|
|
Sonny Siebert outpitches Vida Blue May 28, 1971 ... A duel took place at Fenway Park and it was won by Sonny Siebert and the Red Sox, 4 to 3. But neither Sonny nor Vida Blue of the Oakland Athletics, was around at the finish. Siebert won his ninth straight without a defeat and the Sox snapped Blue's ten game winning streak. It turned out to be a battle of home runs, but the game-winning hit, one of the nine for the Sox, was a single by George Scott in the eighth-inning. Rico Petrocelli socked two home runs, good for three runs, and the Athletics responded with bases empty home runs by Reggie Jackson, Dave Duncan and Sal Bando. Petrocelli's last two home run effort was against the Yankees a year ago. Blue was lifted with two outs in the eighth-inning, with Reggie Smith on second and Carl Yastrzemski on first. Reliever Bob locker gave up the single to Scott that made the score 4 to 2. Bando narrowed the margin in the ninth-inning, with his home run and Siebert was taken out with two outs and a three and one count on Duncan. Reliever Bob Bolin came in and saw Duncan slam two foul ball home runs, before striking him out. The game drew 35,714 fans, the largest in three years and marked the first Fenway Park appearance of Dick Williams who was now the Oakland manager, since his dismissal after the 1969 season. The A's had reached Siebert for the first of their home runs in the top of the first inning, when Jackson screamed a liner over the Oakland bullpen, and then Rico got his after Reggie had singled in the hole to left. Blue gave up only one hit between Rico's homer and the sixth inning, with Scott getting a single. Siebert gave up two hits in the third when Bert Campaneris beat out a bunt down the first base line and Joe Rudi singled to center. Blue fanned the side in the third inning. Smith had walked, but after that, Aparicio Yastrzemski and Rico struck out. Petrocelli hit the first pitch he saw into the net in left-center in the sixth inning, putting the Red Sox ahead 3 to 1, but Duncan clouted his home run in the seventh with one out. Siebert's arm began to stiffen up, but Scott's single in the eighth-inning seem to give Sonny a bit of life, when he went to the mound in the ninth, leading by two runs. Sal Bando got to him for a home run and he got Rick Monday, but he felt like he couldn't finish it off. He went far enough however, so that he has nine victories and is still undefeated.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
 |
 |
