The Royals wasted no time getting to Eckersley in the top of the first inning as Tom Poquette grounded back to the mound to start. John Wathan singled to right, stole second and moved to third when Eckersley threw the pickoff throw away. George Brett grounded out to second but Wathan scored to give Kansas City the lead. Amos Otis grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Sox answered in the bottom of the first against Royals starter David Frost. Jerry Remy singled to left and Dwight Evans lined a base hit to right to move Remy to third. A wild pitch scored Remy to tie the game and Rice was plunked. Carl Yastrzemski grounded out to second to move the runners over but Glenn Hoffman popped up to third in foul territory. Dave Stapleton grounded out to short to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
Hal McRae hit a home run to Madagascar to put the Royals up instantly in the top of the second. Lee May popped up to short, Jerry Martin took strike three and Frank White lined out to third to end the inning with the Royals up 2-1.
The Sox rallied in the bottom of the second as Wade Boggs walked to start. Wade moved to the second on the grounder to the mound by Rich Gedman and scored on the Rick Miller base hit to right. Remy singled to center to move Miller to third and Evans lined a base hit to left. Poquette bobbled the ball allowing Miller to score and the runners to move up. Rice grounded out to third but Yaz stroked a base hit to right to score Remy and Evans. Hoffman lined out to left to end the inning but the Sox now led 5-1.
UL Washington struck out swinging to start the top of the third before Poquette popped up to third in foul territory. Wathan struck out swinging to end the inning. Stapleton flied out to center to start the bottom of the third but Boggs singled to left. Gedman banged into a double play to end the inning.
The Royals pounced in the top of the fourth as Brett hit a home run all the way to the outer reaches of Mongolia to start. Otis doubled to center and and McRae smacked a triple to right to score Otis. May and Martin worked back to back walks to load the bases but White forced McRae at home. Washington grounded out to short to score May and tie the game. Poquette grounded out to second to end the inning with the game tied 5-5.
Brett starts the rally
Miller grounded out to short to start the bottom of the fourth and Remy popped up a bunt to first. Evans grounded out to short to end the inning.
The Royals knocked out Eckersley in the top of the fifth as Wathan singled to left to start. Brett singled to right and Sox manager Ralph Houk pulled Eck before it could get worse. He allowed 5 runs in just 4 plus innings. Bob Stanley relieved him and got Otis to bang into a double play. McRae flied out to right to end the inning.
The Sox struck back in the bottom of the fifth as Rice walked to start. Yaz singled to right to move Rice to third and Jim scored on the double play by Hoffman. Stapleton singled to center and took second on a wild pitch but Boggs grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-5.
May singled to left to start the top of the sixth but Dennis Werth pinch ran for him. Martin singled to left but White grounded into a double play. Washington grounded out to third to end the inning. Jim Wright came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Gedman lined out to right to start. Miller lined out to center but Remy caught the Royals asleep with a bunt down the first base line. Remy was picked off to end the inning.
Poquette grounded out to short to start the top of the seventh and Wathan's bunt attempt was snuffed out by Stanley. Brett grounded out to first to end the inning. Evans flied out to right to start the bottom of the seventh before Rice walked. Yaz lined out to center but Rice took second on a balk. Hoffman lined out to right to end the inning.
Stanley returned for the top of the eighth and Otis grounded out to short to start. McRae grounded out to short and Jamie Quirk pinch hit for Werth only to fly out to left to end the inning. The Sox added a big run in the bottom of the eighth as Stapleton doubled to left to begin. Boggs popped up a bunt back to the mound but Gedman dropped a base hit to right to score Dave. Miller flied out to center and Remy struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 7-5.
Stanley came back to close out the top of the ninth and the Royals beat the ball in the dirt. Martin grounded out to second, White grounded out to short and Washington grounded back to the mound to end the game. The Sox had won it 7-5 for their eighth win in a row.
Hero of the Night is Bob Stanley. He tossed 5 shutout innings in relief to earn the win allowing just 2 hits.
The Good:
Jerry Remy was 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored.
Dwight Evans was 2 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.
Jim Rice walked twice, was hit with a pitch and scored a run.
Carl Yastrzemski was 2 for 4 with 2 rbis.
Dave Stapleton was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Wade Boggs was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
The Bad:
Glenn Hoffman was 0 for 4.
Dennis Eckersley was lit up for 5 runs (4 earned) in 4 innings of work.
The Ugly:
Rich Gedman was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Rick Miller was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run and scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
The surging Sox are on a roll and they've done it in every facet possible. The starting pitching has been solid but today it wasn't. Bob Stanley stepped up big and the offense took advantage of bad defense to put up 7 runs. The normally hot Hoffman went 0-fer but the others stepped up including Remy, Evans and Yaz. The Royals are a good team and for the Sox to beat them is not a small feat. Its a shame Eck couldn't get it done but the Sox were able to pick up their teammate. The Sox are going to have a good kind of problem if Wade Boggs is the real deal. They already have Tony Perez on the bench, it would be a waste to have him or Carney Lansford sitting on it too. Maybe they can trade someone for a starting pitcher if someone gets hurt or is ineffective. Its better to have too much depth than not enough, that's for sure. All in all it was a good win and if only the Sox can keep this momentum for the whole season. The Sox look to make it nine in a row tomorrow night when they send John Tudor (3-0) to the mound against Dennis Leonard of Kansas City. The game begins at 7:30 PM at Fenway Park.
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