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A NEW
ERA BEGINS WITH YAZ ...
The Sox come from very far behind and
earn a doubleheader split with the White Sox
July 30, 1961
... A seven run lead at Fenway Park can
sometimes not be enough. The White Sox clubbed Gene Conley for six
runs and added another off Mike Fornieles. By the end of the third
inning they had a 7-0 lead, and Chicago pitcher, Juan Pizarro had not
given up a hit.
But the Red Sox fought their way back inch by inch. Pumpsie Green
gave them a kick start with a pinch-hit two run homer. However, the
Red Sox still trailed until the last of the ninth inning, when Vic
Wertz slammed a 400 ft solo homer to tie the game at 8-8.
And with two men out, in the last of the 10th inning, Jackie Jensen
got a base hit and made a vital steal of second base. Pinch hitter
Joe Ginsberg next took a pitch from Turk Lown and slapped it off the
pitcher's mound, for a base hit that gave the Red Sox a 9 to 8 win.
With his team up 7-0, Pizarro gave up his first hit in the fourth
inning, when Carroll Hardy beat out an infield hit and scored after a
walk to Jensen, a ground out and a wild pitch.
In the fifth inning, Pizzaro gave Don Buddin a free pass to start the
inning. Two batters later, Pumpsie, batting for Fornieles, homered
into the left field net. Chuck Schilling was up next and worked a
walk. Hardy doubled him over to third, and Malzone was walked to load
up the bases. After Pizarro went 2-0 on Jim Pagliaroni, Don Larsen
came in and took his place. Larsen completed the base-on-balls,
Schilling was pushed across the plate and the Chicago lead had been
cut to 7-4.
Arnold Early pitched a quiet sixth and seventh innings for the Sox.
In the seventh, Carl Yastrzemski also showed how to play left field
at Fenway. With one out and Minnie Minoso on first, Roy Sievers hit a
high fly ball to left. It didn't have enough to reach the fence, but
Yaz pretended it did. He turned and looked up at the wall, faking
Minoso into taking off for second. But then Yaz turned, caught the
ball and rifled to Pete Runnels at first for a doubleplay.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox picked up a run in each inning. In the sixth,
Yaz, Russ Nixon and Schilling each singled, for another run. In the
seventh, Malzone blasted a double off the center field wall. Three
batters later the Sox had a run on a ground out, and the Chicago lead
had been cut to one run.
With Tracy Stallard on the mound in the eighth, Chicago got their
eighth run on Al Smith's double, a ground out and a sacrifice fly
that made the score 8 to 6.
But the Red Sox didn't quit because in their half of the eighth,
Nixon singled off Billy Pierce. Then Lown came in to pitch and got
Schilling on a ground out that moved Nixon over. Hardy brought Nixon
in with a single to center.
Chet Nichols stopped Chicago in the ninth, before Wertz tied it up
and Ginsberg won it in the 10th.
It also gave the Red Sox a split of the day's doubleheader, for in
the first game, the home team lost to Frank Baumann, 4 to 2. |
