Editor’s note: The 27 * 61 Yankees Replay games are being played with Strat-o-Matic cards and dice. The designated hitter will not be used for any games. Injuries will only be used during the game when they occur.
Ralph Houk was feeling the pressure as the 1961 New York Yankees struggled to win and dropped to four games under the .500 mark.
Could a lineup change be the answer? The result was a resounding yes.
Now on a two-game winning streak and an even 18-18, Houk may have found the solution to his problems as the Yankees blasted the 1924 Washington Senators and top starter Walter Johnson 13-4.
After the leaving the bases loaded in the bottom of the first, the Yankees roughed up Johnson in the second sending 11 hitters to the plate and scoring seven times.
Tony Kubek, now leading off instead of Bobby Richardson, brought home the first two runs with a single. Clete Boyer, now in the two hole, tripled to make it 3-0.
With Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris flipping positions in the batting order, Mantle’s sacrifice fly put the Yankees up by four runs.
Maris and Elston Howard both singled before Yogi Berra drilled his seventh homer of the season to give the Yankees a 7-0 lead.
Roger Peckinpaugh got the Senators on the scoreboard in the fourth against New York starter Whitey Ford with a two-run single.
In the bottom of the fourth against Washington reliever Paul Zahniser, Mantle singled and Maris followed with his 17th homer of the season. Bill Skowron later hit a solo shot for his seventh long ball of the season and the Yankees led 10-2.
Things got worse for the Senators in the sixth with Zahniser basically taking one for the team as New York built a 13-2 margin.
The Yankees batted around again with Berra adding a two-run single and Richardson picking up a RBI single.
Ford (4-2) would go the distance for the Yankees, but he would give up two more runs in the eighth as Goose Goslin had a RBI triple and then scored on a grounder by Joe Judge. Ford allowed nine hits and fanned five in the victory.
Bill Stafford (5-2) will take the mound for the Yankees in the series finale of the four-game set as the Senators go with George Mogridge.
27 * 61 Replay Standings
1927 New York Yankees (23-13)
1961 New York Yankees (18-18)
1948 Cleveland Indians (6-2)
1968 Detroit Tigers (3-1)
2005 Chicago White Sox (3-3)
1972 Oakland A’s (6-8)
1970 Baltimore Orioles (3-5)
2004 Boston Red Sox (4-8)
1924 Washington Senators (6-14)
27 * 61 Home Run Totals
Roger Maris 17
Lou Gehrig 13
Babe Ruth 12
Mickey Mantle 11