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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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