The Red Sox wasted no time scoring against Yankees starter Dennis Rasmussen in the top of the first inning. Wade Boggs grounded out to second but Dwight Evans walked. Rice then pounded his 27th home run of the year to give the Sox the quick lead. Tony Armas lined one off Rasmussen and he threw the ball away to allow Tony to reach second. Mike Easler walked but was doubled off first on the fly out by Bill Buckner to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Boyd got the ball in the bottom of the first and the Yankees struck back. Willie Randolph and Bob Meacham drew back to back walks before Meacham was doubled off first on the liner to first by Don Mattingly. Dave Winfield doubled home Randolph to cut the lead in half. Don Baylor walked but Ken Griffey struck out to end the inning with the Sox up 2-1.
Marty Barrett flied out to center to start the top of the second before Marc Sullivan got a base hit. Jackie Gutierrez struck out before Boggs flied out to left to end the inning. Boyd had a much easier top of the second inning as Butch Wynegar hit one up the elevator shaft to start. Mike Pagliarulo struck out and Omar Moreno grounded out to first to end the inning.
The Sox tried to rally when Evans walked to start the top of the third but he was caught stealing second. Rice drew a walk before Armas and Easler both struck out to end the inning. The Yankees were shut down in the bottom of the third as Randolph grounded out to third to start. Meacham flied out to center but Mattingly doubled. Winfield grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the fourth as Buckner grounded out to first to start. Barrett flied out to right and Sullivan flied out to left to end the inning. The Yankees took command in the bottom of the fourth although Baylor struck out to start. Griffey lined out to first but Wynegar singled. Pagliarulo then crushed a 800,000 foot bomb to give the Yankees the lead. Moreno flied out to left to end the inning but the Yankees were up 3-2.
The Sox fought back in the top of the fifth as Gutierrez doubled to start. Boggs flied out to left but Evans walked. Rice followed his home run earlier with a bases clearing triple to give the Sox the lead back and chase Rasmussen. Mike Armstrong came in and struck out Armas before Easler grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-3.
Sullivan muffed a pop up by Randolph to start the bottom of the fifth but Willie flied out to left anyway. Meacham struck out and Mattingly flied out to left to end the inning.
Buckner struck out to begin the top of the sixth before Barrett grounded out to short. Sullivan popped up to second to end the inning. The Yankees threatened in the bottom of the sixth although Winfield grounded out to third to start. Baylor singled but Griffey flied out to center. Wynegar singled Baylor to third but Pagliarulo struck out to end the inning.
Gutierrez grounded out to short to open the top of the seventh but Boggs got a base hit. Boggs moved to second on the grounder by Evans and that was it for Armstrong.. Jay Howell came in and Rice flied out to center to end the inning. Boyd cruised in the bottom of the seventh as Moreno flied out to left to start. Randolph grounded out to third and Meacham struck out to end the inning.
The Sox got a big insurance run in the top of the eighth as Armas and Easler stroked back to back singles to start. Buckner struck out and Barrett flied out to center but Sullivan singled home Armas. Easler and Sullivan both moved up on the throw home. Gutierrez flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-3.
Boyd cruised in the bottom of the eighth as Mattingly flied out to center to start. Winfield and Baylor both grounded out to short to end the inning.
Dale Murray came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Boggs struck out to start. Evans doubled but Rice flied out to right. Armas struck out to end the inning. Boyd came back to finish the job in the bottom of the ninth although Griffey singled to start. Wynegar flied out to right, Pagliarulo struck out and Moreno flied out to left to end the game. Boyd went the distance and the Sox had ended their season series with the Yankees with a 5-3 win.
Hero of the Night is Jim Rice. He outproduced the Yankees by himself with a 2 run triple and a 2 run home run.
The Good:
Dwight Evans was 1 for 2 with 3 walks and 2 runs scored.
Tony Armas was 2 for 5 with a run scored and a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Mike Easler was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Marc Sullivan was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Oil Can Boyd earned his 11th win with a complete game, allowing just 3 runs on 7 hits while striking out 7.
The Bad:
Bill Buckner was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Marty Barrett was 0 for 4.
The Ugly:
Wade Boggs was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout.
Jackie Gutierrez was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
As the disappointing season comes to an end, there still is optimism on the horizon. The Sox offense is as good as anyone, they just need better pitching if they hope to contend in the AL East with the likes of the Detroit Tigers. Someone has to step up and be an ace in 1985 whether its Bob Ojeda, Roger Clemens, Bruce Hurst or Oil Can Boyd....SOMEBODY has to be that good, right? As for the game, good to see Sullivan get his first career rbi and Rice beat the Yankees by himself. Great to see Boyd hang in after getting rocked early as well. The win improved the Sox to 78-70, one game behind the Yankees for absolutely nothing. Tomorrow night the Sox travel to Toronto to take on the Toronto Blue Jays. Bob Ojeda goes for the Sox up against Doyle Alexander at 7:05 PM at Exhibition Stadium.
