TRIBE SWEEPS BOSOX IN WILD TWINBILL
Cleveland Rallies Multiple Times in Both Games
CLEVELAND, Sept. 4 (AP) - The Cleveland Indians rallied in the ninth inning and
again in extra innings in both halves of a doubleheader sweep over the Boston
Red Sox at Municipal Stadium. The Indians rallied from a four-run ninth
inning deficit and ultimately prevailed in the opener, 8-7 in 11 innings.
Cleveland used a three-run ninth inning rally to tie the nightcap and then
needed another three-run outburst in the tenth inning to win 11-10.
In the first game, the Red Sox pushed a pair of run across the plate in the top
of the second. Carlton Fisk led off by drawing a base on balls from
Indians starter Dennis Eckersley. Fisk then stole second. Cecil
Cooper flied to center and Fisk tagged and advanced to third. The throw to
third by center fielder John Lowenstein was wild and Fisk scored on the error to
put Boston on top 1-0. The very next batter, Jim Rice, parked a long home
run to left to make it 2-0.
Cleveland got a run back in the bottom half of the second when George Hendrick
singled, stole second, and came home on Buddy Bell's base hit.
The score remained 2-1 until the bottom of the seventh when the Indians drew
even. Frank Druffy drew a two-out walk from Red Sox starter Rick Wise,
stole second base and then raced home on Duane Kuiper's base hit to center
field.
The 2-2 score held up until the top of the ninth when the Red Sox appeared to
seize firm control of the game. Reliever Don Hood struck out Cecil Cooper
to open the inning but then yielded Jim Rice's second triple of the game and was
replaced on the mound by right-hander Jim Kern who was promptly called for a
balk, scoring Rice to give Boston a 3-2 advantage. Kern walked Dwight
Evans and then surrendered a base hit to Bob Heise to put runners on first and
second. A single off the bat of Butch Hobson plated Evans for a 4-2 Red
Sox lead and moved Heise to second. A wild pitch put runners on second and
third. Denny Doyle struck out but Fred Lynn cleared the bases by tripling
off the right field wall, scoring both runners. After an intentional walk
to Carl Yastrzemski, Fisk ended the inning with a ground ball but Boston had
erupted for four runs and a 6-2 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth.
Jim Willoughby came on for the Red Sox and immediately ran into trouble,
surrendering a home run to George Hendrick leading off the inning. Bell
singled and Ray Fosse roped a double, putting runners on second and third with
the tying run at the plate. Tommy Smith's ground out to short scored Bell
to make it 6-4, with Fosse holding at second. Pinch hitter Joe Lis dropped
a single into center, moving Bell to third. Alfredo Griffin replaced Lis
on first as a pinch runner. Duane Kuiper then laced a single to
left-center, plating Fosse and sending Griffin around to third. Cleveland
was now only down a run. Orlando Gonzalez grounded to short and it was too
softly hit for a double play. Griffin scored with the tying run and Kuiper
took second with two outs. Lowenstein grounded out to finally end the
inning but the Indians had rallied for four runs to tie the game.
In the top of the tenth, with one out, Rice hit his third triple of the
game. The three-bagger, to left-center field, represented the first time
this season that anyone has hit three triples in a single game. Doug
Griffin came on to run for Rice and he trotted home on Evans' sacrifice fly to
right.
In the bottom half of the inning, Bill Lee came on to pitch for the Red Sox and
he immediately yielded a lead-off single to pinch hitter Rico Carty.
Charlie Spikes came on to run for Carty. Hendrick forced Spikes at second
for the first out but Bell rolled a single through the middle with Hendrick
stopping at second and Lee then uncorked a wild pitch to move the runners to
second and third. Lee walked Fosse intentionally to fill the bases and
then got a huge out by jamming pinch hitter Alan Ashby to force an infield pop
up for the second out. On a 2-1 pitch to Griffin, however, Fisk allowed a
Lee pitch to go to the screen. The passed ball permitted Hendrick to score
the tying run before Griffin flied to center to end the frame.
After Tom Buskey held the Red Sox off the scoreboard in the top of the 11th,
Gonzalez drew a one-out walk in the bottom half of the inning. Gonzalez
stole second and Lowenstein followed with a single to right. Gonzalez
wouldn't challenge the arm of Evans, so the Indians had runners on the corners
with one out. Dick Pole came on to replace Lee on the mound and retired
Spikes on a soft line drive to short. But Hendrick followed by lacing a
2-2 fastball into left field for a base hit, scoring Gonzalez with the winning
run.
If anything, the second game was even crazier. Cleveland starter Pat
Dobson didn't survive the first inning. After a hit batsman, single and
walk loaded the bases with no one out, Yastrzemski ripped a grand slam into
seats down the right field line for a 4-0 Boston advantage. One out later,
Rick Miller singled, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on
Bob Montgomery's base hit. Rick Waits replaced Dobson and ultimately
escaped further damage but the Red Sox took a 5-0 lead.
The Indians got back in the game in the second. Hendrick and Frank
Robinson hit back-to-back home runs off Bill Lee--who was starting a game after
relieving in the opener--to cut the Boston advantage to three runs. Bell
reached on a two-base error committed by Denny Doyle, took third on a fly ball
and scored on Ron Pruitt's base hit.
The Red Sox got two of the runs back in the third when Waits' control deserted
him. With one out, Hobson, Rick Burleson and Doyle all walked, loading the
bases. Lynn then became the fourth consecutive batter to draw a base on
balls, forcing in a run to make the score 6-3. Waits was replaced by Harry
Parker who yielded a sacrifice fly to Yastrzemski to make it 7-3 before escaping
further damage. Boston added an eighth run when Evans singled home Cooper
in the top of the sixth.
Trailing by five, Cleveland began a comeback in the seventh. Spikes led
off with a double against reliever Reggie Cleveland and, one out later, rode
home on Fosse's two-bagger. Larvell Blanks' single put runners on the
corners and a single off the bat of Hendricks scored Fosse. After a walk
filled the bases Willoughby came on and retired Lis on a fly to end the inning
with the Red Sox still on top, 8-5.
After a scoreless eighth, Stan Thomas set Boston down in order in the ninth
inning. In the bottom of the ninth, Willoughby retired Fosse and Blanks
easily, to put the Red Sox one out away from salvaging a split of the
doubleheader. But Hendrick kept Cleveland alive with his fourth hit of the
game--a single. Boog Powell drew a walk, bringing the potential tying run
to the plate in the form of Bell, who laced a single to center, filling the
bases. Lis picked on the first pitch he saw and lined a single to left,
scoring Hendrick to cut the lead to 8-6, but leaving the bases loaded.
Griffin replaced Lis as the runner on first and Pole came on in relief of
Willoughby. Pruitt then ripped a single to left, scoring the tying
runs. Carty grounded out to end the inning but, for the second time this
day, the Indians had come up with a huge multi-run rally in the bottom of the
ninth to tie a game.
It all appeared for naught in the top of the tenth. Thomas set down
Yastrzemski and Cooper easily to open the frame but Rick Miller grounded a
single through the box and Evans followed with a towering home run just inside
the left field foul pole for a 10-8 Boston lead.
In the bottom of the tenth Duffy flied out but Fosse singled to left and Blanks
followed with a base hit of his own, leaving runners on first and second.
Hendrick then crushed a double off the left-center field fence, scoring both
Fosse and Blanks to retie the game, this time at 10 runs apiece. The throw
to the plate by Rick Burleson got away from catcher Ernie Whitt and Hendrick
advanced to third on the error. The double was the fifth hit of the game
for Hendrick. Tom House came on to pitch for the Red Sox and Ashby was
summoned to pinch hit for Powell. With the infield in, Ashby roped a
single to right-center, scoring Hendrick to complete the unlikely sweep for the
Indians.
Hendrick finished the day 8-for-11 with a double, two home runs, six runs
scored, six driven in and a stolen base for good measure.
The 19 hits accumulated by the Indians in the nightcap is the club's second
highest total of the season to date, one behind the 20 they banged out on May 18
in a victory over the New York Yankees.
Over the two games of the doubleheader, the two clubs combined for a total of 36
runs on 60 hits. They also stranded a combined 44 baserunners due in part
to drawing a combined 23 walks.
The sweep extended Cleveland's winning streak to seven, tying their high water
mark for the season.
9/4/1976, Bos76-Cle76, game 1, Cleveland Municipal Stadium 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 R H E LOB DP 1976 Red Sox 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 7 12 0 9 0 1976 Indians 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 1 1 8 15 1 10 2 Red Sox AB R H BI AVG Indians AB R H BI AVG Hobson 3b 6 1 2 1 .197 Kuiper 2b 6 0 2 2 .286 Doyle 2b 6 0 1 0 .246 Gonzalez 1b 4 1 0 1 .184 Lynn cf 5 0 3 2 .320 Lowenstein cf 5 0 1 0 .194 Yastrzemski lf 5 0 1 0 .249 Carty dh 5 0 2 0 .262 Fisk c 3 1 0 0 .248 Spikes pr 1 0 0 0 .240 Cooper 1b 4 0 0 0 .263 Hendrick lf 6 3 3 2 .270 Rice dh 5 2 4 1 .319 Bell,B 3b 5 1 4 1 .306 Griffin,D pr 0 1 0 0 .200 Fosse c 4 1 1 0 .291 Evans,Dw rf 3 1 0 1 .232 Smith,T rf 4 0 0 1 .217 Heise ss 5 1 1 0 .182 Ashby ph 1 0 0 0 .268 42 7 12 5 Duffy ss 2 1 1 0 .212 Lis ph 1 0 1 0 .400 Griffin,A pr 1 1 0 0 .000 45 8 15 7 Red Sox INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Wise 8.0 6 2 2 3 1 117 77 2.97 Willoughby 1.0 5 4 4 0 0 21 15 2.63 Lee,B BS 3, L 2-9 1.1 3 2 1 2 0 31 16 5.87 Pole 0.1 1 0 0 0 0 11 7 4.57 10.2 15 8 7 5 1 180 115 Indians INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Eckersley 8.0 6 2 2 4 5 126 77 3.25 Hood 0.1 1 1 1 0 1 8 5 5.67 Kern 1.2 4 4 4 2 1 36 22 2.06 Buskey W 6-2 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 12 7 3.89 11.0 12 7 7 6 7 182 111 Bos: Griffin,D ran for Rice in the 10th Cle: Lis batted for Duffy in the 9th Griffin,A ran for Lis in the 9th Griffin,A moved to ss in the 10th Spikes ran for Carty in the 10th Ashby batted for Smith,T in the 10th Gonzalez moved to rf in the 11th Fosse moved to 1b in the 11th Ashby moved to c in the 11th E-Lowenstein. 2B-Fosse(10). 3B-Lynn(8), Rice 3(9). HR-Rice(25), Hendrick(29). RBI-Hobson(18), Lynn 2(58), Rice(93), Evans,Dw(63), Kuiper 2(37), Gonzalez(7), Hendrick 2(73), Bell,B(42), Smith,T(8). SB-Lynn(15), Yastrzemski(6), Fisk(10), Gonzalez(1), Lowenstein(9), Hendrick(3), Duffy(7). CS-Kuiper, Bell,B. K-Hobson, Doyle 2, Cooper, Evans,Dw 2, Heise, Gonzalez. BB-Lynn, Yastrzemski, Fisk 2, Cooper, Evans,Dw, Gonzalez 2, Lowenstein, Fosse, Duffy. SF-Evans,Dw. PB-Fisk. WP-Lee,B, Eckersley, Kern. BALK-Kern. GWRBI: Hendrick Temperature: 73, Sky: clear, Wind: out to center at 9 MPH. Attendance: N/A Game Time: 3:27 9/4/1976, Bos76-Cle76, game 2, Cleveland Municipal Stadium 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E LOB DP 1976 Red Sox 5 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 10 14 2 14 1 1976 Indians 0 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 3 11 19 2 11 2 Red Sox AB R H BI AVG Indians AB R H BI AVG Burleson ss 3 2 0 0 .301 Duffy ss 6 0 0 0 .209 Doyle 2b 5 1 3 0 .250 Fosse c 5 2 3 1 .297 Lynn cf 4 1 0 1 .317 Blanks 2b 6 1 2 0 .300 Yastrzemski dh 5 1 2 5 .251 Hendrick cf 6 3 5 4 .278 Cooper 1b 5 1 1 0 .263 Robinson,F dh 3 1 1 1 .222 Miller,R lf 6 2 2 0 .304 Powell ph 1 1 0 0 .202 Evans,Dw rf 5 1 2 3 .234 Ashby ph 1 0 1 1 .271 Montgomery c 3 0 1 1 .144 Bell,B 3b 4 2 1 0 .306 Whitt ph 2 0 1 0 .500 Lis 1b 5 0 2 1 .400 Hobson 3b 4 1 2 0 .203 Griffin,A pr 0 0 0 0 .000 Petrocelli 3b 1 0 0 0 .216 Smith,T rf 0 0 0 0 .217 43 10 14 10 Pruitt lf 5 0 3 3 .242 Spikes rf 4 1 1 0 .241 Carty ph 1 0 0 0 .261 47 11 19 11 Red Sox INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Lee,B 6.0 7 3 2 1 0 88 57 5.64 Cleveland H 1 0.2 4 2 2 1 0 18 10 4.09 Willoughby H 1 2.0 3 3 3 1 0 23 16 2.90 Pole BS 1, L 4-8 0.2 4 3 2 0 0 19 13 4.71 House 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 3 1 2.56 9.1 19 11 9 3 0 151 97 Indians INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Dobson 0.2 4 5 5 1 0 28 17 4.50 Waits 1.2 2 2 2 5 1 51 19 5.29 Parker,H 2.2 1 0 0 1 0 34 22 0.00 Hood 2.1 4 1 1 1 0 36 23 5.61 Thomas,S W 7-6 2.2 3 2 2 1 0 40 22 3.28 10.0 14 10 10 9 1 189 103 Bos: Whitt batted for Montgomery in the 8th Whitt moved to c in the 8th Petrocelli inserted at 3b in the 8th Cle: Powell batted for Robinson,F in the 7th Griffin,A ran for Lis in the 9th Carty batted for Spikes in the 9th Smith,T inserted at rf in the 10th Carty moved to 1b in the 10th Ashby batted for Powell in the 10th E-Burleson, Doyle, Blanks, Bell,B. 2B-Doyle(7), Fosse 2(12), Hendrick(17), Spikes(7). HR-Yastrzemski(21), Evans,Dw(13), Hendrick(30), Robinson,F(2). RBI-Lynn(59), Yastrzemski 5(80), Evans,Dw 3(66), Montgomery(23), Fosse(29), Hendrick 4(77), Robinson,F(5), Lis(1), Pruitt 3(9), Ashby(25). SB-Miller,R(7). K-Montgomery. BB-Burleson 2, Doyle, Lynn 2, Cooper, Evans,Dw, Montgomery, Hobson, Fosse, Bell,B, Powell. SF-Yastrzemski. HBP-Burleson. HB-Dobson. WP-Dobson. GWRBI: Ashby Temperature: 73, Sky: clear, Wind: out to center at 9 MPH. Attendance: 9,110 Game Time: 3:30