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.
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
"You sucked tonight, Rog" - Gedman
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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