May 12, 1963 - Vic Power’s single with none out in the ninth ended Ted Bowsfield’s bid for a no-hitter yesterday, but the Kansas City southpaw kept his poise and pitched the Athletics to a 2-hit, 5-1 victory over the Twins. The Canadian-born pitcher also lost his shutout in the ninth, but he had the satisfaction of snapping a five-game losing streak by the Athletics. Bowsfield, purchased from the Angels last winter, permitted only four batters to reach base, all on walks, in the first eight innings. Zoilo Versalles, the leadoff batter in the ninth, walked. Power followed with his single to crash Bowsfield’s dream. Bowsfield then stood with his back to the plate, shoulders hunched in dejection. For at least 15 seconds, no one moved toward Bowsfield. Then Haywood Sullivan walked slowly to the mound, tapped Bowsfield on the seat of his pants with his catcher’s mitt, and offered a few words of consolation. With that, the pitcher returned to his task. Versalles, who had taken third on Powers’ hit, then scored as Bill Tuttle grounded into a double play. Bob Allison followed with a single but was forced by Earl Battey to end the contest. “I wanted the no-hitter awful bad,” Bowsfield said afterward, “but let’s face it — mediocre pitchers aren’t meant to pitch no-hitters. I’m just a mediocre pitcher. I’m out there scuffling all the time. I’ve gone into the eighth twice with no-hitters against Baltimore and once against the Yankees. I’ve gone into the seventh twice with no-hitters. I guess I’m just not meant to do it,” he said. “I have to say though that I’m just happy to be in the major leagues, and I appreciate what Ed Lopat has done for me. With most other managers, I wouldn’t even have gotten a chance to pitch today the way I’ve been going.” Bowsfield said he did not feel good when the game started and that he was surprised by his effectiveness. “We had a Shrine convention in the hotel last night,” he explained. “They were right next to me, so I took 2 sleeping pills when I went to bed at 11:30. When I got my wakeup call at 9, I could hardly get out of bed, and I’ve been groggy all day. I guess now I’ll have to get some more of those sleeping pills.”
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