The Tigers got to Marichal in the top of the first inning as Ed Brinkman led off by flying out to right. Aurelio Rodriguez popped up to right but Jim Northrup walked. Al Kaline doubled to center to score Northrup to put the Tigers on top. Willie Horton grounded out to third to end the inning with Detroit up 1-0.
The Sox rallied against Mickey Lolich in the bottom of the first as Tommy Harper struck out swinging to start. Juan Beniquez got a base hit to left and Danny Cater got a base hit to center before both scored on the Carl Yastrzemski double to right. Bob Montgomery grounded out to short but Dwight Evans smashed his first homer of the season to increase the lead. Doug Griffin flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-0.
Norm Cash flied out to right to start the top of the second and Mickey Stanley popped up to first. Bill Freehan struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the second as John Kennedy smashed his first home run of the season to increase the lead. Mario Guerrero got a base hit to right but Harper grounded into a double play. Beniquez walked but was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning with the Sox up 5-0.
The Tigers struck back in the top of the third as Gary Sutherland doubled to left to start. Brinkman singled to right to score Sutherland to put Detroit on the board. Rodriguez forced Brinkman at second but Northrup singled to right. Kaline walked to load the bases but Horton lined out to second. Cash walked to score Brinkman and Stanley grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Sox still ahead 5-3.
Brinkman singles and scores
The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fourth although Cater popped up to first to start. Yaz then belted his third home run of the season to increase the lead. Montgomery grounded out to short and Evans flied out to right to end the inning. with the Sox ahead 6-3.
The Tigers knocked out Marichal in the top of the fourth as Freehan lined out to left to start. Sutherland walked and Brinkman hit a home run to Jupiter to cut the lead. Rodriguez singled to center and Sox manager Darrell Johnson finally had enough of Marichal. Juan lasted 3 1/3 innings and allowed 5 runs on 6 hits and 4 walks. Dick Drago came in to pitch and Northrup banged into a double play with the Sox still ahead 6-5.
Griffin flied to center to start the bottom of the fourth before Kennedy grounded out to third. Guerrero popped up to first in foul territory to end the inning.
Kaline singled to right to start the top of the fifth but Horton flied out to right. Cash struck out swinging and Stanley grounded out to first to end the inning. Harper walked to open the bottom of the fifth and Beniquez reached on an error by Cash. Cater popped up to second and Yaz struck out swinging.....as Beniquez was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning.
Freehan popped up to third to start the top of the sixth before Sutherland popped up to Evans. Brinkman flied out to center to end the inning. Montgomery lined out to third to start the bottom of the sixth but Evans singled to center. Griffin singled to right and Kennedy lined out to left before Evans got picked off to end the inning.
Dick McAuliffe took over for Griffin at third to start the top of the seventh and Rodriguez grounded out to short. Northrup grounded back to the mound and Kaline popped up to second to end the inning. The Sox got another run in the bottom of the seventh as Guerrero singled to center. Harper dropped down a bunt to move Mario to second and Beniquez singled to right to score Guerrero. That was it for Lolich as John Hiller came in to pitch. Cater hit a bullet to Rodriguez but he threw the ball away to allow Beniquez to move to third. Yaz hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning with the Sox ahead 7-5.
Rick Miller came in to play left to start the top of the eighth and Horton singled to left to start. Cash flied out to center and Stanley forced Horton at second, but Freehan singled to left. Gates Brown pinch hit for Sutherland and hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning. John Knox took over at second to start the bottom of the eighth and Montgomery grounded out to third to start. Evans flied out to right and Griffin struck out swinging to end the inning.
Brinkman singled to left to start the top of the ninth and Rodriguez singled to right to chase Drago. Roger Moret was brought in just to pitch to Northrup and Moret got him to fly out to center. Diego Segui came in to pitch to Kaline and Al popped up to left. Horton beat out a roller to third to load the bases but Cash struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had held on to win 7-5.
Hero of the Night is Carl Yastrzemski. He started the rally in the first inning and hit a solo shot in the third inning.
The Good:
Juan Beniquez was 2 for 2 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.
Dwight Evans was 2 for 4 with a 2 run home run.
John Kennedy was 1 for 3 with a home run.
Mario Guerrero was 2 for 3 with a run scored.
Dick Drago earned the win with 4 2/3 scoreless innings.
Roger Moret got the only man he faced.
Diego Segui got the save with 2/3 of a scoreless inning.
The Bad:
The Bad:
Bob Montgomery was 0 for 4.
Juan Marichal got hammered in his Sox debut. He allowed 5 runs off 6 hits and 4 walks in just 3 1/3 innings.
The Ugly:
Tommy Harper was 0 for 2 with a strikeout but walked.
Danny Cater was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Doug Griffin was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Honorable Mention:
Dick McAuliffe played third base in the final few innings.
Rick Miller played left field in the final few innings.
Final Thoughts:
That one was too close for comfort but the Sox managed to pull it off. Marichal looked like garbage in his first game but hopefully that was just rust. The Sox are going to need the Dominican Dandy to find his form if they have any hope of toppling the Baltimore Orioles this season. The relief pitching of Drago, Segui and Moret worked out this time but that's not sustainable. Still, the offense hit well today with Yaz and Evans leading the charge and even Kennedy got a home run. Its early in the season but if the Sox get consistent hitting to match Marichal, Luis Tiant, Bill Lee and Rick Wise....that could pay dividends come September or October. The Sox look for the series sweep tomorrow morning on Patriots Day Monday against the Tigers. Reggie Cleveland gets the start for the Sox against Joe Coleman of Detroit. The game begins at 11:00 AM at Fenway Park.
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