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RUSS GIBSON HOMERS |
THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, PART 6 ...
"THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM"
Russ Gibson's 2-run HR tops the Yanks
June
12, 1967 ... Rain delayed the start of the Red
Sox game with the New York Yankees for 51 minutes, before Gary Bell
took the mound for the Sox. He blinded the Yanks, 3 to 1, on seven
hits, striking out eight and walking only one. But the 18,939 fans
had a little more to cheer about, in addition to the fine pitching by
the Red Sox new acquisition. Russ Gibson, who waited all these
years, to get into the big leagues, sent one of Joe Verbanic's pitches into the
left-field net during the second inning, with a man on first. It was his very
first big-league home run.
The other run off Verbanic came in the first inning when Mike Andrews walked
with one out, and after Carl Yastrzemski was hit by a pitch, George Scott lined
one to left-field. That was all the scoring the Red Sox could produce in the
cold wet evening, but Bell looked very confident in handling the Yankee batters.
The Yankees had only a double with six singles. It was Bell's second win for
the Red Sox since being traded for Tony Horton and Don Demeter. He was pumping
his fastball and had a great curve, and it looked for four innings as if the
Yankees were never going to get near a pitch. But after Charlie Smith struck
out, Mike Hegan doubled off the left-field wall, only inches above Yaz's leap.
After another strikeout, Horace Clarke hit a little looper over third-base that
scored Hegan. Then Ruben Amaro hit another Texas Leaguer into left field. But
Jake Gibbs popped one up to end the inning.
In the last four innings, only one Yankee batter got on base, when Amaro
singled in the eighth-inning with one out.
This is the fourth win for the Red Sox against the Yankees in seven meetings.
Mickey Mantle was sat out of the game because of the bad footing with the rain. |
