The Tigers struck first in the contest with a big top of the first. Ron LeFlore and Rusty Staub drew back to back walks before Steve Kemp beat out a double play ball. Jason Thompson singled home LeFlore but Lance Parrish struck out swinging. Champ Summers doubled home Kemp and Thompson but Aurelio Rodriguez grounded out to short to end the inning with the Tigers up 3-0.
Steve Baker got the start for Detroit and Jerry Remy led off with a walk. Rick Burleson popped up to right before Fred Lynn took strike three. Jim Rice grounded out to third to end the inning.
Torrez recovered in the top of the second as Alan Trammell flied out to center to start. Mark Wagner grounded out to second but LeFlore doubled to left. Staub flied out to center to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the second as Carl Yastrzemski grounded out to second to start. Carlton Fisk walked before moving to second on the Bob Watson grounder. Dwight Evans whiffed to end the inning.
Torrez cruised in the top of the third as Kemp flied out to left to start. Thompson grounded out to first before Parrish struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the third as Butch Hobson doubled to right to begin. Hobson moved to third on the grounder by Remy but Burleson flied out to right. Lynn crushed his 17th home run of the lead to put the Sox back in it. Rice walked then Yaz cracked his 12th homer of the year to put the Sox ahead. Fisk lined out to center to end the inning but it was 4-3 Sox.
Torrez got Summers swinging to start the top of the fourth before Rodriguez grounded out to short. Trammell singled to right but Wagner grounded into a force to end the inning. The Sox got another run in the bottom of the fourth as Watson singled to center to begin. Evans walked and Hobson beat out an infield single to load the bases. Remy lined out to left but Watson made a mad dash home to score a run. Burleson banged into a double play to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-3.
LeFlore singled to start the top of the fifth before moving to second on the Staub grounder. Kemp grounded back to the mound before Thompson lined out to left to end the inning. Aurelio Lopez came in for the bottom of the fifth and Lynn doubled to start. Rice grounded out to third before Yaz lined out to left. Fisk grounded out to first to end the inning.
Torrez cruised in the top of the sixth as Parrish watched strike three go by to begin. Summers popped up to first and Rodriguez grounded out to third to end the inning. The Sox poured it on in the bottom of the sixth as Watson croaked his first home run as a member of the Red Sox to begin. Evans then smashed his 9th home run of the year to go back to back. Hobson walked but Remy flied out to left before Burleson doubled home Butch with another run to chase Lopez. Fernando Arroyo came in and Lynn grounded out to second. Rice grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 8-3.
Torrez got in trouble when Trammell singled to open the top of the seventh and Wagner walked. LeFlore beat out a double play ball but Staub didn't and the Sox were out of the inning. The relentless offense kept up the pace in the bottom of the seventh although Yaz flied out to left to start. Fisk doubled to left and Watson beat out an infield single. Evans doubled home Fisk and Hobson cleared the bases with his 9th bomb of the year to run up the score. Remy grounded out to short and Burleson flied out to left to end the inning but the score was now 12-3.
Sox manager Don Zimmer emptied the bench in the top of the eighth as rookie Gary Allenson took over for Fisk behind the plate, Jim Dwyer took over at first for Yaz, Larry Wolfe took over for Remy at second, Jack Brohamer took over at third for Hobson, Stan Papi took over at short for Burleson and Tom Poquette took over for Lynn in center. Kemp grounded out to first to start before Thompson grounded out to first as well. Parrish flied out to right to end the inning. The Tigers emptied their bench in the bottom of the eighth as Kip Young took over on the mound, Ed Putman took over behind the plate, Phil Mankowski took over at third and Lynn Jones took over in left. Poquette grounded out to short before Rice popped up to second. Dwyer wrapped up the scoring with his first home run of the year to increase the lead. Allenson grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 13-3.
Torrez came back to finish the job in the top of the ninth as Summers grounded out to second to start. Mankowski took strike three but Trammell singled to center. Wagner flied out to end the game. The Sox had beaten the Tigers to a pulp 13-3.
Hero of the Night is Mike Torrez. He tossed a complete game allowing just the three runs off 5 hits and 4 walks.
The Good:
Fred Lynn was 2 for 4 with a 2 run home run.
Jim Dwyer homered in his only at-bat.
Carlton Fisk was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Bob Watson was 3 for 4 with a solo home run and 3 runs scored.
Dwight Evans was 2 for 3 with a walk, a home run, 2 total rbis and 2 total runs scored.
Butch Hobson was 3 for 3 with a walk including a 3 run homer and 3 total runs scored.
The Bad:
Tom Poquette was 0 for 1 in his only plate appearance.
Gary Allenson was 0 for 1 at the plate.
The Ugly:
Jerry Remy was 0 for 3 but walked and drove in a run.
Rick Burleson was just 1 for 5 but drove in a run.
Jim Rice was 0 for 4 but walked and scored.
Carl Yastrzemski was just 1 for 4 but the one hit was a 2 run homer.
Honorable Mention:
Larry Wolfe played second base in the final two innings.
Stan Papi played shortstop in the final two innings.
Jack Brohamer played third base in the final two innings.
Final Thoughts:
That was a massacre for sure and it was nice to see Torrez pitch well. The key to this season is if they have enough pitching to win the division for the first time since 1975. Not having Bill Lee and Luis Tiant sucks but hopefully Steve Renko and Bob Stanley can replace their production from last year. The bats are still hot and the acquisition of Bob Watson has been huge already. The Sox are only a few games behind the Orioles and they need to win as many games as they can to compete with Baltimore. As for this game, great win...hope they can do it again tomorrow. The win improved the Sox to 40-25, 3.5 games behind the Orioles for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox look to take 3 of 4 from the Tigers when they send Dennis Eckersley (7-3) up against Jack Morris of the Tigers at 7:30 PM at Fenway Park.
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