Detroit Tigers vs Tampa Bay Devil Rays
March 31, 1998 Box Score

The box score below is an accurate record of events for the baseball contest played on March 31, 1998 at Tropicana Field. The Detroit Tigers defeated the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the box score is "ready to surrender its truth to the knowing eye."
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"The box score is the catechism of baseball, ready to surrender its truth to the knowing eye." - Author Stanley Cohen in The Man in the Crowd (1981)

Baseball Almanac Box Scores

Detroit Tigers 11, Tampa Bay Devil Rays 6

Detroit Tigers ab   r   h rbi
Hunter cf 6 1 2 2
Roberts dh 5 0 1 1
  Incaviglia ph,dh 1 0 0 0
Higginson rf 4 0 1 0
Clark 1b 5 2 2 0
Easley 2b,ss 5 3 3 0
Gonzalez lf 5 2 3 2
Randa 3b 5 1 3 3
Oliver c 5 1 2 3
Ripken ss 3 1 1 0
  Catalanotto ph,2b 1 0 0 0
Thompson p 0 0 0 0
  Runyan p 0 0 0 0
  Duran p 0 0 0 0
  Florie p 0 0 0 0
  Bochtler p 0 0 0 0
Totals 45 11 18 11
Tampa Bay Devil Rays ab   r   h rbi
McCracken cf 5 2 2 1
Cairo 2b 4 0 1 0
  Butler ph 1 0 1 1
Boggs 3b 4 1 1 3
McGriff 1b 4 0 1 0
Kelly lf 5 0 0 0
Sorrento dh 5 0 1 0
Flaherty c 4 1 2 0
Martinez rf 2 0 1 0
  Smith ph 1 1 1 0
Stocker ss 3 0 1 0
  Trammell ph 0 1 0 0
Alvarez p 0 0 0 0
  Carlson p 0 0 0 0
  Springer p 0 0 0 0
  Mecir p 0 0 0 0
Totals 38 6 12 5
Detroit 042 050 00011181
Tampa Bay 000 002 0046120
  Detroit Tigers IP H R ER BB SO
Thompson  W (1-0) 6.0 8 2 2 0 2
  Runyan   1.0 0 0 0 1 0
  Duran   1.0 0 0 0 0 0
  Florie   0.1 4 4 3 1 0
  Bochtler   0.2 0 0 0 1 1
Totals 9.0 12 6 5 3 3
  Tampa Bay Devil Rays IP H R ER BB SO
Alvarez  L (0-1) 2.1 9 6 6 0 2
  Carlson   2.2 6 5 5 2 3
  Springer   3.0 3 0 0 0 0
  Mecir   1.0 0 0 0 0 2
Totals 9.0 18 11 11 2 7

  E–Bochtler (1).  DP–Detroit 2.  2B–Detroit Randa 2 (2,off Alvarez,off Springer); Easley (1,off Alvarez); Hunter (1,off Carlson); Higginson (1,off Springer); Gonzalez (1,off Springer), Tampa Bay Flaherty (1,off Thompson); Sorrento (1,off Thompson).  HR–Detroit Gonzalez (1,5th inning off Carlson 1 on, 0 out), Tampa Bay Boggs (1,6th inning off Thompson 1 on, 1 out).  Team LOB–9.  HBP–McGriff (1,by Duran).  Team–9.  HBP–Duran (1,McGriff).  U-HP–Rich Garcia, 1B–Mike Reilly, 2B–Tim McClelland, 3B–John Hirschbeck.  T–3:01.  A–45,369.

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Fred Schwed, Jr., in How to Watch a Baseball Game (1957) wrote our favorite baseball box score quote, "The baseball box score is the pithiest form of written communication in America today. It is abbreviated history. It is two or three hours (the box score even gives that item to the minute) of complex activity, virtually inscribed on the head of a pin, yet no knowing reader suffers from eyestrain."