Viola got the ball in the top of the first and Tim Raines popped up to first to start. Joey Cora flied out to center and Frank Thomas grounded out to short to end the inning. The Red Sox wasted no time getting to Sanderson in the bottom of the first as Otis Nixon grounded out to second to start. Billy Hatcher grounded out to third but Mike Greenwell launched his third home run of the season to put Boston on top. Mo Vaughn grounded out to third to end the inning with the BoSox up 1-0.
The White Sox answered in the top of the second as Julio Franco walked to start. Franco took second on a wild pitch then third on a Robin Ventura liner to right. Darrin Jackson grounded out to third but Lance Johnson singled to left to score Franco to tie the game. Ron Karkovice flied out to center to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
Tim Naehring took strike three to start the bottom of the second before Scott Cooper lined out to short. John Valentin singled to left and stole second but Greg Blosser struck out swinging to end the inning.
Ozzie Guillen grounded out to third to start the top of the third before Raines popped up to first. Cora flied out to right to end the inning. Dave Valle flied out to right to start the bottom of the third before Nixon struck out swinging. Hatcher singled to center but was picked off to end the inning.
The White Sox took command in the top of the fourth as Thomas hit a home run all the way to Jupiter to start. Franco grounded out to short and Ventura struck out swinging, but Jackson hit a home run all the way to Los Angeles to increase the lead. Johnson flied out to left to end the inning with the White Sox ahead 3-1.
Greenwell grounded out to short to start the bottom of the fourth before Vaughn struck out swinging. Naehring and Cooper stroked back to back base hits but Valentin struck out swinging to end the inning.
Karkovice singled to right to start the top of the fifth before Guillen sacrificed him to second with a bunt. Ron moved to third on the fly out to right by Raines and Cora walked to put runners at the corners. Thomas lined out to right to end the inning. Blosser lined out to short to start the bottom of the fifth but Valle singled to center. Nixon lined out to left and Hatcher grounded out to third to end the inning.
The White Sox finished off Viola in the top of the sixth as Franco singled to center to start. Ventura struck out swinging and Jackson singled to left. Johnson singled to center to score Franco and drive Viola out of the game. Frank allowed 4 runs in 5 1/3 innings off 7 hits and 2 walks. Scott Bankhead came in to pitch and Karkovice took strike three. Guillen flied out to right to end the inning with the White Sox ahead 4-1.
Viola didn't have it in this one
Greenwell flied out to center to start the bottom of the sixth before Vaughn grounded out to third. Naehring flied out to left to end the inning.
Raines popped up to short to start the top of the seventh before Cora struck out swinging. Thomas singled to left but Franco took strike three to end the inning. Kirk McCaskill came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Cooper grounded out to second to start. Valentin flied out to center but Blosser drew a walk. Valle flied out to center to end the inning.
Things fell apart in the top of the eighth as Ventura grounded out to short to start. Jackson hit a routine grounder to Cooper who picked the ball up and did a dance with it for an error. That was it for Bankhead as Joe Hesketh came in to pitch to Johnson. Johnson hit a routine grounder to Naehring who picked the ball up and did a dance with it to show up Cooper for another error. Karkovice flied out to center and Guillen hit a grounder to third. Cooper fired home to Valle.....WHO DROPPED IT! Jackson and Johnson both scored on the error to ice the game. Raines singled to center to score Guillen and Cora singled to center to chase Hesketh. Paul Quantrill came in to pitch and Thomas flied out to right to end the inning with the White Sox ahead 7-1.
Cooper, Naehring and Valle
The Red Sox rallied in the bottom of the eighth as Nixon flied out to center to start. Hatcher singled to left and Greenwell doubled to right to score him. Vaughn then clubbed his second home run of the year to cut the lead, but Naehring flied out to right. Cooper singled to right to chase McCaskill and Roberto Hernandez came in to face Valentin. John popped up to short to end the inning with the Sox down 7-4.
Franco took strike three to start the top of the ninth and Ventura also watched strike three go by. Jackson flied out to right to end the inning. Blosser struck out swinging to start the bottom of the ninth and Damon Berryhill pinch hit for Valle. Damon struck out swinging and Nixon also went down hacking to end the game. The White Sox had won it 7-4.
Jackass of the Night is Dave Valle. Him dropping the ball at the plate led to two runs scoring and an eventual third run. That was the difference in the game
The Good:
Billy Hatcher was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Mike Greenwell was 2 for 4 with a home run, 2 total rbis and 2 total runs scored.
Paul Quantrill tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Otis Nixon was 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
Damon Berryhill struck out as a pinch hitter.
Frank Viola got hammered for four runs in just 5 1/3 innings to take the loss.
Joe Hesketh allowed 2 unearned runs in 1/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Mo Vaughn was just 1 for 4 but the one hit was a 2 run home run.
Tim Naehring was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout and an error.
John Valentin was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Scott Cooper was 2 for 4 but committed a crucial error.
Greg Blosser was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but walked.
Scott Bankhead was charged with an unearned run in 2 innings.
Final Thoughts:
That game was a week's worth of bad baseball in one game. Viola pitched like garbage and the Sox committed three errors in that fateful eighth inning. The entire infield owes Scott Bankhead and Joe Hesketh some beers tonight for that total mess they created. The offense was shut down for virtually the entire game so its not entirely the fault of pitching and defense. It was good to see Vaughn and Greenwell hit some rockets so the game wasn't entirely a waste. Greg Blosser looks lost at the plate but maybe he'll pick it up as the season goes on. After the dreary 1992 and 1993 seasons, the Sox winning 7 of the first 11 games is a cause for hope even if they lost this one. The less said of this disaster, the better. The BoSox look to bounce back against the White Sox tomorrow morning on Patriots Day. Danny Darwin (2-0) goes for Boston against Wilson Alvarez of Chicago. The game begins at 11:00 AM at Fenway Park.
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