Clemens got the ball in the top of the first and Tom O'Malley took strike three on the outside corner to start. Juan Beniquez whiffed on a 95 mph fastball and Jim Dwyer flied out to right to end the inning. The Sox blitzed Ken Dixon in the bottom of the first as Marty Barrett led off by striking out swinging. Ed Romero hit one under the glove of Dixon and beat out the throw to first for a "single." Bill Buckner slapped a base hit to right to move Romero to third but Jim Rice popped up to Juan Bonilla in foul territory. Don Baylor swung and missed for strike three....but the ball got away from catcher Rick Dempsey. Romero scored and Baylor was safe at first. Evans made Dixon play by clubbing his 8th home run of the season into the screen in left to increase the lead. Tony Armas struck out swinging to end the inning with Boston ahead 4-0.
The Orioles beat the ball in the dirt in the top of the second as Eddie Murray grounded out to second to begin. Cal Ripken Jr grounded out to short and Larry Sheets hit a comebacker to Clemens who threw to first to end the inning. NBC posted a graphic of everyone on the Disabled List for the Sox with Bruce Hurst pulling a groin on June 1st, Al Nipper was spiked by Larry Parrish on May 19th, Sammy Stewart pulled a muscle in his forearm the same game Hurst got hurt, Wes Gardner got hurt in Spring Training and Glenn Hoffman has a cardiac issue. Rich Gedman led off by striking out swinging before Rey Quinones flied out to center. Barrett popped up to right field to end the inning.
Mike Young flied out to a running Armas to start the top of the third before Bonilla singled in the hole at second. Dempsey struck out swinging and O'Malley grounded out to third to end the inning. Barrett flied out to right to start the bottom of the third before Buckner also flied out to right. Rice completed the trifecta with a fly out to right to end the inning.
The O's struck back in the top of the fourth as Beniquez walked to start. Dwyer dumped a base hit to right to move Juan to third but Murray lined out to Quinones. Ripken hit a seeing eye single through the hole at short to score Beniquez. Sheets slapped a base hit to right to load the bases but Young took strike three. Bonilla grounded into a force to end the inning with the O's down 4-1.
The Sox answered in the top of the fifth as Baylor walked to start. Evans struck out swinging but Armas walked on a pitch that got away which allowed Don to reach third. Gedman hit a sac fly to left to score Baylor to increase the lead, but Quinones popped up to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-1.
Dempsey popped up to second to start the top of the fifth before O'Malley grounded out to second. Beniquez also popped up to second to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the fifth as Barrett popped up to Murray to start. Romero popped up to short and Buckner flied out to left to end the inning.
Dwyer led off the top of the sixth with a fly out to center but Quinones threw high of first on a grounder hit by Murray for an error. A wild pitch moved Murray to second but Ripken popped up to Buckner in foul territory. Sheets struck out swinging to end the inning. Rice led off the bottom of the sixth with a pop up to center and Baylor hit one up the elevator shaft. Dixon threw over the head of Evans and Dwight took a dim view of that, pointing at him and having to be restrained by the umpires. When cooler heads prevailed, Evans hit a seeing eye single into left field. Armas struck out swinging to end the inning.
The O's got another run in the top of the seventh as Young grounded out to first to start. Bonilla beat out an infield single to short but Dempsey struck out swinging. O'Malley walked and Beniquez dumped a base hit to center to score Bonilla. Dwyer popped up to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-2.
Gedman walked to start the bottom of the seventh and was sacrificed to second on a bunt by Quinones. Barrett popped up to left. Romero grounded out to short to end the inning.
Clemens returned for one last inning in the top of the eighth with Steve Lyons now playing centerfield. Murray led off with a walk but Ripken flied out to right. Murray moved to second on the grounder to Buckner by Sheets and Buckner robbed a hit from Young with a great stab & throw to Clemens to end the inning. Roger was outstanding, going 8 strong innings while allowing 2 runs while striking out six batters.
The Sox wrapped up the scoring in the bottom of the eighth as Buckner hit a pop up that Young lost in the sun. It hit off the glove of Young for a "double" and Buckner moved to third on the fly out to the centerfield triangle by Rice. Baylor hit a foul ball about 500 feet just foul and O's manager Earl Weaver decided to pull the plug on Dixon before the next pitch was hit that far but fair. Nate Snell came in and immediately plunked Baylor before Evans singled to center to score Buckner, moving Baylor to third. That was it for Snell and Weaver brought in Brad Havens to pitch to Lyons. Steve scored Baylor with a sac fly to center and Evans promptly stole second. Gedman grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 7-2.
Bob Stanley came in to close out the top of the ninth and Bonilla grounded out to short to start. Al Pardo pinch hit for Dempsey and grounded out to short as well. Tom O'Malley grounded out to first to end the game. The Sox had won it 7-2.
Hero of the Night is Roger Clemens. He tossed 8 innings of 2 run ball allowing 6 hits while walking three. He also struck out six batters.
The Good:
Bill Buckner was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored.
Don Baylor walked, was hit with a pitch and scored 3 runs.
Dwight Evans was 3 for 4 with a three run blast and 4 total rbis.
Steve Lyons drove in a run in his only at-bat.
Bob Stanley pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Marty Barrett was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Jim Rice was 0 for 4.
Rey Quinones was 0 for 2.
The Ugly:
Ed Romero was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Tony Armas was 0 for 2 with 2 strikeouts but drew a walk.
Rich Gedman was 0 for 2 but walked and drove in a run.
Final Thoughts:
Clemens continues to be the odds-on favorite for the American League Cy Young and another great performance keeps them well ahead in first place in the AL East. This was also a big win with Wade Boggs still out on bereavement and with the rotation shaky due to injuries & ineffectiveness. Still, good news is on the horizon with Bruce Hurst and Al Nipper due to return soon and Clemens is out of this world. It would be nice for Rice's power to return and Evans & Baylor to get their averages up but not everything will be perfect. The Sox need Hurst back to keep up this momentum but they've had a great start to this season as we're only a few weeks before the All-Star game. The win improved the Sox to 44-22, 6 games ahead of the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Orioles tomorrow afternoon when Jeff Sellers (0-2) goes up against Storm Davis of Baltimore. The game begins at 1:00 PM at Fenway Park.
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