Sox Outslug Indians (4/21/71)

Its good to be on the winning side of a slugfest for once. The Cleveland Indians took a 7-2 lead over the Boston Red Sox by the top of the fifth inning, knocking out starting pitcher Ray Culp in the third inning. The Sox sprang back to life with a rally in the bottom of the fifth, tied the game in the sixth and took the lead in the bottom of the eighth. Billy Conigliaro led the charge back with a 3 run home run in the fifth and Carl Yastrzemski hit the go-ahead rbi single in the eighth to bring the Sox back to life. Sparky Lyle and Bobby Bolin slammed the door in the final innings as the Sox improved to a game over .500 for the first time all year with a 9-7 win at Fenway Park.

                                                         Diana Rigg approves of the win

Culp took the ball in the top of the first inning and Buddy Bradford struck out swinging to start. Vada Pinson flied out to right but Ray Fosse walked and took second on a passed ball. Graig Nettles flied out to center to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the first against Indians starter Steve Hargan as John Kennedy grounded out to third to start. Reggie Smith walked then took second and third on wild pitches. Carl Yastrzemski singled home Smith to give the Sox the lead. Rico Petrocelli flied out to right but George Scott singled to center. Duane Josephson popped up to first to end the inning with Boston ahead 1-0.

                                                           Smith scores a run

Ken "Hawk" Harrelson struck out swinging to open the top of the second before Roy Foster went down hacking as well. John Lowenstein grounded out to first to end the inning. Billy Conigliaro tried to bunt his way on to start the bottom of the second but was snuffed out by Nettles. Doug Griffin grounded out to third and Culp popped up to second to end the inning.

The Indians attacked in the top of the third as Larry Brown caught Petrocelli asleep with a bunt single to start. Hargan popped up a bunt back to Culp but Bradford doubled Brown to third. Pinson doubled home both runners to give the Indians the lead and Fosse doubled home Pinson. Nettles then hit a home run all the way to the Azores to chase Culp from the game. After spending most of April leaving his starters in too long, now Sox manager Eddie Kasko was pulling them early. Culp was done after 2 1/3 innings and 5 runs allowed, not good. Cal Koonce came in and Harrelson grounded back to the mound before Foster lined out to third to end the inning. The Indians had knocked out Culp and led 5-1.

                                                            Not today Ray

The Sox tried to fight back in the bottom of the third although Kennedy flied out to right to start. Smith grounded out to first but Yaz smashed his 3rd home run of the season to cut the lead. Petrocelli walked but Scott grounded into a force to end the inning with the Sox down 5-2.

                                                        Yaz hits one out

The Indians took advantage of shoddy defense to score another run in the top of the fourth. Lowenstein beat out an infield single then swiped second base. Petrocelli booted a ground ball by Brown for an error and Lowenstein scored on a double play hit by Hargan. Bradford grounded out to short to end the inning but it was 6-2 Indians.

                                                        Another error by Rico

The Sox tried to rally when Josephson and Billy C stroked back to back singles to start the bottom of the fourth. Chuck Machemehl replaced Hargan and Griffin flied out to center. Gary Peters the pitcher pinch hit for Koonce and lined out to center. Kennedy grounded into a force to end the inning.

Bill Lee took over on the mound in the top of the fifth and he got smacked too. Pinson lined out to left but Fosse tripled to right. Nettles popped up to first but Harrelson singled home Fosse to increase the lead. Foster lined out to right to end the inning but it was 7-2 Indians.

                                                                 It had to be Hawk didn't it?

The Sox stormed back in the bottom of the fifth as Smith walked to start. Yaz singled to right and Petrocelli singled home Smith. Scott flied out to right and Josephson popped up to first, but Billy C crushed a 3 run bomb to cut the lead. Griffin grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox down 7-6.

                                                          "That ball is gone" - BC

Lee returned for the top of the sixth and Lowenstein grounded out to second to start. Brown grounded back to the mound and Machemehl struck out to end the inning. The Sox rallied in the bottom of the sixth as Mike Fiore pinch hit for Lee only to pop up to third. Kennedy doubled to left and Smith singled him home to tie the game and chase Machemehl. "Rock Hard" Rick Austin came in just to walk Yaz before Vince Colbert came in to freeze Petrocelli for strike three. Scott grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the game tied 7-7.

                                                      Kennedy scores the tying run

Sparky Lyle came in to pitch the top of the seventh inning and Bradford walked to start. Pinson struck out swinging and Fosse forced Bradford at second. Nettles popped up to third to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the seventh as Josephson popped up to first in foul territory to start. Billy C walked but Griffin banged into a double play to end the inning.

Harrelson flied out to center to start the top of the eighth but Foster singled to left. Foster was forced at second by Lowenstein and Brown struck out to end the inning. The Sox rallied in the bottom of the eighth as Joe Lahoud pinch hit for Lyle, drawing a walk. Kennedy bunted Lahoud to second but Smith grounded back to the mound. Yaz put the Sox on top with an rbi doubled to left and Petrocelli singled him in for the insurance run. Scott singled to left but Josephson grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 9-7.

Bobby Bolin came in to close out the top of the ninth and Ted Uhlaender pinch hit for Colbert to start. Uhlaender flied out to left and Gomer Hodge pinch hit for Braford, drawing a walk. Hodge moved to second on the Pinson grounder and Fosse popped up to first to end the game. The Sox had rallied to win it 9-7.

Hero of the Night is Carl Yastrzmeski. He homered early and drove in the winning run in the bottom of the eighth.

                                                             Yaz The Hero

The Good:

Reggie Smith was 1 for 3 with 2 walks, an rbi and a run scored.

Rico Petrocelli was 2 for 4 with a walk, 2 rbis and a run scored.

George Scott was 2 for 5.

Billy Conigliaro was 2 for 3 with a walk and a 3 run home run.

Joe Lahoud walked and scored a run as a pinch hitter.

Sparky Lyle got the win by pitching 2 shutout innings.

Bobby Bolin earned the save with a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Doug Griffin was 0 for 4.

Gary Peters was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.

Mike Fiore was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.

Ray Culp was knocked out in the third inning after allowing 5 runs in 2 1/3 innings.

The Ugly:

John Kennedy was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.

Duane Josephson was just 1 for 5.

Cal Koonce allowed an unearned run in 1 2/3 innings.

Bill Lee allowed a run in 2 innings of work.

Final Thoughts:

Its a nice win but the Sox really need to stop falling behind in almost every game they've played this season. Ray Culp is supposed to be one of their best pitchers but he didn't pitch like it today. Luckily the offense was up to the task today and the home run by Billy Conigliaro was huge. Its about time Bolin pitched well and Lyle had a good game as well. Not much to complain about other than Griffin hitting a pathetic .167 to start the season. They couldn't have traded Tony Conigliaro for a better second baseman? Either way its a win and every one of them counts. After an off-day tomorrow the Red Sox welcome the Chicago White Sox to Fenway on Friday afternoon. Sonny Siebert (2-0) takes on Tommy John of the White Sox at 1 PM at Fenway Park.

Indians Outslug Sox (4/10/71)

Yesterday Sonny Siebert and Sam McDowell had a wonderful pitcher's duel that ended with the Cleveland Indians walking off the Boston Red Sox. Today it was a slugfest but the result was the same, the Indians won. Sox starter Cal Koonce was knocked out in the second inning after allowing 5 runs while Indians starter Steve Hargan also got blasted for 5 runs in just 2 innings. Ken Brett (0-1, 16.20 ERA) allowed 6 runs of his own and although the Sox did put up 10 total runs, it wasn't enough as the Indians outslugged them 11-10 at Cleveland Stadium.

                                                       "Damn Indians"

The Sox did nothing in the top of the first against Hargan as Luis Aparicio grounded out to third to start. Reggie Smith lined out to first and Carl Yastrzemski flied out to center to end the inning. The Indians wasted no time smacking Koonce in the bottom of the first as Larry Brown walked to start. Graig Nettles banged into a double play but Vada Pinson singled. Ray Fosse then smashed a home run all the way to Argentina to put the Indians on top. Ken "Hawk" Harrelson grounded out to second to end the inning but the Indians led 2-0.

                                                       Fosse puts the Indians on top

The Sox answered in the top of the second with a big rally. Rico Petrocelli walked before George Scott singled him to third. Duane Josephson singled home Rico to put the Sox on the board. Billy Conigliaro hit a ball to the centerfield wall that advanced the runners into scoring position although Doug Griffin flied out to right. Somehow Koonce walked to load the bases and Aparicio cleared them with a grand slam to put the Sox on top. Smith flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-2.

                                                                Grand Slam Luis

The Indians counterpunched in the bottom of the second as John Lowenstein walked to start. Eddie Leon singled to right but Buddy Bradford struck out. Indians manager Al Dark rolled the dice by having Ted Uhlaender pinch hit for Hargan, thus trusting the next 7 innings to his bullpen. The gamble worked as Uhlaender doubled home Lowenstein to cut the lead. Sox manager Eddie Kasko felt Koonce had nothing and brought in Ken Brett to save the day. Brown grounded out to third but Leon scored and Uhlaender moved to third. A wild pitch by Brett scored Uhlaender to tie the game before Nettles flied out to right to end the inning. Both starters were gone and the game was tied 5-5.

                                                            So much for Koonce

Camilo Pascual came in to pitch the top of the third and Yaz grounded back to the mound to start. Petrocelli and Scott both walked but Josephson banged into a double play to end the inning. Brett settled down in the bottom of the third as Pinson flied out to left to start. Fosse took strike three and Harrelson grounded out to third to end the inning.

Billy C took strike three to start the top of the fourth but Griffin walked. Griffin stole second but Brett took strike three. Aparicio was also caught looking to end the inning. The Indians took command in the bottom of the fourth as Lowenstein, Leon and Bradford all walked to load the bases with nobody out. Brett did get Pascual looking but Brown doubled home Lowenstein and Leon to put Cleveland on top. Nettles hit a ground ball to second but Griffin didn't bother to throw anywhere which allowed Bradford to score. Pinson popped up to short and Fosse grounded into a force to end the inning but the Indians were up 8-5.

                                                      Brown gives Cleveland the lead

The Sox failed to rally in the top of the fifth although Smith singled to left to start. Yaz flied out to center and Smith was forced at second by Petrocelli. Scott doubled Rico to third but Josephson flied out to left to end the inning. The Indians iced the game in the bottom of the fifth as Harrelson singled to right to start. Lowenstein sacrifice bunted Hawk to second and Ken scored on the base hit by Leon. Bradford walked and Pascual dropped down a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners. Naturally Brown singled home both runners to chase Brett. The Sox pulled off a double switch by bringing in Don Pavletich to catch and Bill Lee in to pitch. Lee walked both Nettles and Pinson but Fosse grounded out to short to end the inning with the Indians ahead 11-5.

                                                              Lee has to clean up the mess

The Sox refused to go quietly in the top of the sixth although Billy C struck out to start. Griffin struck out swinging but Pavletich singled to left. Aparicio and Smith walked to load the bases and chase Pascual from the game. Rick Austin came in to pitch to Yaz and Carl smashed a base hit to left to score Pavletich and Aparicio. Vince Colbert came in to pitch to Petrocelli and Rico singled home Smith to bring the tying run to the plate. Scott took strike three to end the inning but the Sox were down 11-8.

                                                          Yaz drives in a pair

Harrelson singled to left to start the bottom of the sixth and moved to second on a passed ball. Lowenstein flied out to center but Pavletich muffed a strike three ball to Leon to allow him to reach first. Bradford banged into a double play to end the inning.

The Sox inched closer in the top of the seventh as Joe Lahoud pinch hit for Lee only to fly out to center. Billy C doubled to left and moved to third on the Griffin grounder before Pavletich walked. Aparicio doubled home Billy C and Pavletich before taking third on the throw home. With the tying run 90 feet away....Smith grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox down 11-10.

                                                    Pavletich brings the Sox closer

Bobby Bolin came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and struck out Colbert to start. Brown struck out but Nettles drew a walk. Pinson struck out to end the inning.

The Sox threatened in the top of the eighth when Yaz doubled to left to start. Petrocelli moved Yaz to third with a grounder before Chuck Machemehl came in to pitch. Scott grounded back to the mound before Mike Fiore pinch hit for Bolin. Fiore walked to put runners at the corners but Billy C grounded into a force to end the inning. Ken Tatum came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Fosse grounded out to second to start. Harrelson grounded out to third but Lowenstein walked. Leon lined out to first to end the inning...where the hell was that yesterday?

The Sox went quietly in the top of the ninth as Griffin popped up to second to start. Pavletich struck out and Aparicio popped up to short to end the game. The Indians had won the slugfest 11-10.

Jackass of the Night is Ken Brett. He was completely ineffective by allowing 6 runs after Koonce was pulled. Even a halfway decent outing and the Sox would have won the game.

                                                               Jackass Brett

The Good:

Luis Aparicio was 2 for 5 with a walk including a grand slam and 6 total rbis.

Carl Yastrzemski was 2 for 5 with 2 rbis.

Rico Petrocelli was 1 for 3 with 2 walks, an rbi and a run scored.

George Scott was 2 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.

Duane Josephson was 1 for 3 with an rbi and a run scored.

Mike Fiore walked as a pinch hitter.

Don Pavletich was 1 for 2 with a walk and 2 runs scored.

Bill Lee tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

Bobby Bolin tossed a scoreless inning.

Ken Tatum pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

The Bad:

Joe Lahoud was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.

Cal Koonce got hammered for 5 runs in just 1 1/3 innings. He did walk at the plate.

The Ugly:

Reggie Smith was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored a run.

Billy Conigliaro was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.

Doug Griffin was 0 for 4 but walked.

Final Thoughts:

A day after the Sox couldn't buy a run, they score 10 and still lose. Go figure! Still, Aparicio is looking like a good signing so far but when Cal Koonce is your third starter, that's not a good thing. Ken Brett stunk the joint out in relief and the Sox had chances to tie the game in the late innings but couldn't. At least this game was entertaining even if the Sox came out on the losing end. The Sox are gonna miss Tony Conigliaro this season if Doug Griffin is nothing but a slap hitter but still, the season is only three games in. The Sox look to bounce back tomorrow against the Indians when Gary Peters makes his season debut opposite Alan Foster of Cleveland. The game begins at 2 PM Eastern time at Cleveland Stadium.

Indians Thrash Sox in Game 2 (9/7/70)

Well so much for the feel good win of Game 1. The Boston Red Sox defeated the Cleveland Indians in the first game of today's doubleheader but got creamed in Game 2. Dean Chance held the offense to just two runs in 7 innings of work. Cal Koonce (3-6, 3.55 ERA) got lit up for 6 runs in just 4 innings. Chuck Hartenstein and Dick Mills each got tagged for runs and the Indians cruised to an easy 8-2 victory at Cleveland Stadium.

                                          "Hey Koonce, yeah you...you stink!" - BB

The Sox did manage to strike first in the top of the first although Mike Andrews popped up to first to start. Joe Lahoud grounded out to first but Carl Yastrzemski clobbered his 37th home run of the year to put the Sox on top. Tony Conigliaro followed with his 29th homer of the year to increase the lead. Billy Conigliaro grounded out to short to end the inning. As sad as this sounds, the Sox would have just 2 hits the rest of the game but led 2-0.

                                                          Back to back jacks

Koonce made the Indians beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the first as Graig Nettles grounded out to second to start. Eddie Leon grounded out to short and Vada Pinson grounded back to the mound to end the inning.

John Kennedy grounded out to third to start the top of the second before Luis Alvarado flied out to center. Tom Satriano grounded out to second to end the inning. The Indians struck back in the bottom of the second although Ken Harrelson grounded out to short to start. Duke Sims walked and Ted Uhlaender singled him to third. Roy Foster walked to load the bases and Larry Brown cleared them with a triple to give the Indians the lead. Chance whiffed and Brown was picked off by the alert Satriano to end the inning but the Indians led 3-2.

                                                   Brown gives the Indians the lead

The Sox went quietly in the top of the third as Koonce flied out to right to start. Andrews singled to left but Lahoud banged into a double play to end the inning. Nettles grounded out to first to start the bottom of the third but Leon singled to center. Pinson struck out and Harrelson grounded into a force to end the inning.

Yaz grounded out to short to start the top of the fourth before Tony C flied out to right. Billy C struck out to end the inning. Sims walked to begin the bottom of the fourth but was forced at second by Uhlaender. Foster caught the Sox asleep with a bunt singled and Uhlaender moved to third on the fly ball Brown. Chance grounded into a force to end the inning.

Kennedy got a base hit to center to start the top of the fifth but Alvarado hit into a double play. Satriano popped up to short to end the inning. The Indians iced it in the bottom of the fifth when Nettles walked to start. Leon singled to right and Pinson smashed a 500,000 foot home run to chase Koonce. Chuck Hartenstein came in and Harrelson singled to right. Chuck Hinton pinch ran for Harrelson but Sims grounded into a double play. Uhlaender singled to right and scored on the double to left by Foster. Brown was intentionally walked and Chance struck out to end the inning with the Sox down 7-2.

Dick Schofield pinch hit for Hartenstein to start the top of the sixth but grounded out to second to start. Andrews took strike three and Lahoud grounded out to first to end the inning. Dick Mills got tagged in the bottom of the sixth as Nettles singled to right to start. Leon sacrificed Graig to second and he moved to third on the Pinson grounder. Hinton singled home Nettles to wrap up the scoring. Sims grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox down 8-2.

Chance cruised in the top of the seventh as Yaz flied out to center to start. Tony C grounded out to third and Billy C flied out to right to end the inning. Uhlaender singled to right to start the bottom of the seventh and Foster flied out to right. Brown walked and John Lowenstein pinch hit for Chance only to fly out to center. Nettles struck out to end the inning.

Vince Colbert came in for the top of the eighth and Kennedy grounded out to short to start. Alvarado struck out and Satriano flied out to center to end the inning. Leon doubled to center to start the bottom of the eighth but Pinson flied out to right. Hinton lined out to short but Sims walked. Uhlaender took strike three to end the inning.

Mike Fiore pinch hit for Mills to start the top of the ninth and grounded out to second to start. Andrews popped up to first but Lahoud walked. Yaz walked but Tony C lined out to second to end the game. The Indians had won it 8-2.

Jackass of the Night is Cal Koonce. The Sox offense did nothing after the first inning but Koonce giving up 6 runs didn't help.

                                                       Koonce you Jackass



The Good:

Carl Yastrzemski was 1 for 3 with a walk and a home run.

John Kennedy was 1 for 3.



The Bad:

Billy Conigliaro was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Luis Alvarado was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Tom Satriano was 0 for 3.

Dick Schofield was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.

Mike Fiore was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.

Chuck Hartenstein allowed a run in an inning of work.



The Ugly:

Mike Andrews was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.

Joe Lahoud was 0 for 3 but walked.

Tony Conigliaro was just 1 for 4 but the one hit was a home run.

Dick Mills allowed a run in 3 innings of work.




Final Thoughts:

Good thing there are only 22 games left in this season. Watching the Sox throw guys like Koonce out to pitch while the Baltimore Orioles have four starters that could be an ace anywhere else is frustrating. The offense isn't really exciting apart from Yaz, Tony C and Reggie Smith either. The magic of 1967 is long gone and they have a long way to go to get back to the top. Koonce sucked today and using their bench in the second game because of the doubleheader wasn't going to yield much results. Still, the bright side is the season is almost over. Hopefully the Sox can make some moves in the off-season to shore up this mess and draft well. Say what you will about Dick Williams but he got the most out of the homegrown players on the 67 Sox. Hopefully Eddie Kasko can improve on this mediocre year with the right personnel. The loss dropped the Sox to 72-68, 17 games behind the Orioles for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night Ken Brett (6-7) goes for the Sox up against Steve Hargan of the Indians at 8:05 PM at Cleveland Stadium.