Clemens got the ball in the top of the first and Jim Eisenreich lined out to center to start. Kevin Seitzer struck out swinging but George Brett walked. Danny Tartabull struck out swinging to end the inning. Saberhagen got the ball in the bottom of the first and Wade Boggs lined out to third to start. Jody Reed popped up to second but Mike Greenwell walked. Jack Clark grounded into a force to end the inning.
Kirk Gibson flied out to center to start the top of the second and Kurt Stillwell struck out swinging. Mike Macfarlane popped up to second to end the inning. Ellis Burks grounded out to third to start the bottom of the second before Tom Brunansky lined out to left. Carlos Quintana flied out to right to end the inning.
Brian McRae took strike three to start the top of the third before Terry Shumpert lined out to third. Eisenreich struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the third as Tony Pena grounded out to short to start. Tim Naehring struck out swinging but Boggs singled to left. Reed singled to left but Eisenreich bobbled the ball, allowing Boggs to score the game's first run. Greenwell grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Seitzer whiffed to start the top of the fourth but Brett grounded out to second. Tartabull grounded out to short to end the inning. Clark singled in the hole at short to start the bottom of the fourth but Burks took strike three. Brunansky flied out to left and two wild pitches moved Clark all the way to third. Quintana flied out to center to end the inning.
Gibson flied out to right to start the top of the fifth but Clemens threw away a grounder by Stillwell for an error. Macfarlane singled to left but McRae popped up to second. Shumpert took strike three to end the inning. Pena whiffed to begin the bottom of the fifth before Naehring took strike three. Boggs grounded out to second to end the inning.
Eisenreich singled to center to start the top of the sixth but Clemens struck out Seitzer swinging. Eisenreich stole second then moved to third on the Brett grounder, but Tartabull popped up to first in foul territory to end the inning. Saberhagen got Reed to ground out to short to start the bottom of the sixth. Greenwell popped up to third in foul territory but Clark walked. Burks lined out to third to end the inning.
Gibson singled to left to begin the top of the seventh then stole second. Stillwell lined out to left and Macfarlane whiffed, but Warren Cromartie pinch hit for McRae. Cromartie lined out to left to end the inning. Saberhagen returned for the bottom of the seventh and Brunansky doubled down the left field line to start. Quintana moved Bruno to third with a sacrifice bunt but Pena lined out to short. Naehring took strike three to end the inning.
Clemens returned for the top of the eighth and Shumpert struck out swinging to start. Eisenreich and Seitzer both grounded out to second to end the inning. That was it for Clemens who tossed eight shutout innings giving up 3 hits and a walk while striking out 10 batters.
Jeff Montgomery came in for the bottom of the eighth and Boggs lined out to left to start. Reed lined out to center and Greenwell grounded out to first to end the inning.
Tony Fossas came in to pitch to Brett to start the top of the ninth and got him to ground out to short. Jeff Reardon came in and Tartabull struck out swinging. Gibson walked but Stillwell lined out to right to end the game. The Sox had won it 1-0.
Hero of the Night is Roger Clemens. He tossed 8 shutout innings while allowing just 3 hits.
The Good:
Jack Clark was 1 for 2 with a walk.
Tom Brunansky was 1 for 3.
Tony Fossas got the first out of the top of the ninth.
Jeff Reardon got the save by getting the final two outs of the ninth inning.
The Bad:
Ellis Burks was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Carlos Quintana was 0 for 2.
Tony Pena was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Tim Naehring was 0 for 3 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
The Ugly:
Wade Boggs was just 1 for 4 with a run scored.
Jody Reed was just 1 for 4.
Mike Greenwell was 0 for 3 but walked.
Final Thoughts:
That was an instant classic but the Sox damn near pulled off a repeat of Patriots Day. Clemens was outstanding and the Sox were lucky to get the one run that they did. The offense has been pretty pitiful this season for the most part and today was no different. The Sox best hitter is technically Tom Brunansky hitting .273...pathetic. Still, as bad as the offense has been, apart from some games here and there the pitching has been pretty good. Clemens has been almost unhittable this season and he's a man on a mission after his embarrassment in the playoffs last year. He's still appealing his suspension and we may find out if he serves it next week or so. As for this game, great pitching clinic and even better the Sox were on the right side of it. Tomorrow the Sox head to Cleveland to play the Indians in a three game set. Greg Harris (0-2) takes on Tom Candiotti of the Indians tomorrow afternoon at 3 PM Eastern time at Cleveland Stadium.
No comments:
Post a Comment