June 14, 1964 - The New York Yankees completed the devastation of a five-game lead the Chicago White Sox had brought to New York 48 hour earlier by sweeping a doubleheader, 8-3 and 4-3, today.
The Yanks scored their sixth and seventh victories in a row, dealt the White Sox their sixth straight defeat, and knocked the American League race into a three-way free-for-all.
The White Sox, who arrived at Yankee Stadium five games ahead of the Bombers Friday night, suddenly found themselves in a virtual tie with New York for second place behind the Baltimore Orioles, with 14 percentage points separating the three teams.
The Yankees completed their weekend rampage in high style before 27,148 in overpowering Chicago’s best pitchers, Juan Pizarro, and Gary Peters, who won 35 games between them last season and 14 this year.
They scored the fastest decision of the season against Pizarro in the first game, routing him in two innings, then caught Peters in the ninth inning of the second game before winning in the 10th.
Mickey Mantle set the tone in the first game when he slugged Pizarro’s first pitch 460 feet to the bleacher wall for one of the longest doubles ever hit in the Stadium. One out later, Elston Howard lined the first pitch into the right-field stands for his fifth homer of the season. Then Joe Pepitone singled to right center, Phil Linz belted a homer to left, and the Yanks had four runs in the blink of an eye.
Against Chicago’s two southpaw aces, the Yankees sent Bud Daley, who had pitched five innings in his only other start, and Roland Sheldon, who was recalled from Richmond Friday night after having spent last year in the minors.
Daley responded with six strong innings and won with substantial help from Hal Reniff, who got all nine men he faced. Sheldon stayed seven innings in the second game, and again Reniff came on to finish.
The crowd of 37,148 was the second largest of the year, behind the 38,135 who saw the series opener Friday. The three-day series was watched by 90,814, making it the Yankees’ biggest weekend at the home box office this season.
By contrast, the New York Mets’ biggest weekend crowd totaled 150,000 for the Memorial Day series with the San Francisco Giants.
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