The MA-native Darling took the mound in the top of the first inning. Wade Boggs greeted him by hitting a short hopper to 3rd for out number one. Marty Barrett got the first of the World Series with a single off the glove of Tim Teufel at second. Bill Buckner then banged into a double play to end the inning. Hurst began his incredible start by punching out Mookie Wilson and Len Dykstra to start the bottom of the first. Keith Hernandez flied out to center to end the inning.
Jim Rice made his World Series debut after missing the 1975 Series in the top of the second by grounding out to third. Dwight Evans hit a sure home run if the wind wasn't blowing, so it died at the centerfield wall. Rich Gedman popped up to short to end the inning. Hurst ran into trouble although Gary Carter led off the bottom of the second by grounding out to second. Darryl Strawberry looked at strike three but Ray Knight walked on 4 pitches. Teufel singled to left but Rafael Santana grounded back to Hurst to end the inning.
LCS hero Dave Henderson led off the top of the third with another hard hit ball that died at the centerfield wall. Spike Owen struck out and Hurst whiffed as well to end the inning. Hurst got his revenge in the bottom of the third by striking out Darling. Wilson singled up the middle and stole second immediately. Dykstra walked and Hernandez nearly hit one into the left field corner, but Evans sprinted to run it down. Wilson tagged and moved to third but there were now 2 outs. Carter grounded into a force at second to end the inning.
Darling hung tough in the top of the fourth inning by striking out Boggs and Barrett to begin. Buckner slapped a single to left and hobbled to second on a wild pitch by Darling. Rice walked but Evans flied out to left to end the inning. Strawberry led off the bottom of the fourth with a walk but Knight popped up to third. Strawberry swiped second on a strikeout of Teufel but Henderson made a mad dash to rob Santana of a hit to end the inning.
Gedman led off the top of the fifth inning by striking out. Henderson did single up the middle but Owen popped up to center. Hurst whiffed to end the inning. Darling gave on a ride to open the bottom of the fifth but Henderson ran it down. Wilson flied out to right and Dykstra whiffed to end the inning.
The Sox mustered nothing in the top of the sixth inning as Boggs led off with a comebacker right to Darling for the first out. Barrett flied out to Strawberry and Buckner whiffed on a ball in the dirt to end the inning. Hurst got in trouble early by walking Hernandez to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning and allowing Carter to hit a broken bat single up the middle. Hurst recovered to strike out Strawberry looking and get Teufel to ground into a double play to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the seventh inning as Rice walked to lead off the inning. A wild pitch moved Rice to second but Evans hit a comebacker back to Darling for the first out. Gedman hit a routine grounder to Teufel.....UNDER HIS GLOVE! Rice ran all the way home as Gedman made it to second. Somehow Henderson the on-deck hitter crashed into Darling, knocking both down for a minute. Darling recovered but it was now 1-0 Boston. Henderson popped up to right and Mets manager Davey Johnson had Owen intentionally walked. Hurst struck out to end the inning but the Sox had the lead.
Could Hurst keep it a 1-0 game in the bottom of the seventh inning? It didn't look good when Teufel made up for his error with a base hit in the hole at short. Wally Backman pinch ran for Teufel and advanced on the sacrifice bunt by Santana. Kevin Mitchell pinch hit for Darling and Hurst caught him looking for the second out. Boggs then made a huge snare of a Wilson ground ball, throwing him out at first to end the inning and keep the lead intact.
Roger McDowell came in to pitch the top of the eighth inning with Mitchell in left field. Boggs hit a bullet but it was snared by Santana for the out. Barrett hit a comebacker to Darling and Buckner grounded out to short to end the inning. Dave Stapleton took over for Buckner at first in the bottom of the eighth as Hurst returned to the mound. Dykstra flied out to center to quiet the crowd and Hernandez flied out to left. Carter jacked one to the gap but Henderson made a gold medal sprint to run it down for the third out. Hurst needed just 3 more outs to take the game.
McDowell returned for the top of the ninth and Rice singled off his glove to begin. Evans walked but Gedman dropped the bunt right to McDowell, who threw out Rice at third. Henderson then singled to left but Evans was thrown out at home by a mile. Davey Johnson had Spike Owen intentionally walked to load the bases but Sox manager John McNarmara countered by pinch hitting Hurst with Mike Greenwell. Mike flied out to end the inning. What a squander.
Calvin Schiraldi took the mound and Shea Stadium came alive when he walked Strawberry. Knight tried to bunt him to second but the alert Stapleton made the gutsy decision to get Darryl at second. Backman flied out to a running Rice in left which brought up Danny Heep to pinch hit for Santana. Schiraldi punched him out to end the game. The Sox had won it 1-0 and had taken home field advantage from the Mets in the process.
Hero of the Night is Bruce Hurst. He tossed 8 innings of shut-out ball to earn the win.
The Good:
Normally Dave Stapleton would be on the honorable mention list but he made a GREAT play to keep the 1-0 lead intact in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Jim Rice was 1 for 2 with 2 walks and scored the game's only run.
Dave Henderson was 2 for 4.
Spike Owen walked twice in four plate appearances
Calvin Schiraldi earned the save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Wade Boggs was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Mike Greenwell flied out as a pinch hitter.
The Ugly:
Marty Barrett was just 1 for 4.
Bill Buckner was just 1 for 4.
Dwight Evans was 0 for 3 but walked.
Rich Gedman was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Final Thoughts:
That's the way to get things going. On a night when your offense is struggling, your pitching and defense has to step up and it did. Henderson, Rice and Evans ran down everything that was in the air while Hurst and Schiraldi kept the ball down all night. The offense will come as the series goes on so to steal a game like this is huge, especially with games 3-5 in Boston. Game 2 features the monster match between Roger Clemens of the Sox and Dwight Gooden of the Mets. This could be another pitcher's duel so hold on to your hats for that one.
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