June 17, 1964 - The Boston Red Sox survived all sort of hazards for 12 innings today, including the glare of the sun, to defeat the New York Yankees today in the Bronx. (Pictured below, Roger Maris slides safely into third as Frank Malzone gets a late throw.)
It took the Red Sox 12 innings because the sunshine contributed to a momentary collapse of the Boston outfield in the ninth inning, allowing the Yanks to stage one of their storied, last-minute comebacks. But three innings later, Russ Nixon pinch-hit a single to right, and the Red Sox won, 4-3, for the sixth time in nine meetings of the teams.
By then, the sun’s glare had been replaced by the Yankee Stadium’s lights, and Dick Radatz had been replaced by Bob Heffner.
But Radatz was credited with the victory, his fourth straight over the Yankees with no defeats. And the Yankees were still left knocking on the door to first place in the American League, a room currently occupied by the Baltimore Orioles.
In the eighth, Mickey Mantle led off with a towering drive to right that caused him to throw his bat away in disappointment. To Mantle’s surprise and Boston’s dismay, the ball dropped into the bleachers for Mantle’s 12th homer, cutting Boston’s lead to 3-2.
Then in the ninth, the Yankees, the sunshine, and the Boston outfield gave Radatz his most trying hour.
Phil Linz hit a sky-high pop to short left-center, where three Red Sox defenders converged before rookie Tony Conigliaro, who had homered earlier, finally moved in and dropped the ball.
Hector Lopez struck out, but then Tony Kubek hit a liner to center that rode a sunbeam directly into Carl Yastrzemski’s mitt. Yastrzemski fell down, the ball dropped to the grass, and Linz scored, tying the game.
After that, the Yanks put two men on base in the 10th and one in the 11th to harass Radatz. But he outlasted his tormenters until Nixon singled in the 12th after Frank Malzone’s single and an intentional walk to Bob Tillman.
Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s
Comments