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THE CARDIAC KIDS COME BACK TO REALITY ...
The Sox down 4-0, walk-off
5-4 in the 10th
May 14, 1968
...
19,439 fans sat at Fenway Park and watched the Washington Senators
hit tape measure home runs for five innings. Frank Howard hit two,
one a slam over the left-field wall, and another into the centerfield
seats. Ron Hansen hit one into deep left center, and all the while,
the Red Sox were only allowed three singles by Phil Ortega.
But then came one of those 1967 miracle finishes and the Red Sox won the game, 5
to 4, in the 10th inning, with a winning run being scored on an error by catcher
Paul Casanova, with the bases loaded.
Joe Foy started the inning with a triple to right-center off Dennis Higgins.
The ball landed about 2 feet from the bullpen and bounced all the way to the 420
foot marker in center field. Jim Lemon, the Washington manager, then walked Carl
Yastrzemski and Reggie Smith intentionally, to try his luck with Ken Harrelson.
The Hawk had entered the home run contest in the sixth when he lofted a long fly
ball into the left centerfield net after Yastrzemski had doubled, the second of
his three hits. This time, Harrelson nudged the ball to Ron Hansen at short and
Foy was cut down at the plate. Casanova had a chance to double off Harrelson at
first, but his throw bounced off his shoulder into right field, allowing Yaz to
score the winning run.
The Red Sox, after Harrelson's two run homer in the sixth, added two more in
the seventh. With two outs, Mike Andrews doubled to right, with the ball landing
close to the line and hopping into the seats for a ground rule hit. Lemon then
called for Dave Baldwin to face Foy. With two strikes on him, Joe curled a
double down the left-field line that scored Andrews. Baldwin next had
Yastrzemski down two strikes, before Yaz pulled a hard single to right-field to
score Foy with the tying run.
The win went to Sparky Lyle, who hadn't pitched for eight days, and along
with Lee Stange, pitched very well. Ray Culp started the game and was met with a
double to left-center by Del Unser, and then after a ground ball out and a wild
pitch, Frank Howard hit his first home run of the game. It was his third home
run in his last three times at bat. In the sixth inning, Howard hit his 11th of
the season about seven rows into the centerfield seats.
Yastrzemski and Foy now have had eight hits each in the last three games.
Yaz's batting average boosted up to .316 and Foy up to .309. |
