|
 |
|
JIM TABOR |
The Sox beat the Browns in
with a
ninth inning walk-off hit by Jim Tabor
June
11, 1942 ... Jim Tabor's ninth inning base hit
into left field, brought home the winning run which gave the Red Sox
their third straight win from the St. Louis Browns. When they were
trailing by five runs after the first two innings, an 8 to 7 decision
seemed hardly likely. But a four-run rally in the fourth inning,
two runs in the sixth, single scores in the seventh and ninth, was disaster for
the team from St. Louis.
They outhit the Red Sox, 13 to 11, and strangely enough all the Browns runs
were produced by home runs. George McQuinn drove one into the right-field
bleachers after Harland Clift had singled in the first inning. In the second
inning, Vern Stephens and Tony Criscola started with base hits before Frankie
Hayes boosted a homer from Red Sox starter, Yank Terry, into the left-field
screen.
At that point, in the fourth inning, Johnny Pesky walked and Lou Finney hit a
ground ball to Vern Stephens at short and was safe when George McQuinn dropped
the throw. Ted Williams singled in one run and Tony Lupien singled for another.
Tabor forced Lupien while Williams scored and after a free pass was issued to
Bill Conroy, Joe Cronin came up to pinch-hit. He lofted a fly ball right that
scored Tabor when the ball dropped in safely. There was a subsequent pass to Dom
DiMaggio that filled the bases and Pesky could only roll the ball down to Don
Gutteridge at second to end the inning. But the Red Sox had cut the lead to 5 to
4.
Finney's double, Williams second base hit of the game and Bobby Doerr's
double down in the left field corner, brought home two quick Red Sox runs in the
fifth inning, to grab a 6 to 5 lead.
But then in the top of the sixth, Tony Criscola tied the game the game with
another Browns' home run. The Red Sox again battled back after two were out in
the bottom of the sixth. Pesky doubled down the right-field line and Lou Finney
drew a walk. Ted got his third hit of the game to score Pesky and put the Sox
back on top 7 to 6.
In the top of the ninth, with Mace Brown pitching for the Red Sox, Chet Laabs
led off with a base hit. He was sacrificed to second and McQuinn brought him in
to tie the game again with a single to left.
Finally, in the ninth inning, Finney took the first pitch he saw for a double
to left-center field. Ted Williams was passed purposely, but after Bobby Doerr's
foul pop up to Frankie Hayes and Tony Lupien's fly to left, Jim Tabor came
through with the hit that sent his teammates happily to the showers, 8 to 7. |
