Clemens got the ball in the top of the first inning and Julio Franco grounded out to short to start. Willie Upshaw grounded out to first and Joe Carter popped up to a running Marty Barrett to end the inning. Black got the ball in the bottom of the first and Wade Boggs flied out to left to start. Barrett flied out to right but Dwight Evans walked. Mike Greenwell grounded out to second to end the inning.
Mel Hall led off the top of the second by grounding back to Clemens to start. Carmelo Castillo hit one up the elevator shaft and Dave Clark grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the second as Ellis Burks grounded back to the mound to start. Jim Rice ripped a base hit to right and it looked like Larry Parrish hit into a double play, but a balk was called on Black to move Jim to second. Parrish struck out swinging but Jody Reed lashed a base hit to right to score Rice. Rick Cerone dumped a base hit to right and the ball went under Clark's glove to move the runners up. Boggs was hit with a pitch to load the bases but Barrett forced Boggs to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Brook Jacoby grounded out to short to start the top of the third before Burks made a great sliding catch to rob Ron Tingley of a hit. Paul Zuvella lined out to Burks to end the inning. The Sox got another run in the bottom of the third as Evans doubled down the left field line to start. Greenwell struck out swinging but Burks singled off the glove of Zuvella to move Evans to third. Rice struck out swinging but Parrish got a base hit to center to score Evans. A wild pitch moved both runners over but Reed grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Franco flied out to right to start the top of the fourth before Upshaw struck out swinging. Carter popped up to short to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fourth as Zuvella bobbled a grounder by Cerone for an error to start. Boggs got a base hit to center and both runners moved over on the sacrifice bunt by Barrett. Evans drilled a base hit to left that was booted by Hall to score both runners. A wild pitch moved Evans to second but Greenwell grounded out to short. A wild pitch moved Evans to third and Burks walked. Rice flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox up 4-0.
Hall grounded out to second to start the top of the fifth before Castillo grounded out to short. Clark walked but Jacoby struck out swinging to end the inning. Don Gordon came in to pitch the bottom of the fifth and Parrish grounded back to the mound to start. Reed doubled to left but Cerone popped up to second. Boggs grounded out to third to end the inning.
Todd Benzinger came in to play first in the top of the sixth and Tingley flied out to right to start. Zuvella popped up to second and Franco struck out swinging to end the inning. Barrett flied out to right to start the bottom of the sixth before Evans singled to right. Greenwell and Burks both flied out to center to end the inning.
Upshaw grounded out to second to open the top of the seventh before Carter was retired on a squibber in front of the plate. Hall grounded out to second to end the inning with Clemens just six outs away from a no-hitter. Rice flied out to left to start the bottom of the seventh before Benzinger flied out to right. Reed singled to right but Cerone grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
Castillo flied out to center to open the top of the eighth but Clark broke up the no-hitter with a base hit to center. Jacoby struck out swinging and Terry Francona pinch hit for Tingley. Francona struck out swinging to end the inning.
Tough luck for Roger
The Sox wrapped up the scoring in the bottom of the eighth as Tom Lampkin took over behind the plate. Boggs got a base hit to center and Barrett dropped down a bunt to move Boggs to second. Evans tripled into the centerfield triangle to score Boggs and chase Gordon. Brad Havens got Greenwell to pop up to third but Burks doubled to left to score Evans. Rice flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-0.
Big day for Evans
Clemens came back to finish the job in the top of the ninth and Rod Allen pinch hit for Zuvella. Allen flied out to center and Franco flied out to right. Upshaw grounded out to second to end the game. The Sox had won it 6-0.
Hero of The Night is Roger Clemens. He tossed a complete game 1 hit shutout allowing just one walk while striking out 5.
The Good:
Wade Boggs was 2 for 4 with a hit by pitch and 2 runs scored.
Dwight Evans was 4 for 4 with a walk, 2 rbis and 2 runs scored.
Ellis Burks was 2 for 4 with a walk and an rbi.
Larry Parrish was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Jody Reed was 3 for 4 with an rbi.
The Bad:
Mike Greenwell was 0 for 5 with a strikeout.
Todd Benzinger was 0 for 1.
The Ugly:
Marty Barrett was 0 for 3 but had two key bunts.
Jim Rice was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Rick Cerone was just 1 for 4 but scored a run,
Final Thoughts:
Clemens has a bad habit of losing no-hitters in the eighth inning. Everyone remembers Oddibe McDowell in Texas two years ago and now its Dave Clark. Still, Clemens is something else and one of the main reasons the Sox are this close to October for the second time in three seasons. The offense did its job today with Evans being the main producer with help from Barrett with a few good bunts. Rick Cerone is dealing with torn knee cartilage so keep an eye on him moving forward. All in all it was a good win and it gives the Sox some breathing room after 141 games so far. The win improved the Sox to 79-62, 3.5 games in front of the Tigers for first place in the AL East with 21 games remaining. The Sox look to gain even more ground tomorrow against the Indians when Wes Gardner gets the start up against Tom Candiotti of Oakland. The game begins at 1:05 PM at Fenway Park.
