The Sox threatened to score first in the top of the first when Luis Aparicio walked to start. Luis swiped second but both Reggie Smith and Carl Yastrzemski hit one up the elevator shaft. Rico Petrocelli walked but George Scott grounded out to short to end the inning. Peters initially cruised in the bottom of the first as Larry Brown grounded out to third to start. Graig Nettles grounded out to first and Vada Pinson struck out to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the second as Duane Josephson and Billy Conigliaro drew back to back walks to start. Doug Griffin dropped down a bunt to move both runners over and Peters himself singled in Duane. Aparicio took strike three and Smith grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Naturally the Indians answered in the bottom of the second although Ray Fosse flied out to left to start. Ken "Hawk" Harrelson popped up to first but Chuck Hinton walked. Eddie Leon singled to center and Buddy Bradford doubled home both runners to give the Indians the lead. Foster grounded out to second to end the inning with the Indians leading 2-1.
Yaz grounded out to first to start the top of the third but Petrocelli walked. Scott and Josephson both struck out to end the inning. Brown grounded out to short to start the bottom of the third but Nettles stroked a single to center. Pinson hit into a double play to end the inning.
The Sox tied it up in the top of the fourth as Billy C flied out to left to start. Griffin doubled to left and moved to third on the Peters grounder. Aparicio doubled home Griffin to tie the game. Smith lined out to short to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.
Fosse grounded out to short to start the bottom of the fourth before Harrelson grounded out to second. Hinton hit a routine pop up to center but Conigliaro tried to catch it in his hat, the ball falling in for an error. Peters recovered to catch Leon looking to end the inning.
Yaz grounded out to first to start the top of the fifth but Petrocelli walked. Scott grounded into a double play to end the inning. Peters stayed tough in the bottom of the fifth as Bradford lined out to third to start. Foster popped up to second and Brown flied out to left to end the inning.
Josephson struck out to open the top of the sixth before Billy C grounded out to short. Griffin walked but Peters popped up to right in shallow territory to end the inning. The duel continued in the bottom of the sixth as Nettles flied out to center to start. Pinson flied out to left but Fosse singled to center. Harrelson grounded into a force to end the inning.
Aparicio grounded out to short to start the top of the seventh before Smith popped up to short. Yaz grounded out to second to end the inning. Peters got the Indians to beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the seventh as Hinton grounded out to second to start. Leon grounded back to the mound and Bradford grounded out to short to end the inning.
Petrocelli grounded out to third to start the top of the eighth before Scott struck out. Josephson grounded out to short to end the inning. The Indians clobbered Peters in the bottom of the eighth as Foster doubled to left to start before Brown was plunked. Nettles moved both runners over with a sacrifice bunt and Pinson singled home Foster to give the Indians the lead. That was it for Peters and Bobby Bolin was summoned and Pinson hit a routine grounder to Aparicio who put the ball in his pocket to score Brown with the insurance run. Harrelson walked to load the bases and Ted Uhlaender was sent in to pinch hit for Hinton. Sparky Lyle was brought in to put out the fire and Indians manager Al Dark countered by pinch hitting Ted Ford for Uhlaender/Hinton. Ford walked to score another run and Leon singled in Fosse. Sox manager Eddie Kasko tried Ken Tatum to stop the bleeding but Gomer Hodge pinch hit for Bradford, naturally doubling home Harrelson although Ford was thrown out at home. John Lowenstein pinch ran for Hodge as Foster grounded back to the mound to end the inning. The Indians scored 5 runs off Peters, Bolin, Lyle and Tatum to take a 7-2 lead.
The Good:
Rico Petrocelli walked 3 times in 4 plate appearances.
Doug Griffin was 1 for 2 with a walk and a run scored.
Joe Lahoud walked as a pinch hitter.
The Bad:
Reggie Smith was 0 for 5.
Carl Yastrzemski was 0 for 4.
George Scott was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Bobby Bolin allowed 2 inherited runners to score and 2 of his own.
Sparky Lyle faced two guys and allowed a hit and a walk.
The Ugly:
Luis Aparicio was just 1 for 4 but walked and drove in a run.
Duane Josephson was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but walked and scored a run.
Billy Conigliaro was 0 for 2 with an error but walked twice.
Ken Tatum allowed an inherited runner to score but none of his own in 2/3 of an inning.
Final Thoughts:
4 games into the season and its clear the Sox already don't have what it takes to contend with the Baltimore Orioles this season. They can't compete with Mike Cuellar, Jim Palmer and Dave McNally with Sonny Siebert, Ray Culp and Gary Peters. Jim Lonborg was never the same after the ski accident and Cal Koonce isn't going to get it done. On the offensive side, the Sox desperately miss Tony Conigliaro's bat. His brother isn't the answer and Doug Griffin is a slap hitter. The Sox 1-5 is as good as anyone but they fall off a cliff after that. Hopefully the Sox can find someone or make a trade to make themselves more competitive because the squad they have now just got swept by the Cleveland Indians. The less said of this disaster, the better. The Sox look to bounce back tomorrow as they had to Washington for a set with the Senators. Ray Culp (1-0) goes for the Sox up against Gerry Janeski of the Senators. The game begins at 7:00 PM at RFK Stadium.
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