Nothing like starting the home stretch with a victory for the Boston Red Sox. Gary Peters (10-8, 4.09) pitched one of his best games all year by blanking the California Angels in a complete game 5 hit shutout. The game was a pitcher's duel through seven innings with Peters taking on Greg Garrett of the Angels. Then the Sox suddenly exploded in the top of the eighth inning by chasing Garrett and scoring 5 runs off Ken Tatum, including a two run Carl Yastrzemski jack. Jerry Moses smashed a three run bomb in the top of the ninth and the Sox beat the Angels 8-0 at Anaheim Stadium.
Garrett got the ball in the top of the first inning and Mike Andrews flied out to left to start. Reggie Smith popped up to first in foul territory but Carl Yastrzemski singled to center. Yaz took second on a balk but Tony Conigliaro struck out swinging to end the inning. Peters got the ball in the bottom of the first as Sandy Alomar grounded out to short to start. Jay Johnstone struck out swinging but Jim Fregosi walked. Alex Johnson grounded out to second to end the inning.
Rico Petrocelli flied out to center to start the top of the second before Billy Conigliaro struck out swinging. John Kenndy hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning. Ken McMullen grounded out to short to start the bottom of the second but Kennedy booted a grounder by Billy Cowan for an error. Jim Spencer struck out swinging and Cowan was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning.
Jerry Moses popped up to third to start the top of the third before Peters lined out to right. Andrews popped up to the catcher to end the inning. Joe Azcue popped up to second to start the bottom of the third before Garrett struck out swinging. Alomar popped up to short to end the inning.
The Sox beat the ball in the dirt in the top of the fourth as Smith grounded out to third to start. Yaz grounded back to the mound and Tony C grounded out to third to end the inning. Johnstone struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fourth but Fregosi singled in the hole at short. Johnson flied out to right and McMullen lined out to left to end the inning.
Petrocelli singled down the third base line to begin the top of the fifth before Billy C walked. Kennedy flied out to center and Moses grounded into a double play to end the inning. Cowan lined out to left to start the bottom of the fifth before Spencer's bunt attempt was snuffed out by Peters. Azcue walked but Garrett grounded out to short to end the inning.
Peters popped up to second to start the top of the sixth and Andrews flied out to center. Smith struck out swinging to end the inning. Alomar grounded out to third to open the bottom of the sixth and Johnstone grounded out to the catcher. Fregosi doubled to left but Johnson grounded out to short to end the inning.
Yaz grounded out to second to start the top of the seventh and Tony C popped up to second. Petrocelli flied out to left to end the inning. McMullen flied out to left to start the bottom of the seventh before Cowan singled in the hole at short. Spencer hit a bullet to Yaz who doubled off Cowan to end the inning.
Suddenly the Sox struck in the top of the eighth as Billy C popped up to third to start. Kennedy doubled to left and Moses was intentionally walked to get to Peters. Somehow Peters walked to load the bases and Angels manager Lefty Phillips kicked dirt around as he yanked Garrett in favor of Ken Tatum. Andrews singled to center to score Kennedy and Moses and Smith hit a sac fly to center to score Peters. Yaz belted his 29th home run of the season to ice the game. Tony C grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox up 5-0.
Azcue grounded back to the mound to open the bottom of the eighth and Tommie Reynolds pinch hit for Tatum. Reynolds popped up to third in foul territory and Alomar grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
The Sox poured it on in the top of the ninth with Eddie Fisher now on the mound. Petrocelli singled to left to start before Billy C also got a base hit to left. Kennedy popped up to third but Moses crushed his fifth home run of the season to increase the lead. Peters grounded back to the mound but Andrews got a base hit to left. Smith lined out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 8-0.
Peters came back to finish the job in the bottom of the ninth and Johnstone struck out swinging to start. Fregosi tripled to center but had to stay at third on a base hit to third by Johnson. McMullen hit a bullet to Yaz who doubled off Johnson to end the game. The Sox had won the game 8-0.
Hero of The Night is Gary Peters. He tossed a complete game 5 hit shutout to earn his 10th win. He was also 0 for 3 but walked and scored a run at the plate.
The Good:
Mike Andrews was 2 for 5 with 2 rbis and a run scored.
Carl Yastrzemski was 2 for 4 with a 2 run home run.
Rico Petrocelli was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Billy Conigliaro was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Jerry Moses was 1 for 3 with a walk and a 3 run home run.
The Bad:
Tony Conigliaro was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Reggie Smith was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
John Kennedy was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
Good to start the month of August with a win but the Sox still appear hopelessly behind the Baltimore Orioles with two months to go. Still, got to win games to get back into things and this was a good win. Peters has been a .500 pitcher this year but this was definitely one of his best starts, holding the Angels to just 5 hits. Good to see Jerry Moses get that big home run and good for Yaz to get the one he did as well. The Sox can't win every game like this but its fun to see them pour it on in the later innings. Two straight shutout wins against the Angels is nothing to sneeze at. That also means the Angels are due so the Sox better score some runs tomorrow. The win improved the Sox to 53-49, 11 games behind the Orioles for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to sweep the Angels out of Anaheim tomorrow afternoon when Vicente Romo (6-1) takes on Tom Bradley of California. The game begins at 4:05 PM Eastern time at Anaheim Stadium.
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