Eck got the ball in the top of the first and Rudy Law got a base hit to center to start. Law stole second and took third on the grounder to second by Carlton Fisk. Harold Baines popped up to third and Ron Kittle flied out to left to end the inning. Seaver got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jerry Remy got a base hit to left to start. Remy stole second but Dwight Evans grounded out to short. Wade Boggs grounded out to second to move Remy to third but Jim Rice popped up to first to end the inning.
Jerry Hairston flied out to center to open the top of the second and Mike Squires hit one up the elevator shaft. Vance Law got a base hit to right but Scott Fletcher struck out swinging to end the inning. Mike Easler grounded out to second to start the bottom of the second and Tony Armas grounded out to third. Rich Gedman got a base hit to left but Reid Nichols popped up to short to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the third as Jerry Dybzinski doubled to left to start. Rudy Law dropped down a bunt to move Jerry to third and who else but Fisk got a base hit to to center to score Dybzinski. Baines flied out to right and Kittle grounded out to short to end the inning with the White Sox up 1-0.
The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the third as Glenn Hoffman grounded out to short to start. Remy got a base hit to center and took off for second, making it to third on a throwing error by Fisk. Unfortunately Evans struck out swinging but Boggs walked. Rice flied out to right to end the inning.
The White Sox took command in the top of the fourth as Hairston flied out to right to start. Squires doubled to center but Vance Law flied out to right. Fletcher hit a routine grounder to third...booted by Boggs for an error to score Squires. Dybzinski was hit with a pitch and Rudy Law got a base hit to right to score Fletcher. Fisk popped up to second to end the inning with the White Sox up 3-0.
The Red Sox fought back in the bottom of the fourth as Easler walked to start. Armas belted his seventh home run of the season to cut the lead. Gedman struck out swinging and Nichols popped up to second. Hoffman grounded out to short to end the inning with the Red Sox down 3-2.
Home run Armas
Baines doubled to left to start the top of the fifth and Kittle beat out a roller to short, but Hairston hit a bullet to Remy. Remy doubled off Baines at second and Kittle was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning. The Red Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the fifth as Remy flied out to left to start. Evans walked, Boggs got a base hit to left and Vance Law booted a grounder by Rice to load the bases. Both Easler and Armas struck out swinging to end the inning.
Squires flied out to left to start the top of the sixth and Vance Law popped up to second. Fletcher grounded out to short to end the inning. That was it for Eckersley who tossed 6 solid innings allowing just 3 runs off 9 hits. He just got no run support from a usually reliable offense.
Gedman grounded out to second to start the bottom of the sixth and Nichols flied out to center. Hoffman grounded out to short to end the inning.
Mark Clear came in to crap his pants in the top of the seventh as Dybzinski doubled to center to start. Rudy Law walked and Fisk got a base hit to right to score Jerry, moving Law to third. Baines hit a sac fly to right to score Law but Kittle popped up to second. Hairston flied out to right to end the inning with the White Sox up 5-2.
The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the seventh as Remy flied out to left to start. Evans grounded out to second and Boggs grounded out to first to end the inning.
Squires walked to start the top of the eighth and Vance Law dropped down a bunt to move Mike to second. Squires stole third but Fletcher struck out swinging. Dybzinski grounded out to short to end the inning. Rice grounded out to third to start the bottom of the eighth and Easler grounded out to second. Armas got a base hit to left but Gedman flied out to center to end the inning.
Clear returned for the top of the ninth and Rudy Law grounded out to second to start. Fisk flied out to center and Baines grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Suddenly the Sox rallied in the bottom of the ninth as Nichols doubled to right to start. Rick Miller pinch hit for Hoffman and walked to bring the tying run to the plate. That was it for Seaver and Al Jones came in to close out the game. Remy beat out a double play ball to put runners at the corners and Jones uncorked a wild pitch to score Nichols. Evans popped up to second but Boggs walked to put the tying run at first. Rice flied out to center to end the game. The White Sox had won it 5-3.
Jackass Clear
Reid Nichols was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Jackass of The Night is Mark Clear. He allowed the two runs in the seventh inning to put the game out of reach.
The Good:
Jerry Remy was 2 for 5 with 2 stolen bases.
Wade Boggs was 1 for 3 with 2 walks.
Tony Armas was 2 for 4 with a 2 run home run.
Rick Miller walked as a pinch hitter.
One of the rare times the losing pitcher ends up on the Good list but Eckersley tossed 6 solid innings allowing just 3 runs off 9 hits.
The Bad:
Jim Rice was 0 for 5.
Glenn Hoffman was 0 for 3.
The Ugly:
Dwight Evans was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but walked.
Mike Easler was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.
Rich Gedman was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Reid Nichols was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
Talk about a momentum killer. The Red Sox took two out of three from the best team in baseball only to fall flat on their face against the mediocre White Sox. Tom Seaver may be aging but that's the kind of game you can get from him and Eckersley just wasn't good enough. It didn't help Clear gave up those two runs and its mostly on the offense for not being able to bop their way back. Still, can't expect the bats to bail you out every game, eventually you're going to need shutdown relief pitching or better starting. The Detroit Tigers basically ran away with the AL East in April and it'll take a miracle for the Red Sox to catch them, losing to the White Sox isn't going to help. The loss dropped the Sox to 11-14, ten games behind the Tigers for first place in the AL East. The Red Sox look to bounce back tomorrow against the White Sox when Oil Can Boyd (0-3) takes on Richard Dotson of Chicago. The game begins at 1:00 PM at Fenway Park.
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