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JIM LONBORG |
THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, PART 6 ...
"THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM"
Jim Lonborg comes close to a no hitter
June
2, 1967 ... Jim Lonborg came within five outs
of throwing a no-hitter, when the Indians catcher, Duke Sims, lined a
one hop ground rule double into the right-field stands at Municipal
Stadium in Cleveland. Lonborg settled for a three hitter and a 2 to 1
victory, his seventh of the season.
Lonborg admitted he started thinking about the no-hitter the next inning. He
struck out Lee Maye to start the seventh inning on a breaking pitch in the dirt.
He then challenged Leon Wagner with a fastball on a 3-2 pitch, and struck him
out. He finally got Fred Whitfield on a breaking ball.
Leading off the eighth-inning for Cleveland, Max Alvis smashed one toward the
bag at third. Joe Foy glided over and was able to throw him out easily. Then
came Sims, who was batting .175 and lined one just inside the right-field line.
Rocky Colavito batted for Pedro Gonzales and drew a walk. The first pitch the
Larry Brown was a ball and manager Dick Williams came out of the dugout to talk
to his pitcher. Brown then bounced one toward third that Foy grabbed on the
short hop, tossing for a force at second. Chuck Hinton next pinch-hit for Sonny
Siebert and blasted a 2-0 pitch off Lonborg's right shin. The ball rolled into
foul territory on the third-base side for a hit that allowed Sims to score. Vic
Davalillo, the next batter, struck out on three pitches to end the inning for
Lonborg.
But the Boston ace couldn't breathe easily yet. Lee Maye led off the
ninth-inning and lined a 3-2 pitch passed Rico Petrocelli, who made a desperate
dive. Maye legged it out for a double as the ball rolled between Yastrzemski and
Smith. With John Wyatt warming up in the bullpen, Leon Wagner was next at bat
and fell behind 0-2 before he popped one to Mike Andrews in short right. Fred
Whitfield, after falling behind, fouled one off and then struck out on a high
fastball. Max Alvis was the last batter that Lonborg had to face and he lined
the first pitch down the left-field line that Carl Yastrzemski was able to
corral for the final out.
Yaz gave his pitcher a 2 to 0 lead with a booming home run off the facing of
the upper deck in right, with Mike Andrews aboard in the sixth inning. The win
was the Red Sox fifth in their last six games and move them past the Indians
into third place.
PFC Anthony R. Conigliaro, 412th Engineers Company, U.S. Army Reserves
touched down at Hopkins Airport at 1:30 in the afternoon. He had a welcoming
party of one, Billy Rohr, who's turn will come next week. Conigliaro was playing
war games at Camp Drum in upstate New York, while the Sox were winning ten and
losing six over the past two weeks. |
