GAME 1 - Red Sox 6, Blue Jays 5
An entertaining extra inning game played by two teams that had no post season aspirations. Jerry Garvin and his Blue Jay buddies looked to be a sure thing with a 5-0 lead heading into the 8th. Garvin tired quickly and was gone after yielding 2 runs. The gruesome twosome of Chuck Hartenstein and Pete Vuckovich were incapable of stemming the tide as the Bosox posted a 5 spot to tie it. Felix Mantilla bases clearing double scored Tillman and Horton and in the process chased Garvin. With 2 out Lee Thomas delivered a clutch bases clearing double that added 3 runs and tied the game, which also took hard luck starter Bill Mobouquette off the hook. "Mombo", who gave up 5 runs, had the hard luck of giving up 4 of the unearned variety. Neither team would score in the 9th, so the game went to extra innings. The Sahx were able to get out of trouble in the 10th, but Toronto was not so lucky. After getting Chuck Schilling to pop out to shallow right, Vuke would not get another out. Yaz would double into the gap in righ center and Tony C would deliver a game winning RBI single to send the Fenway faithful home happy.
GAME 2 - Red Sox 8, Blue Jays 7
Boston moved to the .500 mark with another 1 run victory. Toronto was up 6-3 after 4 1/2 innings worth of play, but starter Dave Lemanczyk could not hold the lead. Boston scored posted a solo run in the 5th thanks to a solo homer by Lee Thomas. They would do even more damage in the following frame when they would score 3 thanks to RBI singles by Yaz and Tony C. Thomas lifted a sac fly to center to put Boston up 7-6. Lemanczyk's day was now done. He would hit the showers just like his opposing number, Dave Morehead who didn't even survive the 6th. Arnold Early looked good in relief of Morehead, but when he gave up a 1 out single to Alvis Woods his day was done. Flamethrower Dick Radatz came on board to put out the fire, but a walk to Doug Rader and consecutive singles by Sam Ewing and the veteran Ron Fairly tied the game up a 7 all. Heading into the home half of the 9th Toronto put it's Faith in Johnny Johnson, easily got Lee Thomas and Dalton Jones out. Light hitting Eddie Bressoud popped a double off the Green Monstah, which facilitated the intentional walking of pinch hitter Tony Horton. Frank Malzone was given the nod to hit for Frank Ryan and Toronto answered with Ron Willis on the hill. Malzone wasted no time lining Willis' first offering into center to score Bressoud easily for Boston's second walk off win in a row.
9/28-9/29 - Exhibition Stadium
GAME 3 - Blue Jays 2, Red Sox 1
Jesse Jefferson tossed the game of his life. "Jeff" went the distance and gave up just 1 run to a Red Sox lineup that came into the game "red" hot. Jefferson had to be that good, because his opponent (Earl Wilson) wasn't exactly performing poorly. With the score tied at 2 all Toronto would score a solo run in the bottom of the 3rd when Alan Ashby hit into a DP. Little did anyone know that that would be all the scoring on the day. Boston's lone run would come in the form of Tony C's 11th homer of the season.
GAME 4 - Red Sox 6, Blue Jays 5
For the 4th straight game this series featured a 1 run game. For the third time in 4 tries the Bosox were able to win it in their last at bat. Boston had a 5-2 lead in this one, but the bullpen (Ritchie) let down Jim Lonborg who battled to stay in it all day. Once again Vukovich was on the hill for the Jays when trouble started. Felix Mantilla walked to lead off the inning, but Dalton Jones hit a bullet to his opposite number, Roy Howell, at third. Howell easily went around the horn for a 5-4-3 DP, which looked to take all the wind out of Boston's sails. Yaz doubled off the wall on one hop with two outs and that set the stage for Tony C to come through one more time. Boston's young right fielder lined a single off of Vuke into left center to score Yaz and give the Sahx a 1 run lead. Dick Radatz, who has had his ups and downs all season, got a scare when Ron Fairly got a hold of one and took it for a ride to the warning track where it fell safely into the glove of Lenny Green. Otto Velez struck out, but Howell lined a single to right to extend the game one more batter. That batter would be pinch hitter Alvis Woods, who was a hair late on Radatz' heat and had his bat broken as the ball parachuted right into Lee Thomas' glove at first to end the game. Radatz nailed down his 8th save in his very rocky and tumultuous season. Boston would finish at .500 (19-19) and miss the post season by 2 games. Toronto finished a dismal 12-26.
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