Clemens got the ball in the top of the first inning and established dominance early. Devon White, Roberto Alomar and Kelly Gruber all struck out swinging in short order. Denis Boucher got the start for Toronto and Wade Boggs greeted him by grounding out to first to start the bottom of the first. Jody Reed doubled to left but Mike Greenwell lined out to third. Jack Clark struck out swinging to end the inning.
Joe Carter singled to left to start the top of the second but John Olerud banged into a double play. Rance Mulliniks whiffed to end the inning. Ellis Burks began the bottom of the second taking first on an error by Gruber to start. Tom Brunansky walked but Carlos Quintana popped up to right. The runners moved over on the Tony Pena grounder but Tim Naehring popped up to second to end the inning.
Greg Myers flied out to center to start the top of the third but Manuel Lee singled to center. Lee stole second but Mookie Wilson struck out swinging. White flied out to left to end the inning. The Sox took the lead in the bottom of the third as Boggs struck his third home run of the season to give the Sox the lead. Reed grounded out to short but Greenwell singled to right. Clark lined out to right but Greenwell stole second. Burks and Brunansky walked to load the bases but Quintana flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Alomar grounded back to the mound to start the top of the fourth but Gruber doubled to left. Gruber moved to third on the grounder by Carter but Olerud walked. Mulliniks walked to load the bases but Myers grounded out to second to end the inning. Pena doubled to center to start the bottom of the fourth and Naehring bunted him over to third. Boggs hit a grounder to third but Pena stayed there and got doubled off when Reed popped up to Boucher to end the inning.
Lee struck out swinging to open the top of the fifth but Wilson beat out an infield single to second. Wilson stole second but White lined out to third. Alomar flied out to center to end the inning. Greenwell grounded back to the mound to start the bottom of the fifth and Clark went down hacking. Burks grounded out to third to end the inning.
Gruber popped up to third to start the top of the sixth but Carter singled to center. Carter was thrown out trying to steal second and Olerud took strike three to end the inning. The Sox got another run in the bottom of the sixth although Brunansky grounded out to third to start. Quintana singled to center and Boucher threw the pickoff throw away to allow Carlos to reach second. Pena lined out to third and Naehring hit a routine grounder to Lee...booted for another error to allow Quintana to reach third. Carlos scored on a balk by Boucher and Boggs was intentionally walked. That was it for Boucher as Jim Acker came in and Reed was retired on a force to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Mulliniks walked to start the top of the seventh but Myers banged into a double play. Lee walked but Wilson grounded out to short to end the inning. That was it for Clemens who tossed 7 dominant innings without allowing a run.
The Sox struck again in the bottom of the seventh as Greenwell cracked his second homer of the year to increase the lead. Clark grounded out to third, Burks struck out swinging and Brunansky went down hacking to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-0.
Jeff Gray came in for the top of the eighth and White popped up to third to start. Alomar grounded out to second and Gruber whiffed to end the inning. Willie Fraser came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Quintana doubled to left to start. Quintana moved to third on the grounder by Pena but was thrown out at home on the grounder by Naehring. Boggs singled Naehring to third but Reed popped up to first to end the inning.
Jeff Reardon came in for the save in the top of the ninth and Carter doubled to left to start. Olerud flied out to center but Mulliniks walked. Myers flied out to left and Pat Tabler pinch hit for Lee. Tabler whiffed to end the game. The Sox had won their 6th in a row 3-0.
Hero of the Night is Roger Clemens. He tossed 7 shutout innings to keep the Sox in front all game.
The Good:
Wade Boggs was 2 for 4 with a walk and a home run.
Mike Greenwell was 2 for 4 with a home run and a stolen base.
Tom Brunansky walked twice in four plate appearances.
Carlos Quintana was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Jeff Gray pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Jeff Reardon earned his 5th save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Jack Clark was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Tim Naehring was 0 for 3.
The Ugly:
Jody Reed was just 1 for 5.
Ellis Burks was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.
Tony Pena was just 1 for 4.
Final Thoughts:
Clemens is a man on a mission this season and it stems to his ejection in last year's ALCS. If he wants to shove it up MLB's rear end for suspending him (still pending) and ejecting him from the game, hope he can carry this all the way to October. The offense was again almost non-existent but the pitching has been so good, its been masking the problem. The offense only scratching out a few runs a game can't continue if the Sox look to repeat as AL Champions. The rag tag bunch that won the AL East last year need to improve if they want to play in October again. If the Sox can get 7 innings out of their starters, the game is pretty much over because Gray and Reardon have been almost unhittable give or take a few games. If Clemens can keep up this pace all season, he may win 20-25 games with the way the bullpen has been pitching. Tomorrow night the Sox look to make it seven wins in a row when they take on the Blue Jays again. Matt Young goes for the Sox up against Dave Stieb of the Jays at 7:05 at Fenway Park.
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