Jack McDowell got the start for the White Sox and Otis Nixon led off the top of the first with a ground out to second. Billy Hatcher flied out to right and Mike Greenwell lined out to left to end the inning. Clemens got the ball in the bottom of the fifth and snuffed out a Tim Raines bunt attempt to start. Joey Cora flied out to left but Frank Thomas walked. Julio Franco flied out to left to end the inning.
The BoSox struck first in the top of the second inning as Mo Vaughn flied out to left to start. Andre Dawson doubled to left and Tim Naehring singled him to third. Scott Cooper scored Dawson with a sac fly but John Valentin took strike three to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Clemens cruised in the bottom of the second as Robin Ventura grounded out to first to start. Dan Pasqua took strike three and Lance Johnson grounded out to first to end the inning.
Dave Valle grounded out to second to start the top of the third but Nixon lashed a base hit to right. Nixon swiped second but Hatcher hit one up the elevator shaft. Greenwell flied out to right to end the inning. The White Sox struck back in the bottom of the third as Mike LaValliere grounded out to second to start. Ozzie Guillen singled to left and Raines singled him to third to put runners at the corners. Cora popped up to Naehring down the right field line to score Guillen to tie the game. Thomas singled to center but Franco popped up to Naehring in foul territory to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
Cora drives in a run
Vaughn struck out swinging to open the top of the fourth before Dawson grounded out to second. Naehring singled to right but Cooper lined out to second to end the inning. Ventura lined out to center to start the bottom of the fourth before Pasqua flied out to left. Johnson grounded out to short to end the inning.
Valentin flied out to right to start the top of the fifth before Valle popped up to second. Nixon walked and stole second but Hatcher lined out to right to end the inning. LaValliere singled to left to start the bottom of the fifth but Guillen flied out to center. Raines also flied out to center and Cora forced LaValliere at second to end the inning.
The BoSox struck back in the top of the sixth as Greenwell walked to start. Mike moved to second on the Vaughn grounder to first and Dawson smashed his 3rd home run of the season to put Boston on top. Naehring singled to left and took second on a wild pitch but Cooper struck out swinging. Valentin grounded out to short to end the inning with the BoSox ahead 3-1.
Chicago struck back in the bottom of the sixth as Thomas smashed a home run all the way to Jupiter to cut the lead. Franco took strike three and Ventura flied out to center, but Pasqua doubled to right. Johnson grounded out to short to end the inning with the White Sox down 3-2.
Boston struck again in the top of the seventh as Valle popped up to first in foul territory to start. Nixon caught the White Sox asleep with a bunt single and Hatcher doubled him to third. Greenwell hit a sac fly to score Nixon but Vaughn struck out swinging to end the inning with the Red Sox ahead 4-2.
The bottom fell out in the bottom of the seventh as LaValliere singled to right to start. Ron Karkovice pinch ran for LaValliere and Guillen singled to left to chase Clemens. Greg Harris came in and Raines bunted up the line for a hit to load the bases. Cora forced Karkovice at home and Thomas struck out swinging, but Franco singled in the hole at short to score Guillen and Raines. Ventura singled to right to score Cora to put the White Sox on top. Pasqua popped up to left in foul territory to end the inning but Chicago now led 5-4. Clemens left with a no-decision after allowing 4 runs in 6 innings.
Darrin Jackson came in for Raines with Roberto Hernandez taking over on the mound for the top of the eighth. Dawson struck out swinging, Naehring popped up to second and Cooper grounded out to short to end the inning. Tony Fossas came in for the bottom of the seventh and Johnson grounded back to the mound. Karkovice hit a home run all the way to Gotham City to increase the lead before Guillen struck out swinging. Ricky Trilicek came in to walk Jackson but Cora lined out to short to end the inning with the White Sox up 6-4.
The Sox rallied in the top of the ninth although Valentin flied out to center to start. Damon Berryhill pinch hit for Valle and singled to right. Scott Fletcher ran for Beryhill and Nixon walked. Greg Blosser pinch hit for Hatcher and took strike three before Greenwell hit a grounder back to the mound....THROWN AWAY BY HERNANDEZ! Fletcher scored and the other runners moved over to set the stage for Vaughn. Big Mo.... struck out swinging to end the game. The White Sox had won it 6-5.
The Good:
Otis Nixon was 2 for 3 with 2 walks, a run scored and 2 stolen bases.
Mike Greenwell was 1 for 3 with a walk, 2 rbis and a run scored.
Andre Dawson was 2 for 4 with a 2 run homer and 2 runs scored.
Tim Naehring was 3 for 4.
Damon Berryhill singled as a pinch runner.
Scott Fletcher scored a run as a pinch runner.
Ricky Trilicek got the final out of the eighth inning.
The Bad:
Greg Blosser struck out as a pinch hitter.
John Valentin was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Dave Valle was 0 for 3.
Greg Harris allowed 2 inherited runners to score and one of his own to take the loss.
Tony Fossas allowed a run in 2/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Billy Hatcher was just 1 for 4.
Scott Cooper was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but drove in a run.
Roger Clemens allowed 4 runs in 6 innings of work.
Final Thoughts:
That was a rough way to lose the first game of the season but the concerning factor is Clemens. He had his first bad year ever last year and its carried over to this year so far. This still plenty of time to turn it around but right now he isn't pitching well. The bats did what they could in this one but Vaughn cost them big time. Bad relief pitching from Harris and Fossas didn't help either. New Sox GM Dan Duquette wants the Sox to get younger but with so many aging veterans on the team, a purge may be in order. Its just a question of who gets the axe and when. All in all the Sox fought hard to the bitter end so hopefully they can bounce back tomorrow against Chicago. Joe Hesketh takes the mound for Boston up against Alex Fernandez of the White Sox. The game begins at 2:30 PM at Commiskey Park.
No comments:
Post a Comment