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THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO ...
"THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM"
1967
WORLD SERIES, GAME #3
Nelson Briles silences the Red
Sox
October
7,
1967 ... Nelson Briles pitched a great game
for the St. Louis Cardinals, a 5 to 2 victory over the Red Sox in the
third game of the World Series. The Red Sox, however, thought it was
nothing great about Briles hitting Carl Yastrzemski in the very first
inning. That brought Dick Williams running out of the dugout
complaining that Yaz was hit deliberately. But, the only things
great that happened for the Red Sox in this game, were a home run by Reggie
Smith, the three hits by Dalton Jones and the pitching of Gary Waslewski in
relief. Gary Bell started and was landed on for three runs in the first two
innings. Every time the Red Sox chipped away at the St. Louis lead, the
Cardinals refilled the holes.
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YAZ GETS DECKED |
Lou Brock opened the game for the Cardinals, with a triple between Yaz and
Reggie into left-center. He scored on Curt Flood's single to center. Bell got
out of the inning when Roger Maris bounced one back to the mound, that he turned
into a doubleplay.
Then in the second inning, Tim McCarver singled to center and scored on Mike
Shannon's home run into the left-field seats, making it 2 to 0. Julian Javier
followed Shannon with a single to left but Bell got off the ropes when Yaz made
another excellent defensive play, charging the ball and throwing out Javier at
second, as he was trying to stretch the hit into a double.
Bell left the game in the third inning for a pinch-hitter and Gary Waslewski
was next to pitch for the Sox. He retired nine consecutive batters in the three
innings he worked, relying mostly on low breaking pitches.
Briles, meanwhile, was shutting out the Red Sox until they broke through to
score in the sixth inning. Mike Andrews batted for Waslewski and lined a single
to center field. José Tartabull then tried to get a base hit on a bunt, but
Briles got José at first, while Andrews moved down to second. Jones finally
slapped a single to right and Andrews scored the first Red Sox run.
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LOU BROCK |
The Cardinals showed their speed in the bottom of the inning, when Brock
dropped a bunt down the third-base line on the first pitch by Lee Stange. The
ball went foul, so on the next pitch with Jones moving in closer at third, he
dragged a bunt past the pitcher's mound to the first base side for a base hit.
Brock then began edging off the base and Stange tried to keep him close. On the
third throw over to first, he hit Brock in the back and the ball scooted down
the right-field line. Brock circled over to third-base on the bad throw, where
he scored on a single to right-center by Roger Maris.
The Sox cut the Cardinals lead again in the seventh, when Reggie Smith
homered into the right-field stands to cut the lead to 4-2. But in the
eighth-inning, the Sox had a chance to score and couldn't. With two outs, Dalton
Jones got his third single of the game and Yastrzemski came to the plate. But
Yaz hit the ball into the ground down to second base to end the inning. Briles
got Yaz three times on ground balls to Javier at second base.
The Cardinals chalked up one last run in the eighth. Maris reached on an
infield hit and Orlando Cepeda hit a vicious line double off the fence, in
right-center, to score him with the fifth Cardinals run. |
