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THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, PART 6 ...
"THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM"
Bennett & Petrocelli lead the Sox in Detroit
May
23, 1967 ... Dennis Bennett pitched softly and
beat the Detroit Tigers, 5 to 2, for the Red Sox third straight
victory over them. The Sox got home runs by Rico Petrocelli in the
second inning off Mickey Lolich and by Carl Yastrzemski in the
eighth-inning, with a man on. It was a rainy evening and kept the
crowd down to 7570 fans. The two teams went into the fifth inning tied up at 1
to 1. The Tigers had sprayed a lot of vicious drives around the stadium in the
first innings, but mostly were foul balls. It looked as if they might have
Bennett's number. But the best they could do was a run on doubles by Don Wert
and Willie Horton in the first inning. Petrocelli's smash tied up the game in
the second inning.
Two more runs were scored as Bennett helped himself in the fifth. With one
out, Joe Foy and Mike Ryan singled to center. Bennett came up and it was very
obvious he was going to lay down a bunt somewhere. He obliged by tapping a
little one that rolled about 30 feet down the third-base line. Lolich went after
it and got his glove on it, bobbled it and his throw missed by yards at first
base. The ball was about five feet on the second base side of the bag and Norm
Cash couldn't come close to it. Al Kaline went racing after the ball that
bounced off the Red Sox bullpen and by that time, Foy was home, Ryan was at
third and Bennett at second. Reggie Smith, who had struck out the first two
times in the game, singled sharply to left for another run, putting the Sox up 3
to 1.
In the bottom of the fifth Ray Oyler doubled to left with one out and Bennett
walked his opposing pitcher, Lolich. Wert then lined one to left and Bennett
walked Dick McAuliffe. Dick Williams came out to have a discussion and let
Bennett stay in to face Al Kaline, who took him to fairly deep center field to
end the threat.
Smith slammed another single in the eighth-inning and was sacrificed along by
Mike Andrews, before Yastrzemski hit his home run for his 26th and 27th RBIs.
That gave the Sox a 5 to 1 lead.
Kaline homered in the Tigers half of the eighth and with a 2-0 count on
Willie Horton, Williams came out and brought in John Wyatt to end the game. He
got the next two men out and got through the ninth-inning, with only allowing a
walk, to get his second save of the year. |
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