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GOODMAN, STEPHENS & SPENCE |
BOSTON RED SOX ...
THE
CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, PART 3
A
SUBWAY SERIES DISAPPEARS ...
The Sox come
from behind twice
to sweep a doubleheader
June 6, 1948 ... A
banner crowd of 34,251 fans had a grand day of baseball at Fenway
Park, as Joe McCarthy's rebounding Red Sox twice downed the Detroit
Tigers by scores of 5 to 4 and 12 to 4, to capture their second
doubleheader in a row and run their present winning streak to five
straight games. In their most productive afternoon of the season,
the Red Sox came from behind twice to win both games and springboard themselves
from seventh place to a three way tie for fourth. Ted Williams, Stan Spence and Vern Stephens sent three
successive home runs out of the park in the sixth inning of the second game.
Dave Ferriss pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings, granting but three hits in a
relief role. The Sox made the Tigers use eight of their 10 pitchers during the
course of the afternoon.
Ted Williams boosted his batting average to .391 by going five for eight,
including his 12th home run of the year as well as two doubles. Stan Spence and Vern Stephens each
homered twice for the day, with Stephens knocking in the final three runs to
pull out the victory in the opening game. Birdie Tebbetts went three for four in
the second game, giving him seven hits in his last 12 at-bats, including four
doubles.
Mickey Harris started the first game and had just one bad inning, the third.
It cost him three runs, which later forced his removal for a pinch-hitter in the
eighth-inning. He walked catcher Bob Swift on five pitches to open the inning
and then put himself deeper in the hole when he took a sacrifice bunt attempt
from Virgil Trucks and threw it into centerfield. Swift eventually scored when
Neil Berry singled, and singles by Eddie Mayo and George Kell gave the Tigers a
3 to 0 lead.
The Red Sox got back into the game in the sixth inning when Ted Williams
doubled to left and Stan Spence slugged his fourth home run of the year, curving
around the foul pole into the right-field stands, cutting the lead to 3 to 2.
The Tigers bounced back in the next inning when Berry and Vic Wertz both doubled
to extend their lead to 4 to 2.
But then Trucks couldn't hold the lead in the eighth by walking Ted Williams,
who rode home on Stephens' eighth home run of the year, into the left field
screen, to tie the game. Al Benton came in to replace Trucks in the ninth and
walked Dom DiMaggio on four straight pitches to start. He then walked Johnny
Pesky and was replaced by rookie left-hander Walter Pierce. Pierce faced
Williams and walked him to also load the bases. That brought in Hal White, who
struck out Sam Mele, but then Vern Stephens slapped a two and two pitch into
right field for the walkoff game winner.
In the second game, rookie Art Houtteman was on the mound for the Tigers to
face Ellis Kinder. Kinder was not around long, as the Tigers racked up four runs
in the first two innings, before Dave Ferriss came in to put out the fire. Billy
Goodman's error and Dick Wakefield's double in the first inning, and second
inning doubles by Pat Mullin and George Kell, along with walks to Hal Wagner and
Eddie Mayo, accounted for the four Tiger runs.
The Sox then went to work on Houtteman in the second inning. Vern Stephens
reached first on a base hit and doubles by Bobby Doerr and Birdie Tebbetts
produced two Boston runs in the second inning.
In the third inning the Red Sox put the game away as they batted around and
scored four runs to give them a 6 to 4 lead. Singles by Williams, Doerr, Goodman
and Ferris, with walks to Spence and Tebbetts produced the runs.
Freddie Hutchinson came in to pitch for the Tigers and he breezed through two
innings but ran into the same trouble in the sixth inning. DiMaggio singled and
Williams hit a home run that curved into the seats around the foul pole in
right. Stan Spence belted a two and two pitch into the same area and Vern
Stephens parked his ninth home run of the year into the screen in left, for
three home runs in a row. The Sox scored their final 12th run in the seventh on
a double by Birdie Tebbetts and a single by DiMaggio.
In the field, Bobby Doerr, over the last 21 games, has handled 117 chances
without an error. Vern Stephens, in the last 14 games, has handled 87 chances
successfully. |
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