McGlothen got the ball in the top of the first inning and Larry Hisle got a base hit to left to start. Rod Carew forced Hisle at second and moved to second on the grounder to third by Harmon Killebrew. Tony Oliva popped up to second to end the inning. Hands got the ball in the bottom of the first and Doug Griffin flied out to left to start. Luis Aparicio took strike three and Carl Yastrzemski grounded out to second to end the inning.
Bobby Darwin doubled to left to start the top of the second before Steve Braun drew a walk. Danny Thompson dropped down a bunt to move the runners over but Carlton Fisk gunned down Braun at second on the swinging strikeout by George Mitterwald to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the second as Reggie Smith got a base hit to center to start. Orlando Cepeda banged into a double play but Fisk smashed his sixth home run of the season to put Boston on top. Ben Oglivie grounded out to second to end the inning with Boston ahead 1-0.
The Twins answered in the top of the third although Jim Holt struck out swinging to start. Hisle doubled to center and Carew slapped a base hit to center to score him to tie the game. Killebrew took strike three and Fisk gunned down Carew trying to steal to end the inning but the game was tied 1-1.
John Kennedy popped up to third to start the bottom of the third and Dwight Evans grounded out to short. Griffin took strike three to end the inning.
The Twins took command in the top of the fourth as Oliva got a base hit to center to start. Darwin walked but Braun beat out a double play ball to put runners at the corners. Thompson scored Oliva with a sac fly to put the Twins on top and Mitterwald got a base hit to right to score Braun. Sox manager Eddie Kasko yanked McGlothen before any further damage could be done and sent Bill Lee in to clean up the mess. Holt grounded out to second to end the inning with the Twins up 3-1.
The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the fourth as Aparicio flied out to center to start. Yaz also flied out to center but Smith walked. Cepeda singled to right but Fisk popped up to left to end the inning.
Hisle hit one up the elevator shaft to start the top of the fifth before Carew grounded out to second. Killebrew walked but Oliva forced him at second to end the inning. The Sox tied it up in the bottom of the fifth as Oglivie singled to left to start. Kennedy grounded back to the mound to move Ben to second and Evans ripped a base hit to center. Oglivie came around to score and Evans took second on the throw. Griffin singled to right to put runners at the corners and Aparicio got a hit to right to score Evans. Yaz flied out to center and Smith lined out to right to end the inning with the game tied 3-3.
Darwin singled to the right of Lee to start the top of the sixth before moving to second on the grounder to first by Braun. Darwin moved to third on the grounder to short by Thompson and Mitterwald walked. Steve Brye pinch hit for Holt and struck out swinging to end the inning. Ray Corbin took over for Hands to start the bottom of the sixth and Cepeda greeted him with a double to center. Fisk popped up to short and Oglivie struck out swinging, but Kennedy doubled to center to score Cepeda. Evans grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-3.
Hisle flied out to right to start the top of the seventh before Carew struck out swinging. Killebrew took strike three to end the inning. Griffin grounded out to second to start the bottom of the seventh but Yaz singled to the left of Corbin. Smith popped up to second to end the inning.
Danny Walton pinch hit for Oliva to start the top of the eighth and flied out to center to start. Darwin grounded out to first and Joe Lis pinch hit for Braun. Lis popped up to short to end the inning. Jerry Terrell took over at third for the bottom of the eighth and Cepeda struck out swinging to start. Fisk lined back to Corbin and Oglivie popped up to second to end the inning.
Lee came back to finish off the top of the ninth and Thompson struck out swinging to start. Mitterwald doubled off the Monster and Dan Monzon pinch ran for him. Mike Adams pinch hit for Brye and moved Monzon to third with a grounder to first. Hisle walked and Sox manager Eddie Kasko wanted Bob Veale to pitch to Carew. Rod walked to load the bases and Kasko sent Bobby Bolin to pitch to Killebrew. With everyone on the edge of their seats...Bolin froze Killebrew for strike three to end the game. The Sox had survived to win it 4-3.
The Good:
Reggie Smith was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Orlando Cepeda was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
John Kennedy was 1 for 3 with an rbi.
Dwight Evans was 1 for 3 with an rbi and a run scored.
Bobby Bolin struck out Harmon Killebrew to end the game and earn the "save".
The Bad:
Lynn McGlothen allowed 3 runs in just 3 2/3 innings including 6 hits.
Bob Veale walked the only man he faced.
The Ugly:
Doug Griffin was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Luis Aparicio was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run.
Carl Yastrzemski was just 1 for 4.
Carlton Fisk was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run and scored a run.
Ben Oglivie was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
That's a little more like it. Everyone in the Sox batting order got a hit and Lee was able to salvage the game after McGlothen was knocked out. The only drawback to the game was McGlothen and the way the starting rotation has struggled so far this season is discouraging. Still, a win is a win and the Sox earned this one. Maybe Lee should be in the starting rotation and one of the others come out, what the hell? A balanced offense is nice but it won't be sustainable as the year moves forward. All in all it was a good win and hopefully more wins are in store. The Sox are back in action Friday night at home against the Chicago White Sox. Luis Tiant (2-1) goes up against Steve Bahnsen of Chicago. The game begins at 7:30 PM at Fenway Park.
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