of the third as Remy walked to start. Remy was thrown out trying to steal and Evans struck out. Boggs walked and Rice smashed his second home run of the season to increase the lead. Easler grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-0.

                                                            Rice is getting hot

Brown cruised in the bottom of the third as Howard Johnson popped up to first to start. Dwight Lowry flied out to right and Whitaker grounded back to the mound to end the inning.

The Sox blew a chance to add to the lead in the top of the fourth as Armas struck out to start. Gedman motored around for a triple but Nichols popped up to right. Hoffman popped up to first to end the inning. Brown got in trouble in the bottom of the fourth as Trammell popped up to first to start. Gibson singled but Evans flied out to left. Grubb walked and Lemon whiffed to end the inning.

Nothing happened in the top of the fifth as Remy popped up to short to start. Evans popped up to first and Boggs popped up to left in foul territory to end the inning. Brown got in trouble again as Bergman and Johnson both singled to start the bottom of the fifth. Lowry flied out to right, Whitaker struck out and Trammell grounded out to short to end the inning.

The Sox struck again in the top of the sixth as Rice grounded out to short to start. Easler drew a walk but Armas hit one up the elevator shaft. Easler swiped second and Gedman was intentionally walked to get to Nichols. Nichols would have none of it as he got a base hit to score Easler with another run. Hoffman popped up to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-0.

                                                 "Walk Gedman again, I DARE you!" - Nichols

Brown ran out of gas in the bottom of the sixth as Gibson and Evans both singled to start. Grubb flied out to left and Lemon struck out, but Bergman singled home Gibson to chase Brown. Sox manager Ralph Houk decided to pull Brown before it got any worse after 5 2/3 innings of 1 run ball. Bob Stanley got Johnson to pop up to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-1.

                                                        Brown with a good start

Doug Bair came in for the top of the seventh and Remy grounded out to third to start. Evans got a base hit but Boggs flied out to center. Rice struck out to end the inning. Stanley cruised in the bottom of the seventh as Lowry struck out to start. Whitaker lined one off of Stanley but Hoffman threw him out at first. Trammell grounded out to second to end the inning.

Easler tried to start a rally with a base hit to start the top of the eighth but Armas and Gedman both struck out to kill that. Nichols grounded into a force to end the inning. The Tigers struck back in the bottom of the eighth as Gibson tripled to start and scored on the Evans grounder to cut the lead. Grubb singled but was forced at second by Lemon. Bergman singled but Johnson struck out to end the inning with the Tigers down 5-2.

                                                            Dammit Stanley!

Willie Hernandez took over for the top of the ninth and Hoffman singled to start. Remy sacrifice bunted Hoffman to second but Evans struck out. Boggs grounded out to third to end the inning. The Tigers made it interesting in the bottom of the ninth when Barbaro Garbey pinch hit for Lowry. Garbery singled and Whitaker doubled him home. Whitaker moved to third on the fly out by Trammell and Gibson doubled him home. With the tying run on second, Evans grounded out to short. Stanley struck out Grubb to end the game. It got hairy at the end but the Sox had won it 5-4.

Hero of the Night is Mike Brown. He held the powerful Tigers to just 1 run in 5 2/3 innings to pick up his first win of the season.

                                                          Brown gets the Hero



The Good:

Jerry Remy walked twice, dropped down a perfect bunt and scored a run.

Dwight Evans was 2 for 5 with a 2 run home run.

Mike Easler was 1 for 3 with a stolen base, walk and a run scored.

Rich Gedman was 1 for 3 with a walk.

Reid Nichols was 2 for 4 with an rbi.



The Bad:

Tony Armas was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.



The Ugly:

Wade Boggs was 0 for 4 but walked and scored a run.

Jim Rice was just 1 for 4 but the one hit was a 2 run home run.

Glenn Hoffman was just 1 for 4.

Bob Stanley allowed 3 runs in 3 1/3 innings but earned his fourth save of the season.




Final Thoughts:

The Tigers are for real this season but the Sox aided their cause by winning the game. If they're the team the beat the Sox have to match them on both sides of the ball. The Sox are gonna need an elite starter if they hope to catch the Tigers this season. Its only May so the Sox have 3 months to come up with a trade or hope one of their prospects become an ace. Otherwise the Sox have no chance to catch the Tigers if their starters don't step up. Mike Brown was good today and they're going to need more of that going forward. The win improved the Sox to 10-14, 10 games behind the Tigers for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow afternoon the Sox look to take the series when they send Bob Ojeda (1-2) to the mound up against Tigers ace Jack Morris at 3:05 PM Eastern Time at Tiger Stadium.

Tigers Maul Sox in Series Opener (5/1/84)

Well if there was any doubt who the beast of the AL East was this season, the Detroit Tigers have proven to be the team to beat. The Tigers have played 21 games this year and have won 19 of them. The latest victims were the Boston Red Sox. The Tigers pounced on Red Sox starter Bruce Hurst (3-3, 2.27 ERA) for 6 runs and knocked him out in the fourth inning. Oil Can Boyd came on in relief and allowed 5 runs of his own to the seemingly invincible Tigers. Meanwhile Tigers starter Milt Wilcox held the vaunted Sox offense to just 2 runs in 8 innings as the Tigers cruised to an 11-2 win at Tiger Stadium.

                                               "Ok Detroit, you're the beast of the East"

The Sox did manage to strike first in the top of the first against Wilcox as Jerry Remy grounded out to second to start. Dwight Evans singled and moved to second on the grounder by Wade Boggs. Jim Rice got a base hit to score Boggs with the game's first run. Rice then ran himself into an out trying to "steal" to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.

                                                  What the hell are you doing, Rice?

Hurst got in trouble immediately in the bottom of the first when Rusty Kuntz singled and Alan Trammell walked to start. Barbaro Garbey struck out, Lance Parrish flied out to left and Larry Herndon struck out to end the inning.

The Sox did nothing in the top of the second as Mike Easler struck out to start. Tony Armas flied out to center and Rich Gedman popped up to first to end the inning. The Tigers struck in the bottom of the second although Chet Lemon grounded out to short ton start. Tom Brookens singled and stole second before Rod Allen hit a routine grounder to Glenn Hoffman. Glenn dove on the ball and wrestled with it for an error to put runners at the corners. Marty Castillo struck out but Allen swiped second but Kuntz singled home both runners to give the Tigers the lead. Trammell singled and Garbey singled home both runners to increase the lead. Parrish singled but Herndon grounded into a force to end the inning with the Tigers ahead 4-1.

                                                             Nice error Glenn

The Sox tried to fight back in the top of the third when Reid Nichols got a single but Glenn Hoffman hit into a double play. Hoffman popped up to first to end the inning. Hurst recovered to get the Tigers to beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the third inning as Lemon grounded out to third to start. Brookens grounded out to second and Allen grounded back to the mound to end the inning.

The Sox struck back in the top of the fourth when Evans drew a walk to start. Dwight moved to second on a passed ball and to third on the Boggs fly out to center. Rice lashed a base hit to score Evans with another run. Easler banged into a double play to end the inning but the Sox cut the lead in half, trailing 4-2.

                                                           Evans scored a run

The Tigers were personally offended the Sox had the unmitigated audacity to score a run against them so they clobbered Hurst in the bottom of the fourth. Castillo doubled and took third on a balk before Kuntz doubled him home. Trammell struck out but Garbey doubled home Kuntz to chase the ineffective Hurst. Hurst had pitched well in April but was clearly not ready for prime time against the East's best team, surrendering 6 runs in just 3 1/3 innings. Oil Can Boyd came in and Parrish grounded out to short before Herndon struck out to end the inning. The Tigers had iced the game and led 6-2.

                                                         Not Bruce's best stuff

The Sox went quietly in the top of the fifth as Armas grounded out to short to start. Gedman flied out to center and Nichols popped up to third to end the inning. For some reason Tigers manager Sparky Anderson decided to pinch hit for everyone in the bottom of the fifth. Lemon started with a single and Brookens walked before Darrell Evans pinch hit for Allen. Evans popped up to second and Lou Whitaker pinch hit for Castillo only to fly out to center. Kirk Gibson pinch hit for Kuntz and popped up to short to end the inning.

Hoffman singled to start the top of the sixth and moved to second on the Remy grounder, but Evans struck out. Boggs flied out to left to end the inning. Boyd cruised in the bottom of the sixth as Trammell grounded out to second to begin. Garbey struck out and Parrish grounded out to third to end the inning.

The Sox tried to fight back when Rice and Easler stroked back to back singles to begin the top of the seventh, but Armas struck out. Gedman flied out to right and Nichols grounded out to third to end the inning. The Tigers pounced in the bottom of the seventh although Herndon popped up to second to start Lemon blasted a home run all the way to Finland to increase the lead. Brookens grounded back to the mound but Evans singled. Whitaker popped up to short to end the inning with the Tigers up 7-2.

Rick Miller pinch hit for Hoffman to start the top of the eighth and struck out. Remy flied out to left and Evans struck out to end the inning. The Tigers feasted on Boyd in the bottom of the eighth with Jackie Gutierrez now at short. Gibson struck out but Trammell doubled. Garbey singled home Trammell but Parrish flied out to left. Herndon singled and Gedman threw a pickoff throw away to advance the runners. Naturally Lemon crushed a 40,000 foot 3 run homer to wrap up the scoring. Brookens flied out to center to end the inning with the Tigers ahead 11-2.

                                                       Boyd gets lit up

Aurelio Lopez had mop up duty in the top of the ninth and Boggs singled to start. Rice banged into a double play and Easler grounded out to third to end the game. The Tigers had cruised to an 11-2 win.

Jackass of the Night is Bruce Hurst. The Tigers feasted on him for 6 runs in just 3 1/3 innings putting the Sox in a hole they couldn't climb out of.

                                                      Bruce Jackass



The Good:

Dwight Evans was 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored.

Jim Rice was 3 for 4 with 2 rbis.

Reid Nichols was 1 for 3.



The Bad:

Jerry Remy was 0 for 4.

Tony Armas was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Rich Gedman was 0 for 3 with an error.

Rick Miller struck out as a pinch hitter.

Oil Can Boyd allowed 5 runs in just 4 2/3 innings.



The Ugly:

Wade Boggs was just 1 for 4.

Mike Easler was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.

Glenn Hoffman was 1 for 2 but his error allowed the floodgates to open in the bottom of the second.



Honorable Mention:

Jackie Gutierrez played short in the bottom of the eighth.




Final Thoughts:

So much for the Sox trying to battle back in the AL East race. The Tigers look unstoppable and its not just the offense that smacked the Sox into submission, Wilcox and Lopez held the Sox to just 2 runs from the pitching side. The good news is if this is the team to beat, the Sox now know what the formula is in order to get the pieces they need to compete. If the Sox can get a proven starter for some of their younger guys, maybe they have a chance to get back in the race. The Tigers may cool off but there's a chance they won't. Hurst going to pieces after the Hoffman era was frightening, if he had gotten the next guy out maybe the floodgates don't open. It just wasn't meant to be tonight, that's for sure. The loss dropped the Sox to 9-14, 11 games behind the Tigers for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to bounce back in game two of this set when they send Mike Brown (0-2) out against Juan Berenguer at 8:05 PM Eastern time at Tiger Stadium.