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THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, PART 6 ...
"THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM"
The White Sox
take the Red Sox on a wild ride
June
14, 1967 ... The Chicago White Sox provided
the Red Sox with one of the wildest nights in some time. It ended
with White Sox manager, Eddie Stanky, getting ejected and the Red Sox
pulling out a near riotous second game, 6 to 1, to gain a split of a
doubleheader. The first game was also a thriller, as Chicago hung on
to win, 8 to 7, with relief pitcher Wilbur Wood, striking out George
Scott with the bases loaded in the ninth-inning. During the six
hours of baseball, Eddie Stanky, was out on the field the dozen times arguing
with the umpires. His last trip was costly, when he was ejected for complaining
to long and too loudly with umpire Larry Napp, in the seventh inning of the
second game.
The Red Sox, behind great pitching by Lee Stange, pulled out the second game
for his first win of the season. He pitched seven strong innings, giving up just
one run and five hits. He left the game for a pinch runner in a four-run rally
that sewed up the game for the Red Sox in the seventh.
Behind Stange, the Red Sox built up a 2 to 0 lead heading into the seventh.
George Scott had homered in the fourth, his second home run of the night and
eighth of the season, for the first run. In the fifth inning, Stange doubled and
José Tartabull singled him home. That set the stage for the wild seventh inning.
The White Sox had scored in the top half of the seventh, when Ken Berry lined
a triple into the right-field corner and came home on an infield hit by Dick
Kenworthy.
The Red Sox came to bat in their half and got to Chicago pitchers Don McMahon
and Bob Locker for four runs. Rico Petrocelli got it going with a double and
Mike Ryan moved him over the third with a base hit. Reggie Smith came up to
pinch-hit and tripled home both runs, making it 4 to 1 in favor of the Red Sox.
Jerry Adair scored Reggie with a sacrifice fly to right and Yaz wrapped it up
with a home run into the left-field screen, his 15th of the year.
The first game was just as exciting. The White Sox got to four Red Sox
pitchers for 16 hits, including home runs by Tommy Agee, Walt Williams and
Kenworthy. The Red Sox had home runs from Scott, Rico Petrocelli and a two run
double by Tony Conigliaro.
Going into the ninth the White Sox were ahead 8 to 5 with Don McMahon on the
mound. After two outs and none on, the Sox put together a big rally. After
Conigliaro and Petrocelli struck out, Russ Gibson reached first on an infield
hit. George Thomas pinch-hit for John Wyatt, and reached on an error by
Kenworthy, with Gibson going the second. McMahon then walked Reggie Smith and
was replaced by Bob Locker. He walked Mike Andrews allowing Gibson to score and
was replaced by Wilbur Wood. Wood then walked Yastrzemski and Thomas scored,
putting the Red Sox just one run behind. With the bases loaded, up came George
Scott. Wood, with his patented knuckleball, struck out the Boomer to end the
game.
The White Sox had opened up the scoring in the second inning with Kenworthy's
two run homer off Dennis Bennett. The Red Sox took the lead back in their half
of the inning when Scott hit a booming home run off Gary Peters. Petrocelli,
with Foy on first after a base hit, then drilled his eighth home run of the year
into the left-field screen, giving the Red Sox a 3 to 2 lead.
Chicago tied it at 3 to 3 in the third on Agee's bases empty home run off
Bennett. Dennis was finally driven out of the game in the fourth, when Williams,
with two runners on base, slammed a home run to give the White Sox a 6 to 3
lead.
Their lead held up until the sixth, when Peters had control trouble. After
walks to Andrews and Scott, Conigliaro doubled off the wall to score two runs
and knock him out of the game. In came Don McMahon, who was traded to the White
Sox just twelve days ago in exchange for Jerry Adair. He held the Red Sox
hitless until the ninth.
Meanwhile as McMahon was stopping his old teammates, the White Sox added to
their lead in the seventh inning, moving in front 7 to 5 on singles by Agee and
Ken Berry, along with an error by Yastrzemski. Yaz was trying to throw out Agee
going from first the third, but threw it wildly and allowed the runner to score.
Chicago scored their final run in the eighth when pinch-hitter Wayne Causey
singled home Tom McCraw from third base. That's the way stood until the
ninth-inning when Wood fluttered his knuckleball passed Scott.
Dalton Jones and Jim Lonborg missed the games in order to attend Army Reserve
meetings. Galen Cisco rejoined the club from Pittsfield and pitched 1 1/3
innings in the first game. Don McMahon has now pitched three times against the
Red Sox, since being traded and pitched well on each occasion. |
