Tiant got the ball in the bottom of the first and Del Unser walked to start. Elliott Maddox flied out to right but Don Mincher struck out. Frank Howard popped up to first to end the inning. The Sox struck first against Washington starter Jackie Brown as Doug Griffin led the bottom of the first off with a walk. Griffin swiped second and Luis Aparicio sacrificed him to third with a bunt. Reggie Smith slammed a single to right to put the Sox on top. Carl Yastrzemski flied out to left but Rico Petrocelli doubled to left. Smith tried for home but got thrown out to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Bernie Allen popped up to third to start the top of the second before Dick Billings popped up to short. Lenny Randle doubled to left but Tim Cullen popped up to short to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the second as George Scott flied out to center to start. Joe Lahoud also flied out to center but Bob Montgomery beat out an infield single to second. Tiant grounded out to third to end the inning.
Tiant whiffed Brown to begin the top of the third before Unser singled to left. Maddox banged into a double play to end the inning. Griffin somehow mashed his first home run of the season to begin the bottom of the third and to increase the lead. Aparicio grounded out to short, Smith flied out to center and Yaz grounded out to first to end the inning but it was 2-0 Sox.
The Yankees pounced on Tiant in the top of the fourth as Mincher walked to start. Howard singled Mincher to third and took second on the throw home and Allen singled Mincher home to cut the lead. Billings struck out but Randle doubled home both men to give the Senators the lead. Cullen and Brown both grounded out to short to end the inning but it was 3-2 Senators. That was it for Tiant who lasted just 4 innings and allowed 3 runs. Not the best effort that's for sure.
The Sox tried to rally in the bottom of the fourth although Petrocelli popped up to second in foul territory to start. Scott singled to left and Lahoud drew a walk but Montgomery flied out to left. Gary Peters pinch hit for Tiant and struck out to end the inning.
Bill Lee came in to pitch the top of the fifth with John Kennedy taking over at second for Griffin. Unser popped up to second to start before Maddox took strike three. Mincher grounded out to second to end the inning. The Sox couldn't get a clutch hit in the bottom of the fifth as Kennedy flied out to right to start. Aparicio doubled to left but Smith popped up to third. Yaz walked but Petrocelli grounded into a force to end the inning.
Howard grounded out to second to begin the top of the sixth but Allen singled to left. Allen took second on the force by Billings and Randle grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Scott took strike three to begin the bottom of the sixth before Lahoud grounded out to short. Montgomery singled to right and Mike Fiore pinch hit for Lee...grounding back to the mound to end the inning.
Bobby Bolin (2-2, 3.09 ERA) came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Cullen blooped a single to right to start. Brown sacrificed Cullen to second but Unser flied out to right. Maddox flied out to center to end the inning. The Sox tied the game instantly in the bottom of the seventh when Kennedy crushed his first home run of the season to tie the game. Aparicio grounded out to second but Smith singled to right to chase Brown. Denny Riddleberger came in to pitch to Yaz and Carl drew a walk to chase him. Casey Cox came in to get Petrocelli to ground into a double play to end the inning with the game tied 3-3.
Bolin held the Yankees in check in the top of the eighth as Mincher popped up to short to start. Howard struck out and Allen flied out to right to end the inning.
Suddenly the Sox erupted in the bottom of the eighth and it started with an error. Scott hit a grounder that Cullen booted to allow George to reach first. Lahoud dropped down a bunt to sacrifice Scott to second and Montgomery was intentionally walked to set up a double play. Sox manager Eddie Kasko sent in Phil Gagliano to pinch hit and Gagliano delivered a base hit to left to score Scott with the go-ahead run. The floodgates opened as Kennedy dropped down a bunt but nobody could make a play as Montgomery scored another run. Aparicio doubled home Gagliano but Smith struck out to chase Cox. Paul Lindblad came in to pitch and Yaz singled home Kennedy and Aparicio to ice the game. Petrocelli put the exclamation point on the inning by clocking his 11th home run of the season to wrap up the scoring for Boston. Scott grounded out to third to end the inning but it was 10-3 Boston.
Ken Tatum came in for the top of the ninth and the Senators rallied. Billings was plunked and Randle singled before Larry Bittner pinch hit for Cullen. A wild pitch moved both runners over and Bittner scored Billings with a sac fly. Tommy McCraw pinch hit for Linblad and flied out to right. Unser beat out an infield single to second but Maddox flied out to right to end the game. The Sox had won their 4th straight game and this one 10-4.
Hero of the Night is Phil Gagliano. His clutch pinch hit single scored the go-ahead run to give the Sox the lead they would not relinquish.
The Good:
Doug Griffin walked, homered, stole a base and scored 2 runs before being lifted.
John Kennedy was 1 for 2 with 2 total rbis, 2 total runs scored and a home run.
Luis Aparicio was 2 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.
Reggie Smith was 2 for 5 with an rbi.
Carl Yastrzemski was 1 for 3 with 2 walks, 2 rbis and a run scored.
Rico Petrocelli was 2 for 5 with a 2 run home run.
Bob Montgomery was 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Bill Lee tossed 2 scoreless innings.
Bobby Bolin earned the win with 2 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Luis Tiant allowed 3 runs in just 4 innings of work.
Gary Peters struck out as a pinch hitter.
Mike Fiore was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
Ken Tatum allowed a run in the top of the ninth.
The Ugly:
George Scott was just 1 for 5 but scored a run.
Joe Lahoud was 0 for 2 but walked.
Final Thoughts:
That's four in a row for the Sox and they need to get hot in order to keep pace with the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles are repeat AL Champions for a reason and that's pitching. The Sox aren't going to compete with them if Luis Tiant gives you 4 innings a whack and Jim Lonborg can't win 20 games again. Still, the Sox won the game and they need to beat on teams like the Senators if they want to stand tall at the end of September. The offense scoring 10 runs helped big time even if 7 of them came late. Good on Phil Gagliano for getting his moment in the sun by jumpstarting that rally. All in all it was a good win and hopefully the Sox can finish June with a flurry. The win improved the Sox to 41-31, 4 games behind the Orioles for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox look to sweep the Senators when they send Jim Lonborg (2-3) to the mound against Pete Broberg at 7:05 PM at Fenway Park.
