Dave Schmidt got the start for Baltimore and Wade Boggs began the season by grounding back to the mound. Marty Barrett grounded out to third and Dwight Evans popped up to second to end the inning. Sox ace Roger Clemens got the start for the Sox and old friend Brady Anderson grounded out to first to start. Phil Bradley looked at strike three before Steve Finley flied out to right to end the inning.
The Sox mustered nothing in the top of the second as Mike Greenwell popped up to second to start. Ellis Burks whiffed before Jim Rice grounded out to third to end the inning. Clemens matched Schmidt in the bottom of the second as Cal Ripken Jr whiffed to start. Larry Sheets grounded into a shift in right before Mickey Tettleton grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
Nick Esasky made his Sox debut by flying out to right to open the top of the third before Rich Gedman waived at strike three. Jody Reed lined out to short to end the inning. Clemens blew away Jim Traber to start the bottom of the fourth but Craig Worthington singled. The alert Gedman gunned down Craig trying to steal before Rene Gonzales lined out to right to end the inning.
Tragedy struck the Orioles in the top of the fourth when Finley hurt himself on a base hit to right by Boggs. Joe Orsulak replaced him as Boggs was erased on the force by Barrett. Evans and Greenwell both flied out to center to end the inning. The Orioles struck first in the bottom of the fourth inning. Anderson walked but Bradley whiffed. Anderson swiped second and scored on the Orsulak base hit. Ripken Jr banged into a double play to end the inning but it was 1-0 Baltimore.
The Sox failed to answer in the top of the fifth as Burks grounded out to third to start. Rice beat out an infield single to short and Esasky walked, but Gedman whiffed and Reed lined out to left to end the inning. Clemens held the fort in the bottom of the fifth although Sheets singled to right to begin. Tettleton walked but Traber popped up to third. Worthington flied out to right before Gonzales grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
The Sox struck back in the top of the sixth as Boggs doubled to right to start. Barrett dropped down a bunt to move Wade to third and Evans doubled home Boggs to tie the game. Greenwell put the exclamation point on the inning with a 2 run jack to give the Sox the lead. Burks flied out to left and Rice popped up to third but it was 3-1 Red Sox.
The O's roared back in the bottom of the sixth as Anderson doubled to begin the frame. Bradley walked and both runners moved over on the groundout by Orsulak. Ripken Jr then smashed a 3 run bomb to give the O's the lead back. Sheets grounded out to first and Tettleton grounded out to second to end the inning but it was 4-3 O's.
The Sox refused to go quietly in the top of the seventh inning as Esasky doubled to left to start. Gedman moved Esasky to third with a grounder back to the mound and Reed chased Schmidt with a base hit to score Nick with the tying run. Kevin Hickey came in and a passed ball moved Reed to second before Boggs grounded out to short. Brian Holton came in and got Barrett to ground out to third to end the inning with the game tied 4-4.
Clemens came back for the bottom of the seventh and cruised. Traber singled to left but Worthington banged into a double play. Gonzales grounded out to short to end the inning.
Evans whiffed to open the top of the eighth but Greenwell singled and stole second. Burks grounded out to third before Rice flied out to left to end the inning. For some reason Joe Morgan felt he could squeeze one more inning out of Clemens but he was quickly chased with a double by Anderson. Closer Lee Smith limped into the game after pulling a groin while warming up but managed to get Bradley to ground out to second. Orsulak and Ripken Jr both whiffed to end the inning.
The Sox had a chance to strike in the top of the ninth when Esasky singled but he was thrown out at second trying to steal. Gedman popped up to second and Reed looked at strike three to end the inning. Rob Murphy made a mad dash to the mound from the bullpen to replace the injured Smith in the bottom of the ninth. Sheets whiffed but Tettleton singled to right. Bob Stanley replaced Murphy and Rob sprinted into the dugout with Randy Milligan pinch hitting for Traber. Milligan singled Tettleton to third but Worthington grounded out in front of the plate. Milligan moved into scoring position but Gonzales grounded out to third to end the inning. On to extras we went on Opening Day.
Boggs drew a walk to open the top of the tenth and moved to second on the sacrifice bunt by Barrett. The bunt backfired as Evans flied out to center. Greenwell was intentionally walked and Burks flied out to right to end the inning. Stanley returned for the bottom of the tenth and allowed a single to Anderson to start. Bradley sacrificed him to second on a bunt but Orsulak flied out to center. Ripken Jr flied out to right to end the inning.
Rice popped up to short to open the top of the eleventh before Esasky flied out to left. Gedman singled to center but Reed grounded into a force to end the inning. The O's finally won it in the bottom of the eleventh although Stanley retired Sheets on a fly ball to center. Tettleton walked and Milligan singled him to third before Mike Smithson was brought in to pitch to Worthington. Sox manager Joe Morgan brought in Greenwell to be a fifth infielder but Worthington blooped one to left. Rice dove.....and missed the ball. Tettleton came around to score and the O's had walked off with the win 5-4.
Jackass of the Night is a tough one but I'll go with Bob Stanley. He put the winning runs on and took the loss.
The Good:
Wade Boggs was 2 for 4 with a walk.
Mike Greenwell was 2 for 4 with a walk, stolen base and a two run home run.
Nick Esasky was 2 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.
Lee Smith pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
Rob Murphy retired one of the two men he faced.
The Bad:
Marty Barrett was 0 for 3.
Ellis Burks was 0 for 5 with a strikeout.
Mike Smithson gave up the winning single to Worthington
The Ugly:
Dwight Evans was just 1 for 5 but drove in a run and scored.
Jim Rice was just 1 for 5.
Rich Gedman was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
Jody Reed was just 1 for 5 but drove in a run.
Roger Clemens was as average as it got. He allowed 4 runs in 7 innings of work to take the no-decision. He struck out just 4 and gave up 7 hits.
Final Thoughts:
Well that was a kick in the ass. Losing Smith was bad enough but losing the game like that just adds to the frustration. The Sox had their chances but couldn't get a clutch hit so it was only a matter of time before Baltimore put them away. The Sox rolled the dice by trading Todd Benzinger to get Esasky and Murphy and we'll see if both will help. The one the Sox are going to miss this season will be Bruce Hurst. The dependable lefty was very upset about the Margo Adams scandal which is why he's in San Diego now. John Dopson has huge shoes to fill as his replacement. The Sox look to bounce back Wednesday evening with Mike Boddicker making his season debut opposite Jose Bautista at 7:00 PM at Memorial Stadium.
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