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“DIARY OF A WINNER”
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THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, PART 6 ... June 27, 1967 ... With big lifts from John Wyatt and Tony Conigliaro, young Gary Waslewski recorded his first major league victory, a strong 3 to 2 win over the Minnesota Twins. Conigliaro's two run homer in the first inning was the big hit the game and Wyatt's three innings of good relief pitching preserved his victory. The league's top pitcher, Dean Chance, with 10 wins, took the loss for Minnesota. Conigliaro, with his ninth home run of the year, gave Waslewski some room to work right from the start. His blast went over the left-field fence near the 390 foot mark and came with Joe Foy on base. The inning started with Mike Andrews lining a single to center. Foy followed him with a single to right and Andrews tried to go to third on the play, but Tony Oliva's strong throwing arm cut him down easily. After Yastrzemski fouled out, Conig unloaded his two run homer. Wyatt weakened for a run in the ninth, but then got Zoilo Versalles to end the game with a potential winning runs on base. Between them, Wyatt and Waslewski gave up just six hits and really had trouble with only Oliva, who knocked in both Minnesota runs. Oliva's bases empty home run in the second was the only run that Waslewski gave up in the six innings he pitched. Oliva's single with two outs in the ninth, knocked in the second Twins' run. Bob Allison followed his hit with a single, but Wyatt struck out Versalles to end it. Waslewski had not pitched in 12 days due to a muscle pull in his back, but in the first inning he showed he wasn't bothered by it, striking out Rod Carew and Harmon Killebrew. In the second inning Oliva slammed his sixth home run over the 410 foot mark into the Twins bullpen in right-center. Outside of that mistake, Waslewski had the Minnesota batters pounding the ball into the ground with a good sinker. He got some good fielding support from George Scott, who made three outstanding defensive plays. In the fourth inning, Scott took a hit away from Carew by charging after a bunt, catching it and diving to tag him on the same motion. In the fifth, with a runner on first and none out, Scott took a hit away from Versalles with a sparkling backhanded stop, forcing the lead runner at second. In the sixth, Waslewski found himself in his first serious jam with runners on first and second and only one out. Killebrew was at the plate and he hit a grounder to Foy at third, who stepped on the bag for the force and threw toward first to complete the double-play. But the throw was low and Scott made a great pickup of the throw in the dirt to save it. Waslewski left the game the next inning for a pinch-hitter, after recording six innings of fine pitching. He allowed just three hits; the home run and two singles by Bob Allison. Including his nine scoreless innings again Chicago in his last start, he has given up just one run in 15 innings against two tough teams. Chance had retired eight straight men coming into the seventh, when the Red Sox put together three straight singles by Jerry Adair, Bob Tillman and Reggie Smith, for a run that gave them a 3 to 1 lead. Carl Yastrzemski, after missing the last game with the flu, played the first 5 1/2 innings before being replaced in favor of José Tartabull. He and Rico Petrocelli were named starting players for the American League All-Star team. The victory put the Red Sox back in third-place, one game ahead of the Twins. |
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