Apr. 3, 1963 - Suddenly plagued by countless Yankee injuries of varying magnitude, Ralph Houk decided to field a team today that included only two regulars — Joe Pepitone and Elston Howard (left). Danny Murtaugh’s Pirates topped the Bombers’ mostly-reserve squad, 6-4, as pitcher Stan Williams (right), who has been excellent so far for the Yanks, suffered a letdown. The Bucs belted the former Dodger right-hander for nine hits in six innings, including two triples by Roberto Clemente. Softening the defeat for the Yanks was Marshall Bridges’ first appearance on the mound since Feb. 12, when a woman in Fort Lauderdale shot him in the left leg with a .25-caliber revolver. The Sheriff, whom the Yanks now call “Bullet” because the pellet is still lodged in the calf, mowed down three batters in the seventh and looked ready to resume left-handed operations in the bullpen. Roger Maris, who suffered a pulled hamstring muscle Monday against the Tigers, was eliminated from all four of the Yanks’ remaining exhibition games when he left by plane today for his home in Independence, Mo. He will rejoin the Yanks in Kansas City next Monday, when the Bombers will hold their final pre-season workout. Maris’s injury also eliminated Roger from a special visit he and Mickey Mantle were to pay President Kennedy’s father, Joseph P. Kennedy, in Palm Beach Saturday. The Yanks will play the Braves in West Palm Beach that day. Whitey Ford will likely replace Maris on the Kennedy mission.
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