The Sox pissed away a golden chance to take an early lead in the top of the first inning as Wade Boggs singled to start. Jody Reed singled to left and both runners moved over on the Ellis Burks grounder. Jack Clark was intentionally walked and the gamble worked as Mike Greenwell popped up to third and Tom Brunansky grounded out to short to end the inning. Clemens walked Tony Phillips to open the bottom of the first but Lou Whitaker flied out to left. Phillips swiped second but Clemens blew away both Lloyd Moseby and Cecil Fielder to end the inning.
Tanana cruised in the top of the second inning as Carlos Quintana singled to center to begin, but Tony Pena banged into a double play. Luis Rivera popped up to short to end the inning. Mickey Tettleton grounded out to first to start the bottom of the second before Rob Deer whiffed. Pete Incaviglia struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox went quietly in the top of the third inning as Boggs grounded out to third to start. Reed also grounded out to third and Burks flied out to center to end the inning. Clemens matched Tanana in the bottom of the third as Travis Fryman hit one up the elevator shaft to start. John Shelby grounded back to the mound before Phillips grounded out to second to end the inning.
More nothing in the top of the fourth as Clark grounded out to third to begin. Greenwell grounded out to second but Brunansky drew a walk. Quintana grounded out to short to end the inning. The Tigers struck first in the bottom of the fourth as Whitaker doubled to right to begin before moving to third on the Moseby grounder. Fielder lashed a base hit to score Whitaker with the game's first run then took second on the grounder by Tettleton. Deer singled home Fielder but Incaviglia whiffed again to end the inning with the Tigers up 2-0.
The Sox failed to rally in the top of the fifth as Pena flied out to center to start. Rivera stroked a base hit to left but Boggs banged into a double play to end the inning. Clemens recovered in the bottom of the fifth as Fryman whiffed to start. Shelby flied out to left before Phillips grounded out to first to end the inning.
The Sox struck back in the top of the sixth although Reed lined out to short to start. Suddenly Burks pounded his 3rd homer of the season to left to put the Sox on the board. Clark walked and Greenwel singled but Brunansky struck out swinging. Quintana singled to right but Clark was held at third to load the bases. That was it for Tanana as Mark Leiter came in and walked Pena to score Clark with the tying run. With a chance to do some damage....Rivera flied out to right to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.
Clemens kept the tie in the bottom of the sixth as Whitaker flied out to center to begin. Moseby flied out to right and Fielder whiffed to end the inning.
The Sox tried to rally in the top of the seventh as Boggs walked to start and moved to second on the sacrifice by Reed. Burks lined out to left and Mike Henneman was brought in to face Clark. Clark walked but Greenwell struck out swinging to end the inning. The Tigers took command in the bottom of the seventh although Tettleton went down swinging to begin. Deer walked and Incaviglia doubled him home to put Detroit up for good. Fryman took strike three and Shelby fanned to end the inning but the Tigers were up 3-2.
Milt Cuyler took over for Shelby in center in the top of the eighth and Brunansky whiffed to start. Quintana also went down swinging but Pena singled to center. Mike Marshall pinch hit for Rivera but flied out to left to end the inning. The Tigers iced it in the bottom of the eighth with Mike Brumley now at short for the Sox. Phillips singled to chase Clemens who was charged with 4 runs in 7 plus innings although he struck out 10.
Tony Fossas came in and the first thing he did was throw Whitaker's bunt away for an error. Moseby dropped his own bunt down but Fossas didn't throw this one away. Fielder was intentionally walked and Sox manager Joe Morgan brought in Jeff Gray to put out the fire. Instead Tettleton lined a base hit to core both runs to ice the game. Deer lined out to left and Incaviglia flied out to center to end the inning with the Tigers ahead 5-2.
Somehow the Sox rallied in the top of the ninth as Boggs singled to start. The Sox caught a break when Fryman dropped a pop up by Reed for an error which led to Jody walking. Burks beat out a double play ball and Clark blooped a single to center to score Boggs and put the tying run at first. Kevin Romine pinch ran for Clark with Paul Gibson now on the mound. Greenwell grounded out to second to put the tying runs in scoring position....but Brunansky popped up to short to end the game. The Tigers had beaten Clemens and won the game 5-3.
Jackass of the Night is Jeff Gray. All he needed to get was two outs, instead he allowed both inherited runners to score the deciding runs.
The Good:
Wade Boggs was 2 for 4 with a walk and run scored.
Jody Reed was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Jack Clark was 1 for 2 with 3 walks, an rbi and a run scored.
Carlos Quintana was 2 for 4.
Tony Pena was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.
Luis Rivera was 1 for 3.
The Bad:
Mike Marshall was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
Roger Clemens took the loss by allowing 4 runs in 7 innings of work. He struck out 10 though.
Tony Fossas was charged with an unearned run in 1/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Ellis Burks was just 1 for 5 but the one hit was a solo home run.
Mike Greenwell was just 1 for 5.
Tom Brunansky was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked.
Honorable Mention:
Mike Brumley played shortstop in the bottom of the eighth.
Kevin Romine ran for Jack Clark in the top of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
This game was a kick in the pants. The Sox had their chances offensively to survive a relatively poor Clemens start but couldn't get the clutch hit. Meanwhile the Tigers cashed in on Boston's every mistake whether it being Roger's pitch selection or Tony Fossas throwing a bunt into outer space. Jeff Gray has been amazing all year and all he needed was 2 outs yet gives up the winning runs. The Sox are still in first but losses like this can't happen with the Toronto Blue Jays nipping at their heels. The loss dropped the Sox to 23-15, 0.5 games in front of the Blue Jays for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow Tom Bolton (5-0) goes for the Sox up against Dan Petry at 8:05 PM Eastern Time at Tiger Stadium.
