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THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, PART 6 ...
"THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM"
Jose Santiago holds down the O's in the
second game, to earn a doubleheader split
September
22, 1967 ... Jim Hardin shutout the Red Sox,
10 to 0, and then manager Dick Williams released all the men who had
been sitting on the bench for the second game, and the Red Sox won,
10 to 3. The split however, toppled the Red Sox into second place,
one half game behind the Minnesota Twins. The first game was a sad
show. Jerry Stephenson, who had won three in a row, had nothing on the ball and
Hardin pitched well after he got by the first few innings. Hardin gave the Red
Sox a couple of early chances.
In the third inning, he walked José Tartabull and then hit Mike Andrews. A
walk to Carl Yastrzemski loaded the bases, and all George Scott could do was hit
a pop up, followed by Reggie Smith grounding out.
Stephenson got hit in the very first inning when Luis Aparicio singled and
Curt Blefary knocked him in with a triple to right. The ball landed in front of
José Tartabull and bounced over his head all the way to the wall. A sacrifice
fly by Frank Robinson scored Blefary with the second run.
The Orioles got another run in the fourth on a single, the first of two
errors by Dalton Jones, and an infield out after an intentional walk. Stephenson
got smashed quite hard in the fifth and Dan Osinski was brought in, as the
Orioles scored three more times. Baltimore's bats quieted down until the
eighth-inning when Billy Rohr was hit for three runs.
The Sox fell behind in the third inning of the second game, 2 to 0 on three
straight hits by the Orioles off José Santiago. But in the top of the next
inning, the Red Sox bats came alive. It started with Yastrzemski getting a base
hit the centerfield off Pete Richert. Richert then walked Scott and Smith lined
a ball right at Curt Blefary in left field. Blefary let the ball drop in front
of him and Yaz scored.
Next was Rico Petrocelli, who dropped down a bunt to move Scott over to third
and Smith down to second. The next hitter, Ken Harrelson hit one deep into the
hole at short. Luis Aparicio had no chance of getting Scott out at home, but got
Reggie trapped between second and third. The rundown lasted for a few throws
back and forth and finally Aparicio hit Reggie with the ball sliding into
third-base, and he was safe. When Elston Howard hit a long fly ball to
left-center, Reggie was able to score.
But there was still little more scoring to be done. Santiago, who had two
hits in the game, hit a hard grounder that Aparicio let go through his legs,
allowing Harrelson to score. Paul Blair fielded the ball in center field and
tried to get Harrelson at the plate, but his throw went all the way to the
backstop allowing Santiago to get the second. Next came a double by Joe Foy and
Santiago scored the fifth run of the inning.
The Red Sox poured out 14 hits in the second game. Foy had three hits, two
doubles and a single. Harrelson, who had been 0 for 11, had three singles, and
Howard, although he was hitless, hit a blast into the wind that would've gone
over the wall on a calm day. The Red Sox poured out 14 hits in the second game. |
