Culp got the ball in the top of the first and Horace Clarke led off with a base hit to center. Horace moved to second on a grounder by Frank Tepedino but Danny Cater popped up to second. Bobby Murcer was intentionally walked and John Ellis struck out swinging to end the inning. Peterson got the ball in the bottom of the first and Mike Andrews flied out to center to start. Reggie Smith popped up to second but Yaz got a base hit...only to get thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning.
The Yankees struck first in the top of the second as Curt Blefary lined out to right to start. Jerry Kenney lined out to center but Gene Michael doubled to left. Peterson lined a base hit to center to score Michael with the game's first run. Clarke doubled Fritz to third but Tepedino flied out to right to end the inning with the Yankees ahead 1-0.
George Scott flied out to right to start the bottom of the second and Rico Petrocelli did the same. Tony Conigliaro grounded out to short to end the inning.
Cater grounded out to third to start the top of the third but Murcer struck out swinging. Ellis flied out to center to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the third as Luis Alvarado doubled to center to start. Jerry Moses singled Luis to third but Culp took strike three. Andrews beat out a double play ball to score Luis and tie the game. Smith hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
Blefary grounded out to first to start the top of the fourth and Kenney hit a routine grounder to Andrews who dove on the ball and dryland swam on it for an error. Michael struck out swinging and Peterson singled to center. Kenney tried for home but was thrown out by Smith to end the inning. The Sox hit some longballs in the bottom of the fourth although Yaz grounded out to first to start. Scott belted his first home run of the season to give the Sox the lead. Petrocelli grounded out to third but Tony C smashed his first home run of the season as well. Alvarado singled to center but Moses grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-1.
The Yankees fought back in the top of the fifth as Clarke flied out to left to start. Tepedino singled to right. Cater then whalloped a home run all the way to Lake Ontario to tie the game. Murcer took strike three but Ellis singled to left. Blefary took strike three to end the inning with the game tied 3-3.
The Sox re-took the lead in the bottom of the fifth although Culp grounded out to second to start. Andrews popped up to short but Smith smashed his first home run of the season to give the Sox the lead. Yaz walked and Scott singled to third to chase Peterson. Joe Verbanic came in and Petrocelli grounded out to third to end the inning with Boston ahead 4-3.
Culp got stronger in the top of the sixth inning as Kenney grounded out to second to start. Michael grounded out to second and Verbanic struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the sixth as Tony C doubled to left to start. Alvarado grounded out to short but Moses singled home Tony to add to the lead. Culp grounded out to second and Andrews grounded out to short to end the inning with Boston ahead 5-3.
Clarke flied out to center to start the top of the seventh before Tepedino grounded out to first. Cater struck out swinging to end the inning. Smith tripled into the right field corner to start the bottom of the seventh and scored on a passed ball. Yaz popped up to second and Scott popped up to short, but Tony C popped up to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-3.
Murcer flied out to right to start the top of the eighth and Ellis flied out to left. Blefary singled to center but Kenney was retired on a squibber in front of the plate to end the inning. Alvarado walked to begin the bottom of the eighth and Moses was plunked. Culp dropped down a bunt to move the runners over but Andrews popped up to second. Smith doubled both runners home to wrap up the scoring and Yaz took strike three to end the inning with Boston ahead 8-3.
Culp came back to finish the job in the top of the ninth and Michael lined out to right to start. Pete Ward pinch hit for Verbanic and got a base hit to left before Clarke got a base hit to center. Tepedino banged into a double play to end the game. The Sox had won it 8-3.
Hero of the Night is Ray Culp. He went the distance, allowing 3 runs off of 11 hits and a walk while striking out 7.
The Good:
Reggie Smith was 3 for 5 with a home run, 3 rbis and 2 runs scored.
George Scott was 2 for 4 with a home run.
Tony Conigliaro was 2 for 4 with a home run and two total runs scored.
Luis Alvarado was 2 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored.
Jerry Moses was 2 for 3 with a hit by pitch, rbi and run scored.
The Bad:
None
The Ugly:
Mike Andrews was 0 for 5 but drove in a run.
Carl Yastrzemski was just 1 for 4 but walked.
Rico Petrocelli was 0 for 3 but walked.
Final Thoughts:
After dropping two of three to the Washington Senators, knocking around the Yankees was the tonic the Sox needed to get back on track. Everyone on offense contributed and Culp going the distance saved the bullpen for tomorrow. As mentioned already, if the Sox have any hope of contending with the Baltimore Orioles this season, they're going to need Culp to step up and be a 20 game winning ace. The Sox offense was well balanced and that was not going to be a concern going into the season. The Sox are going to bop their way back into games and take big leads if the pitching can hold the other teams down. Culp had the Yankees off balance all day and hopefully this momentum can continue as the year goes on. Tomorrow Jon Lonborg (1-0) goes for the Sox against Bill Burbach of the Yankees as the Sox look to make it two in a row. The game begins at 1:35 PM at Fenway Park.
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