Rejuvenated Sox Topple Tigers, 5-2

Catcher-quarterback Carlton Fisk belted a first-inning triple to knock in two runs, and George Scott boomed a solo homer and an RBI single last night to lead the Red Sox onslaught past the Detroit Tigers by a score of 5-2.

Though he didn't outlast Tiger opponent Milt Wilcox (now 13-12), Sox hurler Luis Tiant whirled and spun for five strong innings, retiring in the sixth when Ron LeFlore guessed correctly on a Tiant hesitation-ephus pitch, punching it into the left field screens. Tiant left the game complaining of a slight muscle pull behind his left knee.

Southpaw reliever Andy Hassler pitched 2 1/3 innings of strong relief before giving way to Bob Stanley--the Sox bullpen ace at 14-2--who picked up his tenth save.

"They played great defensive ball tonight," inactive reliever Bill Lee said. "The infield's finally settling down from all those injuries--I guess we stepped onto a less volatile, hostile field tonight. We came to the realization that we're actually in second place," Spaceman explained.

He was talking about desperate efforts--the kind of play you make when you believe it may be your last. Scott picked off choppy grounders all night, combining nicely with Tiant twice for outs. Fisk hopped on a fifth-inning bunt, twisted around and whipped the ball to first with scarcely a look to douse a Tiger scoring bid.

But the defensive play of the game came down in the ninth, with a man out and the tying run at the plate. Following a backward-upside-down-dive job by Lynn in the third, Carl Yastrezemski slid forward, coming down hard on his butt to cut off a potential two-run single.

"Right now the team's playing good defense because I'm not there," injured third baseman Butch Hobson said. Hobson, who leads the league in errors, said last weekend he could no longer throw, due to the painful bone chips in his right elbow. Hobson slumped on his chair in the culbhouse for an hour, gazing at a hunting magazine. He said dejectedly, "There are no errors 'cause I'm not there, but that's the way it's gotta be when you get down to the nitty gritty."

All the press wizards were clinging to George "Boomer" Scott, who sat lonely the night before, demanding to know how he turned the fans' cries of "Booooo" to "Booooo-mer."

"This is a funny game," Scott said. "When we were 14 games up we knew we had to lose some, and we lost a lot. But you just gotta have the patience to survive. We're not out 'til we're counted out."

Belying the clubhouse gaiety, the Yanks dumped the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1, staying a game ahead with only four to go. "Zen doesn't really apply here any more," Lee said. "What we need is Karma."