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KEN HARRELSON SCORES
THE WINNING RUN |
THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, PART 6 ...
"THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM"
Rico
Petrocelli's 3 RBIs boosts the Sox
September
13, 1967 ... Rico Petrocelli knocked in three
runs as the Red Sox again beat the Kansas City Athletics, 4-2. Lee
Stange started for the Red Sox and got very little support from his
offense. He left in the seventh inning after having given up an
unearned run on George Scott's rare two errors at first. The Sox
got their first run in the fourth inning against starter Roberto Rodriguez.
Jerry Adair opened with a single to left. After Carl Yastrzemski popped out,
Scott singled to center sending Adair third. Scott went to second on the throw
and the Athletics decided to intentionally walk Ken Harrelson, to set up the
force. Rico came through here by lining a single to left, scoring Adair. Only a
nice backhanded stab by Danny Cater held Scott at third. But Reggie Smith hit a
fly ball to right, where Mike Hershberger, after making a nice catch, threw to
the plate. Scott was there yards ahead of the ball, but he left third-base
early. The Kansas City bench knew it and catcher Dave Duncan threw back there
for a successful appeal.
Stange, meanwhile, was destroying the Athletics. In the second inning he
struck out the side, the last two on called third strikes. He struck out the
first two in the third inning to make it five in a row.
Bert Campaneris got the first hit off him with a single to open the fourth.
Campy stole second and went to third on John Donaldson's single to left.
Hershberger then popped one up to Mike Andrews behind second and on came
Campaneris trying to score. Campy slid hard into Mike Ryan, getting tagged out
and nothing further materialized.
In the fifth inning is where George Scott had trouble with his glove. Jim
Gosger grounded easily between first and second and Scott tried to backhand it,
let it roll off his mitt and up his arm, striking the side of his face. Cater
then singled to left, sending Gosger over to third. Duncan next hit one down to
George at first. He grabbed the ball, but his throw was low to Stange for his
second error of the inning, allowing Gosger to score the tying run.
Stange had more bad luck in the seventh when Cater singled to open the inning
and Sal Bando dropped down a bunt to move him along. Stange made the play at
first, but felt something pop in his throwing arm. That got John Wyatt off the
bench in the bullpen to pitch the eighth-inning.
When the score tied at 1 to 1 in the eighth-inning, and pinch runner Joe Foy
on third with two out, relief pitcher Jack Aker was ordered to walk Ken
Harrelson. But up came Petrocelli and he lined Aker's first pitch into
right-center for a base hit. Jim Gosger, looking to get a jump on the ball, let
it bounce over his head for a double, as Foy and Harrelson both scored.
Now, with first base open, the Athletics decided not to walk Reggie Smith and
set up the force at second. Aker pitched to Reggie, who lined a single to right
scoring Petrocelli with the third run of the inning.
Kansas City got a run in the ninth off Wyatt, when Gosger got a triple that
sent George Thomas in right, back to the wall. The wind was blowing in from the
east however, and it brought the ball back. Thomas doubled back to try and
recover, but missed the ball and Gosger ended up on third, where he scored on
Cater's ground ball to Petrocelli. As result the Red Sox won, 4 to 2, and remain
tied with the Twins, who beat the Senators, for the American League lead. |
