Yankees Pound Torrez, Sox (9/13/79)

What a difference 24 hours makes. After the Boston Red Sox beat the tar out of the New York Yankees last night, this time it was the Yankees to administer a whooping. The first 5 batters in the lineup pounded out 14 hits and 8 rbis, knocking Mike Torrez (14-12, 4.81 ERA) to kingdom come. The Sox committed 3 errors in the field and the Yankees as a team provided a 16 hit, 10 run attack that knocked the Sox further out of their fading playoff race with a 10-3 rout at Fenway Park.

                                            "THEY LOST TO THE YANKEES AGAIN!!"

The Yankees wasted no time getting to Torrez in the top of the first inning although Bobby Murcer struck out to start. Willie Randolph dropped down a bunt and catcher Mike O'Berry threw the ball into the Red Sox bullpen for an error to advance Willie to second. Oscar Gamble singled Randolph to third and Reggie Jackson doubled Willie home to give the Yankees the lead. Chris Chambliss grounded out to first to score Gamble with another run before Graig Nettles flied out to center to end the inning with the Yankees ahead 2-0.

The Sox fought back in the bottom of the frame against Yankees starter Ron Guidry although Rick Burleson led off with a strikeout. Ted Sizemore flied out to left but Fisk doubled off the Monster. Jim Rice singled home Fisk to cut the lead in half but Butch Hobson struck out to end the inning with the Sox down 2-1.

                                                        Rice drives in a run

Torrez recovered in the top of the second as Jim Spencer grounded out to first to start. Jerry Narron grounded out to second and Bucky Dent popped up to second to end the inning. The Sox fought back in the bottom of the second as Dwight Evans walked to begin. Tom Poquette beat out an infield single to second but Jim Dwyer popped up to third. O'Berry walked to load the bases and Burleson beat out a double play ball to score Evans with the tying run. Sizemore popped up to third to end the inning but the Sox tied it 2-2.

                                                       Burleson ties it up

Torrez got Murcer to watch strike three go by to open the top of the third before Randolph grounded out to third. Gamble singled to right but Jackson struck out to end the inning. Guidry turned up the heat in the bottom of the third by striking out Fisk to start. Rice and Hobson both struck out as well to end the inning.

The Yankees broke it open in the top of the fourth although Chambliss grounded out to first to begin. Nettles struck out but Spencer drew a walk. The game turned when Narron hit a routine grounder to first but Dwyer threw himself on the ball for an error that allowed Spencer to reach third. The Yankees pounced as Dent singled home Spencer to give the Yankees the lead back. Murcer doubled home Narron and Randolph hit a bases clearing triple to knock Torrez out. The errors didn't help but Torrez was done after 3 2/3 innings and 7 charged runs. Allen Ripley came in and Gamble singled home Randolph but was thrown out at second trying to stretch a double to end the inning with the Yankees ahead 7-2.

                                                       "Not today Gamble" - Ripley

Evans struck out to open the bottom of the fourth before Poquette grounded out to second. Dwyer doubled to right and tried to score on the base hit by O'Berry but was thrown out at home to end the inning.

Jackson doubled to open the top of the fifth but was out at third on a grounder by Chambliss. Nettles doubled to left and Spencer was intentionally walked to load the bases. The gamble worked as Ripley got Narron to ground into a double play to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the fifth as Burleson popped up to second to start. Sizemore flied out to left and Fisk struck out to end the inning.

Ripley got in trouble in the top of the sixth although Dent struck out to start. Murcer and Randolph stroked back to back singles but Gamble popped up to third. Jackson walked to load the bases but Chambliss popped up to short to end the inning. The Sox somehow rallied in the bottom of the sixth as Rice walked to start. Hobson singled Rice to third and Evans doubled home Rice to cut the lead. The rally ended when Guidry punched out Poquette, Dwyer and O'Berry to end the inning. The bottom of the order failed big time as the Sox still trailed 7-3.

                                                           Evans drives in a run

Ripley got the Yankees to beat the ball in the dirt in the top of the seventh inning as Nettles grounded back to the mound to start. Spencer grounded back to the mound and Narron grounded out to third to end the inning. Burleson lined out to left to begin the bottom of the seventh before Sizemore flied out to right. Fisk doubled to left but was thrown out at third on the grounder by Rice to end the inning.

Sox manager Ralph Houk left Ripley in too long as he ran out of gas in the top of the eighth inning. Dent struck out to start but Murcer and Randolph stroked back to back singles. Gamble singled to right and Murcer gunned it home. O'Berry ended up muffing the ball that allowed Murcer and Randolph to score while Gamble moved all the way to third. Jackson walked and Chambliss doubled home Gamble to chase Ripley. Bill Campbell came in and got Nettles to ground back to the mound and Spencer to ground out to third to end the inning with the Yankees up 10-3.

                                                          A few batters too late

Fred Stanley took over at third as Guidry returned for the bottom of the eighth. Hobson flied out to right to start before Evans struck out. Poquette got a base hit to left but Dwyer flied out to center to end the inning.

Campbell returned for mop up duty in the top of the ninth and Narron struck out to start. Dent flied out to center and Murcer struck out to end the inning. Guidry finished off his complete game in the bottom of the ninth as O'Berry flied out to center to begin. Burleson lined out to left and Sizemore grounded out to short to end the game. The Yankees bitchslapped the Sox 10-3 at Fenway.

Jackass of the Night is Mike Torrez. He put the Sox in a hole they couldn't climb out of by allowing 7 runs in just 3 2/3 innings, although only 2 of the runs were earned.

                                                          Torrez is a Jackass


The Good:

Carlton Fisk was 2 for 4 with an rbi.

Jim Rice was 1 for 3 with a walk, rbi and run scored.

Dwight Evans was 1 for 3 with a walk, rbi and run scored.

Tom Poquette was 2 for 4.

Bill Campbell tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings.



The Bad:

Ted Sizemore was 0 for 5.

Allen Ripley allowed 3 runs in 3 2/3 innings pitched.



The Ugly:

Rick Burleson was 0 for 5 but drove in a run.

Butch Hobson was just 1 for 4.

Jim Dwyer was just 1 for 4 with an error.

Mike O'Berry was 1 for 3 with a walk but made 2 crucial errors.




Final Thoughts:

Well the bottom of the order was garbage in this one. O'Berry and Dwyer combined to go 2 for 7 and commit 3 errors between them. The Yankees capitalized on every mistake and shame on Torrez and Ripley for not getting the key outs even with the errors. It doesn't matter anyway as the Baltimore Orioles are so far ahead in the standings, all the Yankees and Sox can play for at this point is who finishes third between them. Torrez didn't have it but Ripley didn't help either, but again, nobody cares at this point. The loss drops the Sox to 81-62, 2.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for second place in the AL East. Speaking of the Orioles, the Sox now travel to Baltimore for a set against the AL East frontrunners. Steve Stone goes for the dirty birds up against Bob Stanley (15-9) tomorrow night at 7:50 PM at Memorial Stadium.

Sox Tame Tigers Late (6/27/79)

Better late than never for the Boston Red Sox in tonight's game against the Detroit Tigers. Rookie Joel Finch dueled Pat Underwood to a 0-0 tie after 6 innings. Finch then allowed a home run to Champ Summers to give the Tigers the lead in the bottom of the seventh. The Sox tied the game in the top of the ninth and Butch Hobson drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth. Bob Stanley (8-5, 3.55 ERA) slammed the door in the bottom of the ninth and the Sox had beaten the Tigers 3-1 at Tigers Stadium.

                                                   Michelle Drake approves of the win

Underwood got the ball in the top of the first and Jerry Remy took strike three to start. Rick Burleson popped up to second and Fred Lynn lined out to short to end the inning. Finch got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Ron LeFlore singled to right to start. LeFlore was doubled off first on the line drive by Rusty Staub to second and Steve Kemp grounded out to second to end the inning.

Jim Rice took strike three to start the top of the second but Bob Watson drew a walk. Watson stole second on the Carl Yastrzemski strikeout but Butch Hobson struck out to end the inning. Jason Thompson grounded out to first to start the bottom of the second before Lance Parrish popped up to third. Champ Summers grounded out to first to end the inning.

The Sox did nothing in the top of the third as Dwight Evans popped up to first to start. Gary Allenson grounded out to second and Remy struck out to end the inning. Aureilo Rodriguez grounded out to short to start the bottom of the third but Bubba Trammell singled to right and took second when Evans airmailed the throw back to the infield. Dave Machemer hit a grounder to short and Trammell was thrown out at third. Machemer was then picked off of first to end the inning.

Burleson was plunked to start the top of the fourth but Lynn flied out to right. Rice singled to left to move Burleson to third but Jim was thrown out at second trying to stretch a double. Watson lined out to short to end the inning. Finch got in trouble in the bottom of the fourth although LeFlore struck out to start. Staub doubled to right and Kemp walked, but Thompson flied out to right. Parrish walked to load the bases but Summers struck out to end the inning.

Yaz grounded back to the mound to start the top of the fifth before Hobson flied out to left. Evans lined out to center to end the inning. Rodriguez grounded out to second to start the bottom of the fifth before Trammell grounded out to third. Machemer and LeFlore both drew walks but Staub grounded out to first to end the inning.

Allenson doubled to left to open the top of the sixth and moved to third on the Remy sacrifice bunt. He was stranded as Burleson struck out and Lynn popped up to short to end the inning. Kemp singled to left to start the bottom of the sixth but Thompson flied out to right. Parrish banged into a double play to end the inning.

Rice struck out to open the top of the seventh but Watson walked. Yaz struck out but Watson moved to second on a wild pitch. Hobson grounded out to third to end the inning. The Tigers finally tagged Finch in the bottom of the seventh as Summers hit a home run into Lake Ontario to give the Tigers the lead. Rodriguez flied out to right but Trammell singled to second to chase the rookie. Finch was tough but got no run support as he allowed just 1 run in 6 1/3 innings. Bob Stanley came in and Machemer screwed up a bunt, getting Trammell thrown out at second. LeFlore grounded out to short to end the inning with the Tigers ahead 1-0.

                                                            Good work Finch

The Sox wasted no time tying the game up in the top of the eighth with Mark Wagner now playing second base. Evans singled to right and Allenson dropped down a bunt to advance Dwight to second but ended up beating it out. Remy then dropped down a bunt of his own to advance the two runners. Dave Tobik came in to pitch and Burleson scored Evans with a sac fly to tie the game. Lynn flied out to center to end the inning but the game was tied 1-1.

                                                         Burleson ties it up

Stanley cruised in the bottom of the eighth as Staub flied out to left to start. Kemp grounded out in front of the plate and Thompson struck out to end the inning.

The Sox took command in the top of the ninth as Rice doubled to left to start. Watson walked but Yaz lined out to second. Hobson put the Sox on top with a double to center to score Rice and chase Tobik. Milt Wilcox came in to pitch and Tom Poquette pinch hit for Allenson. Poquette scored Watson with a sac fly for the big insurance run. Remy grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-1.

                                                 Herculean sac fly by Poquette

Stanley came back to close out the bottom of the ninth with Mike O'Berry behind the plate and Stan Papi in for Burleson at short. Parrish flied out to left and Summers flied out to center, but Rodriguez beat out an infield single to short. John Wockenfuss pinch hit for Trammell and hit a swinging bunt single. Mike O'Berry threw the ball away to advance the runners into scoring position. Jerry Morales pinch hit for Wagner and flied out to left to end the gane. The Sox had won it 3-1.

Hero of the Night is Butch Hobson. His rbi double in the top of the ninth put the Sox up for good.

                                                         Hobson is the Hero

The Good:

Jim Rice was 2 for 4 with a run scored.

Bob Watson walked 3 times and scored a run.

Dwight Evans was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.

Gary Allenson was 1 for 2.

Tom Poquette hit a sac fly in his only at bat.

Joel Finch tossed 6 1/3 innings of 1 run ball. He allowed 6 hits and walked 4 while striking out 2.

Bob Stanley got the win by tossing 2 2/3 scoreless innings.

The Bad:

Fred Lynn was 0 for 4.

Carl Yastrzemski was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Mike O'Berry made an error in the bottom of the ninth.

The Ugly:

Jerry Remy was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but dropped down a crucial bunt in the top of the ninth.

Rick Burleson was 0 for 2 but was hit by pitch and drove in a run.

Honorable Mention:

Stan Papi played short in the bottom of the ninth.

Final Thoughts:

That's how you fight to the bitter end. The Sox could have easily packed it in after being held scoreless through 7 innings but they fought back when it mattered. They did it with small ball too with timely bunts rather than towering home runs. Hobson saved the day big time and kudos to Stanley for keeping the Tigers off the board after Finch left. Finch seems like a breath of fresh air after the Sox lost Luis Tiant to the Yankees and dumped Bill Lee on the Expos. It would be completely unfair to expect Finch to replicate Tiant or Lee but for him to be good would help tremendously if the Sox want to beat out the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles this season. The O's look like they won't go away so the Sox are gonna have to bear down if they want to win the AL East this year. The win improved the Sox to 45-26, 4 games behind the Orioles for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox look to take two of three from Detroit when they send Steve Renko (5-2) to the mound against Jack Billingham of the Tigers. The game begins at 9:00 PM Eastern time at Tiger Stadium.