Fenway Flashback: 1975 - Sox Fall in Finale as A's Salvage Series Split
August 11, 1975
August 11, 1975: Sox Fall in Finale as A’s Salvage Series Split
After Sunday’s victory, the Red Sox had pulled even with Oakland for the best record in the American League and maintained a seven-game lead over Baltimore in the East. The finale of this four-game wraparound series was Boston’s chance to take three of four from the A’s before heading south to Anaheim to continue their grueling 15-game road trip.
Pitching Matchup and Lineups
Emotionally charged but physically spent after 26 straight days of baseball since the All-Star break, the Sox turned to lefty Roger Moret, riding a three-game winning streak, to deliver a series win. The A’s countered with All-Star southpaw Vida Blue, also coming in hot with three straight victories.
Darryl Johnson stacked his lineup with right-handed bats to combat Blue’s electric left arm:
Juan Beniquez (DH)
Doug Griffin (2B)
Fred Lynn (CF)
Jim Rice (LF)
Carlton Fisk (C)
Dwight Evans (RF)
Rico Petrocelli (3B)
Rick Burleson (SS)
Cecil Cooper (1B)
Game Recap
Unlike the first three games of the series, Boston couldn’t get on the board early. Blue silenced the Sox over the first six innings, allowing just three hits. While, Oakland chipped away at Moret with single runs in four of the first six frames.
The A’s scored in the second when Gene Tenace drew a walk and came home on Sal Bando’s RBI double. In the fourth, Claudell Washington doubled and scored on Tenace’s RBI single. The fifth brought more small-ball execution. Bando walked, Phil Garner bunted him over, and Bert Campaneris delivered a two-out RBI single.
Oakland capped their scoring in the sixth when Bill North singled, Washington doubled him home, and Reggie Jackson walked to put two on with no outs. Johnson called on reliever, Dick Drago, who escaped the jam with three straight outs to keep the deficit at 4–0.
Boston finally broke through in the seventh. Fred Lynn led off with his 19th homer of the season, Jim Rice singled, and Fisk followed with a two-run shot to left. Suddenly it was 4–3 and the Coliseum was tense. Alvin Dark would not make the same mistake that Johnson had done in game one and leave his starter in too long. He did not hesitate to summon Rollie Fingers from the left field bullpen. Fingers quickly dispatched the next three hitters, putting a to stop the rally.
Drago kept Oakland off the board in the eighth, giving the Sox one last shot in the ninth. Fingers, who had already thrown five innings over the past four days, returned to close it out but looked vulnerable. Cecil Cooper doubled and moved to third on a Beniquez fly out to right. Then the managerial chess game began. Johnson sent Bernie Carbo to pinch-hit for Griffin. Dark countered with lefty Paul Lindblad, prompting Johnson to switch to right handed hitting, backup catcher Bob Montgomery. With the infield drawn in, Montgomery grounded out to second baseman, Phil Garner who held Cooper at third. Lynn drew a walk to put the go-ahead run on base. With right-handed Jim Rice due up, Dark went back to his pen for righty, Jim Todd who had just pitched three scoreless innings the day before. Though he made good contact, Rice flew out to Reggie Jackson in right field.
Oakland’s 4–3 win evened the series at two games apiece.
Pitching Notes
Roger Moret took only his second loss, working 5 innings and allowing 4 earned runs on 7 hits, 3 walks, and 2 strikeouts.
Dick Drago provided 2.0 innings of scoreless relief, allowing 4 hits.
Player Notes and Season Stats
Boston’s offense woke up late but finished with nine hits:
Cecil Cooper: 2-for-4, double
Carlton Fisk: 1-for-4, HR (7), 2 RBI, run scored
Fred Lynn: 1-for-4, HR (19), RBI (83), run scored
The loss dropped Boston back to one game behind Oakland in the race for home field. In the East, Baltimore moved within six games after former Cy Young winner Mike Cuellar’s two-hit shutout in a 4–0 win over Kansas City.
With the split in Oakland, the Sox now headed south to Anaheim to face the Angels in the next leg of their marathon road trip.
Stay tuned as continue our day-by-day journey through the unforgettable 1975 Red Sox season.
Image courtesy of https://www.redlegnation.com/2016/02/01/when-vida-blue-nearly-became-a-cincinnati-red/