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THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, PART 2 ...
A POWERFUL RED SOX TEAM FAILS
IN THE WORLD SERIES ...
The Tigers pound Dave Ferriss
and delay clinching the pennant again
September 11, 1946 ... The prolonged pennant celebration by the Red Sox was once again delayed by the Detroit Tigers and Dizzy Trout, who
led his team to a 7 to 3 decision at Briggs Stadium. The Tigers swept the two-game series in spite of Ted Williams' perfect day at the plate and some great relief pitching by Joe Dobson, who succeeded Dave Ferriss. It was his second consecutive Ferriss failure to notch his 25th win, as the Red Sox drop their fifth game in a
row, which is a seasonal high.
As the Sox departed from Tiger town they need two wins to clinch their first flag in 28 years. The Tigers can oblige them by dropping two, which would eliminate the only remaining club which has a chance.
Hitting wisely and well, Williams had a four-for-four day, as he boosted his batting average to .342 He not only stroked his 37th home run, but he beat out a bunt down the unprotected third-base line, and made two other hits with a well-placed drives.
Detroit belted Dave Ferriss, who was seeking his seventh straight win against the Tigers. Hank Greenberg hit another towering home run into a strong wind, with two aboard, in the opening inning to spark five runs and send Ferriss to the showers.
The Red Sox then poked away at Trout. They scored single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. But in the eighth inning Dizzy made sure of his 15th win, when he stroked a terrific two run homer off Bob Klinger to clinch the game.
Once again the Red Sox missed glorious opportunities to score. In the very first inning with one out, Johnny Pesky walked and Williams reached on an infield roller past Trout. Jimmy Bloodworth picked up the ball and threw it off balance to first base and it went wild. Pesky raced to third
and the Kid moved to second. The Tigers pitched the Bobby Doerr, although first was open, and he rolled out to George Kell.
Trout had pitched three scoreless innings when Ted came up to bat in the fourth. The Tigers put on the shift but kept the thirdbaseman, George Kell and the left fielder, Dick Wakefield on the left side. This time the Kid hit one where nobody could get to it. He lofted one that landed in the
press box extension in right field about five feet from the foul line. This home run equaled his previous best of 37, that he manufactured in 1941. |
