 |
|
BILL
MONBOUQUETTE |
THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, PART 6 ...
"THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM"
Monbo dazzles the Red Sox
September
8, 1967 ... The Yankees beat the Red Sox, 5 to
2, at Fenway and the loss dropped Boston into third-place, a half
game behind Minnesota and Detroit. The Tigers beat the White Sox and
the Twins split a doubleheader in Baltimore. The White Sox are now
one game behind. Bill Monbouquette was on the mound against his old
teammates for 6 1/3 innings. Joe Verbanic replaced him in the seventh and
finished very well.
Monbo also had two base hits and his second single saw him score the go-ahead
run in the fifth. The score going into the inning was deadlocked at 2 to 2, with
Lee Stange on the mound for the Sox. Monbouquette singled to right and was
sacrificed along by Horace Clarke. Up came Tom Tresh who hit a line drive toward
rightfielder Ken Harrelson. The Hawk got a slow start on the ball and never
caught up to it. Monbouquette scored easily and put the Yankees ahead, 3 to 2.
The Yanks added a couple more runs in the seventh inning, when Monbouquette
collected his second single, but was forced out at second. Jake Gibbs singled to
left to put runners on first and second. Tresh lined one to left that Carl
Yastrzemski had trouble with, and both Clark and Gibbs scored. Yastrzemski had
tried to make a running catch of the ball, running toward left center and the
ball went right under his glove and reached for the wall. By the time he got it
back into the infield, the two runs had scored, putting the Yankees ahead 5 to
2.
In the seventh inning, Monbouquette hit Mike Andrews with a pitch with one
out. Jerry Adair topped the ball down the third-base line and Charlie Smith's
throw was wide of first, but Pepitone caught it backing away with his right foot
on the base. Verbanic was then brought in to face Yaz and he got him on a
strikeout. George Scott lined out to Tresh in left field to end the threat.
Scott did most of what little damage was done to Monbouquette, tripling to
right in the first inning after Yastrzemski had singled. In the fourth, George
singled to center and stole second when Reggie Smith was called out on strikes.
After Harrelson had grounded out, Rico Petrocelli scored him with a double off
the wall.
The victory for Monbouquette was his fourth for the Yankees, who signed him
as a free agent in June after he was released by the Tigers. He moved the ball
around the Red Sox and kept it low, so they could not hit it off the wall. He
was very tough with men on base. Monbo departed in the seventh inning, receiving
the loudest booing of the evening. |
