Braves 5, Reds 0: Ray Keating pitched nine shutout innings to complete a double-header whitewash of the League leaders at Braves Field and cap a surprising series in which the Braves beat Cincinnati in four straight contests. The game was scoreless for three innings before Boston began to chip away at Reds starter Hod Eller (10-6). Single runs in each of the next five Brave at-bats, three of those driven home by the hot bat of Joe Riggert (including his fifth home run of the season), pushed Boston into the lead and gradually pulled them away from the visitors. Meanwhile, the suddenly-anemic Reds batting attack was found without answers yet again; they put two men on in the 1st and again in the 7th, but failed to dent the scoreboard on either occasion as Keating (3-2) made the big pitch on the very few occasions where Cincinnati demanded it of him. The Niagara University product allowed just two hits over the final seven innings and was in complete command the entire way, as the Reds finished the twinbill with an aggregate batting line of .167/.183/.231 that included an 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Riggert's recent hot stretch has seen him wallop the ball at a .375 clip with two triples, three homers and eight RBI over his last nine games. [box]
1919 NL - Games of Wednesday, 9 July
Pirates 6, Robins 4: Billy Southworth put on a spectacular display of skill and athleticism at Ebbets Field today, striking five base hits and stealing four bases to propel Pittsburgh to a fifteen-inning win over Brooklyn. There was no hint early of the big day coming when Southworth popped out in the 1st, his teammates scoring nonetheless on a single, sacrifice and throwing error by Pete Kilduff. But Kilduff singled home the tying run for the home team in the 2nd, and it was a 3-3 game before Southworth turned on the jets in the 8th. He led off with a base hit, stole second and third, and scored one out later when he beat Ed Konetchy's throw home on a two-hopper to first off the bat of Fritz Mollwitz. But Babe Adams allowed three singles in the bottom of the 9th as the Robins forced extra innings and the two starters kept putting up zeroes through thirteen innings; the Pirates had the only real threat as a wild pitch moved a runner to third base with two gone in the 12th but Southworth, already with four hits in his back pocket, could only fly harmlessly to right. In the top of the 15th, Billy led off with a single, stole second base for the third time of the afternoon, and trotted home when George Cutshaw ripped a home run (2) just inside the left-field foul pole off of Al Mamaux (7-2). Bill Evans (1-1) closed it out with the second of two scoreless innings of relief. The Pirates ran the Robins ragged with nine steals in thirteen attempts and four Brooklyn errors cost them two important runs. [box]
1919 NL - Games of Tuesday, 8 July
Reds 6, Braves 5: Cincinnati scored four runs in the 8th inning to take the lead, and Dolf Luque came off the bench to turn Boston aside on a single pitch with the help of a spectacular game-ending defensive play by Heinie Groh. A walk and a Morrie Rath error cleared a path for the Braves to score twice in the bottom of the 4th to take a 3-1 lead, and the starters held fast until Jimmy Ring took matters into his own hands with the bat, knocking an RBI triple with two outs in the 7th. Then in the next inning Dick Rudolph (7-5) faltered badly while trying to protect the one-run lead, allowing two singles to start the stanza and then watching Tony Boeckel's bobble turn the bases Red with no one yet retired. He got the struggling Greasy Neale (.197) to pop up on the infield for the first out, but Larry Kopf lined a single to right for one run and Rub Bressler followed with a looping fly to center which he legged into two bases while two Cincinnati runs crossed the plate. A sacrifice fly by Ivey Wingo made it 6-3 and it seemed as if Ring would have no trouble seeing out the final six outs for the visitors, but Boston made it clear immediately that they had other ideas. Joe Riggert, who had already homered for the Braves, led off the home 8th with a triple and Johnny Rawlings immediately singled him home; when Ring walked Ray Powell to place the tying runs upon the bases with no one out, Pat Moran began to pace nervously in front of the Cincinnati bench. But Ring (4-2) recovered to fan two of the next three men, and got the first out of the 9th before he began to lose the plot again. Hank Gowdy and PH Red Smith singled, then Riggert did the same to score Gowdy and make it a one-run game with the tying run at third base. Moran had seen enough at this point, and asked Luque to remove his sweater and take Ring's place on the hill. His warmup heaves were barely over before the game was as well - his first pitch to Johnny Rawlings was hit on a line to the lunging Heinie Groh, who snared the ball and the dove to touch third base with his mitt before Smith could get back to the bag safely, for a game-ending twin-killing. Riggert racked up eight total bases, plus a walk, while Rath, Groh and Jake Daubert each had two hits for the Reds. [box]
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