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BILLY GOODMAN |
BOSTON RED SOX
...
THE CURSE OF
THE BAMBINO, PART 3
A
SUBWAY SERIES DISAPPEARS ...
Billy Goodman
helps the Sox sweep a doubleheader
September 6, 1948 ... Sweeping
a doubleheader from the Washington Senators by scores of 14 to 6 and
2 to 1, the Red Sox made the prospects of it all Boston World Series
a little brighter here today. Extending their winning streak to seven
games, the Red Sox increased their slim lead the American League to a
game and a half over the Yankees, who split their twinbill with the
Athletics. Boston won the opener on power, as Mel Parnell won his
fifth straight, and then took the second game on the four hit pitching of Jack
Kramer. Billy Goodman provided the winning margin with a two-out single in the
sixth inning to give Kramer his 16th win.
Wally Moses and Goodman led the assault in the opener, with four hits each.
Moses knocked in three runs and scored a pair himself. Goodman chased two
teammates across the plate and scored one run. When he singled in Boston's
winning run in the second game, it gave him a 10 game hitting streak.
The Sox showed they had plenty of everything. After a terrific batting
display in the opener, they won on pitching in the nightcap. Kramer held
Washington to just four hits. After Gil Coan opened with a double in the first
inning, Jack didn't allow another hit until the seventh. By then he had a 2-1
margin and was nicked for only a couple of singles. But in between those hits
Goodman started a sizzling double play.
Walt Masterson battled Kramer on close to even terms until he was forced out
of the game with a sore right elbow. He hung around however, long enough to
permit the two runs which were all that Kramer required.
Washington scored in the opening inning to take the lead, but it took a
couple of errors to tie the game up in the fifth. Birdie Tebbetts opened with a
single to left and catcher Jake Early tried to pick him off first. But the throw
was over Mickey Vernon's head and went into right field. When the ball was
bobbled in right Birdie moved over to third-base. He scored when Billy Hitchcock
flied out to deep center to tie up the game.
The winning run came in the sixth inning when Johnny Pesky opened by beating
out a nice bunt down the third-base line. Ted Williams singled him over to
third and Masterson then fanned Vern Stephens. He got Moses to pop out and had
two strikes on Goodman, when Billy bounced a single over first base to bring
across Pesky.
Kramer's lead was only in danger in the eighth-inning. With one out, Forrest
Thompson doubled down the right-field line. Coan flied out to Williams and then
Kramer fanned Jim Clark. In the ninth, he set down the side in order to gain the
win.
In the first game the Sox hit a trio of Washington pitchers for eighteen
hits, drew six walks and had three batters hit by pitch balls. Twenty eight Red
Sox hitters reach first base. A nine run fifth inning settled the game early.
Fifteen batters came to the plate with six hits, three walks and a hit batsman
as two pitchers were sent to the showers. Earl Harrist was the third pitcher and
he managed to stagger through the final outs of that inning and allowed two more
runs over the final four.
With a 12 to 1 lead, Parnell just coasted along. He allowed three Senator
runs in the seventh, but they were all unearned. He was breezing along very
easily until the ninth when he was slapped for four hits and two runs before
Carden Gillenwater popped out to end the game.
The Red Sox have won 22 of their last 26 games. They have a 13-6 margin over
the Senators for the season. Bobby Doerr took his daily light workout but didn't
say anything after batting practice. Stan Spence relaxed and didn't do anything
but rest his leg strain.
In Yankee Stadium the Athletics teed off on Ed Lopat for four runs in the
first inning and went on to defeat the Yankees 6 to 2 in the second game of the
doubleheader. The Yankees had won the opener 6 to 4, behind Vic Raschi and a
split, together with the Red Sox two wins, dropped the Yankees to 1 1/2 games
behind the Sox.
The Indians dropped to 4 1/2 games behind the Red Sox by splitting their
doubleheader with the White Sox in Chicago. In the second game Bob Feller
pitched the Indians to a 1 to 0 victory that was called after seven innings on
account of darkness. The White Sox won the opener, 3-1. |
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