Friday, September 23, 2011

Bosox take 2 of 3 from A's in Oakland

8/18/1981 - Oakland Coliseum
Mike Torrez vs Steve McCatty
Red Sox 5, A's 2
Tied 2-2 after 5 the Bosox were able to nibble away at McCatty to take a 3 run lead.  41 year old Yaz singled home Rem-Dog with 2 out to break the 2-2 tie up in the 6th.  Four straight singles in the 7th and a walk to Yaz with the bases loaded provided 2 more.  Oakland out hits Boston 10 to 9, but never solve Boston's relievers (Bob Stanley & Tom Burgmeier).

8/19/1981
Steve Crawford vs Mike Norris
Red Sox 6, A's 3 (14 inn)
Boston used 7 pitchers today and needed each and every one of them to defeat the A's.  A Mike Norris wild pitch in the top of the 7th scored Dave Stapleton with 2 outs and gave the Bosox a 3-1 lead.  Time was running out on the A's, who struck quick with 2 homers in the bottom of the 8th.  Dave McKay led off the inning with a line drive that barely cleared the left center fence.  Cliff Johnson's 2 out blst tied it up at 3-3, which is how it remained until the top of the 14th.  A's reliever Jeff Jones squandered 4 2/3 innings of scoreless relief turned in by Tom Underwood, by giving up 3 back breaking runs.  Jerry Remy's RBI double busted up the stalemate.  Carney Lansford's 2 run single provide the necessary insurance.  Chuck Rainey and Bobby Ojeda combined to get the final 3 outs.

8/20/1981
Dennis Eckersley vs Matt Keough
A's 4, Red Sox 0
Oakland needed a big game from Matt Keough today in order to stop the bleeding.  Keough took on the role of stopper and cruised to a 5 hit complete game shutout.  Cruised might be an exageration, because up until the bottom of the 6th we were looking at a scoreless tie.  With 1 out and the bases loaded Eckersley gave up an RBI single to Jeff Newman.  Pinch hitter Shooty Babitt singled home Tony Armas to make it 2-0.  Bases loaded walks by Mark Clear allowed 2 more runs to score in the 8th.  Jeff Newman went 3 for 4 and knocked in a run and scored a run.  His season average increased to .360.  Oakland at least salvaged some dignity in a must win game.

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