Wegman got the ball in the top of the first inning and Wade Boggs grounded out to second to start. Marty Barrett flied out to right and Bill Buckner flied out to left to end the inning. Nipper got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Paul Molitor doubled to right to start. Robin Yount moved Molitor to second with a grounder to Barrett and Glenn Braggs drew a walk. Greg Brock popped up to third and Billy Jo Robidoux grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
Jim Rice got a base hit to center to start the top of the second and Don Baylor drew a walk. Dwight Evans popped up to second, Dave Henderson flied out to right and Marc Sullivan flied out to left to end the inning. Rob Deer flied out to center to begin the bottom of the second but BJ Surhoff singled to center. Jim Gantner singled up the middle to move Surhoff to third but Dale Sveum banged into a double play to end the inning.
Spike Owen led off the top of the third with a ground out to short and Boggs also grounded out to short. Barrett flied out to right to end the inning. Molitor doubled to left to start the bottom of the third but Yount struck out swinging. Braggs went down hacking and Brock hit a routine grounder to Barrett...who went OLE! for an error. Robidoux struck out swinging to end the inning.
Wegman cruised in the top of the fourth as Buckner flied out to left to start. Rice took strike three and Baylor grounded out to short to end the inning. Nipper matched Wegman in the bottom of the fourth although Deer was plunked to start. Surhoff flied out to center, Gantner flied out to right and Sveum flied out to left to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the fifth as Evans singled to center to start. Evans moved to second on the Henderson grounder to second and scored on the double to left by Sullivan. Owen lined out to short but Boggs was intentionally walked. Barrett made the Brewers pay with a base hit to right to score Sullivan with another run. Buckner flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
The Brewers answered in the bottom of the fifth as Molitor walked to start. Yount singled to left and Braggs walked to load the bases with nobody out. Brock grounded out to first to score Molitor and Robidoux also grounded out to first to score Yount to tie the game. Deer struck out swinging to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.
Chuck Crim came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Rice struck out swinging to start. Baylor and Henderson both grounded out to third to end the inning. Nipper returned briefly for the bottom of the sixth and snuffed out a bunt by Surhoff to start. Gantner and Sveum stroked back to back base hits to chase Al after 5 1/3 innings and 2 runs allowed. Wes Gardner made his season debut and got Molitor to ground into a double play to end the inning.
Henderson grounded out to short to start the top of the seventh before Sullivan took strike three. Owen grounded out to second to end the inning. The Brewers took command in the bottom of the seventh as Yount grounded out to second to start. Braggs and Brock stroked back to back base hits and Robidoux singled home Braggs to give Milwaukee the lead. Deer took strike three and that was it for Gardner. Joe Sambito made his season debut by getting Surhoff to fly out to left to end the inning with the Brewers ahead 3-2.
The Sox went quietly in the top of the eighth with Dan Plesac on the mound. Boggs flied out to left, Barrett grounded out to second and Buckner flied out to left to end the inning. Gantner took strike three to start the bottom of the eighth before Sveum struck out swinging. Calvin Schiraldi was brought in to pitch to Molitor and Paul grounded out to short to end the inning.
Rick Manning took over in right to start the top of the ninth and Rice grounded out to short to start. Baylor grounded out to third and Henderson flied out to right to end the game. The Sox didn't have a baserunner after Barrett's hit in the fifth and the Brewers had won it 3-2.
Jackass of the Night is Wes Gardner. He allowed the go-ahead run to score in the seventh inning.
The Good:
Marc Sullivan was 1 for 3 with an rbi and a run scored.
Al Nipper tossed 5 1/3 innings of 2 run ball. He allowed 7 hits and 3 walks.
Joe Sambito tossed a full scoreless inning.
Calvin Schiraldi retired the only man he faced.
The Bad:
Bill Buckner was 0 for 4.
Dave Henderson was 0 for 3.
Spike Owen was 0 for 3.
The Ugly:
Wade Boggs was 0 for 3 but walked.
Marty Barrett was just 1 for 4 with an error but drove in a run.
Jim Rice was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Don Baylor was 0 for 3 but walked.
Dwight Evans was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
That wasn't as bad as Opening Day but still frustrating. The offense hasn't been there the first two games of the season and hopefully that's just opening weekend rust. The Sox barely had time to recover with just 3 months off after the World Series so they may come out of the gate slow as molasses. They better wake up soon because now everyone in the American League is gunning for them. The Brewers have outplayed them in every phase of the game the past two games and the Sox look to be stuck in the mud. Wegman only lasted 5 innings but the Milwaukee bullpen tossed 4 scoreless innings and retired 13 in a row to end the game. Hopefully the Sox can bounce back soon and get some key pieces healthy because right now, they're in trouble and its only two games into the season. The Sox look to avoid a sweep tomorrow night when Jeff Sellers makes his season debut against Mike Birkbeck of the Brewers. The game begins at 2:05 PM Eastern time at County Stadium.
