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THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, PART 6 ...
"THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM"
Dave Morehead pitches
a complete game shutout
August
15, 1967 ... Dave Morehead got a home run from
the Reggie Smith to start and and that was all he needed in shutting
out the Detroit Tigers, 4 to 0. It was Morehead's first complete game
since his no-hitter back in September of 1965. He gave up six hits,
three to catcher Jim Price, striking out eight with a blazing
fastball in the first five innings. Four times the Tigers took third
strikes without swinging. The Red Sox had to beat Joe Sparma, who
got a pitch over the plate to Reggie and three hitters later got another one
over the plate to George Scott. Scott parked that pitch into the screen above
the left-field wall.
Morehead got another run in the third inning when Joe Foy lined a triple to
right-center and scored on a sacrifice fly by Carl Yastrzemski. The final Red
Sox run came when Yaz hit his 21st home run, just to the left of the flagpole in
center field. Had the ball been about 15 feet to the right it probably would've
cleared the back wall of the centerfield bleachers.
Morehead needed no help in the first four innings. He fanned two in the first
inning, two in the second inning, one in the third inning and two more in the
fourth.
But in the fifth, Morehead needed some help. He had struck out the first
hitter, but Price singled to left field and Foy let a ground ball go through his
legs for an error. Dick McAuliffe then walked to load the bases. Don Wert was
the next batter and both Yaz and Reggie Smith played him deep. But Conigliaro
was cheating in right field, playing quite shallow. Wert hit a line drive and on
came Tony and one-handed the ball, as he tumbled and rolled, sticking out his
glove with the ball in it for the final out.
George Scott made a fine play in the seventh when Price got his second single
and Jerry Lumpe grounded to first. He didn't have good possession of the ball as
he headed for first, so he turned and forced Price at second on a fairly close
play. On the next play Lenny Green hit a hard grounder down to him, that Scott
gloved, pivoted and forced Lumpe at second, while Petrocelli got the ball back
to first for a textbook double play.
Al Kaline slammed a triple off Morehead in the eighth, but died on third
base. Morehead had only a soft single of him in the ninth. The victory boosted
the Red Sox into fourth place, dislodging the California Angels, who were beaten
by the Minnesota Twins.
Before the game, pitcher Hank Fischer was been sent to Toronto and Russ
Gibson was sent to Pittsfield. In return the Red Sox brought up right-hander,
Jerry Stephenson, who had an 8 to 7 record in Toronto but had pitch three
complete games, in his last four starts. José Tartabull was also brought back up
from Pittsfield. |
