Lollar took the mound in the top of the first inning and got Kirby Puckett to strike out. Mickey Hatcher grounded out to short and Kent Hrbek popped up to short to end the inning. Boston wasted no time scoring as Dwight Evans led off the bottom of the first inning with a solo home run off Viola to give the Sox the quick lead. Wade Boggs walked but Bill Buckner banged into a double play. Jim Rice struck out to end the inning but it was 1-0 Boston.
Lollar stayed tough in the top of the second by getting Tom Brunansky to ground out to third. Dave Engle flied out to right but Tim Laudner singled. Gary Gaetti grounded into a force to end the inning. Viola blanked the Sox in the bottom of the second by getting both Mike Easler and Marty Barrett to ground out to short. Jackie Gutierrez struck out to end the inning.
The Twins struck back in the top of the third inning. Tim Teufel doubled to start and moved to third on the Alvaro Espinoza bunt single. Puckett beat out a double play ball to score Teufel with the tying run then stole second base himself. Hatcher grounded to third and Hrbek grounded to second to end the inning but it was 1-1.
The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the third inning as Steve Lyons popped up to third, Marc Sullivan struck out and Evans popped to second to end the inning.
Lollar recovered to get Brunansky to ground out o open the top of the fourth inning. Engle flied out to center but Laudner walked. Gaetti lined out to center to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the fourth inning. Boggs singled and moved to second on the sacrifice bunt by Buckner. Rice walked but was foolishly picked off. That lost run loomed large as Easler doubled home Boggs to give the Sox the lead. Barrett grounded out to end the inning but a 2-1 lead should have been 3-1.
Lollar cruised in the top of the fifth as he got Teufel to fly out to right to begin. Espinoza grounded out to third and Puckett grounded out to short to end the inning. Viola matched Lollar in the bottom of the fifth as he got Gutierrez to ground out to second to start. Lyons struck out and Sullivan lined out to center to end the inning.
Lollar returned for the top of the sixth inning and got Hatcher to ground to second to begin. Hrbek singled but Brunansky struck out. Engle grounded into a force to end the inning. The Sox accomplished nothing in the bottom of the sixth inning as Evans grounded meekly to third, but Boggs singled. Buckner flied out but Boggs was distracted by a rodeo clown falling down the steps in the stands, getting doubled off first to end the inning.
Somehow the Twins exploded in the top of the seventh inning. Laudner doubled and moved to third on a wild pitch. Gaetti walked but Teufel struck out. Espinoza singled home Laudner tied the game. Puckett iced the game with a scintillating triple to send the fans home angry. That was it for Lollar and Steve Crawford came in, only to give up an rbi single by Hatcher to score Puckett. Hrbek singled but Brunansky struck out. Ron Smalley pinch hit for Engle and popped to second to end the inning but it was now 5-2 Twins.
Viola put it on cruise control in the bottom of the seventh inning. Rice flied out and Easler grounded out but Barrett doubled. Gutierrez ended the rally with a 360 strikeout, falling over in the process to end the inning.
Crawford returned for the top of the eighth and Laudner singled AGAIN, but Gaetti struck out. Teufel flied out and Espinoza struck out to end the inning. Viola would not be denied in the bottom of the eighth in a near empty Fenway Park as Lyons flied out to right to start. Sullivan and Evans both whiffed to end the inning.
Crawford returned for the top of the ninth and was greeted by a Puckett single. Hatcher banged into a double play and Hrbek lined out to center to end the inning. Viola came back to finish his work in the botom of the ninth. Boggs flied out to left, Buckner grounded out to second and Rice flied out to left to end the game. The Twins had won it 5-2.
Jackass of the Night is Tim Lollar. He had a 2-1 lead to protect and he let the team down by getting pounded in the 7th, giving up 5 total runs.
The Good:
Wade Boggs was 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Mike Easler was 1 for 3 with an rbi.
Marty Barrett was 1 for 3.
Steve Crawford tossed 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.
The Bad:
Bill Buckner was 0 for 3.
Jackie Gutierrez was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
Steve Lyons was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Marc Sullivan was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
The Ugly:
Dwight Evans was just 1 for 4 but the one hit was a home run.
Jim Rice was 0 for 3 but walked..
Final Thoughts:
Another pitiful loss for a team going absolutely nowhere. I know Tim Lollar isn't exactly Jack Morris but with Roger Clemens got, SOMEBODY has to step up and win some games down the stretch, if nothing else but for personal pride. Frank Viola going the distance hurt plus he's lost 10 games this year, the offense should have smacked him around. This year can't end fast enough and Clemens get healthy quick enough. The loss dropped the Sox to 58-62, 17 games behind Toronto for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow Bruce Hurst matches up against Mike Smithson for the Twins. Isn't this year over yet? Ugh.
No comments:
Post a Comment