Fenway Flashback: 1975 - Brewers Take Series as Slaton Outduels Cleveland
July 30, 1975
July 30, 1975: Brewers Take Series as Slaton Outduels Cleveland
After dropping the second game of the series at Fenway, the Red Sox still held a healthy 7.5 game lead over second-place Baltimore in the American League East. The Brewers, meanwhile, had managed to keep their slim postseason hopes alive, but barely. At 11 games back, they were playing for survival. With a 2:00 PM first pitch, both teams had little time to recover for the rubber match of this three-game set.
Pitching Matchup and Lineups
Wednesday’s finale featured a pair of right-handers with career losing records. Milwaukee turned to Jim Slaton, while Boston countered with the steady Reggie Cleveland. Given both pitchers' profiles, this one had the makings of a slugfest.
Boston’s lineup for July 30 looked familiar, with some strategic adjustments:
Juan Beníquez (DH)
Denny Doyle (2B)
Carl Yastrzemski (1B)
Fred Lynn (CF)
Jim Rice (LF)
Dwight Evans (RF)
Rico Petrocelli (3B)
Tim Blackwell (C)
Bob Heise (SS)
Game Recap
Regardless of whom Darrell Johnson slotted into the leadoff spot lately, the Red Sox seemed to find energy right away. Today’s spark came from Juan Beníquez, who opened the game with his third triple of the year. Denny Doyle followed with a sacrifice fly, and just like that, Boston led 1–0. Unfortunately for the home team, that would be the only time they held the lead all afternoon.
Both Cleveland and Slaton kept the bats quiet through the early innings, but the tide turned in the fifth. Milwaukee leftfielder, Bill Sharp led off with a single and moved to third on a double by pinch-hitter Mike Hegan. Cleveland struck out Robin Yount but then surrendered the tying run on a deep sacrifice fly by Kurt Bevacqua.
The Brewers broke things open in the seventh. Sharp singled again and took third on a Yount double. A throwing error by shortstop Bob Heise allowed the go-ahead run to score, and Don Money, still riding high from his two-homer performance the night before, added an RBI single to make it 3–1.
Dwight Evans offered a response in the bottom of the seventh, launching his ninth homer of the season to trim the lead to 3–2. But Milwaukee quickly erased any momentum. In the top of the eighth, back-to-back singles by George Scott and future Hall of Famer Hank Aaron set the table for Sixto Lezcano, who crushed a three-run homer, his eighth of the season, to put the game out of reach.
Pitching Notes
Reggie Cleveland (8–7) took the loss, going seven innings while allowing six runs (four earned) on ten hits with two strikeouts.
Jim Burton relieved Cleveland in the eighth and delivered two hitless innings with three strikeouts.
Jim Slaton (10-10) earned the complete-game victory, limiting Boston to six hits and one walk while striking out three.
Player Notes and Season Stats
Fred Lynn continued his torrid pace at the plate recording half of Boston’s six hits today. He went 3-for-4 with a double and two singles. Dwight Evans was 1-for-4 with a home run (9), and Denny Doyle and Juan Beníquez each collected a hit,
The Brewers' series win gave them a small surge of energy as they approached August still 10 games off the pace. More concerning for Boston was that their primary rivals all notched wins on the final Wednesday of July. New York edged out Detroit 2–1, cutting their deficit to 9 games. Oakland tightened its grip on home field advantage with a 1–0 shutout over Texas, pushing their lead to 4.5 games over Boston in the AL West. Baltimore remained 7.5 back after being stymied by a future Red Sox legend—Dennis Eckersley, who threw a four-hit complete game for Cleveland.
With the homestand set to continue, the Red Sox will need to regroup quickly and refocus as the pennant chase heats up entering August.
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