Sox ace Roger Clemens took the mound in the top of the first inning and Tony Phillips got the year started by grounding out to third. Lou Whitaker and Eric Davis both whiffed to end the inning. Mike Moore got the ball for the Tigers in the bottom of the first and Otis Nixon made his Sox debut by grounding out to third to begin. Billy Hatcher walked but Mike Greenwell flied out to left. Mo Vaughn flied out to center to end the inning.
Clemens cruised in the top of the second inning as Cecil Fielder flied out to right to begin. Travis Fryman and Mickey Tettleton both whiffed to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the second when Andre Dawson smacked his first home run of the year to put Boston on top. Scott Cooper lined out to short but John Valentin walked. Valentin swiped second but new Sox catcher Dave Valle grounded out to short. Scott Fletcher lined out to right to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Just as soon as the Sox took the lead, Clemens pissed it away in the top of the third inning. Kirk Gibson beat out an infield single before Alan Trammell walked. Junior Felix moved the runners over with a sacrifice bunt before Phillips doubled home both men to give the Tigers the lead. Whitaker singled home Phillips to increase the lead and Davis singled as well. Fielder lined out to center but Fryman walked to load the bases. Tettleton whiffed to end the inning but the Tigers now led 3-1.
The Sox roared back in the bottom of the third as Nixon walked and showed off his speed by stealing second. Hatcher walked but Greenwell lined out to center. Vaughn singled home Nixon and Dawson tied the game by doubling home Vaughn. Cooper was intentionally walked to load the bases and Valentin made the Tigers pay with a double to score Vaughn and Dawson. Old friend Mike Gardiner came in to replace Moore and Valle was intentionally walked to re-load the bases but this time Fletcher flied out to right. The man who started the inning with a walk, Nixon, walked again to score Cooper with another run. Hatcher grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-3.
Once again Clemens failed to put up a zero in the top of the fourth inning. Gibson lined out to right to start before Trammell singled. Felix singled Trammell to third and Alan scored on the ground out by Phillips. Whitaker grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox now ahead 6-4.
The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the fourth as Greenwell grounded out to first to start. Vaughn popped up to short and Dawson grounded out to third to end the inning. Clemens completely fell apart in the top of the fifth although he blew away Davis to start. Fielder lined out to right but Fryman doubled to left. Tettleton smacked a ground rule double to score Fryman and for some odd reason, Sox manager Butch Hobson had Gibson intentionally walked. Trammell made Hobson pay by doubling home both runners to give the Tigers the lead. That was it for Clemens as the ace went 4 2/3 and would eventually be charged with 8 runs. Not good. Paul Quantrill relieved Clemens and Felix singled home Trammell for an insurance run before Phillips lined out to short to end the inning with the Tigers ahead 8-6.
The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the fifth as Cooper flied out to right, Valentin popped up to first and Valle popped up to third to end the inning.
Quantrill kept the ball down in the top of the sixth when Whitaker grounded out to first to start. Davis and Fielder grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the sixth as Fletcher grounded out to short to start. Nixon grounded back to the mound and Hatcher grounded out to first to end the inning.
The top of the seventh started with a blunder as Valentin went OLE! on a line drive by Fryman to begin. Tettleton flied out to center and all of a sudden Sox manager Butch Hobson randomly came out of the dugout to bring in a new pitcher. Joe Hesketh came in and got Gibson to ground out before Trammell was intentionally walked. Felix whiffed to end the inning. Storm Davis came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Greenwell grounded out to second to start. Vaughn flied out to left before Dawson grounded out to third to end the inning.
Phillips walked to begin the top of the eighth but was thrown out by the alert Valle trying to steal. Whitaker walked and sleeping manager Butch Hobson woke up to replace Hesketh with Scott Bankhead. Scott whiffed both Davis and Fielder to end the inning. The Sox exploded in the bottom of the eighth and Cooper started the rally with a ground rule double. Valentin singled Cooper to third as Hobson made the weird pinch hitting switch, recalling Valle in favor of Damon Berryhill. Berryhill whiffed before Fletcher popped up to left. Nixon walked to load the bases and Hatcher doubled home Cooper and Valentin to tie the game. A passed ball scored Nixon with the go-ahead run before Greenwell walked to re-load the bases. Vaughn whiffed to end the inning but the Sox ahead 9-8.
With the lead in hand, the Sox turned to closer Jeff Russell to nail it down in the top of the ninth. Fryman flied out to center to start but Tettleton was plunked. Milt Cuyler ran for Tettleton but Russell blew away Gibson. Trammell grounded out to short to end the game. The Sox had won Opening Day 9-8.
Hero of the Night is Billy Hatcher. His 2 run rbi double in the bottom of the eighth tied the game to set the stage for the winning run to score.
The Good:
Otis Nixon walked 3 times in 5 plate appearances, drove in a run, scored twice and stole a base.
Andre Dawson was 2 fo 4 with 2 total runs batted in, 2 total runs scored and a solo home run.
Scott Cooper was 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored.
John Valentin was 2 for 3 with a walk, 2 rbis, a stolen base and a run scored.
Paul Quantrill pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
Joe Hesketh pitched a full scoreless inning.
Scott Bankhead got the win with 2/3 of a scoreless inning.
Jeff Russell got his first save of the year with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Damon Berryhill struck out in his only plate appearance.
Scott Fletcher was 0 for 4.
Roger Clemens got lit up for 8 runs in just 4 2/3 innings. Not the best from the ace.
The Ugly:
Mike Greenwell was 0 for 4 but walked.
Mo Vaughn was just 1 for 5 but drove in a run and scored.
Dave Valle was 0 for 2 but walked.
Final Thoughts:
What a way to start the season. Your best pitcher lays an egg but the offense and the bullpen stepped up big. The offense was a bit of a let-down last year down the stretch but hopefully Nixon will help start the rallies that Dawson and Vaughn can finish as the season goes on. The fact Clemens got bombed is disconcerting considering the rotation is a bit thin after him. Hopefully Roger can turn it around and get back on track in his next start. The Sox are gonna need all the help they can get if they can hope to hang with the two time defending champion Toronto Blue Jays. After an off day, the Sox return to action Wednesday afternoon as Frank Viola makes his season debut opposite the portly David Wells. The game starts at 1:00 PM at Fenway Park.
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