"This is your fault Torrez"
Al Bumbry led off the top of the first inning with a double to left but Torrez came back to strike out both Pat Kelly and Ken Singleton. Eddie Murray grounded out to short to end the inning. McGregor held the Sox in check in the bottom of the first as Rick Burleson grounded out to short to start. Dave Stapleton grounded out to short and Fred Lynn struck out to end the inning.
John Lowenstein singled to open the top of the second before Dan Graham forced him at second. Doug DeCinces banged into a double play to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the second as Tony Perez was retired on a swinging bunt in front of the plate to start. Butch Hobson struck out but Dwight Evans singled to left. Jim Dwyer flied out to right to end the inning.
Mark Belanger flied out to left to start the top of the third before Rich Dauer singled to center. Bumbry flied out to left and Kelly grounded out to first to end the inning. Glenn Hoffman tried to start a rally with a base hit to center to start the bottom of the third but was thrown out trying to steal. Gary Allenson singled to center but Burleson banged into a double play to end the inning.
The O's struck first in the top of the fourth inning although Singleton struck out to start. Murray and Lowenstein stroked back to back singles and Graham crushed a 80,000 foot home run into the Charles River to put the O's up big. DeCinces popped up to first in foul territory and Belanger flied out to right to end the inning but it was 3-0 O's.
Stapleton tried to start a rally with a base hit to center to begin the bottom of the fourth but Lynn grounded out to second, Perez struck out and Hobson flied out to right to end the inning.
Dauer singled to start the top of the fifth and a wild pitch moved him to second. Dauer moved to third on the grounder by Bumbry but Kelly popped up to short. Singleton grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Still nothing in the bottom of the fifth as Evans grounded out to short to start. Dwyer flied out to right and Hoffman flied out to center to end the inning.
Murray grounded out to third to begin the top of the sixth and Lowenstein followed with a ground out to second. Graham flied out to right to end the inning. Allenson walked to start the bottom of the sixth but Burleson banged into another double play. Stapleton singled to right but Lynn flied out to center to end the inning.
The O's finally got to Torrez in the top of the seventh although DeCinces grounded out to third to start. Belanger also grounded out to third but the wheels fell off. Dauer and Bumbry stroked back to back singles and Kelly walked to load the bases. Singleton walked and Sox manager Don Zimmer ran out of the dugout screaming at Torrez, chasing him into the bullpen. Torrez got lit up for 7 total runs in 6 1/3 innings. BOOOOOOOOO!!!
Terrible effort from Torrez
Zimmer didn't have anyone warming up in the bullpen so he spun around in a circle and pointed at Win Remmerswal, choosing the puzzled pitcher to come into the game ice cold. Naturally Win allowed back to back doubles to Murray and Lowenstein to ice the game. Zimmer ran out of the dugout with a 9 MM gun and started shooting at Win to get him off the mound before being led away by armed security. John Tudor came in to pitch and got Graham to strike out to end the inning with the O's up for good 8-0.
Tough to pitch in a situation like this
With the pressure off, NOW the Sox decided to rally. Perez led off the bottom of the seventh with a double to left but Hobson grounded out to third. Evans lined out to short but somehow Dwyer smashed his 6th home run of the season to cut the lead. Hoffman grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox down 8-2.
Tudor returned for the top of the eighth and struck out DeCinces to start. Belanger singled to center but Dauer took strike three. Bumbry grounded out to second to end the inning. The Sox finally chased McGregor in the bottom of the eighth although Allenson flied out to left to start. Burleson walked and Stapleton singled to chase McGregor. O's manager Earl Weaver brought in Tim Stoddard and Lynn flied out to left, but Perez singled home Burleson with another run. Hobson grounded out to first to end the inning but the Sox were down 8-3.
Perez knocks in a run
Bill Campbell had mop up duty in the top of the ninth and Kelly singled to center to start. Singleton singled to right but Evans threw out Kelly at third. Murray singled to center but Lowenstein banged into a double play to end the inning. Carl Yaztremski pinch hit for Evans to lead off the bottom of the ninth only to strike out. Dwyer singled to left and Jerry Remy pinch hit for Hoffman, drawing a walk. Dave Rader pinch hit for Allenson and singled to right, scoring Dwyer. Burleson moved both runners over with a grounder but Stapleton popped up to second to end the game. The Orioles had won it 8-4.
Jackass of the Night is an easy one. Mike Torrez got lit up for 7 runs in just 6 1/3 innings. He allowed 9 hits and struck out just 3 batters.
Terrible Torrez the Jackass
The Good:
Dave Stapleton was 3 for 5.
Tony Perez was 2 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.
Dwight Evans was 1 for 3.
Jim Dwyer was 2 for 4 with 2 rbis and 2 runs scored including a home run.
Glenn Hoffman was 1 for 3.
Jerry Remy walked as a pinch hitter.
Gary Allenson was 1 for 2 with a walk.
Dave Rader singled and drove in a run as a pinch hitter.
John Tudor tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Bill Campbell pitched a scoreless 9th inning.
The Bad:
Fred Lynn was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Butch Hobson was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Carl Yastrzemski struck out as a pinch hitter.
Win Remmerswaal allowed back to back doubles to the only batters he faced.
The Ugly:
Rick Burleson was 0 for 4 but walked and scored.
Final Thoughts:
That's not the way to start a crucial series against the defending AL champions. Yes the Yankees are the team to beat this year but beating a team like the Orioles is a must if the Sox hope to keep pace and they failed big time today. They couldn't touch McGregor and Torrez looked lost out there. Yeah the Sox scored some runs late but the game was out of reach by then. What a shame the Sox fell so far, so hard ever since they lost to the Yankees in 1978. The less said of today's disaster, the better. The loss dropped the Sox to 38-32, 7 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to rebound tomorrow night against the Orioles when Bob Stanley (6-5) goes up against Steve Stone at 7:05 PM at Fenway Park.
