Fenway Flashback: 1975 - Angels Take Advantage as Sox Stumble at Fenway

August 26, 1975: Angels Take Advantage as Sox Stumble at Fenway

After enjoying a rare day off at home, the Red Sox entered Tuesday still a half-game behind Oakland in the race for home field in the ALCS and 7.5 games ahead of Baltimore in the East. Oakland was idle Monday, while the Orioles were rained out in Kansas City, setting up a Tuesday doubleheader for them.

Boston welcomed the 60–71 California Angels to Fenway, looking for payback after dropping two of three in Anaheim earlier in the month.

Pitching Matchup and Lineups

Skipper Darryl Johnson turned to Luis Tiant for his 30th start of the season, while the Angels countered with Ed Figueroa, who had lost his two starts since beating Boston two weeks earlier.

Boston’s lineup featured a slight twist from its previous iterations:

Cecil Cooper (DH)

Denny Doyle (2B)

Carl Yastrzemski (1B)

Fred Lynn (CF)

Jim Rice (LF)

Dwight Evans (RF)

Rick Burleson (SS)

Tim Blackwell (C)

Bob Heise (3B)

Game Recap

Both starters pitched around traffic in the first before settling in during the second. In the third, California broke through when their nine-hole hitter, Mike Miley tripled off Tiant and scored on a throwing error by Rick Burleson.

Boston responded in the fourth. Denny Doyle doubled to right, moved to third on a passed ball, and scored on Fred Lynn’s RBI single after Yaz had drawn a walk. Jim Rice followed with a double to score Yastrzemski, putting runners on second and third with no outs. But Figueroa wriggled free, getting a grounder from Evans, then a lineout to first that doubled off Lynn at third, ending the rally and, ultimately, Boston’s best chance.

The Angels tied it in the fifth when catcher Andy Etchebarren belted just his second home run of the year. In…