Cleveland hung tough in the top of the first inning as Bobby Bonds led off by taking strike three. Sandy Alomar grounded out to second but Roy White got a base hit. Thurman Munson grounded into a force to end the inning. Pat Dobson got the ball for the Yankees in the bottom of the first and Cecil Cooper grounded out to second to start. Denny Doyle got a base hit but Carl Yastrzesmki banged into a double play to end the inning.
The Yankees struck first in the top of the second inning although Graig Nettles flied out to right to start. Chris Chambliss hit a home run all the way to the Azores to give the Yankees the lead. Ed Hermann struck out and Rick Bladt flied out to center to end the inning with the Yankees up 1-0.
Lynn grounded out to first to start the bottom of the second but Jim Rice got a base hit. Carlton Fisk flied out to center but Rice swiped second. Dwight Evans struck out to end the inning.
White flied out to right to start the top of the fourth but Munson flied out to center. Nettles popped up to left to end the inning. The Sox knocked out Dobson in the bottom of the fourth as Evans and Burleson stoked back to back singles. Heise sacrificed both runners over with a bunt and Yankees manager Billy Martin brought in Sparky Lyle to face Cooper. Cecil hit a sac fly to score Evans with another run. Doyle grounded back to the mound to end the inning but the Sox were up 5-1.
Chambliss grounded out to first to start the top of the fifth and Hermann grounded out to third. Bladt popped up to third to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fifth although Yaz struck out to start. Lynn doubled and moved to third on the grounder by Rice before Fisk singled him home. Evans flied out to right to end the inning but the Sox were up 6-1.
Stanley singled to start the top of the sixth but Bonds banged into a double play. Alomar singled and White doubled him to third, but Munson flied out to center to end the inning. The Sox tacked it on in the bottom of the sixth as Burleson doubled to start. Heise struck out but Cooper got a base hit and Burleson tried for home. Chambliss threw the ball away and it allowed Burleson to score. Doug Griffin pinch hit for Doyle and forced Burleson at second before Yaz grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox up 7-1.
Cleveland walked Nettles to open the top of the seventh but Chambliss flied out to left. Hermann struck out and Bladt forced Nettles at second to end the inning. Lynn struck out to start the bottom of the seventh but Rice got a base hit. Fisk struck out and Evans flied out to right to end the inning.
The Yankees finally knocked out Cleveland in the top of the eighth although Walt Williams pinch hit for Stanley to start. Williams struck out but Bonds singled. Alomar flied out to center but White singled. Munson then cracked a 3 run bomb all the way to the Potomac River to cut the lead. Sox manager Darrell Johnson stormed out of the dugout screaming and threw a roundhouse right at Cleveland. Reggie ducked under it and chased Johnson into the dugout. Rookie Jim Burton jumped out of the stands to take over on the mound and walked Nettles. Chambliss took strike three to end the inning with Cleveland going 7 2/3 innings while allowing just 4 runs.
Rick Sawyer took over on the mound with Ed Brinkman playing short for the bottom of the eighth. Burleson popped up to second, Heise grounded out to second and Cooper also grounded out to second to end the inning.
Dick Drago came on for the top of the ninth to close out the game with Rick Dempsey pinch hitting for Hermann to start. Dempsey grounded out to second but Rich Coggins pinch hit for Bladt got a base hit. Lou Piniella pinch hit for Brinkman and forced Coggins at second. Bonds grounded into a force to end the game. The Sox had won it 7-4.
Hero of the Night is Cecil Cooper. He drove in 2 big runs which turned out to be the difference in the game and a third was taken away on the error by Chambliss.
The Good:
Denny Doyle was 2 for 3 with an rbi and a run scored.
Fred Lynn was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Jim Rice was 2 for 4 with a stolen base.
Carlton Fisk was 2 for 4 with 3 rbis.
Rick Burleson was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Bob Heise was 1 for 3 with a run scored.
Jim Burton got the final out of the eighth inning.
Dick Drago earned his 9th save with a scoreless ninth.
The Bad:
Doug Griffin was 0 for 1 at the plate.
The Ugly:
Carl Yastrzemski was 0 for 3 but walked and scored.
Dwight Evans was just 1 for 4 with a run scored.
Reggie Cleveland got the win with 7 2/3 innings but allowed 4 runs.
Final Thoughts:
The Sox need to bear down if they have any hope of taking the AL East this season. This is the time of year the Sox suffer a freak injury or a series of mishaps like the previous three seasons. The Sox have 27 games left and they need to fire on all cylinders if they hope to play in October. Lynn and Rice have had a hell of a year and Rick Wise has a chance to win 20 games. Reggie Cleveland pitched in big time today and the Sox need to keep their momentum going the rest of the month. The win improved the Sox to 80-55, 6 games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow the Sox start the most important series to date when they head to Baltimore to play the Orioles for AL East supremacy. Rick Wise (17-8) goes for the Sox against Orioles ace Jim Palmer in a monster match. The game begins at 7:30 PM at Memorial Stadium.
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