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Carlton Fisk and Bill Lee lead the Sox
June 25, 1973
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With one smack in the eighth-inning off of Carlton Fisk's bat and
another masterpiece by his trusty sidekick, Bill Lee, the Sox took a
dramatic 2 to 1 victory over the Detroit Tigers before 20,837
spectators. It was the first time in eight confrontations this year
that the Red Sox had beaten the Tigers. And for only the 16th time in
46 lifetime decisions, had the Red Sox beaten Jim Perry. Any time
you come into the bottom of the game, in a 1 to 1 tie, it has to be exciting by
the sheer anticipation of a game ending shot. But this game had brilliant
pitching and some outstanding defensive plays, particularly by Mickey Stanley of
the Tigers and Luis Aparicio of the Red Sox.
With one out in the eighth-inning and the score tied at 1 to 1, Carlton Fisk
took a slider from Perry and hit his 16th home run into the net in left-center
field. It gave Lee his ninth win of the season and a 1.94 earned run average.
Lee, in his last seven starts at Fenway Park is 6-1, with a 1.44 ERA.
Before Fisk's home run, it was a pitcher's duel between Perry and Lee. Lee
had allowed only one man past first, with the exception of Al Kaline, who
homered off him in the fourth. Perry pitched out of trouble in the second inning
when the Sox had runners on first and third with nobody out on a walk by Carl
Yastrzemski and a single by Orlando Cepeda. The Red Sox also helped Perry by
hitting several hard line drives right at people.
In the fifth inning, Danny Cater singled to open and Luis Aparicio lined a
single to left. Mario Guerrero squared around on a pitch and hit a ball as hard
as anyone to right-center that Stanley caught on the dead run. Cater was able to
make it to third and then Rick Miller got one of his two hits, a line drive to
center that tied up the game. Perry escaped the inning when Reggie Smith hit a
one hop bullet that Tony Taylor turned into a doubleplay. But thanks to Fisk and
Lee, along with two outstanding plays by Luis Aparicio, it became a moot point. |
