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JOSE TARTABULL SCORES |
THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, PART 6 ...
"THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM"
The Sox give the game to the Tigers
May
12, 1967 ... The Red Sox gave away runs again,
this time to the Detroit Tigers, who came in the Fenway Park and beat
the hometown boys, 5 to 4. The win gave Detroit a six-game winning
streak. The only real trouble they had was at the end of the game
when the Sox scored twice and had the tying run on third and winning
run on first, but Joe Foy grounded out to end the game. The most
excitement of the evening came in the eighth-inning when John Wyatt was on the
mound for the Red Sox. He hadn't given up a run all year, but at the moment it
looked as though one of the beds at the hospital could be occupied by him. Balls
have been thrown from the catcher down the second base for a long time, but this
time catcher Bob Tillman made a throw to second that hit Wyatt in the head.
The inning started with Wyatt getting the first man out and then he gave a
base on balls up to Al Kaline. On the second pitch, Kaline broke for second and
Tillman stood poised to try and throw him out. When he let the ball fly, Wyatt
turned to see how good the throw would be. It was a perfect throw that hit him
on the back in the head and bounced all the way to the batter circle between the
plate and first base. By the time the ball was picked up, Kaline was on third.
Wyatt was unhurt, just embarrassed, and he stuck it out and finished the game.
Tony Horton then hit a fly ball to right and Kaline scored the fourth run.
The Red Sox starter, Darrell Brandon, ran into a wild spell in the third
inning and started to hand out base on balls like candy. He walked Earl Wilson,
then Dick McAuliffe and Don Wert. Manager Dick Williams came out to have a talk
with him, only to see Brandon throw a wild pitch in the dirt to Kaline, after he
returned to the dugout. Then Kaline hit a grounder off Rico Petrocelli's glove
for an error and a run scored. The third run for the Tigers came on Norm Cash's
home run in the fourth inning.
The Red Sox scored a run in the fourth on a single by Carl Yastrzemski. After
George Scott had singled to right, sending Yaz to third, Tony Conigliaro
grounded to short and Yaz scored the Sox first run.
Another run for the Red Sox came in the fifth inning when Don Wert booted a
ground ball. José Tartabull raced all the way from first on Yaz's single to
short right, making the score 3 to 2.
The Tigers then came back in the seventh with their fourth run when Cash
singled off Mike Andrews' glove and Mike threw the ball into the Red Sox dugout.
Bill Freehan then doubled off the wall in left-center. In the next inning
Tillman hit Wyatt on the head, allowing a run in the score making it 5 to 2.
In the ninth-inning Earl Wilson got into trouble when Don Wert fumbled a
ground ball by Conigliaro for a single. Petrocelli walked and in came Fred
Gladding to relieve Wilson. He walked Dalton Jones to load the bases and Tony
Horton came in to bat for Tillman. Horton grounded down the second for a force
play that also scored a run. Don Demeter then pinch-hit for Wyatt and singled up
the middle to score Petrocelli. Finally, José Tartabull lined out to Ray Oyler,
the shortstop and Foy grounded out to end the game.
Earl Wilson is now 3-0 against the Red Sox. George Thomas was put on the
disabled list with a broken finger. |
