The Sox wasted no time getting to Royals starter Mark Gubicza in the top of the first inning as Otis Nixon struck out swinging to start. Billy Hatcher singled to left and stole second but Mike Greenwell flied out to center. Mo Vaughn doubled to right to score Nixon with the game's first run. Andre Dawson flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Vaughn drives in a run
The Royals answered against Boston starter Frank Viola in the bottom of the first as Vince Coleman caught everyone asleep with a bunt single. Coleman stole second but Wally Joyner popped up the bunt to Dave Valle. Brian McRae singled to center to score Coleman to tie the game but Mike Macfarlane popped up to second. Gary Gaetti flied out to center to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
McRae ties it up
The Sox struck again in the top of the second as Tim Naehring doubled to left to start. Nahering reached third on the Scott Cooper single to right and John Valentin ripped a base hit to center to score Tim. Dave Valle banged into a double play and Nixon lined out to left to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-1.
Valentin drives in a run
Hubie Brooks took strike three to start the bottom of the second before old pal Dave Henderson grounded out to short. Jose Lind walked but David Howard popped up to first in foul territory to end the inning.
Hatcher popped up to second to start the top of the third before Greenwell grounded back to the mound. Vaughn grounded out to first to end the inning. Coleman grounded out to third to start the bottom of the third before Joyner flied out to center. McRae grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
Dawson grounded out to third to start the top of the fourth before Naehring grounded back to the mound. Cooper flied out to right to end the inning. Macfarlane popped up to second to start the bottom of the fourth and Gaetti grounded out to short. Brooks flied out to center to end the inning.
Valentin doubled to left to start the top of the fifth before taking third on a wild pitch. Valentin got doubled off third on a liner to short by Valle and Nixon flied out to left to end the inning. The Royals tied it in the bottom of the fifth as Henderson doubled to center to start. Dave moved to third on the Lind grounder to first and Howard scored Henderson with a sac fly to right. Coleman singled to left and stole second, but Joyner flied out to right to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.
Hatcher flied out to right to start the top of the sixth before Greenwell grounded out to first. Vaughn struck out swinging to end the inning. McRae grounded out to second to start the bottom of the sixth but Macfarlane struck out swinging. Gaetti grounded out to second to end the inning.
Hipolito Pichardo came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Dawson popped up to second to start. Naehring lined out to first and Cooper grounded out to short to end the inning. Brooks grounded out to short to start the bottom of the seventh before Henderson flied out to right. Lind tripled into the right field corner and Howard walked to chase Viola. Frank hung in there to toss 6 2/3 innings of 2 run ball while allowing5 hits and two walks. Scott Bankhead came in and got Coleman to pop up to short to end the inning.
Viola pitched well
The Sox rallied in the top of the eighth as Valentin singled to center to start. Valle hit a routine grounder to Gaetti who booted it for an error to move Valentin to third. Nixon hit a sac fly to left to score John and Hatcher singled to right to chase Pichardo. Mike Magnante came in and Lee Tinsley pinch ran for Valle. Greenwell singled to right to load the bases and Vaughn singled to left to score Tinsley and Hatcher. Greenwell moved to third on the play and Dawson struck out swinging. Vaughn stole second but Naehring flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-2.
Nixon with a sac fly
Greg Harris took over on the mound with Damon Berryhill behind the plate to start the bottom of the eighth. Joyner grounded out to second but McRae walked. Macfarlane walked but Gaetti beat out a double play ball. Brooks popped up to first to end the inning.
Cooper flied out to left to start the top of the ninth but Valentin popped up to second. Berryhill grounded out to third to end the inning. Jeff Russell came in to close out the bottom of the ninth but Henderson doubled to right to start. Lind singled to right and the ball went under Hatcher's glove to score Dave, moving Jose all the way to third. Howard struck out swinging but Coleman doubled to left to score Lind. Sox manager Butch Hobson had enough of Russell and brought in Tony Fossas to face Joyner. Fossas did strike Wally out but Hobson brought in Paul Quantrill to face McRae. This time Brian doubled to left to score Coleman with the tying run. Macfarlane grounded out to third to end the inning with the game tied 5-5.
Russell couldn't get it done
The Sox took their frustrations out on Magnante in the top of the 10th as Nixon tripled to right to start the inning. Hatcher scored Nixon with a sac fly to give the Sox the lead back. Greenwell singled to center and moved to second on the grounder to first by Vaughn. Dawson was intentionally walked and Scott Fletcher came in to run for him. Naehring stepped up with another triple to right to clear the bases. Cooper and Valentin both walked to load the bases but Berryhill force Valentin at second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 8-5.
Quantrill came back for the bottom of the tenth and Gaetti grounded out to short to start. Brooks grounded out to first and Henderson flied out to center to end the game. The Sox had won it 8-5 in 10 innings.
Hero of the Night is Otis Nixon. His leadoff triple and run scored in the top of the tenth was all the Sox needed to win in extras.
The Good:
Billy Hatcher was 2 for 4 with an rbi, stolen base and 2 runs scored.
Mike Greenwell was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Mo Vaughn was 2 for 5 with 3 rbis and a stolen base.
Scott Fletcher scored a run as a pinch runner.
Tim Naehring was 2 for 5 with 2 rbis and a run scored.
John Valentin was 3 for 4 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.
Lee Tinsley scored a run as a pinch runner.
Frank Viola allowed just 2 runs in 6 2/3 innings. He allowed 5 hits and 2 walks.
Scott Bankhead retired the only man he faced.
Greg Harris pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Tony Fossas retired the only man he faced.
The Bad:
Dave Valle was 0 for 3.
Damon Berryhill was 0 for 2.
Jeff Russell blew the save in the ninth by getting charged with 3 runs in 1/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Andre Dawson was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but walked.
Scott Cooper was just 1 for 4 but walked.
Paul Quantrill allowed the game tying run to score but slammed the door in the 10th inning for the win.
Final Thoughts:
Blowing a 3 run lead in the ninth sucks but a win is a win. Jeff Russell getting pounded put Paul Quantril in an impossible situation but he redeemed it all in the tenth. Hats off to the Sox for not losing focus despite Russell's meltdown. Viola pitched a good game while he was there but the offense is starting to gel. Valentin, Naehring, Cooper and Vaughn are all 26-27 while Nixon, Hatcher and Greenwell look to still have gas left in the tank. The Sox do have a catcher in the minors named Scott Hatteberg but he's going to need time to develop. Hopefully the pitching can match the offense as the season goes on. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Royals tomorrow night when Danny Darwin (2-0) takes on Kevin Appier of Kansas City. The game begins at 8:05 PM Eastern time at Kauffman Stadium.
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