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BOBBY DOERR |
THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, PART 2 ...
A POWERFUL RED SOX TEAM FAILS
IN THE WORLD SERIES ...
Bobby Doerr leads the Sox in a 6-run eighth
June 4, 1946 ... The Red Sox scored six times in the last of the eighth-inning to come from behind and beat the St. Louis Browns for their 13th straight victory at Fenway Park with a 9-4 trouncing. Ted Williams and
Johnny Pesky, the team's leading hitters, provided two of the outs among the 11 batters who were marched to the plate while the Sox were scoring six times.
Instead of the Pesky-Williams 1-2 punch, Mike Higgins and Bobby Doerr took over the starring roles during the winning rally. Higgins, making his first full game appearance at third base, replacing the limping Glenn Russell, culminated a three day by blasting across the two runs that turned a
4 to 3 deficit into a 5 to 4 lead at the expense of pitcher Tex Shirley. Doerr, who doubled to open the big inning, wound up his best day of the season when he came up for the second time in that frame and singled across the last two runs. These two hits came on top of a two run, first
inning homer off Denny Galehouse. The resulting four RBI move Doerr passed Williams into the league lead in that important department with 40 to Ted's 37.
When the Kid popped out for the second out in the eighth inning with the bases loaded, he tossed his bat so high in disgust that it almost landed on first base. The bat flip elicited a number of boos from the crowd and Ted countered with a flattening of his fingers just before he disappeared
in the dugout.
The game, which eventually saw Earl Johnson crowned with his fourth straight relief appearance, really look like a loser for the Sox up until the time they busted out in the eighth-inning. Randy Heflin, the Sox starter, couldn't hold a three to nothing lead. Bob Klinger who came in relief
finally yielded a 3 to 1 advantage. But the Browns eventually took a 4 to 3 margin in the first of the eighth-inning, when Joe Grace greeted the incoming Johnson with a single that scored Tex Shirley, who had doubled off Klinger.
Down one run, up popped Bobby Doerr with a double into the left-field corner to start the eighth. Rudy York walked and Dom DiMaggio beat out a bunt to set up Mike Higgins, who singled through the box. Hal Wagner singled to score Dom and Johnson dropped a single into right to bring in
Higgins. The bases became packed again when Metkovich walked, but Wagner was forced out at the plate when Johnny Pesky dribbled a ball back to the pitcher. Williams popped up and got pissed off again just before Bobby Doerr took charge. Ted has now made only seven hits in his last 41 trips
to the plate. |
