[ifspuds]

Adkison Dominates, Pirates Take Two-Game Lead in Series
by Jack McKinley
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (issue of October 6, 1966)

George Adkison hurled a masterful 2-hit, 11-strikeout gem in game two of the World Series and every Pirates batter scored at least one run as the Pittsburgh nine dismantled three Red Sox pitchers en route to a 12-0 rout and a 2-game lead in the series. Adkison, who went undefeated in the month of September in winning National League pitcher of the month honors, did not allow his first hit until a 1-out triple in the top of the 4th and worked out of a 2-on, no-out jam in the 6th to pitch his 18th career shutout, but none bigger than this one.

"Al (Mahoney) and I came to the organization at the same time," said a clearly exhausted Adkison after the game. "He had his moment in the sun yesterday, I just figured it was my turn." The soft-spoken Adkison, who led the National League in strikeouts, has never been embraced by Pirates fans in the way that they have taken to other Pirates' standouts, but it's hard to imagine that a generation of Pittsburgh kids won't be daydreaming on Little League mounds next summer, pretending to be George Adkison. "I'm just a pitcher," said Adkison. "I do my job and hope things fall in line behind me."

It was evident early on that Adkison would have little to worry about in that regard. Fletcher Jones, the newest Pirate home run champ, put his team up 2-0 in the first inning on a two-out, two-run homer, and the Pirates benefitted from an uncharacteristic drop of a fly ball by Boston center fielder Ricardo Culebras in the 2nd inning to score 4 runs and post a 6-0 lead. Adkison made sure that was more than enough, allowing just the pair of hits to go with an equal number of walks, and posted the second consecutive double digit strikeout start by a Pittsburgh pitcher in the series.

The Pirates added another four-spot in the bottom of the 6th, capped by Ben Trome's 2-run single, and two more in the bottom of the 8th to provide the final margin. Trome, who failed to hit .300 for the first time in his major league career, was the hitting star of the game, picking up three hits and four RBI, running his average over the first two games to an even .500. "It wasn't my best season, no, but this is an entirely new season," he said after the game. "At its core, this is a simple game. Put the bat on the ball and good things can happen."

The Pirates head now to Boston with two good things in their hands, a pair of home wins. Hipolito Castillo will face off against Boston's Curly Roberts, a 19-game winner during the regular season, in game 3. Castillo, who struggled with a stiff elbow the final month of the regular season to fall out of contention for the Andrew Murphy award, is expected to be at full strength for the start.