|
|
THE CURSE OF
THE BAMBINO, PART 4 August 12, 1949 ... In a day night doubleheader, the Red Sox emerged in second place, by winning two games from the Washington Senators, 15 to 7 and 13 to 11. The wins cut the Yankees lead over the Sox to 4 1/2 games. Vern Stephens slammed out his 29th home run and knocked in five runs, being the big gun in the second game. With 32,359 fans looking on in the night game, a hectic win, Billy Hitchcock stole home in the eighth-inning to break in 11 to 11 tie. Joe Dobson was battling Dick Weik when Hitchcock was walked in the eighth-inning. Matt Batts worked another walk and they were sacrificed over by the pitcher Dobson. Hitchcock spotted his chance and charged down the third-base line, sliding over the plate before Weik could get the ball to his catcher, Jake Early. Batts moved along on the double steal and scored the 13th and final run of the game, on Johnny Pesky's single to center. Pesky had a great day and night, with five hits in seven trips, five runs scored, four runs batted in and a multitude of standout defensive plays. Old friend Sam Mele hit the ball hard in the second game, and Roberta Ortiz belted out a day night total of a home run, a double, four singles and three walks with four RBIs for Washington. In the second game the Red Sox picked up one in the second inning on a double by Bobby Doerr and a single by Al Zarilla. The Senators, however, took a 4 to 1 lead in the third, hitting Mickey McDermott hard. McDermott started the second game and didn't last long. In the top of the third he gave up a walk to Al Evans to start the trouble. Evans was forced at second, but Eddie Yost and Sherry Robertson both singled, Mele doubled, Ortiz and Vollmer both singled and four runs were scored. The Red Sox had their biggest inning of the year in their half, scoring eight runs and routing starter Lloyd Hittle and his replacement Allen Gettel. The Sox sent 13 men to the plate. McDermott started it off with a walk. After Dom DiMaggio was struck out, Pesky, Ted Williams, Vern Stephens and Bobby Doerr hit consecutive singles to account for three runs. Zarilla went out and Hitchcock received a walk that loaded the bases. Now Gettel came into the game and committed a balk that scored Stephens and moved everyone else up a base. Batts received a base on balls, to load the bases again and McDermott, DiMaggio and Pesky hit three successive singles that accounted for three more runs. Williams was walked to load the bases again but forced at second on a ground ball by Stephens, for the final out and a 9 to 4 lead. In the top of the fourth the Senators knocked out McDermott. Evans singled and Gettel walked. After Yost hit into a doubleplay, Robertson received another walk and ex-teammate, Sam Mele lined a hard double by off the left centerfield wall to score Evans. Tex Hughson came in to replace Mickey and a ball got by Batts, that was ruled a passed ball and scored Robertson. Ortiz lined a single to center that scored Mele to cut the Sox lead to 9 to 7. Doerr opened up the Sox fourth inning with a single and manager Joe Kuhel came out to get Gettel and replaced him with Joe Haynes. Haynes got Zarilla to force Doerr at second but gave up a double to Hitchcock putting runners on second and third. Batts' high fly ball out to left-field scored Zarilla, making it 10 to 7. One more run was scored in the sixth on Hitchcock's single to left, that got by Clyde Vollmer and allowed him to get to second, where he was brought in with the 11th run by Batts. Hughson got through the sixth inning nicely, but back came the Senators in the seventh when he was belted for three more runs to put Washington back into the ballgame. Joe Dobson took over the Sox pitching in the eighth-inning and the Senators came back once again to tie up the game. The game moved into the ninth and set the stage for Hitchcock's heroic dash home, winning the game by one run, 11 to 10. The Senators threw an early scare into the Red Sox in the afternoon with only 4000 fans looking on. Chuck Stobbs, after a nine day layoff in the bullpen, coasted to his sixth win behind a 14 hit attack on starter Ray Scarborough and three relief pitchers. Stobbs gave up three runs in the first inning and three runs in the ninth. In the bottom of the first inning, down 3 to 0, the Sox chipped away. Scarborough walked DiMaggio and Pesky. Williams lined a single to right that scored DiMaggio and moved Pesky over to third. Scarborough then walked Stephens to load the bases and eight ground ball doubleplay by Bobby Doerr was able to score pesky, making it 3 to 2. The Sox tied it up in the third on a walk to Pesky, Williams' ground ball out that moved him to second and a single by Stephens. Stephens slammed his 29th home run into the left-field net in the fifth inning with Williams and Pesky aboard, before Doerr singled and was scored with Billy Goodman's double. In the sixth inning the Senators got one run back, but the Sox exploded in the sixth inning, scoring seven runs and a 14 to 4 lead. Stobbs and DiMaggio started the inning with singles off Dick Welteroth. Pesky slammed a triple that one around the wall in the right-field corner to score both of them. Welteroth walked Williams and Stephens lined a single to center that scored Pesky. Doerr walked to load the bases before Goodman slammed a double off the left-field wall that scored Williams and Stephens and sent Doerr over to third-base. Now Julio Gonzalez came in to replace Welteroth and got Zarilla on strikes. But then he threw a wild pitch back to the backstop and Doerr scored while Goodman moved over to third, where he scored on a ground ball out by Tebbetts. The Sox picked up their last run in the eighth on two singles by Doerr and Goodman. Doerr scored when Zarilla hit into a doubleplay before Birdie Tebbetts hit a fly ball that ended the inning. It was now 15 to 4 going into the ninth-inning and Yost got his first Fenway Park home run. A walk, a double by Mele and a single by Ortiz concluded the scoring and a 15 to 4 Red Sox laugher. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
 |
 |