Fenway Flashback: 1975 - Cooper's Blast Caps Five-Game Sweep of Tigers
August 3, 1975
August 3, 1975: Cooper’s Blast Caps Five-Game Sweep of Tigers
The Red Sox welcomed the first Sunday of August knowing they had a chance to complete a rare five-game sweep of a divisional opponent. With the Detroit Tigers floundering at the bottom of the standings, Boston was doing exactly what a playoff-bound team should, dominate weaker competition.
Pitching Matchup and Lineups
With the sweep in sight, Darrell Johnson handed the ball to steady right-hander Reggie Cleveland, while Detroit turned to Boston native, Joe Coleman, tasked with somehow cooling off his hometown team’s red-hot offense.
Cleveland brought an 8–7 record into the matinee, looking to help the Sox keep pace in both the divisional and league-wide races. Spoiled by a wealth of offensive weapons, Johnson rolled with this lineup for the finale:
Bernie Carbo (RF)
Denny Doyle (2B)
Carl Yastrzemski (1B)
Fred Lynn (CF)
Jim Rice (LF)
Carlton Fisk (C)
Cecil Cooper (DH)
Rico Petrocelli (3B)
Rick Burleson (SS)
Game Recap
Cleveland set the tone early, retiring the Tigers in order in the top of the first, two by strikeout. The Fenway faithful barely had time to settle in before the bats ignited. Bernie Carbo led off the home half with a double, and Denny Doyle followed with a two-run homer, his third of the season, to give Boston a quick 2–0 lead.
Cleveland cruised through the next two frames, and Boston added to its lead in the third. Carbo drew a leadoff walk, and Fred Lynn brought him home with his 29th double of the season, making it 3–0.
Detroit answered in the fourth. Former Sox outfielder Ben Oglivie continued his revenge tour by singling to lead off, and Aurelio Rodriguez followed with a two-run homer, his 10th, to cut Boston’s lead to 3–2.
The score held into the bottom of the seventh, when Rick Burleson led off with a solo home run, his fifth of the year, pushing the Sox ahead 4–2. But the cushion didn’t last. In the top of the eighth, Cleveland surrendered back-to-back singles to Gene Michael and Ron LeFlore. After a groundout moved them into scoring position, Oglivie delivered again, a two-run single to tie the game at 4–4.
Cleveland escaped the inning by getting Willie Horton to ground out, but the Fenway crowd was momentarily silenced. But NOT for long.
Cecil Cooper led off the bottom of the eighth with a towering solo homer, his eighth of the season, to reclaim the lead at 5–4. Later in the inning, Boston added insurance when Doyle delivered his third RBI of the day with a single that scored Burleson.
Johnson stuck with Cleveland to open the ninth, but after he allowed a leadoff single to Rodriguez, Jim Willoughby was summoned to finish the job. He retired the final three batters in order with two groundouts and a strikeout, to lock down the sweep.
Pitching Notes
Reggie Cleveland (9–7) earned the win, allowing 4 earned runs on 9 hits across 8 innings, with 5 strikeouts and no walks.
Jim Willoughby recorded his sixth save of the year with a perfect ninth inning, including one strikeout.
Player Notes and Season Stats
Boston’s offense collected a baker’s dozen hits for the second straight day, led by a quintet of standouts:
Cecil Cooper: 3-for-4, HR (8), double, game-winning RBI
Denny Doyle: 2-for-4, HR (3), 3 RBI, run
Bernie Carbo: 2-for-4, double, 2 runs
Fred Lynn: 2-for-3, double, RBI (80)
Rick Burleson: 1-for-3, HR (5), 2 runs
The jubilation over Boston’s five-game sweep was amplified later that afternoon when news broke that both the Orioles and A’s had lost. Baltimore dropped a 4–1 decision at home to the Brewers, pushing their deficit in the AL East to 9 full games ahead of a do-or-die series at Fenway. Oakland was shut out 5–0 by the Royals, shrinking Boston’s deficit in the race for home field advantage in the ALCS to just 0.5 games.
With everything falling into place, Red Sox Nation dared to dream. A playoff berth seemed inevitable, and now, the team had its sights on hosting postseason baseball at Fenway Park.
The Orioles are coming. The pennant chase is on.
Stay tuned as we continue our day-by-day journey through the unforgettable 1975 Red Sox season.
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