Royals starter Kevin Appier took the ball in the top of the first inning and Wade Boggs flied out to left to start. Jody Reed flied out to center and Mike Greenwell grounded out to first to end the inning. Bolton started strong in the bottom of the first as Jim Eisenreich grounded out to short to start. Gary Thurman also grounded out to short and Danny Tartabull struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the second as Jack Clark grounded back to the mound to start. Ellis Burks singled to center but Tom Brunansky took strike three. Mike Marshall doubled home Burks to give the Sox the lead. Tony Pena singled to center but Marshall was thrown at home to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
The Royals answered in the bottom of the second as Kirk Gibson flied out to right to start. Mike Macfarlane singled and took second on the ground out by Russ Morman. Bill Pecota singled in the hole at short to score Macfarlane to tie the game. Kurt Stillwell grounded out to short to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
Tim Naehring took strike three to start the top of the third but Boggs drew a walk. Reed flied out to center but Greenwell singled up the middle. Clark walked to load the bases but Burks popped up to right to end the inning. Terry Shumpert grounded out to third to begin the bottom of the third and Eisenreich flied out to center. Thurman walked but Tartabull flied out to center to end the inning.
Brunansky led off the top of the fourth with a pop up to second to begin. Marshall singled to center and moved to second on the grounder by Pena. Naehring grounded out to short to end the inning. Bolton froze Gibson for strike three to start the bottom of the fourth and Macfarlane flied out to left. Morman popped up to second to end the inning.
Boggs took strike three to start the top of the fifth and Reed grounded out to third. Greenwell and Clark drew back to back walks but Burks whiffed to end the inning. Pecota lined out to right to start the bottom of the fifth and Stillwell took strike three. Shumpert walked but Eisenreich took strike three to end the inning.
Brunansky started the top of the sixth by walking to chase Appier. Steve Crawford came in and both Marshall and Pena singled to load the bases with nobody out. Steve Lyons came in to pinch hit for Tim Naehring but the Royals countered by bringing in Dan Schatzeder to pitch. Sox manager Joe Morgan countered by pulling back Lyons and sending in Kevin Romine to pinch hit. Romine lined a base hit to score Marshall and Brunansky to give the Sox the lead. Boggs banged into a double play and Reed popped up to right to end the inning but the Sox led 3-1.
Luis Rivera came in to play short in the bottom of the sixth as Thurman grounded out to short to start. Tartabull flied out to left and Gibson popped up to second to end the inning.
Greenwell grounded out to short to begin the top of the seventh but Clark walked to chase Schatzeder. Luis Aquino came in and Burks was plunked but Brunansky flied out to left. Marshall singled to right to load the bases but Pena flied out to center to end the inning. A frustrated Marshall left the game and was replaced by Carlos Quintana to start the bottom of the seventh. The Royals chased Bolton when Macfarlane doubled to left and Morman hit a bloop single to short. Joe Hesketh managed to Houdini his way out of trouble after Pecota sacrificed both runners along with a bunt. Stilwell walked to load the bases but Shumpert and Eisenreich both whiffed to end the inning. Bolton ended up tossing 6 innings while being charged with just one run.
The Sox looked to have put the game away in the top of the eighth although Rivera grounded back to the mound to start. Boggs walked but was forced at second by Reed. Greenwell walked but Clark smashed his third home run of the year to put the Sox up big. Burks drilled a single to right but Brunansky flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-1.
Thurman began the bottom of the eighth by striking out swinging. Tartabull also went down hacking but Gibson walked. Macfarlane flied out to center to end the inning.
Quintana doubled to center to start the top of the ninth and moved to third on the Pena grounder. Quintana was stranded as Rivera grounded out to second and Mike Magnante came in to pitch. Boggs grounded out to short to end the inning. Hesketh returned for the bottom of the ninth and all hell broke loose. Morman struck out swinging but Pecota walked. Stillwell doubled to right and Shumpert singled home Pecota. Hesketh picked off Pecota but Eisenreich singled home Stillwell to cut the lead in half and chase Hesketh. Jeff Reardon was summoned to close out the game and Warren Cromartie pinch hit for Thurman. Cromartie hit a routine grounder to Quintana...UNDER HIS GLOVE. The should be game ender ended up bringing the tying run to the plate. Tartabull singled home Eisenreich to put the tying runs on. Brian McRae pinch ran for Tartabull but Gibson whiffed to end the game. The Sox had hung on to win it 6-4.
Hero of the Night is Jack Clark. His three run home run was the difference in the game
The Good:
Mike Greenwell was 1 for 3 with 2 walks and a run scored.
Ellis Burks was 2 for 4 with a hit by pitch and a run scored.
Mike Marshall was 4 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.
Tony Pena was 2 for 5.
Kevin Romine knocked in two runs with a pinch hit single.
Tom Bolton picked up the win with 6 innings of 1 run ball.
Jeff Reardon earned his sixth save by getting the final out of the bottom of the ninth.
The Bad:
Tim Naehring was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
Luis Rivera was 0 for 2 at the plate.
Joe Hesketh allowed 3 runs in 2 2/3 innings.
The Ugly:
Wade Boggs was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but walked twice.
Jody Reed was 0 for 5 but scored a run.
Tom Brunansky was 0 for 4 with with a strikeout but walked and scored.
Carlos Quintana singled in his only at-bat but his error led to a run scoring in the bottom of the ninth.
Honorable Mention:
Steve Lyons "pinch hit" for Tim Naehring in the top of the sixth.
Final Thoughts:
As the month comes to a close, its very obvious the Sox are in desperate need of some offense to match the pitching. Roger Clemens had one of the best months in Major League history but he can only go once every few days. The other starters including Tom Bolton stepped up big and so did the trio of Tony Fossas, Jeff Gray and Jeff Reardon. The Sox offensive woes need to be addressed if they have any hope of repeating as AL East champs. Bolton pitched well tonight and Clark finally delivered a meaningful longball for the first time since Opening Day really. Hopefully after he got fined a grand for going nuts on a toilet, it woke him up to start getting it together. Hesketh got lit up but it was his first bad game in almost 3 weeks so hopefully that was just a hiccup. It was a good win and the Sox look to make it two in a row tomorrow night on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. The Sox don't know who's pitching because its supposed to be Roger Clemens, but his suspension may or may not be served starting tomorrow. Storm Davis of the Royals will be pitching for KC at 9:05 PM Eastern time at Royals Stadium.
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