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Billy Goodman's bat and
glove ruin June 23, 1951 ... Kept in contention through the clutch hitting and phenomenal fielding of Billy Goodman, the Red Sox downed the Chicago White Sox, 8 to 7, in the 11th inning on Vern Stephens' 420-foot double, that scored Ted Williams at rain-swept Fenway Park. Although Stephens provided the clincher and Willard Nixon had what it took in relief, the cheers of the fans throughout were for Goodman, whose game-tying two-run double in the eighth inning sent the tilt into overtime. In addition, Goodman turned in a pair of brilliant defensive plays around first base, but one lost its effect as Willard Nixon failed to cover, but the other prevented an extra White Sox run in their three-run third inning. The Red Sox were down, 7 to 5, as they came to bat in the eighth inning. Billy Pierce had come in for Howie Judson at the start of the seventh inning and whiffed Goodman and Stephens around a hit and a walk, to pitch a scoreless inning. But Pierce had only himself to blame for a tie ball game in the eight inning. He had erased two men, and then lost all semblance of control, walking Dom DiMaggio and Johnny Pesky on 10 pitches. Goodman then doubled over Ed Stewart's head off the scoreboard in left to tie up the game. In the 11th inning, Pierce got ahead of Ted Williams, two strikes and a ball, walked him and Stephens, on a three-two pitching, drove a clean blow to the 420-foot mark in center field. That scored Williams with the game winner. Chico Carrasquel set up two Red Sox runs in the second inning when he quit on a fly ball by DiMaggio, that landed between him and Al Zarilla, scoring Ray Scarborough, who had walked. Pesky's triple into the right field corner put the Sox up 4 to 0. Scarborough, the Red Sox starter, experienced a pair of bad innings, giving up a homer to Eddie Robinson, and then Mickey McDermott allowed a triple to Robinson that accounted for two runs in the seventh inning, after he came in to relieve Scarborough. Nixon then pitched fine baseball, spreading three hits over the final three innings. White Sox pitcher Howie Judson was the victim of some shoddy fielding. A single by Pesky, a double by Williams and Stephens' single put the Red Sox ahead in the first inning with two runs and two more runs came across the next inning. Stephens double over Zarilla's head to the fence in left, preceded Bobby Doerr's base hit over second base for the Red Sox fifth run in the third inning. Meanwhile, the White Sox got to Scarborough for three runs in the third inning, on singles by Nellie Fox, Minnie Minoso and Robinson's long home run over the Red Sox bullpen. Then the visitors went ahead in the seventh inning, chasing Scarborough and going up 7 to 5. |
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