June 7, 1985: Boston Red Sox (30-20) @ Baltimore Orioles (25-25)
A run of games against divisional rivals now to kick off this long swing that could define our season, starting with three against The Birds in Baltimore. They might have lost a couple steps since winning it all a couple years back but, with Ripken, Murray and ex-Red Sox star Fred Lynn leading the way, still pack plenty of punch all the same and are usually even tougher to beat at home. They’ve got their Number One guy on tonight in Mike Boddicker, who has kept me to a weak 1-for-10 in our meetings so far. Al Nipper going for us as we try to keep our five-game win streak going. Clearly the home fans understand the importance of this series, as they have turned out in droves for this Friday night game.
Bill Buckner YTD stats entering the game
Game Recap
We get our, and the game’s, opening run in unexpected fashion when Glenn Hoffman goes solo yard in the 3rd, his first homer since 1983. Nips sooks sharp early, but they get to him with a deuce in the 4th as Larry Sheets puts one in the seats. Such poetry!
Sheets strikes again in the 6th, adding a buffer run with a single as our bats have no answer for a dominant Boddicker, who has kept us to just 4 hits to this point.
And that’s how we finish as Boddicker goes 8 and hands the ball to Don Aase, who mows us down in order to close it out. Not the sort of start we were looking for.
Best Performances, News & Highlights of the Day
(click link for BBRef boxscore)
- MLB Debuts: Bill Swift
- Daily Notes: NIL