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Jackie Jensen ties the game
and his walk-off
homer gives the Sox a 5 to 4 win in 11 innings
September 26, 1959
... Jackie Jensen doubled in the ninth inning
to tie the game and then homered in the eleventh, to win it all 5 to
4.
Camilo Pascual was leading 4 to 1 for Washington, thanks to Harmon
Killebrew's homer, going into the ninth inning. He had struck out ten
Sox batters and let only one base runner get past second.
But Don Buddin opened the ninth with a fly ball that glanced off the
lower part of the fence in left. It got by Bob Allison and Buddin
scampered into second base. Dick Gernert came up next, as a pinch
hitter for Bill Monbouquette and singled to center, with Buddin
taking third. Pete Runnels followed and hit a grounder that took a
bad hop, letting him reach safely, while Buddin scored. Gernert moved
to second on the play and now the Sox were down 4 to 2.
Marty Keough sacrificed along the two runners and Gene Stephens
walked to load the bases. Jensen lined a ball into the left field
corner, that a fan reached over and touched for aground-rule double.
It allowed Gernert and Stephens to score and the game was tied. Bill
Fischer came in for Washington, to rescue Pascual and he walked Frank
Malzone intentionally to load the bases, fanned Billy Mallett and got
Don Gile to hit into a force play, escaping any more trouble.
The game went into extra innings and Nelson Chittum pitched scoreless
ball for the Sox, as did Fischer. But in the 11th with the count 2-2
on Jensen and two outs, Jackie took Fisher's next pitch into the left
field nets. It was Jackie's 28 homer and 112th RBI.
Monbouquette had retired the first nine batters in a row. But in the
fourth inning, Billy Consolo and Dan Dobbek led with singles. Harmon
Killebrew then lifted his 41st homer over the wall and the Sox were
in a hole, 3-0. Killebrew's single, a force-out and a double by
Sievers, made the score 4-0 in the sixth inning.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Sox got one back. Ted Williams
doubled, took third on Jensen's base hit and scored on a single by
Mallett. It was the first run Pascual had given up in 23 innings of
work.
With his three RBIs, Jensen pulled one ahead of Rocky Colavito in the
AL RBI race, 112-111. |
