Gibson Leads Tigers Past Slugging BoSox

DETROIT--Kirk Gibson needed only one game to convince 51,437 opening-day fans in Tiger Stadium that he's worth every penny of the $4.1 million he wrested from Detroit in a bitter contract hassle over the winter.

Gibson had four hits, including a pair of tape-measure homers, and drove in five runs yesterday to lead the Tigers to a 6-5 victory over the Boston Red Sox in the teams' season opener.

"It was just too good to be true," said Gibson, who waved his glove at the cheering crowd when he returned to right field after the first blast and doffed his cap to his admirers after the second one.

"I put a lot of pressure on myself to justify all I went through over the winter," Gibson said. "The last day I can compare this with is the last game of the 1984 World Series. This doesn't happen very often."

Gibson's winning homer came on a two-strike count in the seventh inning off Red Sox reliever Sammy Stewart after Lou Whitaker had singled.

"I was trying to be aggressive like I was on the first two pitches," Stewart said. "I wanted to throw another fastball inside like the first two, but I got it out over the plate, waist high, and he hit it."

Boston Manager John McNamara was miffed with Stewart's mistake.

"We hit the ball like we're expected to," McNamara said. "But, I didn't like the 0-2 pitches they were hitting and my pitchers will hear about it Tuesday when we work out.

"It wasn't just the pitches Gibson hit. Darrell Evans and Larry Herndon had 0-2 base hits, too."

Jack Morris was shaky through the first seven innings for Detroit, giving up five runs--four of them homers--on 12 hits. But he got the sixth opening-day victory of his career and Willie Hernandez earned the save.

Dwight Evans drilled Morris' first pitch of the ball game into the center field seats and Jim Rice blasted a homer to right-center in the third. The Tigers got a run back in the bottom of the third when Darnell Coles singled, Lou Whitaker walked and Gibson singled.

"He's different than other people," Detroit Manager Sparky Anderson said. "He really concentrates when he's got two strikes on him."

Detroit erased Boston's 2-1 lead with three runs in the fourth. Darrell Evans started the rally with a single and scored on a triple by Dave Collins. Gibson then smashed the next pitch by starter Bruce Hurst high into the upper deck in center field.

"I tried to sneak a fastball by him," Hurst said. "I wouldn't back down. I felt I should throw my best pitch in that spot.

"I felt good mechanically, but Detroit has some good hitters."

With two away in the top of the seventh, Rice singled and rode home on a game-tying homer by recently acquired Don Baylor. Rich Gedman followed with a solo homer, giving Boston its final, brief lead.

"We're 1-0 and that's what counts," Gibson said. "Our goal today was to win a ballgame. All this would have been wasted if we had lost."

The two teams meet again tomorrow, with Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd going for the Red Sox against Tiger hurler Frank Tanana.