Boyd got the ball in the top of the first inning and Gary Pettis struck out swinging to start. Rob Wilfong popped up to Bill Buckner and Wally Joyner grounded out to first to end the inning. Jim Slaton got the ball in the bottom of the first and Dwight Evans led off by striking out swinging. Wade Boggs hit a comebacker to Slaton and Buckner flied out to right to end the inning.
Reggie Jackson led off the top of the second with a fly out to left and Brian Downing grounded out to third. Doug DeCinces flied out to right to end the inning. Jim Rice led off the bottom of the second with a grounder to third and Don Baylor grounded out to second. Rich Gedman popped up to DeCinces in foul ground to end the inning.
The Angels took command in the top of the third as Ruppert Jones hit a ground ball through Glenn Hoffman's legs to start. Jerry Narron hit a grounder to Buckner who didn't see Jones directly behind him and threw to second for the force. Had he saw Jones it would have been a double play. Boyd then threw a pickoff throw away to move Narron to second and Dick Schofield Jr popped up to Boggs. The opening error and Buckner not seeing Jones came back to haunt the Sox as Pettis hit a 296 foot home run just inside the Pesky Pole to put the Angels on top. Wilfong grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox down 2-0.
Marty Barrett led off the bottom of the third with a fly out to right and Steve Lyons flied out to the left field warning track. Hoffman grounded out to short to end the inning.
Joyner grounded out to second to start the top of the fourth before Jackson flied out to left. Downing lined out to a running Lyons to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the fourth as Evans dropped a base hit to left to start. Boggs doubled off the Monster and Evans scored on the sac fly by Buckner to right. Rice grounded out to short but Baylor walked. Gedman hit a fly ball to left and Pettis collided with Downing, but Al held on to end the inning with the Sox down 2-1.
DeCinces grounded out to third to start the top of the fifth and Jones struck out swinging. Narron doubled into the gap in center but Schofield Jr struck out swinging to end the inning. George Hendrick came in for Pettis to start the bottom of the fifth as Barrett hit a comebacker to the mound. Lyons flied out to left but Hoffman shot a base hit into right. Evans forced Hoffman at second to end the inning.
Hendrick grounded out to third to start the top of the sixth before Wilfong struck out swinging. Joyner lined out to a running Lyons to end the inning. Boggs doubled to the left field wall to start the bottom of the sixth but Buckner popped up to right. Rice also popped up to right and Baylor grounded out to short to end the inning.
Jackson got a broken bat grounder to second to start the top of the seventh but Downing got a base hit to left. DeCinces forced Downing at second and Jones got a base hit to right. Narron popped up to center to end the inning. The Sox rallied in the bottom of the seventh as Gedman flied out to the right field warning track to start. Barrett sliced a base hit to right and Lyons drew a walk but Hoffman lined out to third. Evans doubled down the left field line to score Barrett to tie the game. That was it for Slaton as Terry Forster came in to pitch. Boggs walked and Buckner popped up to second to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.
The Angels finished off Boyd in the top of the eighth as Schofield Jr singled to right to start. Hendrick dropped down a bunt to move Dick to second and Schofield scored on the Wilfong single to center. That was it for Boyd who allowed 3 runs in 7 1/3 innings on six hits. Joe Sambito came in to pitch and got Joyner to pop up to short. Jackson flied out to left to end the inning with the Angels up 3-2.
Boyd deserved better
Doug Corbett came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Rice grounded out to third to start. Baylor grounded out to first and Gedman lined out to short to end the inning.
Things fell apart in the top of the ninth with Steve Crawford now on the mound. Downing poked a double down the first base line but DeCinces lined out to right. Jones was intentionally walked but Angels manager Gene Mauch pinch hit Bob Boone for Narron. Boone lined a single to center but Lyons booted the ball for an error to score Downing and Jones. Schofield Jr took strike three but Hendrick walked to chase Crawford. Tim Lollar came in to face Wilfong and Rob beat out a roller to third to load the bases. Joyner hit a roller to Hoffman who failed to get Wilfong at second to score Boone with another run. Jackson struck out swinging to end the inning with the Angels up 6-2.
Barrett grounded out to short to start the bottom of the ninth before Lyons lined out to third. Tony Armas pinch hit for Hoffman and chopped a base hit up the middle. Ed Romero pinch ran for Armas but Evans forced Ed at second to end the game. The Angels had won 6-2.
Jackass of the Night is Steve Crawford. He was charged with 3 runs in 2/3 of an inning to put the game out of reach.
The Good:
Dwight Evans was 2 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored.
Wade Boggs was 2 for 3 with a walk.
Tony Armas got a base hit as a pinch hitter.
Joe Sambito got the final two outs of the eighth inning.
The Bad:
Jim Rice was 0 for 4.
Rich Gedman was 0 for 4.
The Ugly:
Bill Buckner was 0 for 3 but drove in a run.
Don Baylor was 0 for 3 but walked.
Marty Barrett was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Steve Lyons was 0 for 3 with an error but walked.
Glenn Hoffman was 1 for 3 but committed a crucial error.
Oil Can Boyd took the loss but allowed 3 runs (just 1 earned) in 7 1/3 strong innings. He allowed 6 hits while striking out four.
Tim Lollar allowed an inherited runner to score but none of his own in 1/3 of an inning.
Honorable Mention:
Ed Romero pinch ran for Armas in the ninth inning.
Final Thoughts:
Things fell apart in this one after the Sox battled to tie the game in the seventh. The Boggs leadoff double that got wasted was a big turning point as was Hoffman's error leading to Jones' home run. Lyons' error in the eighth opened the floodgates. Buckner failing with two men on in the seventh hurt as well. Its a shame the Sox lost this one because both the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians won their games. The Sox had a surprising April to keep them near first place and need to make a run to take over in May. Still, the Sox hadn't made errors in over a week so maybe they got it out of their system tonight before their road trip. Boyd pitched well but the bullpen and defense let him down big time. The less said of this disaster, the better. The loss dropped the Sox to 15-10, 1.5 behind the Indians for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to bounce back tomorrow night as they hit the road against the Seattle Mariners. Al Nipper (2-3) gets the start for the Sox against Milt Wilcox of Seattle. The game begins at 10:00 PM Eastern time at the Kingdome.
