Lee got the ball in the top of the first inning and Ed Brinkman popped up to first to start. Aurelio Rodriguez grounded out to second and Jim Northrup grounded out to first to end the inning. The Sox wasted no time getting to Detroit starter Lerrin LaGrow in the bottom of the first as Tommy Harper doubled to left to begin. Rick Miller flied out to center and Harper moved to third on a grounder to second by Cecil Cooper. Carl Yastrzemski walked and swiped second before Bob Montgomery walked to load the bases. Bernie Carbo then crushed a grand slam to put the Sox up big. Dick McAuliffe popped up to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-0.
Al Kaline flied out to right to start the top of the second before Willie Horton drew a walk. Mickey Stanley got a base hit to center and Bill Freehan walked to load the bases but Ron Cash banged into a double play to end the inning. Doug Griffin grounded back to the mound to start the bottom of the second but Mario Guerrero drew a walk. Harper grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Gary Sutherland doubled to right to start the top of the third but Brinkman popped up to left. Rodriguez grounded out to third and Northrup grounded out to first to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the third as Miller got a base hit to left to start. Cooper singled to right and Yaz doubled to right to score both runners, increasing the lead. That was it for LaGrow as Woodie Fryman came in to pitch to Montgomery. Bob moved Yaz to third with a grounder to first but Carbo grounded out to third. McAuliffe popped up to first to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-0.
Lee booted a grounder by Kaline to start the top of the fourth but Horton popped up to first. Stanley flied out to left but Freehan doubled to left to move Kaline to third but Cash grounded out to short to end the inning. Griffin popped up to short to start the bottom of the fourth but Guerrero walked again. Harper dropped down a bunt to move Guerrero to second but Miller took strike three to end the inning.
Sutherland grounded out to short to start the top of the fifth and Brinkman struck out swinging. Rodriguez flied out to center to end the inning. Cooper grounded out to short to start the bottom of the fifth before Yaz struck out swinging. Montgomery grounded out to third to end the inning.
Northrup grounded out to first to start the top of the sixth before Kaline hit one up the elevator shaft. Horton grounded out to third to end the inning. Carbo singled to left to begin the bottom of the sixth but was thrown out at second trying to steal. That proved costly as McAuliffe doubled to left but Griffin popped up to second. Guerrero grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Tigers struck back in the top of the seventh as Stanley grounded out to short to start. Freehan walked, Cash singled to right and Sutherland singled to left to load the bases just like that. Brinkman hit a comebacker to the mound and Lee fired home for the force but Montgomery turned and threw the ball into the bleachers for absolutely no reason for an error that scored Cash. Rodriguez lined out to first to end the inning with the Sox still ahead 6-1. That was it for Lee who allowed an unearned run in 7 innings of work. He was outstanding.
Harper flied out to left to start the bottom of the seventh and Miller popped up to third. Cooper took strike three to end the inning.
Reggie Cleveland came in to take a beating in the top of the eighth as Northrup singled to left to start. Kaline hit a home run all the way to Cambridge to cut the lead in half. Horton and Stanley both grounded out to short but Freehan walked. Cash struck out swinging to end the inning with the Tigers down 6-3.
Yaz flied out to center to start the bottom of the eighth but Montgomery was thrown out at second trying to stretch a single into a double. Carbo popped up to right to end the inning.
Cleveland returned for the top of the ninth and Sutherland grounded out to third to start. Gates Brown pinch hit for Brinkman and walked, being replaced by John Knox on the bases. Rodriguez struck out swinging but Northrup singled to right to bring the tying run to the plate. Kaline grounded back to the mound to end the game. The Sox won it 6-3.
"Had em all the way" - Reggie
Bernie Hero
Hero of The Night is Bernie Carbo. His grand slam put the Sox up for good early.
The Good:
Carl Yastrzemski was 1 for 3 with a walk, stolen base, 2 rbis and a run scored.
Bob Montgomery was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Dick McAuliffe was 1 for 3.
Mario Guerrero walked twice in three plate appearances.
Bill Lee earned the win by allowing an unearned run in 7 innings of work. He allowed 5 hits and 3 walks while striking out 1.
The Bad:
Doug Griffin was 0 for 3.
Reggie Cleveland allowed 2 runs in 2 innings of work.
The Ugly:
Tommy Harper was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Rick Miller was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Cecil Cooper was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
That was a good win for the Red Sox and Lee pitched a very good game. The Sox got some timely offense with Carbo's grand slam and Yaz' double but that was all they needed. It would be nice for Lee to transform into an ace pitcher to go with Luis Tiant. Cleveland had a rocky start in the eighth and nearly gave it away in the ninth but he still got out of it to close out the game. The Sox are missing Carlton Fisk but Bob Montgomery is filling in admirably. All in all its early in the season but a good win is a good win. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Tigers tomorrow afternoon when Rick Wise makes his season debut against Bill Slayback of Detroit. the game begins at 2:30 PM at Fenway Park.
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