For the second consecutive game, the Red Sox threw 7 runs on the board, but this time they made it stick as Sonny Siebert shut the Baltimore offense down in a 7-3 Game 2 victory. With the ALDS now tied at a game apiece, Boston snuck out of Camden Yards with home field advantage as the scene shifts to Fenway Park.
I initially dedicated this playoff replay to Tony C but it is his younger brother, Billy, who is making plenty of noise with his bat. He opened the scoring with an RBI single and came around to score the last run of a three-run second for Boston. He closed the book on McNally with an opposite-field solo shot in the sixth. Billy's batting .346 in these playoffs and has 5 RBI in the first two games of this series.
Baltimore got to Siebert in the bottom of the second to close the gap to 3-2, but he went on to fire 5 shutout innings and was one out shy of completing the eighth when Merv Rettenmund crunched a solo homer. Nevertheless, the Red Sox had already secured a win for Siebert with a two-run rocket to dead central by George Scott in the third. Siebert's 98 pitch gem was just the tonic the Red Sox needed after their staff ace, Ray Culp, stumbled in the series opener.
Oriole starter Dave McNally was the second twenty game-winner that was ravaged by the Boston offense. The Sawx hung 5 runs on Palmer in Game 1 and victimized McNally for 6 runs in only 6 innings of work. In thirteen innings in this ALDS, Oriole starters have logged 13 innings and own a gaudy 7.62 ERA. In 1970, Baltimore's strength was their starting pitching as they boasted 3 twenty game-winners in Palmer, McNally and Game 3 starter Mike Cuellar. Baltimore has to buck this trend quickly if they hope to advance. One guy they'll have to sort out is Carl Yastrzemski. Yaz is batting .500 in the playoffs and is 6-8 in this series with three doubles and three runs scored.
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