After a rainout postponed yesterday's game to August, today the Sox continued their string of good pitching against the Cleveland Indians. This time it was Greg Harris (1-2, 3.31 ERA) who tossed 6 shutout innings against the Indians. Tom Candiotti was tough on the Sox allowing just two runs in 7 innings, but those two runs just happened to be enough. Carlos Quintana and Mike Greenwell knocked in the crucial runs, Jeff Gray and Jeff Reardon slammed the door and the Sox had taken the game 2-1 at Cleveland Stadium.
Candiotti took the mound in the top of the first inning and Wade Boggs led off by lining out to short. Steve Lyons made his season debut by popping up to short. Mike Greenwell singled to third and a passed ball moved him to second. Jack Clark walked but Ellis Burks struck out swinging to end the inning. Harris took the mound in the bottom of the first and Alex Cole struck out swinging to start. Jerry Browne popped up to left in foul territory and Chris James struck out looking to end the inning.
Tom Brunansky flied out to center to begin the top of the second and Carlos Quintana grounded out to second. Tony Pena walked but Tim Naehring grounded into a force to end the inning. Albert Belle grounded back to the mound to start the bottom of the second but Brook Jacoby doubled to left. Carlos Baerga walked and Sandy Alomar was plunked to load the bases. Felix Fermin banged into a double play to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the third as Boggs doubled to left to start. Lyons popped up to second in shallow right but Greenwell singled home Boggs to give the Sox the lead. Jack Clark flied out to right and Greenwell was picked off first to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Mitch Webster struck out swinging to start the bottom of the third but Cole grounded back to the mound. Browne grounded out to short to end the inning.
Burks grounded out to third to start the top of the fourth inning and Brunansky struck out swinging. Quintana flied out to center to end the inning. The Indians threatened in the bottom of the fourth as James singled in the hole at short to start. Belle walked but Jacoby messed up the bunt and James was thrown out at third. Belle got picked off second and Baerga popped up to second to end the inning.
Pena hit one up the elevator shaft to start the top of the fifth and Naehring struck out looking. Boggs and Lyons stroked back to back singles but Greenwell popped up to Alomar to end the inning. Alomar flied out to right to start the bottom of the fifth but Fermin singled to second and stole second base. Fermin moved to third on the Webster grounder but Cole grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the sixth as Clark flied out to center to start. Burks singled to left and took second when Belle booted the ball. Brunansky grounded out to third but Quintana doubled to left to score Burks with the insurance run. Pena flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Harris returned for one more inning in the bottom of the sixth as Browne grounded out to first to start. James walked and Belle hit a routine grounder to Naehring who picked the ball up and dove on the ground with it for an error. Jacoby popped up to second and Baerga lined out to first to end the inning. Good work by Harris to throw 6 shutout innings to keep the Sox in front.
Naehring popped up to second to start the top of the seventh and Boggs grounded out to short. Lyons drew a walk and Greenwell popped up to third to end the inning. Jeff Gray came in for the bottom of the seventh and Alomar hit a routine grounder to Naehring who ran and jumped on third base for an error. Fermin flied out to center and Webster struck out swinging, but Cole singled past the diving Naehring. Browne singled down the right field line to score Alomar but Cole tried to score from first and was caught in a rundown to end the inning with the Sox still ahead 2-1.
Steve Olin came in to pitch the top of the eighth inning and Clark grounded out to third to start. Burks walked but Brunansky was called out on catcher interference. Quintana grounded out to second to end the inning. Gray returned for the bottom of the eighth and James grounded out to short to start. Belle whiffed and Jacoby popped up to short to end the inning.
Olin came back for the top of the ninth and Pena popped up to first to start. Naehring walked but was forced at second by Boggs. Lyons flied out to right to end the inning. Jeff Reardon came in for the save in the bottom of the ninth and Baerga popped up to second to start. Alomar flied out to left and Beau Allred pinch hit for Fermin. Reardon punched out Allred to end the game. The Sox had won it 2-1.
Hero of the Night is Greg Harris. He tossed 6 shutout innings on a day the Sox offense accomplished almost nothing.
The Good:
Wade Boggs was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Mike Greenwell was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Ellis Burks was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Jeff Reardon earned his 3rd save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Tom Brunansky was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Steve Lyons was just 1 for 4 with a walk.
Jack Clark was 0 for 3 but walked.
Carlos Quintana was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Tony Pena was 0 for 3 but walked.
Tim Naehring was 0 for 3 with 2 errors but walked.
Jeff Gray allowed an unearned run in two innings of work.
Final Thoughts:
The Red Sox offense continues to struggle but they're getting good pitching lately to keep them afloat. This can't possibly last and the Sox are gonna have to do something to generate some offense. This looks like last year already and Jack Clark so far has made little difference. The sad part is the acquisitions of Matt Young, Danny Darwin and Clark were supposed to offset the losses of Mike Boddicker, Dwight Evans and in essence Bruce Hurst. Still, its too early in the season to judge and the Sox still won the game. Harris pitched a heck of a game and take nothing away from that. The Sox look to make it 5 wins in a row tomorrow against the Indians when they send Dana Kiecker to the mound opposite Charles Nagy at 2:05 PM Eastern time at Cleveland Stadium.
No comments:
Post a Comment