Ryan got the ball in the top of the first and Boggs drew a leadoff walk. Danny Heep forced Boggs at second and Ellis Burks took a fastball to the head and collapsed. Ellis had to be carried out on a stretcher and rushed to the local ICU as Randy Kutcher pinch ran for him. Both runners moved over on the grounder to second by Mike Greenwell before Boggs scored on the wild pitch by Ryan. Jim Rice hit a 380 foot out to the left field wall to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Clemens got the ball in the top of the first inning and Cecil Espy led off by taking a curveball down the middle for strike three. Scott Fletcher flied out to right and Clemens sent a message to the Rangers by brushing back Rafael Palmeiro before he walked. Ruben Sierra flied out to right to end the inning.
Nick Esasky led off the top of the second by striking out swinging before Rich Gedman flied flied out to center. Jody Reed reached when Scott Fletcher's throw pulled Palmeiro off the bag but Ed Romero flied out to the left field wall to end the inning. The red hot Julio Franco led off the bottom of the second with a grounder to third to start. Geno Petralli got a base hit to left and moved to second on the Rick Leach grounder. Steve Buechele was plunked unintentionally and Gedman trotted to the mound to tell Roger to calm the heck down. Jeff Stone grounded out to second to end the inning.
Boggs led off the top of the third by taking strike three to start. Heep whiffed but Kutcher drew a walk. Greenwell grounded out to second to end the inning. Espy lined out to third to start the bottom of the third before Fletcher grounded out to short. Palmeiro grounded out to second to end the inning.
Rice led off the top of the fourth by getting plunked before moving to second on a passed ball. Esasky whiffed again before Gedman went down hacking. Reed took strike three to end the inning after the Rangers telecast said Reed struck out only 21 times in 1988. Sierra flied out to center to start the bottom of the fourth before Franco grounded out to short. Petralli dumped a base hit in front of Greenwell in left and Leach walked, but Buechele grounded into a force to end the inning.
The Sox blew a rally in the top of the fifth as Romero and Boggs grounded out to second to start. The Sox got their first hit when Heep dumped a single to right. Kutcher drew another walk but Greenwell popped up to left to end the inning.
Stone grounded out to second to start the bottom of the fifth before Espy also grounded out to second. Clemens blew away Fletcher to end the inning.
Ryan turned up the heat in the top of the sixth as Rice whiffed to start. Esasky earned the hat trick with his third strikeout and Gedman also went down hacking to end the inning. Clemens matched Ryan by catching Palmeiro looking to start the bottom of the sixth. Sierra grounded out to first and Heep reached into the stands to corral a Franco fly out to end the inning.
The Sox blew a rally in the top of the seventh as Reed doubled just on the left field foul line to start. Romero failed to drop down a bunt but instead lashed a base hit to right. Sierra threw home but the throw was cut-off and Romero was caught in a rundown. Foolishly Reed tried for home and he got caught in a rundown. Reed motioned Romero to go to third but Ed didn't move from second and Reed was tagged out. Boggs was intentionally walked but Heep banged into a double play to end the inning. What the hell was Reed thinking?
Dwight Evans took over for Heep in the bottom of the seventh as Petralli took strike three to start. Leach whiffed but Buechele beat out a little roller to Romero for an infield single. Stone lined out to center to end the inning.
Ryan cruised in the top of the eighth as Kutcher swung at ball four to start. Greenwell flied out to right but Rice whiffed to end the inning. Ryan had thrown 136 pitches and allowed just the one run in 8 innings while striking out 11.
The Rangers took command in the bottom of the eighth as Espy dumped a base hit to left to start. Fletcher tried to bunt him over but popped up to first, but Palmeiro smashed a two run home run off the right field foul pole to give the Rangers the lead. Sierra flied out to center but Franco singled up the middle. Petralli took strike three to end the inning with the Rangers leading 2-1. Clemens went the distance but the two run home run was the difference in the game.
Rangers closer Jeff Russell came on for the top of the ninth with Pete Incaviglia now in left field. Esasky earned the dubious golden sombrero with his fourth strikeout of the game to start. Gedman grounded out to second and Sam Horn pinch hit for Reed. Horn took strike three to end the game. The Rangers shocked the Sox to win the game 2-1.
Jackass of the Night is Nick Esasky. In a one run game he was 0 for 4 with a golden sombrero of 4 strikeouts.
The Good:
Ellis Burks had a hit by pitch before leaving.
Randy Kutcher walked twice in three plate appearances.
Ed Romero was 1 for 3.
One of the few times the losing pitcher ends up on the good list but Roger Clemens was outstanding. He threw a complete game 6 hitter with the one mistake being a two run homer by Palmeiro. He walked 2 and struck out 6.
The Bad:
Mike Greenwell was 0 for 4.
Rich Gedman was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Sam Horn struck out to end the game.
The Ugly:
Jim Rice was 0 for 3 but was plunked.
Wade Boggs was 0 for 2 but walked twice.
Jody Reed was 1 for 3 but got caught in a crucial rundown.
Danny Heep was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Honorable Mention:
Dwight Evans played right field in the final two innings.
Final Thoughts:
Well this game was a kick to the gonads. The Sox weren't going to get much off of Ryan and Clemens kept pace for 7 innings. One bad pitch to Palmeiro ended up being the difference in the game because the Sox ran themselves into outs and couldn't get a clutch hit when it counted. The Sox would have been shut out if it wasn't for a bad pitch by Ryan. The Rangers started out hot in the month of April and basically found ways to win all month, today was no different. The Sox have found ways to lose all month, today was also no different. The Sox better get things in gear because you're not going to win the AL East playing mediocre baseball. The loss dropped the Sox to 10-12 for the month of April, 1 game behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. Clemens and Ryan are due to meet again next week at Fenway but tomorrow the Sox head to Minnesota to play a set with the Twins. Oil Can Boyd (1-1) goes for the Sox up against Allan Anderson of the Twins at 8:05 PM Eastern time at the Metrodome.
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