The White Sox got to Clemens first in the top of the first inning as Dave Gallagher singled to right to start. Steve Lyons sacrificed him to second and Dave moved to third on the Harold Baines grounder. Ivan Calderon tripled home Gallagher to put Chicago on top. Dan Pasqua walked but Carlton Fisk grounded out to second to end the inning with the ChiSox up 1-0.
The Sox beat the ball in the dirt against Chicago starter Steve Rosenberg in the bottom of the first inning. Wade Boggs grounded out to third, Luis Rivera also grounded out to third and Kevin Romine grounded out to short to end the inning.
Clemens found his groove in the top of the second inning as he blew away Daryl Boston to start. Carlos Martinez took strike three but Ozzie Guillen beat out an infield single. Guillen was thrown out at second trying to steal by the alert Rick Cerone to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the second as Mike Greenwell hit a grounder up the middle for a base hit to start. Nick Esasky flied out to right but Jim Rice also singled to center. Randy Kutcher broke his bat on a blooper to right that scored Greenwell to tie the game and Cerone doubled home Rice. Ed Romero scored Kutcher with a sac fly and Boggs got a base hit to left. Rivera flied out to left to end the inning but it was 3-1 Red Sox.
Gallagher flied out to right to start the top of the third inning before Lyons watched strike three go by. Baines grounded out to first to end the inning. The Sox iced the game in the bottom of the third although Romine grounded out to short to start. Greenwell drew a walk but Esasky flied out to right. Rice walked and Kutcher launched a 3 run home run into the centerfield bleachers to effectively end the game. Cerone hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning with the BoSox ahead 6-1.
Calderon tried to start a rally in the top of the fourth but Pasqua flied out to right and Fisk banged into a double play to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fourth as Romero flied out to left to start. Boggs smacked a double to center and moved to third on the fly ball by Rivera. Romine singled home Boggs to increase the lead and chase Rosenberg. Ken Patterson got Greenwell to fly out to left to end the inning with the BoSox ahead 7-1.
Clemens got Boston to fly out to second to begin the top of the fifth before Martinez grounded out to short. Guillen doubled to left but Gallagher got rung up for strike three to end the inning. The Sox wrapped up their portion of the scoring in the bottom of the fifth when Esasky launched a 454 bomb off Patterson to increase the lead. Rice popped up to first, Kutcher whiffed and Cerone went down hacking to end the inning with the Sox ahead 8-1.
Lyons beat out a bunt to start the top of the sixth but Greg Walker pinch hit for Baines who hurt his wrist only to hit into a double play. Calderon grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the seventh as Romero popped up to first to start. Boggs took strike three and Rivera also popped up to first to end the inning.
Clemens cruised in the top of the seventh in his final inning. Pasqua flied out to center to start before Fisk went down swinging. Boston grounded out to first to end the inning. Clemens was great, tossing 7 innings of 1 run ball to earn the win.
The BoSox threatened in the bottom of the seventh as Romine flied out to right to start. Greenwell singled to left but Esasky went down swinging. Rice got a base hit to left and Greenwell took third on a passed ball. Kutcher grounded out to short to end the inning.
Lee Smith came in for the top of the eighth and Martinez grounded out to third to start. Guillen grounded out to third and Gallagher lined out to right to end the inning. Shawn Hillegas got the call for the bottom of the eighth and Cerone lined out to left to begin. Romero popped up to second and Boggs whiffed to end the inning.
The White Sox rallied against Smith in the top of the ninth as Lyons singled to right to begin. Walker whiffed but Calderon walked and Pasqua singled home Lyons. Fisk forced Pasqua at second on a grounder and Boston popped up to short to end the game. The Sox had won the game 8-2.
Hero of the Night is Randy Kutcher. His 3 run bomb was all the Sox needed to win and he drove in another run to boot.
The Good:
Wade Boggs was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Mike Greenwell was 2 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored.
Jim Rice was 2 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored.
Roger Clemens earned his 11th win with 7 innings of 1 run ball while striking out 5.
The Bad:
Luis Rivera was 0 for 4.
The Ugly:
Kevin Romine was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Nick Esasky was just 1 for 4 but the one hit was his 15th home run.
Rick Cerone was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Ed Romero was 0 for 3 but drove in a run.
Lee Smith allowed a run in 2 innings of work.
Final Thoughts:
That was a great win but the team is still quite unpopular with the local press and fans. Still, winning games like that will help get rapport back after the awful first half this team had. Kutcher stepped up big today and the Sox need that from him with Ellis Burks and Marty Barrett sidelined. Speaking of Barrett, after being sidelined since June 6th with knee surgery, he begins his rehab with Pawtucket tomorrow. Clemens said after the game that this one was for Yaz and even though the season has been a mess, that was a nice touch. The Sox aren't too far behind to make a run as repeat AL East champions and they have a week to find another piece at the trade deadline to do it. The win improved the Sox to 45-48, 6.5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles for 1st place in the AL East. After an off-day tomorrow the Sox welcome the Kansas City Royals in for a set. Mike Boddicker (8-7) goes for the Sox up against Charlie Leibrandt at 7:35 PM at Fenway Park.
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