Jenkins got the ball in the top of the first as Tommy Harper flied out to left to start. Cecil Cooper took strike three and Bernie Carbo grounded back to the mound to end the inning. The Rangers struck first against Cleveland in the bottom of the first as Dave Nelson singled in the hole at short to start. Toby Harrah grounded out to first to move Nelson to second then Dave took third on a passed ball. Alex Johnson beat out a roller to third to score Nelson to put Texas on top. Johnson was thrown out at second trying to steal and Jeff Burroughs grounded out to third to end the inning with Texas up 1-0.
Carl Yastrzemski doubled to left to open the top of the second but Rico Petrocelli struck out swinging. Juan Beniquez flied out to left and Bob Montgomery grounded out to third to end the inning. Tom Grieve struck out swinging to start the bottom of the second and Jim Spencer flied out to center. Joe Lovitto grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
Doug Griffin got a base hit to left to start the top of the third but was thrown out at second trying to steal. Mario Guerrero flied out to left and Harper popped up to first to end the inning. Lenny Randle grounded out to second to start the bottom of the third before Jim Sundberg also grounded out to second. Nelson caught the Sox asleep with a bunt down the third base line and moved to second when Cooper botched the pickoff throw for an error. Harrah grounded out to second to end the inning.
Cooper flied out to center to begin the top of the fourth before Carbo grounded back to the mound and Yaz struck out swinging to end the inning. Johnson flied out to center to open the bottom of the fourth before Burroughs grounded out to second. Grieve walked but Spencer grounded out to second to end the inning.
Petrocelli flied out to left to begin the top of the fifth before Beniquez popped up to center. Montgomery lined out to center to end the inning. The Rangers beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the fifth as Lovitto grounded back to the mound to start. Randle and Sundberg both grounded out to short to end the inning.
Griffin popped up to third to begin the top of the sixth and Guerrero popped up to second. Harper struck out swinging to end the inning. Nelson popped up to second to begin the bottom of the sixth and Harrah lined out to short. Johnson grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
The Sox struck back in the top of the seventh as Cooper doubled to left to begin. Cooper moved to third on the Carbo grounder to second and Yaz was intentionally walked. Petrocelli got a base hit to left to score Cooper but Yaz was thrown out at third to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
The Rangers iced the game in the bottom of the seventh as Burroughs lined out to left to start. Grieve grounded out to short and Spencer doubled to center. Lovitto was intentionally walked but Randle hit a pop up to center. Harper and Yaz failed to call each other off and the ball dropped between them for a double to score both runners. Sundberg grounded out to short to end the inning with the Rangers up 3-1
Larry Brown took over at third to start the top of the eighth but Montgomery got a base hit to center to start. Griffin popped up to center but Danny Cater pinch hit for Guerrero. Cater got a base hit to left and Dick McAuliffe pinch ran for him. Harper popped up to short and Cooper grounded out to second to end the inning. Cleveland returned for one final inning in the bottom of the eighth as Nelson caught the Sox asleep again with a bunt single to third then moved to second on the bunt by Harrah. Johnson walked but Burroughs beat out a double play ball. Grieve flied out to right to end the inning. Cleveland was game as he went 8 innings, allowing 3 runs of 6 hits and 3 walks.
Jenkins returned to close out the top of the ninth and Carbo grounded out to first to start. Yaz grounded out to second and Petrocelli struck out swinging to end the game. The Rangers had won it 3-1.
Jackass of The Night is Tommy Harper. He was 0 for 4 with a strikeout including popping up with the tying runs on.
The Good:
Carl Yastrzemski was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Doug Griffin was 1 for 3.
Danny Cater singled as a pinch hitter.
One of the rare times the winning pitcher ends up on the Good list but Reggie Cleveland allowed 2 earned runs (3 total) in 8 strong innings. He gave up 6 hits and 3 walks while striking out a batter.
The Bad:
Bernie Carbo was 0 for 4.
Juan Beniquez was 0 for 3.
Mario Guerrero was 0 for 2.
The Ugly:
Cecil Cooper was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Rico Petrocelli was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but drove in a run.
Bob Montgomery was 1 for 3 but allowed a crucial passed ball.
Honorable Mention:
Dick McAuliffe ran for Cater in the eighth inning.
Final Thoughts:
Fergie is one of the best pitchers in the game and the Sox are missing Carlton Fisk but at some point the Sox are going to have to beat great pitchers. Cleveland pitched great but took the loss because the offense totally evaporated. As mentioned before, the bottom of the order is becoming a black hole. Beniquez is hitting .229, Montgomery at .195 and Guerrero at .224. The biggest surprise is Harper at .189. He may turn it around but when you have four out of nine hitters as automatic outs, that's not good. Getting Fisk back would be nice but the others have to step it up. Physical mistakes like the passed ball and Cooper's error didn't help either. The Sox did get men on base but just couldn't drive them in. Hopefully the Sox can turn it around moving forward. The Sox look to bounce back tomorrow tonight against the Rangers when Luis Tiant (2-1) goes one on one with Jim Bibby. The game begins at 10:00 PM Eastern time at Arlington Stadium.
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