The Cleveland Indians may have an ace of the future in Charles Nagy but the Boston Red Sox still has the real ace in Roger Clemens (14-7, 2.20 ERA. Nagy had one bad inning where he allowed 4 runs in a flurry of hits in the top of the fifth but Clemens scattered 8 hits and just 2 runs across 8 innings of work himself. A four run rally in the fifth was all the Sox got offensively but it was all they needed. Glenallen Hill homered off Clemens in the bottom of the eighth to make the game 4-2. Jeff Reardon slammed the door in the bottom of the ninth for his 25th save to give the Sox a 4-2 victory over the Indians at Cleveland Stadium, snapping a 5 game losing streak.
Nagy got the ball in the top of the first inning and Wade Boggs grounded out to first to start. Billy Hatcher struck out swinging. Bob Zupcic took strike three to end the inning. Clemens got the ball in the bottom of the first and Thomas Howard struck out swinging to start. Glenallen Hill popped up to first and Carlos Baerga popped up to third to end the inning.
Tom Brunansky led off the top of the second by beating out an infield single to short but Mo Vaughn flied to center. Jack Clark took strike three but Jody Reed hit a ball off the glove of Mark Lewis for an error. Tony Pena struck out swinging to end the inning. Clemens turned up the heat for the bottom of the second as Albert Belle struck out swinging to start. Paul Sorrento went down hacking and Mark Whiten froze for strike three to end the inning.
Lewis bobbled another grounder, this time by John Valentin, for a "single" to start the top of the third but Boggs grounded into a double play. Hatcher struck out swinging to end the inning. Sandy Alomar Jr singled in the hole at second to start the bottom of the third before Jim Thome grounded into a double play. Lewis took strike three to end the inning.
Zupcic led off the top of the fourth by striking out swinging before Brunansky grounded out to second. Vaughn also grounded out to second to end the inning. The Indians threatened in the bottom of the fourth as Howard beat out an infield single to short to begin. Hill singled in the hole at second and both runners moved over on the Baerga grounder to second. Belle walked to load the bases but Sorrento grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Suddenly the Sox exploded in the top of the fifth as Clark walked to start. Reed dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Clark to second and Pena walked. Valentin grounded out to third to move the runners over and Boggs was intentionally walked to load the bases. Hatcher ripped a base hit to right to score both Clark and Pena. Zupcic dumped a broken bat single to center to score Boggs with another run. Brunansky ripped a base hit to Hatcher to drive in another run but Vaughn struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 4-0.
The Indians struck back in the bottom of the fifth as Whiten beat out an infield single to Valentin to start. Alomar Jr ripped a base hit to left to move Whiten to third and Mark scored on a Thome sac fly to center. Lewis singled in the hole at short and both runners moved over on the Howard grounder to first. Hill struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-1.
The Sox blew a rally in the top of the sixth as Clark grounded out to Lewis to start. Reed also grounded out to Lewis but Pena doubled into the right field gap. Thome threw a grounder away by Valentin to put runners at the corners but Boggs forced Valentin at second to end the inning. Baerga grounded out to short to start the bottom of the sixth before Belle struck out swinging. Sorrento grounded out to Reed to end the inning.
Hatcher took strike three to start the top of the seventh before Zupcic grounded out to third. Brunansky got a base hit to center and Vaughn followed with one of his own to move Tom to third. Clark struck out swinging to end the inning. Whiten struck out swinging to start the bottom of the seventh and Alomar Jr grounded out to short. Thome got a base hit to right but Lewis struck out swinging to end the inning.
Reed grounded back to the mound to start the top of the eighth before Pena grounded out to third. Hill dropped a fly ball at the wall by Valentin for an error and Boggs grounded out to first to end the inning. Clemens returned for one final inning in the bottom of the eighth and Howard grounded out to second to start. Hill suddenly hit a home run all the way into Lake Eerie to cut the lead in half. Baerga grounded out to first on a bang-bang play that might have been a bad call and Belle flied out to left to end the inning with the Indians down 4-2. That was it for Clemens who allowed 2 runs off 8 hits and a walk while striking out 9 in 8 innings.
Jack Armstrong came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Hatcher grounded out to short to start. Zupcic flied out to center and Brunansky flied out to right to end the inning. Jeff Reardon came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Sorrento struck out swinging to start. Whiten popped up to first in foul territory but Alomar got a base hit in the hole at second. Thome was frozen for strike three to end the game. The Sox had won it 4-2.
Sox win
Hero of the Night is Roger Clemens. He earned the win by tossing 8 innings of 2 run ball. He allowed 8 hits and a walk while striking out 9.
The Good:
Tom Brunansky was 3 for 5 with an rbi.
Tony Pena was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Jeff Reardon earned his 25th save with a scoreless ninth.
The Bad:
Jody Reed was 0 for 3.
The Ugly:
Wade Boggs was 0 for 4 but walked and scored a run.
Billy Hatcher was just 1 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but drove in 2 runs and scored a run.
Bob Zupcic was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts but drove in a run.
Mo Vaughn was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Jack Clark was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but walked and scored a run.
John Valentin was just 1 for 4.
Final Thoughts:
Good win by the Sox to snap the losing streak but good grief is their offense BAD. Getting 4 runs in one inning was nice but they couldn't get anything done otherwise. At least they had Roger Clemens to bail them out this time. Its too bad the Sox bats are ice cold because the pitching has held up almost all season. Can't win if you can't score, but at least they did just enough in this one. Sox analyst Ned Martin said the Sox have the oldest team in baseball and that's an indictment on Lou Gorman to field a team this old and this bad. If he refuses to rebuild, find a general manager that won't. The win improves the Sox to 53-61, 13.5 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East. Tomorrow the Sox travel to Milwaukee for a double-header against the Milwaukee Brewers. The game was originally postponed on April 23rd due to bad weather so they're making it up tomorrow afternoon. Joe Hesketh takes the hill for the Sox against Chris Bosio of Milwaukee. The game begins at 4:00 PM at County Stadium.
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