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“DIARY OF A WINNER”
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THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, PART 6 ... June 20, 1967 ... Bob Tillman hadn't started a game for the Red Sox in over a month, and in the fifth inning he flicked a soft single into right field at Yankee Stadium. As soon as he got the first base, the rain started to pour and the squall passed through New York for 56 minutes. Finally it stopped and back Tillman went to first base as Mel Stottlemyre took the mound again for the Yankees. In quick succession came a walk to Reggie Smith, a ground ball by Gary Bell, a walk to Mike Andrews and a grand slam homer by Joe Foy. Carl Yastrzemski followed fully with another home run and the Red Sox had a 5 to 0 lead. The game wound up with the Red Sox plastering the Yankees by a score of 7 to 1, with Bell losing the shutout in the ninth-inning when he gave up a home run to Joe Pepitone. For hit a home run here at the Stadium against Whitey Ford to start the season. This was his second grand slam and it was drilled about 15 rows into the left-field seats, for his ninth home run of the year. Yastrzemski hit his 17th into the upper deck in right field, giving him his 47th run batted in. The Red Sox had never had luck against Stottlemyre in the past. They had lost eight of nine games to him going into the season, but now they have beaten him twice in three games. It looked like enough runs for Bell the way he was handling the Yankees, but the Red Sox added two more in the eighth off reliever Hal Reniff. Tony Conigliaro beat out a bunt with one out, got to second when Jake Gibbs fell down trying to field the ball and then threw it into right field. Reniff's next pitch went over Petrocelli's head and allowed Conigliaro to scoot over to third-base. Rico struck out, but George Scott then singled to left bringing home the sixth run. Scott came all the way around on Tillman's second hit of the game, a double inside the third-base line. Gary Bell has now won three of the four games that he has started for the Red Sox. He had some trouble in the second inning when Tom Tresh hit a bleeder down the left-field line with two out. Bell walked the next two men, but Stottlemyre popped up to Foy to end the threat. Bell had another jam in the fourth when Whitaker and Tresh opened the inning with singles. Gibbs lined out to left-field and Charlie Smith lined one to Petrocelli, who picked Whitaker off second. Going into the ninth with a shutout, Bell lost it on a very weak home run, as Pepitone hit one into the first row in right field. Bell gave up only five hits and struck out six. The Yankees did not look like a strong team yet again, and even Mickey Mantle seems to of lost some of his pep, striking out three times. |
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