It was a Memorial Day full of action in the 1919 National League, with eight games on the slate. There were late-inning homers, crucial errors, and pitchers’ duels while the clubs jockeyed for position as the season heads into the start of June . . .
Phillies 6, Braves 2: Philadelphia turned an NL season-high five double plays and Gavy Cravath hit a three-run home run in the 8th inning that broke open a close game and enabled the Phillies to top Boston at Braves Field. The Phils jumped out to a 2-0 1st-inning lead when the first five batters rocked Hugh McQuillan for three extra-base hits, but Boston got one back in the 2nd after Harry Pearce's fielding error set up a run-scoring groundout from Rabbit Maranville. The clubs traded runs in the 7th to make the score 3-2 in favor of the visitors, but Cravath struck the death blow in the top of the 8th. Cy Williams reached on Maranville's muff to start the inning and, after a force out, Fred Luderus singled. That put two aboard for Gavy, who launched his League-leading fourth long ball over the wall in left for three runs, a four-run PHI lead, and a shower for McQuillan. Gene Packard benefited from two of the twin killings in the final two innings to carry the torch to the end on a complete-game effort in which he allowed no earned runs. Cravath (.354/.403/.677 thus far) had a single and a triple in addition to his homer, while Ray Powell and Lena Blackburne had three hits each for Boston. [box]
 |
| Gavy Cravath, Philadelphia |
Braves 6, Phillies 5: A crucial fielding error set the stage for Johnny Rawlings' game-winning single in the bottom of the 11th as Boston won a back-and-forth affair to earn a split of the twin bill. Boston's two 3rd-inning scores were matched by Philadelphia in the 5th, but RBI from Rabbit Maranville and Ray Powell in the 6th and 7th pushed the Braves in front with two innings to go. Those late innings would prove to be eventful. In the top of the 9th, still holding a 4-2 lead, Dick Rudolph got the first out but Fred Luderus singled and Gavy Cravath doubled him home to close the deficit to one run and put the tying run in scoring position. Doug Baird grounded out, but Rudolph couldn't get the final out he needed until it was too late - pinch-hitter Bevo LeBourveau laced a single up the middle to score Cravath and tie the game at four runs apiece. Into extra innings the game went, and the Phillies started the 10th with a Harry Pearce double; two groundouts later Pearce had crossed the plate and PHI was three outs away from the doubleheader sweep. In the bottom half, with Phils starter Elmer Jacobs still toeing the rubber, Pearce booted Jim Thorpe's leadoff grounder and the Carlisle Indian stole second base, moved to third on a ground ball, and scored Lena Blackburne lofted a fly ball to center. Philadelphia got a pair of two-out singles in the top of the 11th but could not cash them in (the Phils batted 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position), and Eppa Rixey came on to relieve Jacobs in the bottom of the inning. He got Hank Gowdy to ground one down the first-base line, but Luderus kicked the ball into foul ground to allow the PHI catcher to reach safely. Reliever Dana Fillingim sacrificed him to second and Rawlings (3-for-6, double) delivered the final stroke by blooping one to left that fell in front of Irish Meusel while Gowdy was racing home to win the game. Maranville also had three hits for the Braves. [box]
Giants 4, Robins 2: Despite managing only three safe hits against Larry Cheney, the Giants turned them into four runs that were enough to edge Brooklyn at Brush Stadium. They used a Lee Magee error, a walk, a groundout and a Benny Kauff double to score twice and take a 2-1 lead in the 3rd. got back-to-back extra-base hits to produce a run in the 4th, and turned a walk into a run in the 7th without the benefit of a base hit. Meanwhile spot starter Pol Perritt and Rosy Ryan were combining to frustrate the Robins, who had nine hits and left nine men on base before Ryan retired the last nine men in order. [box]
Giants 7, Robins 2: Heinie Zimmerman drove in three runs, Hal Chase two, and Ross Youngs had two triples and a single as New York shot out to a 7-0 lead and Jesse Barnes coasted to his League-leading 5th victory of the season. The Giants jumped on Brooklyn starter Sherry Smith with a walk-triple-single-triple start to the home half of the 1st, and it was a 5-0 game after three innings and 7-0 after five. Barnes allowed single runs in the 7th and 8th, but he walked no one, whiffed four and allowed just one extra-base hit on his way to an easy complete-game victory. [box]
Reds 2, Pirates 1: Frank Miller and Rube Bressler locked horns at Forbes Field, and the difference was Heinie Groh's RBI single in the top of the 6th that gave Cincinnati the narrowest of winning margins. The Reds got on the board first when Morrie Rath walked to lead off the 3rd, was bunted to second by Greasy Neale (his 17th sacrifice hit of the season), and scored on Edd Roush's two-out single. It didn't take long for Pittsburgh to punch back, as Billy Southworth singled with one out in the bottom half of the inning, stole second and advanced to third when Ivey Wingo's throw sailed into center field. George Cutshaw's ground ball to second then scored Southworth to tie the game. In the 6th, Rath drew another leadoff walk and he then swiped second. After Neale popped out to the catcher attempting to bunt again, Groh drove one over the infield and Rath scampered home to give CIN the lead. That was all Bressler was waiting for, as the 24-year-old lefty pitched four perfect innings (aside from a Rath error) to close it out. [box]
Pirates 5, Reds 3: The Pirates exploded for four runs and five hits in the 5th inning and rode that outburst to a win and a split of the doubleheader in Pittsburgh. Cincinnati had taken a 3-1 lead with a pair of runs in the 3rd on Edd Roush's RBI hit and a two-out Zab Terry error that allowed Roush to score, but the Pirated would erase that deficit and them some in the 5th. After only collecting three hits in the first four innings against Hod Eller, they got off to a good start when Fritz Mollwitz took one on the bicep and Ed Sweeney singled to start the frame. After Wilbur Cooper bunted the runners along, the Pirates rapped four straight hits to plate four runs and take the lead for the first time. Cooper was nearly immaculate from that point forward, retiring fourteen of the final sixteen Reds on the way to his fifth win of the campaign. Terry had three hits and scored twice for the home side. [box]
Cubs 7, Cardinals 0: The first four hitters in the Chicago lineup combined for nine hits and six runs scored, and Pete Alexander spun a five-hit shutout to silence St. Louis. The affair was settled fairly early at Robison Field when the Cubs scored twice in the 1st (two Cardinal errors and an RBI single by Dode Paskert) and three times in the 2nd (Charlie Pick triple, Charlie Hollocher single) before the Cards had even managed their second base hit. Pete cruised to the finish, walking just one and allowing only a single runner into scoring position. Max Flack scored three times from the leadoff spot for the Cubs. [box]
Cardinals 2, Cubs 1: Marv Goodwin allowed one unearned run and St. Louis scored single runs in the 1st and 4th to win a close one at Robison Field. Burt Shotton (three hits) doubled and scored in the 1st, and Cliff Heathcote singled, stole second and scored on a Verne Clemons hit in the 4th. Goodwin stifled the Cubs through eight innings before his own fielding error allowed Chicago to make a game of it in the 9th. After his bobble of a Charlie Pick comebacker with one down, Dode Paskert doubled in a run with two outs, but Goodwin retired Merkle on another ball back to the mound to end the game. [box]
Transaction: The New York Giants acquired pitcher Pat Ragan as the player-to-be-named-later in the 21 May deal that sent outfielder Jim Thorpe to Boston.
0 comments:
Post a Comment