[SirFozzie]

Game 2: (Red Sox Win 7-1, improve to 2-0 on year)

Rough Start for Mussina in the first, as Speaker hit a double to deep center field, and Yaz smacked his second homer of the year, this time down the Right Field line (366 Feet). When Ted Williams smacked another hard liner for a single, it looked like it was going to be a quick night for Mussina, but he took a deep breath, and got Ortiz to ground into a 6-4-3 double play.

Smokey Joe Wood looked to be ready to give back the support to the Orioles, as he issued a leadoff walk to Sisler, and then Jacobson hit a grounder up the middle to give them two on with no one out, but Williams struck out swinging, and Robinson hit a grounder back to Wood, who started a 1-6-3 Double Play.

Sox wasted a leadoff double by Lynn in the second inning, as they couldn't move him past 2nd base, and then in the third with one out, Mussina gave up ANOTHER double (the third double in three innings) to Ted Williams, and then hung a slider to Ortiz, who promptly deposited it into the left field bleachers to double the Sox lead to 4-0.

The Red Sox had five extra base hits through the first three innings.

Yaz continued his hot start in the fifth with a 380 foot shot to right field (his third home run, just 14 innings into the new season) to make it 5-0. Two outs later, Fred Lynn singled in Nomar Garciaparra to make it 6-0, and ended Mussina's night early. Tippy Martinez closed the door without any further damage, but Mussina's final stats for the game were not easy reading for Orioles fans (4 and two-thirds innings, 11 hits allowed, 6 runs (all earned), 2 walks, 1 K).

It took Baltimore nearly 14 innings to score their first run of the year, as Wood got the first two batters in the fifth, but then gave consecutive four pitch walks to Brooks Robinson and then Brian Roberts, and Sisler finally ended the Orioles hoodoo with a single up the middle to make it 6-1 after five full innings.

It was a cold night in Baltimore and the ball was still jumping off the bat, as despite a 10MPH wind blowing in from center, Garciaparra hit a moonshot 434 foot homer to right center in the seventh to make it 7-1.

Wood ended a night where he could be described as effectively wild (7 scoreless innings, 4 hits, 1 run allowed, 5 Walks, 3 K, 94 Pitches) Dick "The Monster" Radatz came on in the 8th, and while the Orioles got the first two men on with a single and a walk, they couldn't move them up as Radatz got Williams to pop out to Pedroia, Robinson struck out swinging on a 3-2 pitch that likely would have been called ball four, and then Eddie Murray struck out on a 3-2 fastball as well.

Radatz started the ninth by letting Ripken flare a single to short left field, and after Jon Lester came on and struck out Hoiles with a nasty changeup, Brooks Robinson singled to center to put two men on and give the Orioles a little hope, but Roberts was slow out of the box on a lined groundball to first, and the Sox turned the rare 3-6-1 double play to end the game.


Red Sox had seven runs on 13 hits, no errors, and left three on base, while the Orioles had one run on seven hits, and left six on base.

Winning Pitcher: Smoky Joe Wood (1-0, 1.29 ERA)
Losing Pitcher: Mike Mussina (0-1, 11.57 ERA)

Homeruns: Yastrzemski 2 (3), Garciaparra (1), Ortiz (1)

Time of Game: 3 hours, 22 minutes