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JOHNNY PESKY |
THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, PART 2 ...
A POWERFUL RED SOX TEAM FAILS
IN THE WORLD SERIES ...
Bob Feller beats the Red Sox,
as Johnny Pesky goes 4 for 4
July 16, 1946 ... Bob Feller pitched his Cleveland Indians to a 6 to 3 victory over the Red Sox at Fenway Park. The prospect of another
close duel between Feller and Tex Hughson disappeared early in the game, as the Indians clubbed home runs off Hughson, by Pat Seerey and Ken Keltner, a triple by Jim Hegan, three doubles and three singles during the seven innings he worked.
The only solace for the Red Sox was Johnny Pesky's perfect day at the plate. Pesky banged out three singles and a double, along with drawing a walk, to regain his American League lead in hits with 106, to Ted's 105 and Doerr's 104. Ted Williams, scored Pesky with Boston's first run in the
sixth, by slapping a triple, responded to Boudreau's shift by pushing a dribbler through the vacated shortstop spot in the eighth-inning. Leftfielder George Case, playing several feet behind the dirt in short left field, tried to throw out Ted at first unsuccessfully.
Feller was not his masterful self in the game. He allowed nine hits and walked six, but had enough in the tank to record his 16th win against six defeats. Ken Keltner belted his second home run of the game off Mace Brown in the ninth inning to give the Indians a 6-1 advantage with only three
outs left to go.
Hal Wagner started the ninth inning by drawing a walk. Paul Campbell, pinch hitting for Brown, popped out to Boudreau. George Metkovich, back in action for the first time in a week, drew another free pass before Johnny Pesky singled into right field. Johnny's fourth hit loaded the bases. Dom
DiMaggio, with two strikes against him, thrilled the crowd by doubling across two runs in a well-placed poke into the right field corner. Up came Ted Williams in the dramatic situation, but Ted hit a weak pop-up to Jack Conway, who was camped a few feet back on the grass between first and
second base. Bobby Doerr then ended it with a liner to Lou Boudreau for the final out.
Bob Feller struggled hard in the game, using 160 pitches to earn his victory. Earl Johnson was back in uniform with the happy information that Mrs. Johnson is on the road to a full recovery back home in Seattle. |
