Denny Doyle's ninth inning two run shot ended a see-saw affair in the series finale with the '77 Chicago Cubs. Boston spotted Chicago a 2 run lead early on before finally roughing up Cubs' starter Steve Renko for 3 runs in the bottom of the third courtesy of a bases loaded double by Fred Lynn. Lynn would also hit a two run single and drill a solo homer to give him 6 RBI on the day leaving him a triple shy of the cycle.
This game also marked the return of Roger Moret to the starting rotation, but he didn't make a convincing argument for a long term stay. At times Moret's stuff was sharp, but when he missed location, he was punished for three dingers. Two of these homers were clubbed by light hitting second baseman Manny Trillo who has been having a great year and is among the NL leaders at second base for the upcoming all - star game.
Once Boston took a 5-2 lead with Lynn's two run single, it looked as though the game was in the bag. However, Moret couldn't hold the fort and was removed after 6 innings of work surrendering 8 hits and 5 earned runs. Trillo put the Cubs on his back hitting a solo shot in the fourth and a two run blast in the sixth. Lynn then tried once again to extinguish the Cubs with his towering blast to left center.
Sawx reliever Dick Pole tossed a clean seventh, but after a one out Cubs' single and stolen base in the eighth, Boston then called on Jim Burton. Facing handed hitting outfielder Greg Gross with two out, he left a fastball in the middle of the plate. Gross turned on it, hitting a tracer that blew up on Boston's Carl Yastrzemski allowing the tying run. Sawx closer Dick Drago was summoned, and he shut down the Cubs, setting the stage for Doyle's game winner.
After taking the first game in the series in a tight 3-1 contest, Boston battered the Cubs' pitching for 9 runs on 10 hits in a beat down in game two. After Cubs' starter Ray Burris (2-10) kept things respectable with some help from Paul Reuschel, Chicago was only down 3-1 going into the sixth. Boston then exploded for 6 runs off the Cubs' bullpen, featuring a bases loaded double by Dwight Evans off Dave Roberts, and a two out three run homer from Carlton Fisk off Dennis Lamp. It has been a blistering ten game run for Fisk as he has batted .365 with three homers. Hopefully, its a sign that the all-star catcher is coming out of a power outage that has curbed his run production.
Rick Wise was the recipient of the huge cushion in the sixth, going 7.2 innings to cruised to victory. This evened his record to (8-8). Wise had been the victim of some hard luck earlier in the season and has pitched much better than his record indicates. He has authored a respectable 3.55 ERA to date, emerging as a solid #3 man in the rotation.
Boston is 7-3 in their last ten games and have opened this ten game homestand with a sweep. The AL East co-leading Orioles will now come into town for three games. The Yankees and Orioles are tied atop the division with Boston trailing by 4 games. Following the Baltimore series, the AL Central leading Chicago White Sox will then arrive for a final four game set. The Red Sox will then jet off to Houston for a three game series before the all-star break. For more on the teams involved in this classic season, click here.
Boston is 7-3 in their last ten games and have opened this ten game homestand with a sweep. The AL East co-leading Orioles will now come into town for three games. The Yankees and Orioles are tied atop the division with Boston trailing by 4 games. Following the Baltimore series, the AL Central leading Chicago White Sox will then arrive for a final four game set. The Red Sox will then jet off to Houston for a three game series before the all-star break. For more on the teams involved in this classic season, click here.
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