Clemens Goes Berserk, Gets Ejected, Sox Lose to White Sox (7/30/86)

The Boston Red Sox could be without their star pitcher Roger Clemens (17-3, 2.54 ERA) for a few games after he went insane in tonight's game against the Chicago White Sox. In the fifth inning of a tied game, Clemens thought he made the play at first but umpire Greg Kosc ruled he missed the bag. Clemens protested by jumping onto Kosc earning an ejection. He then got in Kosc's face and shouted invectives before being literally carried out horizontally by Don Baylor and Jim Rice. The White Sox went on to win the game and there's talk Clemens will be suspended for his terrible behavior. In a season where the Red Sox have as good a chance of anyone to win the division, your ace cannot get himself thrown out of games like this where every win matters. As it was, the White Sox took care of business with a 7-2 win at Comiskey Park.

                                               Sox lose game and Clemens

Jose DeLeon got the start for the ChiSox and Ed Romero led off with a ground rule double into the left field corner before moving to third on a wild pitch. Wade Boggs popped up to left but Bill Buckner drove home Ed with a grounder to second to put the BoSox on top. Jim Rice lined out to second to end the inning with the BoSox up 1-0.

                                                Romero scores the game's first run

Clemens made the White Sox beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the first. John Cangelosi grounded back to the mound, Steve Lyons grounded out to first and Harold Baines grounded back to Roger to end the inning.

Don Baylor drew a walk to lead off the top of the second but Dwight Evans went down hacking. Tony Armas popped up to second and Rich Gedman flied out to right to end the inning. Greg Walker blooped a single in front of Rice to start the bottom of the second but new acquisition Ron Hassey banged into a double play. Carlton Fisk popped up to third to end the inning.

DeLeon cruised in the top of the third as Dave Stapleton popped up to third in foul territory to start. Romero lined out to a running Cangelosi before Boggs grounded out to short to end the inning. The ChiSox threatened in the bottom of the third as Tim Hulett got a base hit up the middle to start after a 12 pitch at bat. Hulett was erased on the force by Ozzie Guillen before Ozzie was thrown out trying to steal second by the alert Gedman. Julio Cruz walked and Cangelosi caught the Sox asleep with a bunt single, but Clemens blew away Lyons to end the inning.

The BoSox struck again in the top of the fourth although Buckner whiffed to start. Rice lined out to short but Baylor hit an absolute bomb into the upper deck in left for his 19th home run of the year. Evans hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning but the BoSox were ahead 2-0.

                                                  Baylor goes upper deck

The ChiSox tried to rally in the bottom of the fourth when Baines and Walker stroked back to back singles to start. Clemens got a key play when Hassey banged into another double play to kill the rally. Fisk lined out to center to end the inning.

Armas grounded out to third to begin the top of the fifth but Gedman poked a single to right. Stapleton whiffed and sent his bat flying before Romero grounded into a force to end the inning.
Things fell apart for the Sox in the bottom of the fifth as Hulett and Guillen stroked back to back singles to start. Cruz dropped down a bunt to Clemens but he booted it to load the bases. Cangelosi forced Cruz at second but Hulett scored to cut the lead. Cangelosi swiped second before Lyons hit a sac fly to center to score Guillen, advancing Cagelosi to third and tying the game. Baines hit a routine grounder to Buckner who flipped to Clemens for the out....BUT WAIT! First base umpire Greg Kosc said Clemens missed the bag and Guillen scored to give the White Sox the lead. A furious Roger got in his face and swore he touched the bag and Greg gave Roger the HEAVE-HO! Clemens tried to plead his case as Sox manager John McNamara stumbled out of the dugout to ask for an explanation. Clemens refused to leave and had to literally be carried out by Don Baylor and Jim Rice. Al Nipper then started barking at the umpires after what happened last night and he got tossed as well. Sammy Stewart had to wait for Nipper to be escorted out to begin his warmup throws and Walker flied out to left to end the inning. When the madness ended the White Sox had taken the lead 3-2 and Clemens was gone.

                                                          Mayhem in Chicago

Boggs tried to start a rally with a walk to begin the top of the sixth but Buckner popped up to left. Rice popped up to Fisk in foul territory before Baylor struck out swinging to end the inning. The White Sox pounded on Stewart in the bottom of the sixth as Hassey walked to start. Fisk flied out to right but Hulett bashed a 70 million foot home run to ice the game. Guillen dumped a single to left and moved to second on the grounder by Cruz. Cangelosi grounded out to second to end the inning but it was 5-2 White Sox.

                                                      Hulett with a home run

Dave Schmidt  came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Evans lined out to short to start. Armas accidentally check swinged a ball back to the mound for the second out although Gedman was plunked. Stapleton grounded out to third to end the inning. Tim Lollar came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Lyons flied out to Armas on the warning track. Baines also flied out to the centerfield wall but Walker blooped a single to center but Hassey grounded out to first to end the inning.

Romero led off the top of the eighth by lining out to a running Baines in right but Boggs singled past the daving Hulett. Buckner banged into a double play to end the inning. Bob Stanley came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth inning and the White Sox tagged him. Fisk led off with a pop up to second but Hulett singled to left. Guillen flied out to right but Cruz drew a walk. Cangelosi singled to center to score Hulett and Cruz tried for third. Armas' throw got away and Cruz scored on the error. Lyons drew a walk but Armas ran down a Baines fly ball at the centerfield wall to end the inning with the White Sox ahead 7-2

                                                            Game over

Schmidt returned to close out the top of the ninth and Rice grounded out to short to start. Baylor singled off the glove of Guillen but Evans banged into a double play to end the game. The White Sox had won it 7-2.

     
Jackass of the Night is Roger Clemens in more ways than one. Getting yourself thrown out of a crucial game with your team fighting for first place

                                                         Calm down Jackass



The Good:

Wade Boggs was 1 for 3 with a walk.

Don Baylor was 2 for 3 with a walk and a solo home run.

Rich Gedman was 1 for 2 with a hit by pitch.

Tim Lollar pitched a scoreless 7th inning.



The Bad:

Dwight Evans was 0 for 4.

Tony Armas was 0 for 3 with an error.

Jim Rice was 0 for 4.

Dave Stapleton was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Sammy Stewart allowed 2 runs in 1 1/3 innings.

Bob Stanley allowed 2 runs in an inning of work.



The Ugly:

Ed Romero was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.

Bill Buckner was 0 for 4 but drove in a run.




Final Thoughts:

The Red Sox wanted to end July with a bang but that wasn't the one they were looking for. Clemens going nuts and getting ejected probably cost him a few starts in what should be a Cy Young season for a team on a run to their first division title in 11 years. Not that the Sox helped themselves by leaving guys on base and giving up 4 runs after Clemens left, but still, a loss like that is going to hurt come September. After Oil Can Boyd has his meltdown 2 weeks ago, this is another instance of a pitcher doing more harm to himself that could have been avoided. Hopefully this is just a minor setback that will be laughed at a few weeks from now but it doesn't look good now. The loss dropped the Sox to 59-41, 4 games in front of the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. After an off-day tomorrow, the Sox are back in action friday night when they come home to play the world champion Kansas City Royals. Bruce Hurst (5-5) goes for the Sox against Danny Jackson at 7:35 PM at Fenway Park.

Stewart, A's Defeat Clemens and Sox (7/7/86)

Uh oh, it looks like Roger Clemens (14-2, 2.58 ERA) is human after all. After losing his first game all season last Wednesday against Toronto, the Oakland A's have come into Boston and beaten him as well in new manager Tony La Russa's Oakland debut. Clemens got lit up by rookie sensation Jose Canseco and old slugger Dave Kingman, allowing 6 runs five plus innings of work. Clemens gave up three runs early, the third on an rbi grounder by old pal Carney Lansford. The Sox got a run back on a wild pitch but Kingman and Canseco hit back to back jacks in the sixth to finish off Roger. The Sox did rally to pull close but couldn't deliver the knockout punch in the seventh inning. It all added up to a bitter 6-4 defeat by the Athletics at Fenway Park.

                                                            Dammit

Clemens got the ball in the top of the first and Tony Phillips flied out to center to start. Old buddy Carney Lansford got rung up for strike three and Jose Canseco struck out swinging to end the inning. Stewart got the ball in the bottom of the first and Marty Barrett grounded out to third to start. Wade Boggs flied out to center and Bill Buckner grounded out to first to end the inning.

The A's rallied in the top of the second although Dave Kingman struck out swinging to start. Bruce Botche singled to center but was forced at second by Mike Davis. Dwayne Murphy doubled off the Monster to score Botche and Alfredo Griffin doubled to center to score Murphy. Jerry Willard grounded out to second to end the inning with the A's up 2-0.

                                                            A's strike first

The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the second as Jim Rice hit a ground ball up to middle that Phillips fielded but couldn't do anything with it for a "single". Don Baylor forced Rice at second before Dwight Evans flied out to left. Tony Armas struck out swinging to end the inning.

The A's struck again in the top of the third as Phillips chopped a base hit up the middle to start. Phillips took off for second and Gedman threw the ball into the bullpen for an error to move Tony to third. Phillips scored on the Lansford grounder to short to increase the lead and Canseco popped up to first. Kingman struck out swinging to end the inning with Oakland up 3-0.

                                                   Phillips scores another run

The Sox fought back in the bottom of the third as Rich Gedman flied out to center but Rey Quinones singled to center. Barrett drilled a base hit to right to move Quinones to third and a wild pitch scored Rey to put Boston on the board. Boggs and Buckner both flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox down 3-1.

                                                             Quinones scores a run

Bochte grounded out to second to start the top of the fourth before Davis struck out swinging. Murphy flied out to left to end the inning. The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the fourth as Rice walked to start. Baylor got a base hit to left but Evans popped up to left. Armas struck out swinging and Gedman grounded out to first to end the inning.

Rice dopped a pop up by Griffin for a two base error to start the top of the fifth but was thrown out at third trying to steal. Willard grounded out to first and Phillips grounded out to second to end the inning. Quinones grounded out to second to start the bottom of the fifth but Barrett doubled to the left field wall. Boggs moved Barrett to third with a grounder to second but Buckner struck out swinging to end the inning.

The A's chased Clemens in the top of the sixth as Lansford singled in the hole at short. Canseco hit a home run all the way to the moon then Kingman hit one into the Charles River for back to back jacks. That was the end for Clemens as he got rocked for 6 runs in just 5 plus innings off 7 hits. Tim Lollar walked Botche and Davis blooped a single to left. Murphy grounded out to second to move the runners over but Botche was doubled off at third on a liner to Boggs by Griffin to end the inning with the Sox down 6-1.

                                                 "You sucked tonight, Rog" - Gedman

The Sox fought back in the bottom of the sixth as Rice ripped a base hit to center to start. Phillips slipped catching a pop up by Baylor and Rice took second in the confusion. Evans cracked his 11th home run of the season to cut the lead in half but Armas

                                                           Evans brings the Sox closer

Willard got a base hit to right to start the top of the seventh and was sacrificed to second by Phillips. That was it for Lollar as Sox manager John McNamara wanted Mike Brown to face the righties. Lansford grounded out to short but Canseco got a base hit to left. Willard tried for home but was thrown out by Rice to end the inning.

                                                           Yerrrrr out!

The Sox blew their best chance to get back in the game in the bottom of the seventh as Quinones got a base hit to left. Barrett walked to chase Stewart and Dave Van Ohlen came in to face Boggs. Wade drilled a base hit off the Monster to score Quinones and put the tying run at first. The play of the game occurred when Buckner bunted too hard to third to force Barrett and Buckner was thrown out at first for a double play. Doug Bair came in to face Rice and Jim grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox down 6-4.

                                                    Quinones scores a run

Kingman walked to start the top of the eighth but Botche grounded into a double play. Davis singled to right to chase Brown and Joe Sambito came in to pitch. Murphy struck out swinging to end the inning. Stan Javier came in to play center in the bottom of the eighth and Baylor popped up to first. Evans also popped up to first and Armas earned the hat trick with a swinging strikeout to end the inning.

The A's threatened in the top of the ninth as Griffin singled to center to start but was forced at second on Willard's bunt attempt. Phillips also dropped down a bunt but Buckner was pulled off the bag by Boggs' throw. Sox manager John McNamara stormed out of the dugout screaming his head off that Buckner's foot did NOT come off the bag. McNamara got the heave ho by first base umpire Ted Hendry. Pitching coach Bill Fischer lifted Sambito in favor of Steve Crawford. Lansford flied out to right but Canseco singled to left to load the bases. Kingman struck out swinging to end the inning.

                                                        "Get outta here you lunatic!" - Hendry

Gedman struck out swinging to start the bottom of the ninth and Mike Stenhouse pinch hit for Rey Quinones. Stenhouse flied out to center and Barrett grounded out to third to end the game. The A's had won it 6-4.

                                                            A's win

Jackass of The Night is Roger Clemens. He allowed 6 runs in just 5 plus innings and put the Sox in a hole they couldn't climb out of.

                                                               Jackass Clemens

The Good:

Marty Barrett was 2 for 4 with a walk.

Jim Rice was 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.

Rey Quinones was 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored.

Tim Lollar tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

Mike Brown tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

Joe Sambito tossed 2/3 of a scoreless inning.

Steve Crawford pitched 2/3 of a scoreless inning.

The Bad:

Bill Buckner was 0 for 4 with a strikeout and an error.

Tony Armas was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.

Rich Gedman was 0 for 4 with a strikeout and an error.

Mike Stenhouse flied out as a pinch hitter.

The Ugly:

Wade Boggs was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.

Don Baylor was just 1 for 4.

Dwight Evans was just 1 for 4 but the one hit was a 2 run home run.

Final Thoughts:

Uh oh. That's two losses in a row for Clemens and with Bruce Hurst still not back from his groin pull, the Sox are in a bit of trouble if Roger is coming back to earth. ABC analyst Al Michaels made a point if the offense scores four runs with your ace on the mound, usually you win. Not tonight they didn't, Clemens got pounded. The Sox did have a chance to tie it in the seventh but Rice couldn't get it done. Not being able to hit the A's bullpen was disappointing but the A's can't lose them all. Hopefully this is just a minor hiccup and not a major injury like last year. Kingman and Canseco are big home run hitters so maybe they just timed Roger better than others. Either way its just one loss and the all-star break is coming up to rest a bit. They still have a nice lead in the AL East marathon so let's see how they respond in the next one. The loss dropped the Sox to 52-29, 7 games ahead of the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to bounce back tomorrow night when Oil Can Boyd (10-6) takes on Bill Mooneyham of Oakland. The game begins at 7:00 PM at Fenway Park.

Sox Bash Jays in Seaver's Debut (7/1/86)

It wasn't pretty but the Boston Red Sox made a winner out of future hall of famer Tom Seaver (3-6, 4.44 ERA) in his debut with the Sox. Seaver got hit around a bit in 7 innings of work but the red hot Boston bats led by Dwight Evans outlasted the Toronto Blue Jays. The offense pounded out 14 hits and nine runs in a 9-7 victory at Fenway Park to open July in style.

                                           Staff Sergeant Mike Vronsky approves of the win

Seaver took the mound in the top of the first inning and Tony Fernandez greeted him with a double to the left field corner. Rance Mulliniks swung and missed for strike three but Lloyd Moseby singled home Fernandez to give the Jays the lead. George Bell grounded out to third but Moseby moved to second base. Jesse Barfield walked but Cliff Johnson grounded out to second to end the inning with Toronto in front 1-0.

                                                    Jays take the lead

The Sox wasted no time pouncing on Jays starter Doyle Alexander in the bottom of the first inning. Marty Barrett flied out to right but Wade Boggs walked. Bill Buckner popped up to short but Jim Rice sliced an opposite field single to right. Don Baylor was plunked to load the bases before last night's hero Dwight Evans cleared the bases with a double off the Monster. Rich Gedman followed with a double of his own to left that scored Evans with another run. Kevin Romine waived at a pitch in the dirt to end the inning but the Sox took the lead 4-1.

                                                   Gedman doubles in a run

Seaver settled down in the top of the second inning as Willie Upshaw popped up to third to begin. Ernie "Nit" Whitt smacked a single to right-center but was erased on the Damaso Garcia grounder to third. Fernandez lined out to third to end the inning. Garth Iorg took over for Mulliniks in the bottom of the second after Mulliniks fouled a ball off his foot the previous inning. Alexander settled down in the bottom of the second as Ed Romero grounded out to short to start. Barrett lined one off the glove of Alexander but right to second for the ground out. Boggs doubled off the Monster but Buckner grounded out to second to end the inning.

Seaver got Iorg to pop up to center to start the top of the third before Moseby caught Seaver asleep with a bunt single. Bell flied out to right and Barfield whiffed on a breaking ball to end the inning. The Sox pounded Alexander in the bottom of the third as Rice doubled into the gap to start. Baylor flied out to center and Rice took off for third The throw beat him but it got away and Rice was safe. Evans flied out to right but Gedman beat out a bobbled laser to Garcia to score Rice. Romine doubled into the left field corner for his first rbi of the year to score Gedman before Romero drew a walk. Barrett singled to center to score Romine and send Romero to third to chase Alexander. Dennis Lamp came in and Boggs flied out to left to end the inning but the Sox were ahead 7-1.

                                                     First RBI for Romine

The Jays fought back in the top of the fourth as Johnson singled to center to begin. Upshaw popped up to short but Whitt singled to left. Garcia walked to load the bases and Fernandez singled home Johnson and Whitt. Garcia took third on a fly ball by Iorg but Moseby grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 7-3.

The Sox tried to rally in the bottom of the fourth although Buckner struck out to start. Rice and Baylor struck back to back base hits but Evans hit into a double play to end the inning.

The Jays struck again in the top of the fifth although Bell hit one up the elevator shaft to start. Barfield tripled into the right field corner and scored on the Johnson grounder. Barrett booted a ball by Upshaw but Whitt flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 7-4.

The Sox took advantage of terrible defense by the Jays to add to the lead in the bottom of the fifth. Upshaw booted a grounder by Gedman to start and managed to throw the ball away to boot which allowed Rich to take second on the two errors. Romine dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Gedman to third and Romero hit a routine grounder to Upshaw...who booted that as well to score Gedman. Barrett flied out to center and Boggs was foolishly intentionally walked to load the bases. Buckner made the Jays pay with a base hit to center to score Gedman. Rice grounded into a force to end the inning but it was 9-4 Sox.

                                                     Buckner hits the killshot

Seaver cruised in the top of the sixth as Garcia flied out to center to start. Fernandez grounded out tio second and Iorg grounded out to third to end the inning. The Sox looked to break it open in the bottom of the sixth as Baylor singled to left to start. Evans doubled to center and Gedman was intentionally walked to set up the double play. This time the gamble worked as Romine took strike three and Romero banged into a double play to end the inning.

Seaver came back for one final inning in the top of the seventh as Moseby grounded out to third to start. Bell flied out to center but Barfield was hit with a pitch. Johnson singled to left but Upshaw flied out to center to end the inning. It wasn't pretty but Seaver hung tough to toss 7 innings of 4 run ball and put the Sox 9 outs away from victory.

                                                       Seaver finishes strong

Bill Caudill replaced Lamp for the bottom of the seventh and Barrett singled to left to start. Boggs and Buckner both struck out before Rice flied out to right to end the inning.

Steve Crawford replaced Seaver and the Jays pounced on him in the top of the eighth. Whitt popped up to short but Garcia and Fernandez stroked back to back singles. Rick Leach pinch hit for Iorg and singled home Garcia. That was it for Crawford as Joe Sambito came in and Moseby beat out a double play ball to put runners at the corners. Bell singled home Fernandez to bring the tying run to the plate. Sambito struck out Barfield to end the inning but the Jays inched closer 9-6.

                                                      Crawford can't get it done

Kelly Gruber took for for Leach at third with Mark Eichhorn now on the mound for the bottom of the eighth. Baylor popped up to first, Evans grounded out to third and Gedman flied out to right to end the inning.

Sambito returned to close out the top of the ninth but the Jays rallied. Johnson grounded back to the mound but Upshaw singled to center. Buck Martinez pinch hit for Whitt and singled to left. Garcia singled to left to score Upshaw and put the tying run at first. Sambito somehow got Fernandez to pop up to right and Gruber to fly out to the right field wall to end the game. The Sox survived to beat the Jays 9-7.

Hero of the Night is Dwight Evans. He put the Sox up for good with a 3 run double in the bottom of the first.

                                                      Evans the Hero


The Good:

Marty Barrett was 2 for 5 with an rbi.

Wade Boggs was 1 for 3 with 2 walks and a run scored.

Jim Rice was 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored.

Don Baylor was 2 for 4 with a run scored.

Rich Gedman was 2 for 4 with a walk, 2 rbis and 2 runs scored.

Kevin Romine was 1 for 3 with an rbi and a run scored.



The Bad:

Steve Crawford was charged with 2 runs in just 1/3 of an inning.



The Ugly:

Bill Buckner was just 1 for 5 but drove in a run.

Ed Romero was 0 for 3 but walked and scored.

Tom Seaver went 7 innings and allowed 4 runs in his Sox debut. The Jays got 9 hits and 2 walks off of him but he still left with the lead.

Joe Sambito allowed an inherited runner to score and 1 of his own in 1 2/3 innings but earned his 7th save of the season.




Final Thoughts:

With the Sox reeling from injuries, Seaver will be a shot in the arm for this team for sure. He looked a little off in tonight's game but its a hell of a lot better than Jeff Sellers, Mike Brown and Rob Woodward. The offense beat around the Jays for the second game in a row and its encouraging to see Dwight Evans get hot. Hopefully the Sox can ride this momentum into the All-Star break in a few weeks as they're in first place and don't seem to be relinquishing it any time soon. Good to see Kevin Romine get his first rbi of the season as well. The win improved the Sox to 50-25, 8 games in front of the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it three in a row against the Jays when they send the undefeated Roger Clemens (13-0) up against Jimmy Key of the Jays at 7:30 PM at Fenway Park.