Editor’s note: Second Chance Tournament games are being played with Strat-o-Matic cards and dice. The designated hitter is also being used for all games. The first and second rounds will be decided with a best of three series, while the championship series will be a best of five format.
Boston’s Wally Moses ended a wild affair in Fenway Park as the 1946 Red Sox defeated the 1962 San Francisco Giants 9-8 in 10 innings.
The victory give the Red Sox a 1-0 advantage in their opening round three-game series of the Second Chance Tournament.
In the bottom of the 10th, Pinky Higgins walked to begin the frame against Giants reliever Bobby Bolin.
Hal Wagner moved Higgins to second with a sacrifice bunt to set the stage for Moses.
Moses smacked an opposite field double off the Green Monster that drove home Higgins for the walk-off victory.
Boston’s Early Lead Didn’t Last
A sacrifice fly by Ted Williams put Red Sox up 1-0 in the first inning against Giants starter Jack Sanford, who would last seven innings.
Willie McCovey‘s grand slam in the third inning against Boston starter Dave Ferriss silenced the rowdy Red Sox fans.
Ferriss would be ousted in the fourth without retiring a batter. Red Sox manager Joe Cronin called on Joe Dobson to get out of the bases loaded jam.
Dobson got Willie Mays to hit a grounder right back to the Boston hurler and he started a 1-2-3 double play.
With runners now at second and third, Cronin opted to pitch to Orlando Cepeda instead of McCovey, who was ominously waiting in the on-deck circle.
Cepeda drilled a two-run single and the Giants led 6-1.
Both teams would score in the fifth as the frame would end with the Giants leading 8-3.
Boston got two runs. The first came home on a single by Moses and the second was on a bases loaded walk to Johnny Pesky.
The Giants also scored twice on a RBI single by Chuck Hiller and a run-scoring double by Harvey Kuenn.
On the Comeback Trail
Boston chipped away at San Francisco’s lead by scoring in every inning the rest of the way.
The Red Sox had a RBI single from Higgins in the sixth before Leon Culberson and Bobby Doerr added back-to-back run-scoring singles in the seventh.
Billy Pierce took over on the mound for Sanford in the eighth and the Red Sox were able to tie the game with a pair of solo homers against the Giants pitcher.
Pesky hit one in the eighth and Culberson’s blast made it 8-8 in the ninth.
Bob Klinger worked the final three innings on the mound for the Red Sox to get the win, while Bolin was tagged with the loss.
The second contest in the series will be in Candlestick Park. Tex Hughson gets the start for the Red Sox as Juan Marichal will get the ball for the Giants.
Second Chance Tournament Results and Schedule
First Round
1954 Cleveland Indians 5, 1935 Chicago Cubs 2
1954 Cleveland Indians at 1935 Chicago Cubs
1935 Chicago Cubs at 1954 Cleveland Indians, if necessary
1946 Boston Red Sox 9, 1962 San Francisco Giants 8 (10 innings)
1946 Boston Red Sox at 1962 San Francisco Giants
1962 San Francisco Giants at 1946 Boston Red Sox, if necessary
1970 Cincinnati Reds at 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers
1953 Brooklyn Dodgers at 1970 Cincinnati Reds
1970 Cincinnati Reds at 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers, if necessary
1965 Minnesota Twins at 1969 Baltimore Orioles
1969 Baltimore Orioles at 1965 Minnesota Twins
1965 Minnesota Twins at 1969 Baltimore Orioles, if necessary