Monday, May 9, 1949
New York (AL) 9 Detroit (H) 4
With the score tied at 1-1 Phil Rizzuto stroked a two-out two-run single in the top of the seventh to give the Yankees their first lead, and then two batters later Tommy Henrich hit a two-run triple to blow it open. The Tigers tried to climb back into it, but Joe Page shut them down and then the Yankees scored three times in the ninth to put it out of reach.
Boston (NL) (H) 8 Pittsburgh 7 (10)
Both teams started out the game with three runs in the first, and in both cases all runs scored after two outs had been recorded. From there the game went back and forth, with both teams taking turns in the lead. The game finally went in extra's, and after having gotten two outs in the bottom of the tenth Pittsburgh reliever Bob Chesnes (0-3) walked the next two batters and then Al Dark singled home Pete Reiser with the game-winner.
St. Louis (NL) 3 Brooklyn (H) 0
St. Louis first baseman Rocky Nelson hit the first pitch of the game over the fence for a homerun and then Cardinals starter Al Brazle took over from there, limiting the Dodgers to only two walks and two Roy Campenella hits.
New York (NL) (H) 5 Chicago (NL) 0
New York starter Sheldon Jones (5-1) became the first pitcher to reach the five-win mark as Jones handily shut out Chicago today. Bobby Thomson had a triple and a homerun early that lead to the first three Giants runs and then Sid Gordon added a two-run shot late to provide a little cushion.
Tuesday, May 10, 1949
Only four games yesterday, and only four today, and all four today are AL games. None of the NL games, all on the east coast … I'm guessing some sort of weather front is moving through. There is a full schedule on Wednesday, and of course, we have another doubleheader Sunday coming up.
Philadelphia (AL) 16 Chicago (AL) (H) 5
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| Eddie Joost |
Philadelphia put up three runs in the first to take a quick lead and then poured it on once they got into the White Sox bullpen. Athletics lead-off hitter and shortstop Eddie Joost went 3-for-3 with three walks and scored four runs and Ferris Fain chipped in with four RBI's on the day.
Cleveland (H) 7 Washington 3
Ken Keltner hit a three-run homerun in the first and then Larry Doby did likewise in the second and Cleveland starter Steve Gromek (2-0) proceeded to go all the way for the win. Mickey Haefner (1-4) has had several good starts for the Senators this season, but couldn't get out of the second inning today.
Detroit (H) 4 New York (AL) 3
Following a five game losing streak, the Yankees had won five in a row coming in today's game. Detroit scored two runs early, but the Yankees finally broke through when they scored a run in the sixth, which was immediately followed by a Tommy Henrich two-run homerun to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead. There the score stayed until Allie Reynolds (2-3) tired in the bottom of the ninth and put the first two batters on base, then Tommy Byrne walked the bases loaded, and then Tigers shortstop Johnny Lipon singled home two runs the send the home-folks home happy.
Boston (AL) 7 St. Louis (AL) (H) 4
Both teams each had nine walks on the day, but Boston bunched theirs up with two HBP's in a five-run fifth and held on to come away with the win. Chuck Stobbs (1-0) got the win for Boston plus he went 3-for-3 on the day - unfortunately, two of those times he was immediately erased on a Dom DiMaggio double play.
Wednesday, May 11, 1949
Chicago (AL) (H) 2 Boston (AL) 0
Boston starter Tex Hughson (1-1) struck out the first two White Sox batters, but then couldn’t get the third out (Hughson's own throwing error didn't help) and Chicago plated two runs, and that was all the scoring for today. Bill Wight (3-0) scattered four hits and four walks as he shut down the powerful Red Sox offense. Luke Appling went 3-for-4 for the day, upping his batting average to .416.
Cleveland (H) 11 New York (AL) 4
Third place New York was hoping to move up on the second place Cleveland team and took an early 4-1 lead, but Bob Porterfeld fell apart in the bottom of the fifth and the Indians scored seven runs. Larry Doby had a three-run triple in the fateful fifth inning and had four RBI's on the day.
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| Bob Lemon |
Note: In 1949 Bob Lemon did start this game, but after walking the leadoff hitter he was pulled from the game. Lemon won’t make another appearance for three weeks.
Detroit (H) 5 Washington 4 (11)
Washington starter Paul Calvert wiggled out of three bases loaded situations and left after six innings pitched with a 3-1 lead, but that lead didn’t last long as the Tigers finally got some hits with runners on base and scored three times in the seventh. The Senators pushed across a run in the eighth, and the game soon went into extra's. In the bottom of the eleventh pinch-hitter Pat Mullin drove home Johnny Groth with the game-winner.
Philadelphia (AL) 3 St. Louis (AL) (H) 2
Philadelphia starter Bobby Shantz (1-0) walked nine but only allowed two runs as the Browns couldn’t get the big hit when they needed it. Karl Drews (2-3) pitched well for St. Louis, but his defense made two crucial errors behind him.
Boston (NL) (H) 25 St. Louis (NL) 5
The game started off as a battle of the NL leaders in ERA, but it ended up a laugher as Boston got into the Cardinals bullpen and wreaked havoc. St. Louis led 4-2 early, but Boston put up a six-run sixth to recapture the lead. In the seventh Boston nailed three Cardinals relievers for eleven hits and seven walks and scored sixteen runs in the inning. Bob Elliott hit a grand slam and had seven RBI's for the day. Al Dark chipped in with six RBI's, and Tommy Holmes had five RBI's. Warren Spahn (5-0) got the win, but was given the ninth inning off today.
Pittsburgh 10 Brooklyn (H) 4
Ralph Kiner has spent much of the first part of the season with his batting average up around .400, but coming in to today's game he had only three homeruns. Kiner hit a two-run shot to get the Pirates offense started, and then first baseman Ed Stevens added a three-run homerun to blow the game open. Kiner later added a three-run homerun of his own and ended up with a six RBI day as the Pirates reclaimed first place in the NL.
New York (NL) (H) 4 Cincinnati 1
Giants starter Monty Kennedy (2-2) gave up only three hits and one unearned run plus he drove in two runs to give the Giants the lead they wouldn’t give up. Walker Cooper homered late in the game to give Kennedy a little breathing room.
Chicago (NL) 9 Philadelphia (NL) (H) 3
Chicago center fielder Andy Pafko hit homerun #8 to get the Cubs off to an early lead, but the outcome wasn't established until Roy Smalley hit a two-out three-run homerun in a five-run Cubs eighth inning. Johnny Schmitz (2-2) didn't pitch especially well but he did keep the Phillies off the scoreboard for the most part and got the complete game win.
Thursday, May 12, 1949
Boston (AL) 9 Chicago (AL) (H) 5
In a game that featured 29 hits and twelve walks, timely hitting was the difference and Vern Stephens made the difference for Boston with a three-run homerun in the third and a two-run double in the eighth. Mel Parnell (4-1) got the win, but had to pitchout of several tough spots along the way.
Detroit (H) 7 Washington 2
Johnny Groth hit a three-run homerun in the second to give Detroit a 3-1 lead and ended the day with five RBI's in support of Virgil Trucks (3-3). Dick Wakefield added a late two-run homerun to give Trucks a little cushion.
St. Louis (AL) (H) 10 Philadelphia (AL) 3
With the score tied 2-2 heading into the bottom of the fourth St. Louis exploded for eight runs, the big hits being a three-run triple by second baseman Jerry Priddy and a three-run homerun by catcher Les Moss. Cliff Fannin (1-0) gave up ten hits and six walks, but after a shaky start finished strong and got the win.
Brooklyn (H) 7 Pittsburgh 6
A two-run pinch-hit triple by pinch-hitter Mike McCormick sparked a four-run sixth inning for Brooklyn and gave the Dodgers a 7-3 lead. The Dodgers needed all of those runs as Wally Westlake hit a three-run homerun in the following inning, but it wasn't enough and Jack Banta shut down Pittsburgh for the rest of the game. Westlake also had a two-run homerun in the first inning.
New York (NL) (H) 18 Cincinnati 3
New York scored six times in the bottom of the first and pounded a series of Cincinnati pitchers for the remainder of the game. Bobby Thomson drove in five runs with two doubles and Sid Gordon drove in five on the day. Shortstop Bill Rigney scored four runs even while batting in the eighth spot in the lineup.
Philadelphia (NL) (H) 3 Chicago 2 (11)
On his 33rd birthday, Hank Borowy (2-2) held the Cubs scoreless until the eighth when some sloppy defense allowed the Cubs to get on the scoreboard. In the bottom of the eleventh Bill Nicholson greeted Cubs reliever Doyle Lade (0-2) with a long fly out and then the next batter, third baseman Willie Jones, hit a long fly ball that wasn't coming back and the Phillies had the win.
Note: Yogi Berra has a birthday today as well, as do I, although I won’t be making my debut for another eight years.
Friday, May 13, 1949
Triskaidekaphobia - Are you affected by this disorder?
It's a travel day as the AL eastern teams head back east and the NL Midwest teams start to play against each other. Another light day today, but a full weekend awaits.
Chicago (AL) (H) 8 Cleveland 7
Cleveland started off the day in first place by percentage points, but trailing Boston by a half-game due to the vagaries of games played. The Indians wanted to cement their hold on first today, and fought off several Chicago rallies to take a 7-4 lead into the seventh, but the White Sox then jumped on usually reliable reliever Mike Garcia (2-1) for four runs and held on for the win.
Detroit 11 St. Louis (AL) (H) 5
Detroit right fielder Vic Wertz drove in three runs with a double in a four-run fourth and gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead, but starter Ted Gray (1-4) had to be pulled in the sixth when the Browns cut the lead to 7-5. Aaron Robinson then hit a two-run homerun and Hoot Evers knocked a two-run double and Dizzy Trout shut down the Browns to pick up the save.
Brooklyn 12 Boston (NL) (H) 3
Boston began the day in fourth place, but only one game back, in a tight NL race. This was a close game for a while, with Brooklyn leading 4-3 after the fifth, but then the vaunted Dodgers offense kicked in and Brooklyn ran away with it. Left fielder Gene Hermanski had five RBI's on the day, including a three-run triple in a five run seventh. Preacher Roe (2-2) went all the way for the victory.
Chicago (NL) 4 Cincinnati (H) 2
Chicago started the day in seventh place, a half-game ahead of Cincinnati, and both teams are looking to put together a winning streak. The Reds scored twice in the bottom of the first, but that was all the runs that Cubs starter Monk Dubiel (2-3) would allow as the Cubs rallied back to take and the lead and then hold on for the win.
Philadelphia (NL) 1 New York (NL) (H) 0
New York started the day in first place in the NL, but only by the slimmest of margins. The game was scoreless until the eighth when Phillies starter Russ Meyer (2-2) tripled and then scored on a Granny Hamner single. Larry Jansen (3-2) pitched well but took the loss and the Giants couldn’t score today.
St. Louis (NL) 16 Pittsburgh (H) 5
Pittsburgh and St. Louis both tied for second in the NL, a half-game behind New York. Both teams know, that combined with a New York loss, the winner will head into the weekend in first place. Ralph Kiner hit his sixth homerun in the bottom of the first to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead, but the Cardinals then destroyed a series of Pirates hurlers, scoring sixteen runs over the next four innings. Ron Northey and Rocky Nelson both hit bases loaded doubles as the key hits for the Cardinals today.
Saturday, May 15, 1949
New York (AL) 6 Philadelphia (AL) (H) 2
Philadelphia took an early 2-0 lead over New York and Vic Raschi (4-2) but the Yankees responded with three runs in the sixth to recapture the lead, and then tacked on three more in the ninth to salt it away. Phil Rizzuto, batting .385, had two big RBI's to lead the Yankees offense.
Detroit 11 St. Louis (AL) (H) 2
St. Louis scored first with a Stan Spence homerun in the first inning, but Detroit tied it at 1-1 in the second and then the Tigers strung together multiple hits in the third and ended up with a five-run inning. Aaron Robinson later added a three-run homerun, and Fred Hutchinson (2-1) went all the way for the win.
Boston (AL) 8 Washington (H) 4
Washington starting pitcher Ray Scarborough (0-5) was left in the game for one batter too many and Vern Stephens hit a grand slam in the eighth to effectively put the game out of reach. Birdie Tebbetts contributed three RBI's on the day as well, all leading to Mickey Harris (3-0) getting the win.
Boston (NL) (H) 10 Brooklyn 9
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| Earl Torgeson |
The top of the Boston batting order, second baseman Eddie Stanky and shortstop Al Dark, combined for an 8-for-9 day and scored seven runs and the Braves needed everyone to get past Brooklyn. The Dodger offense has awoken as they outhit Boston 16-14, but the pitching staff just isn’t all there yet.
Note: Boston first baseman Earl Torgeson separated his shoulder in this game and will miss the remainder of the season.
Note: I had the fifth occurrence of a two-out run scoring hit effectively being negated because a base runner neglected to touch third base and the defense team winning their appeal play.
Cincinnati (H) 8 Chicago (NL) 3
Cincinnati scored early and often and built up a 7-0 lead through the fifth as four Cubs errors kept the home team on the ropes. Johnny Vander Meer (2-2) didn't allow a Cubs run until the sixth and picked up the win.
Philadelphia (NL) 2 New York (NL) (H) 1
New York starter Sheldon Jones (5-2) was looking to become the first to six wins and had a 1-0 lead after seven innings. In the eighth inning though Phillies left fielder Del Ennis hit a two-run double and then Robin Roberts shut down the Giants for the rest of the game to earn the win in a closely fought game.
St. Louis (NL) 6 Pittsburgh 3 (11)
Pittsburgh left fielder Ralph Kiner hit his seventh homerun of the season and his fourth in the last four days to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. The Cardinals eventually fought back to tie the score at 3-3 and send the game into extra innings. Joe Garagiola singled home the first run in a three-run eleventh and Gerry Staley came in to get the save.
Sunday, May 15, 1949
Five teams in the NL are starting the day with fourteen wins, the difference being the number of they've losses incurred. It's a doubleheader Sunday, the AL has three, so let's see what happens.
Chicago (AL) (H) 3 Cleveland 2 (GM 1)
In game one Chicago's Bill Wight (4-0) outdueled Bob Feller (2-1) in a close one. Gus Zernial, hitting .347, had two RBI's to lead the White Sox offense.
Cleveland 3 Chicago (AL) (H) 0 (GM 2)
Cleveland earned their split in the doubleheader when starter Steve Gromek didn't allow a hit until the seventh inning and then ended up with a two hit complete game shutout. Larry Doby hit a two-run homerun in the fourth inning to put the Indians ahead to stay.
Philadelphia (AL) (H) 4 New York (AL) 2 (GM 1)
New York scored one in the first, but Philadelphia answered with one in the second and then added three in the fourth. Dick Fowler (4-1) had another good outing defeating Tommy Byrne (2-2) who only had one bad inning.
New York (AL) 8 Philadelphia (AL) (H) 1 (GM 2)
New York already lead 3-1 after the third inning but Philadelphia starter Joe Coleman (2-3) couldn’t get the third out in the fourth and the Yankees scored four times. Allie Reynolds (3-3) took over from there with some help with a Cliff Mapes 3-for-4 day with three RBI's.
St. Louis (AL) (H) 8 Detroit 6 (GM 1)
When Detroit third baseman George Kell hit a three-run homerun in the fifth to give Hal Newhouser and the Tigers a 6-2 one would assume Newhouser could close the deal from there. The Browns had other ideas and tied the game with four runs in the sixth, and then pushed a couple more to grab the comeback win. Bob Dillinger had four hits and Roy Sievers scored three runs to lead the offense.
St. Louis (AL) (H) 11 Detroit 5 (GM 2)
St. Louis lead 3-1 early but Detroit tied the core a 3-3 heading into the bottom of the fifth. The Browns then pounded out four runs to recapture the lead, and then they scored four more in the eighth to put it out of reach. Shortstop Eddie Pellagrini and center fielder Stand Spence both had three hits and two RBI's and right fielder Dick Kokos chipped in with the RBI's to spark the Browns.
Washington (H) 8 Boston (AL) 3
Washington's Sid Hudson (2-3) gave up three runs in the second, but that was all Boston would get today as Hudson went all the way for the easy win. First baseman Eddie Robinson went 4-for-5 and drove in three runs to lead the Senators offense.
Brooklyn 8 Boston (NL) (H) 3
A frustrating day in Boston as the Braves got thirteen hits and four walks but could only score three runs, due in part to hitting into three double plays. For their part, the Dodgers also had thirteen hits on the day, but managed to drive home runs when they had men on base. Gil Hodges drove in four runs, and Gene Hermanski drove in two runs with a double in the eighth inning to give the Dodgers a little breathing room.
Chicago (NL) 5 Cincinnati (H) 4 (10) (GM 1)
The score was tied at 4-4 at the completion of the third inning, but that was all the scoring in this one until the Cubs pushed across a run in the tenth. Hal Jeffcoat led off the tenth with a double, advanced to third on a infield out, and then scored on a Frankie Gustine sacrifice fly. Bob Chipman set the Reds down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning and the Cubs had a game one victory.
Cincinnati (H) 6 Chicago (NL) 5 (13) (GM 2)
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| Johnny Wyrostek |
Similar to game one, the score was 4-3 at the end of the third and that was all the scoring until the Cubs scored an insurance run in the eighth to take a 5-3 lead. In the bottom of the ninth Hank Sauer walked and Johnny Wyrostek hit a two-run homerun and just like that we had a tie score. In the thirteenth Sauer led off the inning with a walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and then scored the game-winner when Wyrostek came through with a clean single to left.
New York (NL) (H) 3 Philadelphia (NL) 0
New York starter Monty Kennedy (3-2) limited Philadelphia to four hits as he went all the way for the shutout victory. Phillies starter Curt Simmons (1-3) only allowed five hits, but the Giants bunched theirs up in the fifth and sixth innings to get their three runs.
St. Louis (NL) 7 Pittsburgh (H) 1
St. Louis scored three runs in the top of the first and then kept up the pressure by putting runners on base and scoring single runs until they had their win. Jim Hearn (2-0) had a second consecutive strong start as he only allowed six hits and no walks.
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