April 2,3,4 at Baltimore Orioles (0-0)
April 2-Newcomers ruled the day for Baltimore as Rob Bellior and Bruce Miller went a combined 5-8 with 2 RBI and Tony Conigliaro added an RBI single in his first AB against his former club as Baltimore beat up on Fergie Jenkins and the Sox 5-1. (0-1)
W-Jim Palmer (1-0) L-Fergie Jenkins (0-1)
April 3-One again, the offseason acquisitions are making the Baltimore Front Office look like geniuses, as Tony Conigliaro went 3-4 with a HR and 4 RBI, and Rob Bellior and Bruce Miller each went 3-5 as Baltimore hammered Boston 9-1. (0-2)
W-Dave Roberts (1-0) L-Roger Moret (0-1)
April 4-George Brett and Gorman Thomas each hit solo HR's and Vern Ruhle pitched into the 9th inning, allowing just 1 run as Boston avoided the sweep, getting their first win of the year, beating the Orioles 4-1. Boston's own new pickup, Tom Hall, pitched the final 1 1/3 innings, striking out 3 to pick up his first save. (1-2)
W-Vern Ruhle (1-0) L-Wayne Garland (0-1) S-Tom Hall (1)
April 5,6,7 v Detroit Tigers (2-2)
April 5-A two run, Gorman Thomas homerun in the bottom of the 14th inning, gave Boston a 9-7 win over the Tigers. Detroit actually took the lead in the top of the 12th on an Adolpho Phillips double, but then Boston came back to tie it in the bottom of the inning on a sac fly, before eventually winning in the 14th. Ted Simmons and Billy Conigliaro each homered in the win (2-2)
W-John Montefusco (1-0) L-Fernando Arroyo (0-1)
April 6-Dan Driessen had a bases loaded, 2 run single in a 3 run 6th inning as Mike Flanagan battled through early trouble to pitched 6 2/3 innings of 2 run ball, and helped Boston beat Detroit 5-2. (3-2)
W-Mike Flanagan (1-0) L-Ken Forsch (1-1) S-Tom Hall (2)
April 7-Ted Simmons hit a pair of homeruns, and Billy Conigliaro added a 2 run shot in support of Fergie Jenkins who pitched 8 innings of 3 run ball, striking out 5 as Boston completed the sweep of Detroit, winning 6-3. (4-2)
W-Fergie Jenkins (1-1) L-Dave Lemanczyk (0-2) S-Tom Hall (3)
MLB Milestones:
Boog Powell of the Baltimore Orioles hit his 400th career HR, a 3 run HR off Charlie Hough in a 14-8 loss to the Texas Rangers
MLB Injuries:
Don Money of the Chicago Cubs will miss the next two months after suffering a broken leg sliding into 2nd base. The Newly signed Money was hitting .444 (8-18) in his short stint with Chicago. He had spent the previous 4+ years with the San Diego Padres.
The Houston Astros have suffered a big loss as Randy Jones will be out until the All-Star break after taking a line drive off his elbow. Jones had won his first two starts of the year, posting a 4.02 ERA in 17.2 innings thusfar.
MLB Contract News:
The Minnesota Twins have signed 1B Dave Kingman to a 1 year $530,000 deal. Kingman had been at his home trying to stay in shape, and surprisingly, the Twins came calling. Kingman hit .276 42-122 for the San Fransisco Giants. The rumor out of Minnesota is that the one year deal is just a precursor to a long term deal the two sides hope to hammer out.
Rick Reuschel and the LA Dodgers have come to terms on a 3 year extension that will pay the 26 year old $520,000 a year for the next 3. Reuschel lead the NL in ERA last year, posting a 3.14 mark to go along with a 13-8 record in just under 200 innings.
Philadelphia has signed 30 year old Rick Wise to a 4 year deal worth $349,000 per year. Wise struggled last year, posting 9-7 4.91 mark, but was sensational in 1974 when he went 16-8 2.95.
Chris Nelson and the New York Yankees have agreed on a new contract that will pay Nelson $410,000 per year for the next 4 seasons. Nelson was having a breakout season a year ago, going 7-0 1.60 before his year ended with a broken bone in his back. In 1974, his lone full season, Nelson was 15-12 3.97 for the Yankees.
The Yankees also came to terms with two other players this week. First signing P Bruce Kison to a 3 year deal worth $1.2 million dollars. Kison, brought over from Pittsburgh, was 5-3 2.79 a year ago. In 30 games, including 8 starts, Kison pitched 116 innings out of the Yankee pen.
Next they resigned star 2B Bobby Grich to a 4 year extension that will pay Grich $740,000 per year. Grich had a monster year in '75, hitting .259, but with 32 HR's and 109 RBI, as well as scoring 100 runs for the first time. The deal will keep him in pinstripes until he is 31.
Steve Garvey and Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed on a 6 year deal worth $5.8 million dollars. The 27 year old Garvey hit .339 34-124 a year ago and for his career is a .315 hitter with 214 HR's and 768 RBI. The deal makes him the 3rd highest paid player in the majors behind Tony Conigliaro and Doug Rader.
The California Angels have agreed to a new contract for P Andy Messersmith that will pay the righty $650,000 a year for the next 4 seasons. Messersmith was 14-7 3.53 a year ago for the Halos. He started 38 games, pitching 245 innings while striking out 174.
Up next for the Sox is a 3 game set at home against the New York Yankees followed by 3 games in Milwaukee to face the Brewers.
