Woodward took the mound in the top of the first inning and Brett Butler grounded out to short to start. Julio Franco doubled to center and moved to third on the Joe Carter grounder to short. Andre Thornton struck out to end the inning. 47 year old Phil Niekro took the mound in the bottom of the first and Marty Barrett grounded back to the mound to begin. Wade Boggs singled to center but Bill Buckner flied out to right. Jim Rice struck out to end the inning.
Mel Hall lined out to left to begin the top of the second but Tony Bernazard singled. Pat Tabler banged into a double play to end the inning. Don Baylor was plunked to open the bottom of the second but was erased on the Rich Gedman force. Gedman was erased on the Dwight Evans force before Steve Lyons whiffed to end the inning.
Brook Jacoby flied out to right to start the top of the third before Chris Bando grounded out to second. Butler singled to center but the alert Gedman gunned him down trying to steal second to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the third as Rey Quinones walked to start. Barrett lined out to right but Boggs doubled Rey to third. Buckner grounded out to short but Quinones scored to put the Sox on top. Rice doubled home Boggs to increase the lead and Baylor singled Jim to third. Gedman popped up to second to end the inning but the Sox were up 2-0.
The Indians wasted no time tying the game in the top of the fourth as Franco and Carter stroked back to back singles to put runners at the corners. Thornton scored Franco with a sac fly and Hall doubled home Carter to tie the game. Bernazard lined out to left and Tabler grounded out to short to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.
The Sox struck back in the bottom of the fourth as Evans singled to center to begin. Lyons popped up to short but Quinones crushed his first career home run to give Boston the lead back. Barrett and Boggs both struck out to end the inning but it was 4-2 Sox.
Woodward ran into trouble in the top of the fifth although both Jacoby and Bando flied out to left to begin. Butler singled to left, stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch before Franco walked. Carter flied out to center to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the fifth as Buckner grounded out to first to start. Rice struck out and Baylor flied out to center to end the inning.
The Indians got one back in the top of the sixth although Thornton popped up to third to begin. Hall singled and Bernazard doubled him home to cut the lead. Tabler grounded back to the mound and Jacoby grounded out to short to end the inning but it was 4-3 Sox.
Niekro got Gedman to pop up to third to open the bottom of the seventh but Evans drew a walk. Lyons flied out to center and Quinones grounded out to third to end the inning.
Sox manager John McNamara rolled the dice by bringing Woodward out for the top of the seventh and that almost backfired when Bando singled. Bando tried for second but was thrown out trying to stretch but Butler singled to chase Woodward. That was it for the rookie as Steve Crawford was summoned to stop the bleeding. Woodward tossed a gutty game of 6 1/3 innings of 3 run ball.
Crawford got Franco to pop up to third and Carter flied out to center to end the inning. The Sox got some insurance in the bottom of the seventh although Barrett struck out to start. Boggs lined out to left but Buckner cracked his 5th home run of the season to increase the lead. Rice popped up to second to end the inning but it was 5-3 Sox.
Crawford returned for the top of the eighth inning and Thornton grounded back to the mound to start. Hall singled to left but Bernazard popped up to third. Tabler grounded into a force to end the inning. Baylor pounded his 13th home run of the year to increase the lead to start the bottom of the eighth. Gedman grounded out to first, Evans grounded out to second and Lyons flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-3.
Crawford returned for the top of the ninth but Jacoby blooped a single to right. Bando flied out to center and for some reason McNamara refused to let Crawford finish the job. Bob Stanley was brought in and Jacoby was erased on the force by Butler. Franco doubled to center to score Butler and bring the tying run to the plate. Carter grounded out to second to end the game. The Sox had swept Cleveland and had won the game 6-4.
Hero of the Night is Rey Quinones. The rookie's first homer of the year gave the Sox the lead they would not give up.
The Good:
Wade Boggs was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Don Baylor was 2 for 3 with a solo home run.
Dwight Evans was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Rob Woodward earned his first win of the season by tossing 6 1/3 innings of 3 run ball. He allowed 10 hits and 2 walks.
The Bad:
Marty Barrett was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Rich Gedman was 0 for 4.
Steve Lyons was 0 for 4.
The Ugly:
Bill Buckner was just 1 for 4 but drove in 2 runs, one of which was a solo home run.
Jim Rice was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Steve Crawford allowed a run in 2 innings of work.
Bob Stanley earned his 9th save but allowed an inherited runner to score.
Final Thoughts:
Who are these Red Sox? For the first time in 8 years the Sox look legitimate good. The rotation has been solid (until Bruce Hurst went down anyway) and the offense picked it up the last two months. With the injury to Hoffman and Ed Romero struggling at the plate, maybe Quinones is the answer at shortstop. If he can hit above .250 that could be a huge boost. Speaking of boosts, Woodward going 6 1/3 was big considering the Sox are a little short on starters with Al Nipper and Hurst out. All in all it was a good win and the Sox need to keep on chugging. The win improved the Sox to 36-15, 4.5 games in front of the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox travel to Milwaukee for a showdown with the Brewers. Jeff Sellers goes for the Sox opposite Bill Wegman at 7:00 PM at County Stadium.
