August 24, 1975: Lee Leads Sox to Series Win
With their first homestand series in what felt like forever tied heading into the Sunday finale, the Red Sox sat 1.5 games behind the A’s for home field and 6.5 games ahead of the Orioles in the AL East. As the final week of August began, Boston was intent on staying sharp and avoiding a late-summer collapse.
Pitching Matchup and Lineups
The late afternoon contest featured a matchup of veteran lefties: Bill Lee for Boston and Wilbur Wood for Chicago. Wood was looking to avenge the loss he had taken against his old team just eight days earlier.
Darryl Johnson shuffled the lineup for the rubber game:
Juan Beniquez (DH)
Doug Griffin (2B)
Carl Yastrzemski (1B)
Jim Rice (LF)
Fred Lynn (CF)
Dwight Evans (RF)
Rick Burleson (SS)
Bob Montgomery (C)
Bob Heise (3B)
Game Recap
Boston struck first in the opening frame. After Lee retired the White Sox in order, Carl Yastrzemski put the Sox on the board with a two-out solo homer to right, giving Boston a 1–0 lead.
Both pitchers traded zeroes through the next three innings, but Chicago pulled even in the fifth. Designated hitter, Bill Stein and right fielder, Bob Coluccio opened the inning with singles and were advanced on Jorge Orta’s sacrifice bunt. A throwing error by catcher Bob Montgomery allowed Stein to score, tying the game 1–1. Lee limited the damage, and the Red Sox offense immediately answered.
In the bottom of the fifth, Fred Lynn roped his 34th double of the year and moved to third on a hard single by Dwight Evans. Rick Burleson lifted a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Lynn and advancing Evans. Montgomery followed with a single to push Evans to third, and Bob Heise added another RBI single to make it 3–1 Boston.
The Sox kept pressing. In the sixth, Jim Rice blasted his 20th homer of the season for a 4–1 cushion. In the seventh they put the game away: Heise doubled, Beniquez singled, and pinch-hitter Denny Doyle drove in a run with a single of his own. Yaz added an RBI groundout to extend the lead to 6–1.
From there, Lee slammed the door, finishing what he started and allowing only one unearned run.
Pitching Notes
Bill Lee (17–7) was sensational in his complete game. He allowed 8 hits, 1 unearned run, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts.
Lee was sharp all afternoon, limiting Chicago to scattered singles and bearing down in key spots.
Player Notes and Season Stats
Boston’s production came from throughout the order:
Jim Rice: 2-for-3, HR (20), RBI, run
Carl Yastrzemski: 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, run
Dwight Evans: 2-for-4, run
Bob Heise: 2-for-3, double, RBI, run
The win delivered the series victory to Boston and helped them gain ground in both races. Baltimore fell again to Texas, 8–7, pushing the Sox’s division lead to 7.5 games. Oakland lost a slugfest to Milwaukee, 7–6, trimming Boston’s deficit for home field to just half a game.
With the Angels and A’s headed to Fenway next week, the Sox were thankful for their third day off 10 days before digging in for the stretch drive.
Stay tuned as we continue our day-by-day journey through the unforgettable 1975 Red Sox season.
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