Clemens got the ball in the top of the first inning an Ruppert Jones began the game by watching strike 3 go by right down the middle. Wally Joyner doubled into the right field corner but Brian Downling lined out softly to third. Reggie Jackson drew a walk but Doug DeCinces took Tony Armas to the wall for the third out to end the inning. Witt got the ball in the bottom of the first and Wade Boggs drew a walk to begin. Marty Barrett banged into a double play and Bill Buckner lined out to center to end the inning.
The Angels iced the game early in the top of the second although Clemens blew away Rob Wilfong to begin. Dick Schofield whiffed on a fastball right down the middle but Bob Boone and Gary Pettis drew back to back walks. Jones singled up the middle to score Boone to put the Angels on top. Joyner doubled into the left field corner to score Pettis with the deciding run. Downing also doubled into the left field corner to clear the bases. Clemens blew away Jackson but the game was out of reach already, 4-0.
The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the second as Jim Rice grounded back to the mound to begin. Don Baylor popped up to first before Dwight Evans grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Angels struck again thanks to poor fielding by the Sox in the top of the third. Doug DeCinces grounded out to short before Wilforng hit a routine grounder to Spike Owen. Owen then threw the ball 400 feet completely out of Fenway for an error. Clemens recovered to punch out Schofield but Boone singled up the middle. Pettis grounded a base hit past the diving Buckner to score Wilfong with another run. World Middleweight boxing champion Marvin Hagler cheered when Jones popped up to short to end the inning but it was 5-0 Angels.
Witt continued his domination in the bottom of the third as Rich Gedman popped up to center to start. Former Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie was shown in the crowd as Tony Armas grounded out to third. Owen whiffed on a pitch in the dirt to end the inning.
Clemens settled down in the top of the fourth as Joyner grounded out to first to begin. Downing flied out to left and Jackson grounded out to second to end the inning. The Sox went quietly in the bottom of the fourth as Boggs lined out to left to start. Barrett flied out to right as Al Michaels said Bob Boone's father Ray signed Barrett to the Sox. Buckner popped out to center to end the inning.
DeCinces began the top of the fifth inning with a single to center but Wilfong flied out to center. Schofield popped up to left and Boone grounded out to first to end the inning. Rice led off the bottom of the 5th by grounding out to short. Baylor hit one up the elevator shaft before Evans was rung up for strike three to end the inning. Witt had thrown 5 no-hit innings.
Clemens came back for the top of the sixth in a silent Fenway and Pettis flied out to center to start. Jones grounded out to first and Joyner popped up to right to end the inning. Gedman led off the bottom of the sixth by popping up to center. Armas flied out to right but Owen walked to break up the streak of 16 in a row retired by Witt much to author Stephen King's delight. Boggs broke up the no hitter by beating out a chopper to third. Barrett lined a single to right to score Owen to break up the shutout. Buckner popped up to left to end the inning but the Sox were on the board 5-1.
Clemens cruised in the top of the seventh inning as Downing flied out to center to start. Jackson popped up to third in foul territory but DeCinces grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox failed to come back in the bottom of the seventh inning as Rice popped up to Boone who reached into the stands to snare the ball. Baylor doubled off the Monster but was stranded when Evans grounded out to third. Downing made a great diving catch to rob Gedman of an rbi hit to end the inning.
The Downing catch sucked the life out of Fenway as the Angels added to the lead in the top of the eighth inning. Clemens came back to get Wilfong to ground out to second to begin. Clemens' 135th pitch was lined to right by Schofield for a base hit. Schofield swiped second and scored on the bloop single to right by Boone. Pettis singled to right off the exhausted Clemens to chase him. Clemens was game but had thrown over 140 pitches and ended up giving up 7 total runs in 7 1/3 innings.
Joe Sambito was summoned to face old pal Rick Burleson pinch hitting for Jones. Burleson popped up to first but Joyner walked to load the bases. That was it for Sambito as Sox manager John McNamara brought in Bob Stanley to pitch to Downing. Sambito was probably the better option as Downing lined a base hit to left that scored both Boone and Pettis. Jackson grounded into a force to end the inning with the Angels ahead 8-1.
The Sox tried to rally in the bottom of the eighth with Devon White now in right field. Armas popped up to left but Owen beat out an infield single to second. Boggs was robbed by a diving Joyner to advance Spike to second but Barrett also beat out an infield single to put runners at the corners. Buckner popped up to left to end the inning.
Stanley came back for the top of the ninth as DeCinces grounded out to short to start. Wilfong grounded out to second and Schofield popped up to center to end the inning. Witt came back to complete the game in the bottom of the ninth. The Sox went quietly as Rice whiffed to start before Baylor popped up to right. Evans also popped up to right to end the game. The Angels had taken Game 1 of the ALCS with a convincing 8-1 win.
Jackass of the Night is Roger Clemens. Sure the offense did nothing against Witt but the frontrunner for AL MVP got shelled in his playoff debut. He lasted 7 1/3 innings but gave up 8 runs off 10 huts and 3 walks.
The Good:
Wade Boggs was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Marty Barrett was 2 for 4 and drove in the Sox only run.
The Bad:
Bill Buckner was 0 for 4.
Jim Rice was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Dwight Evans was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Rich Gedman was 0 for 3.
Tony Armas was 0 for 3.
The Ugly:
Don Baylor was just 1 for 4.
Spike Owen was 1 for 2 with a walk and a run scored but his error allowed a crucial run to score.
Joe Sambito retired only one of the two men he faced.
Bob Stanley allowed an inherited runner to score but none of his own in 1 1/3 innings.
Final Thoughts:
That was GARBAGE. In the Sox first LCS action in 11 years they completely laid an egg. Clemens had his lunch handed to him and Witt completely shut down the Sox offense. Hopefully this was just opening game jitters because if the Angels take tomorrow's game then its adios muchachos. The Angels were the West Division champs for a reason and they pounded Clemens in this one. Everything they hit found a hole and sometimes there's nothing you can do about it but come back the next day. This puts the Sox in a huge hole with games 3-5 in Anaheim and needing to rely on Oil Can Boyd and Al Nipper in the absence of proven post-season starter Tom Seaver. The Sox better hope they can win tomorrow afternoon in Game 2 when Bruce Hurst takes on Kirk McCaskill at 3:05 PM at Fenway Park.
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