Andujar, A's Defeat Sox (7/22/86)

The road trip from hell keeps going for the Boston Red Sox. Their slide continued as they were beaten once again by the Oakland A's. This time it was Joaquin Andujar that shut down the Boston attack. Playing without some of their regulars, the undermanned Sox were held to just two runs in 7 1/3 innings on a Rich Gedman home run. Tom Seaver (4-8, 4.10 ERA) was tagged for 4 runs in 6 2/3 innings and the Sox failed to get to the A's bullpen. Steve Ontiveros slammed the door and the A's beat the Sox 4-2 at Oakland Coliseum.

                                                        "Damn A's"

Andujar got the ball in the top of the first inning and Marty Barrett led off with a grounder to first. Wade Boggs grounded back to the mound but Bill Buckner doubled to center. Don Baylor grounded out to short to end the inning. Seaver got blasted in the bottom of the first as Tony Phillips grounded out to second to start. Dwayne Murphy walked but Jose Canseco popped up to short. Bruce Bochte singled to left and both runners moved over on a wild pitch. Dave Kingman drilled a base hit to center to score both runners and took off for second. Sox catcher Rich Gedman threw to the wrong base and Kingman made it to third on the error. Carney Lansford doubled to left to score Kingman with another run but Mike Davis grounded out to second to end the inning with the A's up 3-0.

                                                         Lansford drives in a run

The Sox failed to respond in the top of the second as Dwight Evans grounded out to short to start. Rich Gedman lined out to center and Mike Stenhouse flied out to left to end the inning. Jerry Willard walked to start the bottom of the second before Alfredo Griffin dropped down a bunt to move Willard to second. Phillips lined out to a running Evans and Murphy flied out to right to end the inning.

Rey Quinones grounded out to second to start the top of the third before LaSchelle Tarver grounded out to first. Barrett dumped a base hit to left and Boggs grounded out to second to end the inning. Canseco's bunt attempt was snuffed out by Seaver to start the bottom of the third before Bochte grounded out to first. Kingman grounded out to third to end the inning.

The Sox struck back in the top of the fourth as Buckner flied out to center to start. Baylor cracked a single to right and moved to second when the Andujar pickoff throw went wide. Evans grounded out to short but Gedman crushed his 6th home run of the season to cut the lead. Stenhouse flied out to the right field wall to end the inning with the Sox down 3-2.

                                                         Sox are back in it

Seaver settled down in the bottom of the fourth as Lansford grounded out to third to start. Davis grounded out to first and Willard grounded out to second to end the inning.

Quinones led off the top of the fifth with a ground out to second before Tarver struck out swinging. Barrett flied out to right to end the inning. Griffin flied out to left to start the bottom of the fifth before Phillips grounded out to second. Murphy struck out swinging to end the inning.

Boggs grounded back to the mound to start the top of the sixth before Buckner flied out to left. Baylor popped up to short to end the inning. Canseco flied out to right to start the bottom of the sixth but Bochte doubled to right. Kingman and Lansford both grounded out to short to end the inning. 

Evans got a base hit off the glove of Griffin to start the top of the seventh but Gedman grounded into a double play. Stenhouse walked but Quinones struck out swinging to end the inning. The ChiSox chased Seaver in the bottom of the seventh as Davis singled in the hole at short to start. Willard singled to center to move Davis to third and Mike scored on the Alfredo sac fly to left. Phillips took strike three but Murphy walked to chase Seaver. He didn't have his best stuff, allowing 4 runs in 6 2/3 innings off 6 hits and 3 walks. Bob Stanley punched out Canseco swinging with the A's leading 4-2.

                                       "Yeah you're out, Tom. Now beat it!" - McNamara

The Sox blew a rally in the top of the eighth as Tarver got a base hit to center to begin. A wild pitch moved Tarver to second but Barrett flied out to center. Boggs walked to chase Andujar and Dave Von Ohlen came in to pitch to Buckner. Bill flied out to center and Steve Ontiveros came in to pitch to Baylor. Baylor struck out swinging to end the inning. Bochte popped up to second to start the bottom of the eighth before Kingman grounded out to third. Lansford flied out to right to end the inning.

Ontiveros returned to close out the top of the ninth and Evans flied out to right to start. Gedman grounded out to short and Stenhouse grounded out to third to end the game. The A's had won it 4-2.

                                                          A's win

Jackass of the Night is Tom Seaver. He put the Sox in a hole they couldn't climb out of, allowing 4 runs in 6 2/3 innings.

                                                               Jackass Seaver

The Good:

LaSchelle Tarver was 1 for 3.

Bob Stanley tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

The Bad:

Rey Quinones was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

The Ugly:

Marty Barrett was just 1 for 4.

Wade Boggs was 0 for 3 but walked.

Bill Buckner was just 1 for 4.

Don Baylor was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.

Dwight Evans was just 1 for 4.

Rich Gedman was just 1 for 4 but the one hit was a 2 run home run.

Mike Stenhouse was 0 for 3 but walked.

Final Thoughts:

Going back to just before the All-Star break the Sox have now lost 6 of their last 7, 7 out of 9 and 3 in a row. Losing 3 out of 4 to Seattle was embarrassing but now dropping the first two games in Oakland is inexcusable. To be fair, Jim Rice, Tony Armas and Ed Romero didn't play but still. Andujar isn't the same pitcher as he was the last few years in St. Louis and they still couldn't touch him. Seaver didn't really pitch that bad but without run support, he was doomed for a loss. The Sox clearly weren't ready to play coming out of the break but hopefully they snap their funk soon before their lead in the AL East is gone. The loss dropped the Sox to 57-36, 4 games in front of the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to avoid a series sweep tomorrow afternoon against the A's when Al Nipper takes on Dave Stewart of Oakland. The game begins at 3:05 PM Eastern time at Oakland Coliseum.

Sox Bash Jays in Seaver's Debut (7/1/86)

It wasn't pretty but the Boston Red Sox made a winner out of future hall of famer Tom Seaver (3-6, 4.44 ERA) in his debut with the Sox. Seaver got hit around a bit in 7 innings of work but the red hot Boston bats led by Dwight Evans outlasted the Toronto Blue Jays. The offense pounded out 14 hits and nine runs in a 9-7 victory at Fenway Park to open July in style.

                                           Staff Sergeant Mike Vronsky approves of the win

Seaver took the mound in the top of the first inning and Tony Fernandez greeted him with a double to the left field corner. Rance Mulliniks swung and missed for strike three but Lloyd Moseby singled home Fernandez to give the Jays the lead. George Bell grounded out to third but Moseby moved to second base. Jesse Barfield walked but Cliff Johnson grounded out to second to end the inning with Toronto in front 1-0.

                                                    Jays take the lead

The Sox wasted no time pouncing on Jays starter Doyle Alexander in the bottom of the first inning. Marty Barrett flied out to right but Wade Boggs walked. Bill Buckner popped up to short but Jim Rice sliced an opposite field single to right. Don Baylor was plunked to load the bases before last night's hero Dwight Evans cleared the bases with a double off the Monster. Rich Gedman followed with a double of his own to left that scored Evans with another run. Kevin Romine waived at a pitch in the dirt to end the inning but the Sox took the lead 4-1.

                                                   Gedman doubles in a run

Seaver settled down in the top of the second inning as Willie Upshaw popped up to third to begin. Ernie "Nit" Whitt smacked a single to right-center but was erased on the Damaso Garcia grounder to third. Fernandez lined out to third to end the inning. Garth Iorg took over for Mulliniks in the bottom of the second after Mulliniks fouled a ball off his foot the previous inning. Alexander settled down in the bottom of the second as Ed Romero grounded out to short to start. Barrett lined one off the glove of Alexander but right to second for the ground out. Boggs doubled off the Monster but Buckner grounded out to second to end the inning.

Seaver got Iorg to pop up to center to start the top of the third before Moseby caught Seaver asleep with a bunt single. Bell flied out to right and Barfield whiffed on a breaking ball to end the inning. The Sox pounded Alexander in the bottom of the third as Rice doubled into the gap to start. Baylor flied out to center and Rice took off for third The throw beat him but it got away and Rice was safe. Evans flied out to right but Gedman beat out a bobbled laser to Garcia to score Rice. Romine doubled into the left field corner for his first rbi of the year to score Gedman before Romero drew a walk. Barrett singled to center to score Romine and send Romero to third to chase Alexander. Dennis Lamp came in and Boggs flied out to left to end the inning but the Sox were ahead 7-1.

                                                     First RBI for Romine

The Jays fought back in the top of the fourth as Johnson singled to center to begin. Upshaw popped up to short but Whitt singled to left. Garcia walked to load the bases and Fernandez singled home Johnson and Whitt. Garcia took third on a fly ball by Iorg but Moseby grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 7-3.

The Sox tried to rally in the bottom of the fourth although Buckner struck out to start. Rice and Baylor struck back to back base hits but Evans hit into a double play to end the inning.

The Jays struck again in the top of the fifth although Bell hit one up the elevator shaft to start. Barfield tripled into the right field corner and scored on the Johnson grounder. Barrett booted a ball by Upshaw but Whitt flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 7-4.

The Sox took advantage of terrible defense by the Jays to add to the lead in the bottom of the fifth. Upshaw booted a grounder by Gedman to start and managed to throw the ball away to boot which allowed Rich to take second on the two errors. Romine dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Gedman to third and Romero hit a routine grounder to Upshaw...who booted that as well to score Gedman. Barrett flied out to center and Boggs was foolishly intentionally walked to load the bases. Buckner made the Jays pay with a base hit to center to score Gedman. Rice grounded into a force to end the inning but it was 9-4 Sox.

                                                     Buckner hits the killshot

Seaver cruised in the top of the sixth as Garcia flied out to center to start. Fernandez grounded out tio second and Iorg grounded out to third to end the inning. The Sox looked to break it open in the bottom of the sixth as Baylor singled to left to start. Evans doubled to center and Gedman was intentionally walked to set up the double play. This time the gamble worked as Romine took strike three and Romero banged into a double play to end the inning.

Seaver came back for one final inning in the top of the seventh as Moseby grounded out to third to start. Bell flied out to center but Barfield was hit with a pitch. Johnson singled to left but Upshaw flied out to center to end the inning. It wasn't pretty but Seaver hung tough to toss 7 innings of 4 run ball and put the Sox 9 outs away from victory.

                                                       Seaver finishes strong

Bill Caudill replaced Lamp for the bottom of the seventh and Barrett singled to left to start. Boggs and Buckner both struck out before Rice flied out to right to end the inning.

Steve Crawford replaced Seaver and the Jays pounced on him in the top of the eighth. Whitt popped up to short but Garcia and Fernandez stroked back to back singles. Rick Leach pinch hit for Iorg and singled home Garcia. That was it for Crawford as Joe Sambito came in and Moseby beat out a double play ball to put runners at the corners. Bell singled home Fernandez to bring the tying run to the plate. Sambito struck out Barfield to end the inning but the Jays inched closer 9-6.

                                                      Crawford can't get it done

Kelly Gruber took for for Leach at third with Mark Eichhorn now on the mound for the bottom of the eighth. Baylor popped up to first, Evans grounded out to third and Gedman flied out to right to end the inning.

Sambito returned to close out the top of the ninth but the Jays rallied. Johnson grounded back to the mound but Upshaw singled to center. Buck Martinez pinch hit for Whitt and singled to left. Garcia singled to left to score Upshaw and put the tying run at first. Sambito somehow got Fernandez to pop up to right and Gruber to fly out to the right field wall to end the game. The Sox survived to beat the Jays 9-7.

Hero of the Night is Dwight Evans. He put the Sox up for good with a 3 run double in the bottom of the first.

                                                      Evans the Hero


The Good:

Marty Barrett was 2 for 5 with an rbi.

Wade Boggs was 1 for 3 with 2 walks and a run scored.

Jim Rice was 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored.

Don Baylor was 2 for 4 with a run scored.

Rich Gedman was 2 for 4 with a walk, 2 rbis and 2 runs scored.

Kevin Romine was 1 for 3 with an rbi and a run scored.



The Bad:

Steve Crawford was charged with 2 runs in just 1/3 of an inning.



The Ugly:

Bill Buckner was just 1 for 5 but drove in a run.

Ed Romero was 0 for 3 but walked and scored.

Tom Seaver went 7 innings and allowed 4 runs in his Sox debut. The Jays got 9 hits and 2 walks off of him but he still left with the lead.

Joe Sambito allowed an inherited runner to score and 1 of his own in 1 2/3 innings but earned his 7th save of the season.




Final Thoughts:

With the Sox reeling from injuries, Seaver will be a shot in the arm for this team for sure. He looked a little off in tonight's game but its a hell of a lot better than Jeff Sellers, Mike Brown and Rob Woodward. The offense beat around the Jays for the second game in a row and its encouraging to see Dwight Evans get hot. Hopefully the Sox can ride this momentum into the All-Star break in a few weeks as they're in first place and don't seem to be relinquishing it any time soon. Good to see Kevin Romine get his first rbi of the season as well. The win improved the Sox to 50-25, 8 games in front of the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it three in a row against the Jays when they send the undefeated Roger Clemens (13-0) up against Jimmy Key of the Jays at 7:30 PM at Fenway Park.