Underwood got the ball in the top of the first and Jerry Remy took strike three to start. Rick Burleson popped up to second and Fred Lynn lined out to short to end the inning. Finch got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Ron LeFlore singled to right to start. LeFlore was doubled off first on the line drive by Rusty Staub to second and Steve Kemp grounded out to second to end the inning.
Jim Rice took strike three to start the top of the second but Bob Watson drew a walk. Watson stole second on the Carl Yastrzemski strikeout but Butch Hobson struck out to end the inning. Jason Thompson grounded out to first to start the bottom of the second before Lance Parrish popped up to third. Champ Summers grounded out to first to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the third as Dwight Evans popped up to first to start. Gary Allenson grounded out to second and Remy struck out to end the inning. Aureilo Rodriguez grounded out to short to start the bottom of the third but Bubba Trammell singled to right and took second when Evans airmailed the throw back to the infield. Dave Machemer hit a grounder to short and Trammell was thrown out at third. Machemer was then picked off of first to end the inning.
Burleson was plunked to start the top of the fourth but Lynn flied out to right. Rice singled to left to move Burleson to third but Jim was thrown out at second trying to stretch a double. Watson lined out to short to end the inning. Finch got in trouble in the bottom of the fourth although LeFlore struck out to start. Staub doubled to right and Kemp walked, but Thompson flied out to right. Parrish walked to load the bases but Summers struck out to end the inning.
Yaz grounded back to the mound to start the top of the fifth before Hobson flied out to left. Evans lined out to center to end the inning. Rodriguez grounded out to second to start the bottom of the fifth before Trammell grounded out to third. Machemer and LeFlore both drew walks but Staub grounded out to first to end the inning.
Allenson doubled to left to open the top of the sixth and moved to third on the Remy sacrifice bunt. He was stranded as Burleson struck out and Lynn popped up to short to end the inning. Kemp singled to left to start the bottom of the sixth but Thompson flied out to right. Parrish banged into a double play to end the inning.
Rice struck out to open the top of the seventh but Watson walked. Yaz struck out but Watson moved to second on a wild pitch. Hobson grounded out to third to end the inning. The Tigers finally tagged Finch in the bottom of the seventh as Summers hit a home run into Lake Ontario to give the Tigers the lead. Rodriguez flied out to right but Trammell singled to second to chase the rookie. Finch was tough but got no run support as he allowed just 1 run in 6 1/3 innings. Bob Stanley came in and Machemer screwed up a bunt, getting Trammell thrown out at second. LeFlore grounded out to short to end the inning with the Tigers ahead 1-0.
The Sox wasted no time tying the game up in the top of the eighth with Mark Wagner now playing second base. Evans singled to right and Allenson dropped down a bunt to advance Dwight to second but ended up beating it out. Remy then dropped down a bunt of his own to advance the two runners. Dave Tobik came in to pitch and Burleson scored Evans with a sac fly to tie the game. Lynn flied out to center to end the inning but the game was tied 1-1.
Stanley cruised in the bottom of the eighth as Staub flied out to left to start. Kemp grounded out in front of the plate and Thompson struck out to end the inning.
The Sox took command in the top of the ninth as Rice doubled to left to start. Watson walked but Yaz lined out to second. Hobson put the Sox on top with a double to center to score Rice and chase Tobik. Milt Wilcox came in to pitch and Tom Poquette pinch hit for Allenson. Poquette scored Watson with a sac fly for the big insurance run. Remy grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-1.
Stanley came back to close out the bottom of the ninth with Mike O'Berry behind the plate and Stan Papi in for Burleson at short. Parrish flied out to left and Summers flied out to center, but Rodriguez beat out an infield single to short. John Wockenfuss pinch hit for Trammell and hit a swinging bunt single. Mike O'Berry threw the ball away to advance the runners into scoring position. Jerry Morales pinch hit for Wagner and flied out to left to end the gane. The Sox had won it 3-1.
Hero of the Night is Butch Hobson. His rbi double in the top of the ninth put the Sox up for good.
The Good:
Jim Rice was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Bob Watson walked 3 times and scored a run.
Dwight Evans was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Gary Allenson was 1 for 2.
Tom Poquette hit a sac fly in his only at bat.
Joel Finch tossed 6 1/3 innings of 1 run ball. He allowed 6 hits and walked 4 while striking out 2.
Bob Stanley got the win by tossing 2 2/3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Fred Lynn was 0 for 4.
Carl Yastrzemski was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Mike O'Berry made an error in the bottom of the ninth.
The Ugly:
Jerry Remy was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but dropped down a crucial bunt in the top of the ninth.
Rick Burleson was 0 for 2 but was hit by pitch and drove in a run.
Honorable Mention:
Stan Papi played short in the bottom of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
That's how you fight to the bitter end. The Sox could have easily packed it in after being held scoreless through 7 innings but they fought back when it mattered. They did it with small ball too with timely bunts rather than towering home runs. Hobson saved the day big time and kudos to Stanley for keeping the Tigers off the board after Finch left. Finch seems like a breath of fresh air after the Sox lost Luis Tiant to the Yankees and dumped Bill Lee on the Expos. It would be completely unfair to expect Finch to replicate Tiant or Lee but for him to be good would help tremendously if the Sox want to beat out the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles this season. The O's look like they won't go away so the Sox are gonna have to bear down if they want to win the AL East this year. The win improved the Sox to 45-26, 4 games behind the Orioles for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox look to take two of three from Detroit when they send Steve Renko (5-2) to the mound against Jack Billingham of the Tigers. The game begins at 9:00 PM Eastern time at Tiger Stadium.
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