Outcome: W
Score: 8-4
Streak: W1
Record: 17-47
Rank: 7th
GB: 23
The Orioles came home to take on the Red Sox for the first time this season. The Sox were preseason favorites to win the AL East but were not living up to expectations so far. The team came into Baltimore in fifth place with a 30-30 record, eight games behind the first place Yankees.
I've mentioned before that my favorite team is actually the Red Sox so I had decided to celebrate my new job with getting tickets for all four games of the series between the Red Sox and Orioles this weekend. Despite this being Thursday it was NOT "Three Buck Night" - the Orioles had decided the Red Sox were enough of a draw that they didn't need cheap tickets. I splurged on the most expensive seats at the ballpark - $9.50 a piece for seats in the lower deck.
I had an up close view this night of something I wasn't too happy about but it started out with something I had never seen before. The game was scoreless through three innings. In the top of the fourth the Red Sox got back to back singles from Marty Barrett and Wade Boggs to lead off the inning. But Dwight Evans grounded into a double play, forcing Boggs at second but moving Barrett to third. What happened next was pretty wild. Jeff Ballard was pitching for the Birds this night and he's left handed so his back was to Barrett as he pitched to Mike Greenwell. Barrett took a huge lead on the second pitch of the at bat, basically going what seemed to me about half way down the line as Ballard delivered the pitch. He retreated to the base and waited. Ballard basically was ignoring him. Now keep in mind the the Orioles dugout in Memorial Stadium was on the third base side so this has happened in front of their dugout. If anyone yelled to Ballard from the bench he didn't pay any attention because two pitches later Barrett stole home, reaching home almost before Ballard threw the pitch. 1-0 Red Sox. Greenwell then doubled and was knocked in on a single by Jim Rice, putting the Sox up 2-0.
The lead was short-lived. Eddie Murray and Jim Traber led off with back to back singles. Fred Lynn followed with another single but Murray was thrown out attempting to score. Red Sox starter Jeff Sellers then walked Larry Sheets to load the bases. Mickey Tettleton then doubled, scoring Traber and Lynn to tie the game up and moving Sheets to third. With Rene Gonzales at the plate, Red Sox manager John McNamara replaced Sellers with John Trautwein. Gonzales attempted a suicide squeeze bunt but missed the pitch. Red Sox catcher Rick Cerone tagged Sheets out in what got ruled an attempted steal of home. Gonzales then grounded out to end the inning. Due to bad base running, the Birds got only two runs out of four hits and a walk.
The Orioles went ahead for good in the bottom of the fifth. The first two batters reached on a single by Joe Orsulak and a hit-by-pitch to Bill Ripken. Cal Ripken doubled to score both of them and then scored himself on a single by Traber two batters later.
The Red Sox cut the Orioles lead to one run with single runs in the seventh and eighth innings but the Birds had yet another one of those weird innings in the bottom of the eighth to put the game out of reach. Bob Stanley had come into pitch for the Sox and he struck out Gonzales to start the inning. Orsulak singled but Stanley struck out Bill Ripken for the second out. Stanley then walked Cal Ripken and Murray to load the bases. Orsulak and Cal came into score when Traber singled. Lynn was intentionally walked to reload the bases and then Stanley hit Ken Gerhart with a pitch to bring in yet another run. Stanley finally got Tettleton to strikeout to end the inning. The Orioles scored three runs on two hits, three walks and a hit-by-pitch to bring the final score to 8-4.
Here's the game story from the next day's Evening Sun along with a feature on Barrett's steal of home:
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