Gardiner got the ball in the top of the first and old buddy Brady Anderson struck out swinging to start. Joe Orsulak singled just wide of second base but Cal Ripken Jr popped up to short. Randy Milligan forced Orsulak at second to end the inning. Ben McDonald got the start for the Orioles and Wade Boggs struck out swinging to start. Jody Reed grounded out to short but Mike Greenwell walked. Ellis Burks struck out swinging to end the inning.
Mike Devereaux flied out to center to start the top of the second before old friend Sam Horn grounded out to second. Leo Gomez walked but Chris Hoiles struck out swinging to end the inning. McDonald cruised in the bottom of the second as Phil Plantier struck out swinging to start. Tom Brunansky grounded out to short and Mo Vaughn went down hacking to end the inning.
Billy Ripken popped up to first in foul territory to start the top of the third but Anderson tripled into the left field corner. Orsulak hit a ground ball to first and Anderson was thrown out in a rundown although Joe moved to second. Ripken Jr took strike three to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the third as Tim Naehring drew a walk to start. Tony Pena grounded back to the mound but Naehring took second. Boggs walked and Reed hit a routine grounder to Ripken Jr....bobbled for an error to score Naehring. Greenwell banged into a double play to end the inning but the Sox led 1-0.
Gardiner cruised in the top of the fourth as Milligan grounded out to short to start. Devereaux grounded out to short as well and Horn flied out to left to end the inning. Burks grounded out to short to begin the bottom of the fourth but Plantier flied out to left. Brunansky singled in the hole at second but Vaughn struck out swinging to end the inning.
The O's fought back in the top of the fifth as Gomez grounded out to first to start. Hoiles singled to left and moved to second on the Ripken grounder to short. Anderson smacked another triple to score Hoiles to tie the game. Orsulak took strike three to end the inning but the game was tied 1-1.
Anderson with two triples
McDonald cruised in the bottom of the fifth as Naehring struck out swinging to start. Pena popped up to second and Boggs grounded out to short to end the inning.
Gardiner dominated the top of the sixth as Ripken Jr popped up to second to start. Milligan and Devereaux both grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox took command in the bottom of the sixth as Reed walked to start. Greenwell singled to right to move Jody to third but Burks hit a grounder to third. Reed was thrown out in a rundown but Greenwell moved to third and Burks second on the play. Plantier was intentionally walked to set up a double play but Bruno hit a sac fly to right to score Greenwell to give the Sox the lead. Vaughn scored both runners with a double to left and Naehring walked to chase McDonald. Storm Davis came in to pitch and Pena walked to load the bases. Boggs flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-1.
The O's rallied in the bottom of the seventh although Horn struck out swinging to start. Gomez flied out to right but Chris Hoiles singled to left. All of a sudden Butch Hobson sprinted out of the dugout and demanded the ball from Mike Gardiner with nobody warming up. Apparently Butch wanted Peter Hoy to pitch to pinch hitter Mark McLemore but fell asleep and forgot to call the bullpen to get him ready. McLemore doubled to left off the ice cold Hoy to score Hoiles and Anderson doubled to left to score him. Orsulak singled to right to score Anderson to tie the game as Gardiner threw his hands up and left the dugout. Hobson then brought in Greg Harris that was actually warming up and Greg got Ripken Jr to fly out to left to end the inning with the game tied 4-4.
The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the seventh as Reed flied out to right to start. Greenwell flied out to left but Ripken Jr threw a routine grounder by Burks away for an error. Plantier flied out to center to end the inning.
Harris returned for the top of the eighth and Milligan grounded out to short to start. Devereaux took strike three and Horn went down hacking to end the inning. The Sox came through in the bottom of the eighth as Bruno and Vaughn dropped back to back base hits to right to start. Tim Naehring dropped down a bunt to move both runners over and Herm Winningham was sent to pinch hit for Pena. Winningham grounded out to third but Boggs was intentionally walked. Mark Williamson replaced Storm Davis to pitch to Reed and Jody made the O's pay by blooping a base hit to center to score both runners to give Boston the lead back. Mike Flanagan was brought on to face Greenwell but Mike lined out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-4.
Jeff Reardon came in to close out the top of the ninth with John Flaherty now behind the plate. Chico Martinez pinch hit for Gomez and flied out to center but Hoiles hit a home run all the way to Mongolia to cut the lead. McLemore grounded out to second and Anderson grounded out to first to end the game. The Sox had hung on to win 6-4.
The Good:
Tom Brunansky was 2 for 3 with an rbi and a run scored.
Mo Vaughn was 2 for 4 with 2 rbis and a run scored.
Tim Naehring walked twice and scored a run in 3 plate appearances.
Mike Gardiner was charged with 2 runs in 6 2/3 superb innings. He allowed just 5 hits and a walk while striking out 5.
Greg Harris tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Herm Winningham grounded out as a pinch hitter.
Peter Hoy allowed an inherited runner to score and 2 of his own without retiring anyone.
Jeff Reardon allowed a home run while nailing down the save in the top of the ninth.
The Ugly:
Wade Boggs was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked twice.
Mike Greenwell was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored a run.
Ellis Burks was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Phil Plantier was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.
Tony Pena was 0 for 2 but walked.
Honorable Mention:
John Flaherty caught the top of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
That was a good win but Hobson almost blew it by bringing in Peter Hoy when Gardner wasn't even in trouble. All Gardiner needed was one more out and he would have put the Sox in great shape with Harris and Reardon ready to go. Its only April but Hobson is no Joe Morgan, that's for sure. Still, the offense managed to scratch out enough runs to win and Jody Reed had a hell of a game. The Sox missed the playoffs by slumping at the end of the season and hopefully Gardiner can prevent that this season. The Sox are going to bank on their pitching this season and hopefully the offense can improve over the end of last year. All in all it was a good win and hopefully it gets the Sox back on track. The Sox look to make it two in a row over the Orioles tomorrow evening when Roger Clemens takes the mound up against Bob Milacki of the O's. The game begins at 7:05 PM at Fenway Park.
No comments:
Post a Comment