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THE SOX STUMBLE AND
FALL AT THE END ...
Luis Tiant shuts out the Rangers
August 25, 1972
...
Luis Tiant defeated the Texas Rangers, 4 to 0, for his fourth
complete game in a row. In his last three games he had given up a
total of nine hits. It was Jimmy Fund Night and the sellout crowd
loved every minute of his work. Tiant, the man the Red Sox picked up
for a few cigars, some Mexican food, and a small salary last year,
has an 8-4 record and is probably the best pitcher on the Red Sox
staff. Luis Aparicio, who predicted the Red Sox would win the
pennant, hit his first home run of the year into the net in the seventh inning,
with a man on. It came in a good time, since Tiant was in quite a battle with
Don Stanhouse, leading only 1 to 0. Nobody got to third-base on Tiant, but he
had a get Dalton Jones once with men on first and second and two outs.
The Red Sox scored their first run in the fourth inning when Carl Yastrzemski
doubled high off the wall in left, went to third on Reggie Smith's fly ball, and
scored on Rico Petrocelli's hard line drive into left-center.
In the top half of the inning, Tiant, who had nine strikeouts, struck out Jim
Mason to open. But after Ted Ford hit a ball back to the mound, Rich Billings
singled to right for the first hit off Luis. Frank Howard followed that with a
single to left. Jones had one look at a Tiant pitch and then popped the ball out
behind second base to John Kennedy.
The Sox missed a chance in the sixth, when Yaz singled and went to third on
Reggie's single. Rico walked to load the bases with nobody out, but Fisk struck
out on a high fastball. Then Ben Oglivie popped to second base and Kennedy
grounded to short.
But in the seventh, Tommy Harper bunted a ball down the third-base line for a
hit and then Tiant came up and popped a home run into the left-field net. Steve
Lawson came into pitch and walked Yaz, who was followed by Reggie's double to
center, that scored him with the fourth Red Sox run. |
