GAME-WINNING BLASTS SUPPLY CHISOX FIREWORKS
Hansen, Ward Supply 9th Inning Heroics
CHICAGO, July 26 (AP) - The custom of setting off fireworks at Comiskey Park
following a White Sox home run never seemed more appropriate. In both
games of low-scoring, bitterly fought doubleheader action, White Sox players
snapped ties in the ninth inning with game-winning homers. In the opener,
a 2-1 Chicago victory over the Minnesota Twins, it was Ron Hansen who
accomplished the feat. In the nightcap, Pete Ward played the roll of hero,
and the White Sox came out on top, 1-0.
The two games saw a grand total of four runs scored. Not a single player
came off the bench or out of the bullpen in either contest. The starting
pitchers for both teams were outstanding. But each time, the White Sox
found themselves celebrating in the bottom of the ninth.
In the opener, Gary Peters and Camilo Pascual hooked up in a terrific pitchers
duel. The White Sox took the lead in the second on an unearned run.
With Hansen on first base and two outs, J.C. Martin grounded to shortstop Zoilo
Versalles who bobbled the ball for an error, leaving runners on first and
second. Peters then lined a single to right field, and Chicago held a 1-0
lead.
The lead remained 1-0 until the seventh, despite a few decent scoring chances in
the interim. The best of those came in the bottom of the fifth when Peters
led off with a base hit and moved to second on an infield grounder. Don
Buford flied to center for the second out but Floyd Robinson grounded a single
into center field. Jimmie Hall charged the ball and fired a strike to
catcher Earl Battey to nail the slow-footed Peters at home.
In the top of the seventh, the Twins finally drew even. With one out, Bob
Allison hammered a Peters offering off the left-center field wall. The
carom eluded left fielder Tom McCraw and center fielder Mike Hershberger and
Allison ended up on third with a triple. With the infield in, Hall rolled
to Ward at third base for the second out, with Allison holding. Battey was
intentionally walked and Minnesota sent Rich Rollins to the plate to bat for the
light-hitting Johnny Goryl. Rollins singled sharply through the box and
Allison scored to tie the game, with Battey holding at second. A somewhat
shaken Peters walked Pascual, but retired Versalles on a bases loaded fielder's
choice to end the inning.
The game moved to the bottom of the ninth. Pascual retired Hershberger on
a fly to center, bringing Hansen to the plate. The Twins right-hander
moved ahead 0-2 and then hung a breaking ball. Hansen deposited it three
rows into the lower seats in straight away left field to win the game for the
White Sox, 2-1.
The nightcap was even more devoid of scoring opportunities than the
opener. Dick Stigman of the Twins and John Buzhardt of the White Sox
locked up in a classic pitcher's duel. Neither team had advanced a runner
past second base going into the bottom of the ninth inning.
The best scoring opportunity, by far, took place in the top of the seventh when,
for the only time in the entire game, a team put the first two batters of an
inning on base. Harmon Killebrew led off for Minnesota by drawing a
four-pitch walk from Buzhardt, and Hall followed by bouncing a single between
first baseman Skowron and second baseman Al Weis into right field, with
Killebrew stopping at second. But Buzhardt rose to the occasion. He
moved in front of Allison 0-2 and jammed him with a fastball, inducing an
infield fly that Hansen caught for the first out. Battey lined to Dave
Nicholson in left for the second out and Jeff Snyder lifted a routine fly that
Jim Landis handled in center to end the inning.
Hershberger doubled with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, but Stigman
retired Weis on a grounder to short.
Buzhardt pitched around Hall's one-out infield single to keep the Twins
scoreless in the top of the ninth and Stigman prepared to face Ward to lead off
the bottom half. The Twins left-hander moved ahead 1-2 but Ward got a
fastball and belted it into the right field grandstand for his 20th home run of
the year and a doubleheader sweep.
7/26/1964, Min64-ChA64, game 1, Comiskey Park 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 1964 Twins 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 5 1 8 1 1964 White Sox 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 9 1 7 1 Twins AB R H BI AVG White Sox AB R H BI AVG Versalles ss 3 0 0 0 .227 McCraw lf 4 0 0 0 .261 Kostro 3b 3 0 0 0 .308 Buford 2b 3 0 0 0 .251 Oliva rf 4 0 0 0 .295 Robinson,Fl rf 4 0 2 0 .303 Killebrew lf 4 0 1 0 .270 Ward,P 3b 4 0 2 0 .239 Allison 1b 4 1 2 0 .298 Skowron 1b 3 0 0 0 .265 Hall,J cf 4 0 0 0 .289 Hershberger cf 3 0 1 0 .195 Battey c 3 0 0 0 .255 Hansen ss 4 2 2 1 .269 Goryl 2b 2 0 0 0 .178 Martin c 3 0 0 0 .246 Rollins ph 2 0 2 1 .263 Peters p 3 0 2 1 .237 Pascual p 3 0 0 0 .077 31 2 9 2 32 1 5 1 Twins INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Pascual L 7-10 8.1 9 2 1 3 2 128 80 3.72 8.1 9 2 1 3 2 128 80 White Sox INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Peters W 13-6 9.0 5 1 1 4 6 144 84 2.90 9.0 5 1 1 4 6 144 84 Min: Rollins batted for Goryl in the 7th Kostro moved to 2b in the 7th Rollins moved to 3b in the 7th E-Versalles, Peters. 2B-Ward,P(17). 3B-Allison(1). HR-Hansen(19). RBI-Rollins(25), Hansen(66), Peters(10). SB-Versalles(8). CS-Hershberger. K-Versalles, Kostro, Oliva 2, Allison, Goryl, McCraw, Buford. BB-Versalles, Kostro, Battey, Pascual, Buford, Skowron, Hershberger. PB-Martin. GWRBI: Hansen Temperature: 81, Sky: clear, Wind: left to right at 11 MPH. Attendance: N/A Game Time: 2:23 7/26/1964, Min64-ChA64, game 2, Comiskey Park 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 1964 Twins 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 7 1 1964 White Sox 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 5 0 5 1 Twins AB R H BI AVG White Sox AB R H BI AVG Versalles ss 3 0 1 0 .227 Hershberger rf 4 0 2 0 .199 Rollins 3b 3 0 0 0 .261 Weis 2b 4 0 0 0 .244 Oliva rf 4 0 1 0 .295 Ward,P 3b 4 1 1 1 .239 Killebrew lf 3 0 0 0 .268 Skowron 1b 3 0 2 0 .269 Hall,J cf 4 0 2 0 .292 Hansen ss 2 0 0 0 .268 Allison 1b 4 0 1 0 .298 Nicholson lf 2 0 0 0 .182 Battey c 4 0 1 0 .255 Landis cf 3 0 0 0 .228 Snyder,J 2b 3 0 0 0 .073 McNertney c 3 0 0 0 .264 Stigman p 3 0 0 0 .065 Buzhardt p 3 0 0 0 .349 31 0 6 0 28 1 5 1 Twins INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Stigman L 7-8 8.0 5 1 1 2 7 108 64 3.11 8.0 5 1 1 2 7 108 64 White Sox INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Buzhardt W 7-7 9.0 6 0 0 2 3 111 72 3.52 9.0 6 0 0 2 3 111 72 2B-Hershberger 2(8). HR-Ward,P(20). RBI-Ward,P(69). K-Rollins, Stigman 2, Hershberger 2, Weis, Ward,P 2, Nicholson, Landis. BB-Versalles, Killebrew, Hansen, Nicholson. SH-Rollins. PB-McNertney. GWRBI: Ward,P Temperature: 81, Sky: clear, Wind: left to right at 11 MPH. Attendance: 26,532 Game Time: 1:59