Monday, April 18, 1949 (Opening Day)
(November 25, 2018) It's time for Opening Day of the 1949 season. Let's play ball!
Philadelphia (AL) 5 Washington (H) 3
In the season opener, Buddy Lewis got things going for Washington in the bottom of the first with the first homerun of the season, a solo shot to give the Senators a 1-0 lead. The Athletics answered with one in the third, but second baseman Al Kozar knocked a two-run single in the bottom of the fourth to put Washington back on top by a 3-1 score. It looked like that was how the game would end but a catcher's interference call on Al Evans in the top of the eighth brought A's center fielder Sam Chapman to the plate and he responded with a grand slam homerun to put Philadelphia ahead 5-3 and there it stayed.
Boston (NL) (H) 4 Philadelphia (NL) 3
The Braves got off to a fast start with two in the first, but Phillies second baseman Eddie Miller hit a solo home homerun in the fifth to cut the Boston lead to 2-1. Philadelphia then scored twice in the sixth after Del Ennis' second double of the game put runners on second and third with no outs. But just when the Phillies were thinking they had this one won Braves third baseman Bob Elliott hit a two run homerun in the bottom of the eighth and Boston had a 4-3 lead. Johnny Sain (1-0) finished what he started and got the complete game victory.
Tuesday, April 19, 1949
Chicago (AL) 7 Detroit (H) 3
Luke Appling drove in four of the first five Chicago runs and Al Gettel (1-0) went all the way as the White Sox won their season opener. Gettel wasn't all that sharp, but the Tigers hit into four double plays on the day.
New York (AL) (H) 3 Washington 2 (10)
With Joe DiMaggio out of the lineup for the foreseeable future the Yankees took a 1-0 lead after one, both teams scored in the fifth, and then Gil Coan socked a solo homerun in the top of the eighth to tie the score at 2-2. In the bottom of the tenth veteran backup catcher Gus Niarhos drove home Dick Kryhoski with the winning run on Niarhos' fourth hit of the day.
Boston (AL) 4 Philadelphia (AL) (H) 2 (10)
Dom DiMaggio started off the game with a long fly ball to right that Taffy Wright dropped as he crashed into the wall. By the time Wright recovered DiMaggio had already scampered home on a four-base error. The Athletics tied it with one in the third and then took a 2-1 lead with one in the fifth, and Lou Brissie (0-1) held powerful Red Sox scoreless until the ninth when pinch-hitter Matt Batts drove home Walt Dropo with the game-tying run. In the top of the tenth Vern Stephens lined a two-run double and the Red Sox held on for the win from there.
Cleveland 9 St. Louis (AL) (H) 2
Joe Gordon poked a two-out RBI single in the top of the first to give Cleveland a quick lead and then Lou Boudreau continued his 1948 MVP ways with a three run homerun in the third and the Indians were off and running. The Indians then added five runs in the seventh to pretty much put this one away. Bob Feller (1-0) pitched well until he loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh, but Early Wynn pitched out of the tight spot and then finished the game from there.
Boston (NL) (H) 4 Philadelphia (NL) 3 (GM 1)
It's Patriot's Day in Boston so it's time for a double-header! The first four Phillies all reached base off Warren Spahn in the first, but Spahn got out of the inning with no more damage allowed. Boston tied it with two of their own in the second, and then added single runs in the third and fifth to open a 4-2 lead. The Phillies scored once in the eighth to get within one, but couldn’t score again and Spahn shut them down 1-2-3 in the ninth.
Boston (NL) (H) 12 Philadelphia (NL) 5 (GM 2)
The Phillies took an early 4-0 lead but then starter Russ Meyer lost his control in the bottom of the sixth and walked home three runs. Jim Konstanty was brought in, but he walked in another runner, hit a batter to bring home a run, and then gave up a three-run triple to Earl Torgeson. The Phillies eventually walked home one more batter in the ninth, gave up twelve walks on the day, but only five hits.
New York (NL) 12 Brooklyn (H) 11
Brooklyn starter Joe Hatten (0-1) gave up two-run homeruns to Johnny Mize in the first, Sid Gordon in the third, and Bobby Thomson in the fifth as the Giants pounded the Dodgers early, taking an 8-4 lead after the fifth. The Giants added one more in the sixth and then four in the seventh, and they needed every one of them as Carl Furillo hit a three run homerun in the seventh and then the Dodgers scored four in the ninth before their belated rally was cut short.
Note: In the real 1949 game Jackie Robinson had three hits and a homerun, just like he did for me.
Pittsburgh 3 Chicago (NL) (H) 2
With a 2-1 lead, Chicago appeared to have this one locked up with the bottom of the Pirates order coming to bat in the ninth, but first baseman Ed Stevens and third baseman Eddie Bockman hit back-to-back homers is and all of a sudden the Pirates had the lead. Rip Sewell (1-0) got the complete-game victory by keeping the Cubs scoreless in the ninth.
St. Louis (NL) 7 Cincinnati (H) 6
Stan Musial got the Cardinals scoring going with a two-run homerun in the top of the first, but Hank Sauer answered with a two-run homerun in the bottom of the first to tie the game at 2-2. St. Louis catcher Del Rice then added two solo homeruns and the Cardinals took a quick 6-2 lead. The Reds fought their way back into it but couldn’t quite catch the visitors.
Wednesday, April 20, 1949
Detroit (H) 7 Chicago (AL) 6
The White Sox took an early 2-0 lead after the top of the fifth, with eighth place hitter Gordon Goldsberry scoring a run in each of his first two major league plate appearances. The Tigers answered back by opening a 7-3 lead after seven, and then held off a late White Sox rally. Goldsberry ended up with three hits and a walk in his ML debut, but made the final out with two runners on base in the ninth.
New York (AL) (H) 6 Washington 2
The Senators scored two early runs off Yankees starter Vic Raschi (1-0), but then Washington's defense collapsed, with three errors leading to three unearned runs as the Yankees roared back to take the win. Second baseman Jerry Coleman made his ML debut in this game., but ended the day 0-for-5.
Boston (AL) 14 Philadelphia (AL) (H) 2
A three-run double by Bobby Doerr put the Red Sox up 4-0 in a four run third, and then Boston added a four run seventh and a four run eighth to put the game out of reach. Doerr had a three-run homerun later in the game, giving him six RBI's on the day. Boston only had eleven hits on the day, but accumulated a total of thirteen walks.
Note: The ATMgr lineup has Matt Batts starting at catcher for Boston, but Baseball-Reference.com shows Birdie Tebbetts as the starter.
Cleveland 7 St. Louis (AL) (H) 0
Cleveland scored three times in the first and Bob Lemon (1-0) took over from there, not allowing a hit until the sixth, and going all the way for the complete game shut-out. Joe Gordon and Ken Keltner hit homeruns in a three run seventh that secured the win for the Indians.
Philadelphia (AL) 7 Boston (NL) (H) 2
Eddie Stanky led off the Boston first with a homerun, but Phillies starter Jocko Thompson (1-0) didn’t allow any more Braves runs until an unearned run crossed the plate in the seventh. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia offense scored twice in the third and three times in the fourth and Boston picked up their first loss of the season after a 3-0 start.
Brooklyn (H) 5 New York (NL) 4
The Giants scored twice in the top of the first and expanded that lead to 4-0 through five, but then Brooklyn started their comeback. Two in the six and another in the seventh got them to within one, and then in the bottom of the ninth New York starter Sheldon Jones gave up two walks to start the inning (he allowed eight walks on the day), and Andy Hansen was brought in to shut down the Dodgers. Hansen walked the first batter to load the bases, struck out the next two batters, and then gave up a game winning single to Billy Cox.
Pittsburgh 10 Chicago (NL) (H) 4
Pittsburgh led 3-0 early but the Cubs exploded for four runs in the bottom of the second to take a 4-3 lead. Chicago starter Bob Rush (0-1) weakened in the seventh and gave up back-to-back homeruns to Wally Westlake and Eddie Bockman, and as the Pirates got into the Cubs bullpen they continued to hammer away.
Note: This is the second consecutive day Bockman has taken part in a back-to-back homerun combination.
Thursday, April 21, 1949
Chicago (AL) 17 Detroit (H) 5
Chicago scored three times in the second and then three more times in the third, but Detroit kept hanging around, getting back the score back to 7-3 after eight. The White Sox then pasted two Detroit relievers for ten runs in the ninth, including scoring eight of those runs before an out was recorded. Howie Judson (1-0) got the complete game win despite giving up seven walks and having some shaky defense behind him.
Note: Gordon Goldsberry went 3-for-4 for the second day in a row. Has anyone ever started their ML career with back-to-back 3-for-4 days?
New York (AL) (H) 9 Washington 2
The Yankees scored all nine of their runs in the first four innings of the game and Tommy Byrne (1-0) kept the Senators at bay for the easy win. Tommy Henrich and Johnny Lindell both picked up three RBI's on the day.
Philadelphia (AL) (H) 4 Boston (AL) 2
Boston scored twice in the second, and it looked like that was all Mel Parnell (0-1) would need today, but the Athletics finally scored a run in the seventh and then added three more in the eighth. Phil Marchildon kept the Red Sox bats quiet for most of the game, but it was Alex Kellner (1-0) that got the win in relief. Boston hit into six double plays on the day, killing multiple scoring opportunities.
Cleveland 8 St. Louis (AL) (H) 7 (10)
St. Louis opened a 4-1 lead after four complete, but then the Indians started to chip away at that lead. Even as the Browns added a few more runs of their own, Cleveland scored one in the fifth, two in the sixth, one in the seventh, tied the score with one in the eight, and then re-tied the score with one in the ninth. The Indians finally made a winner out of reliever Mike Garcia with on in the tenth when Joe Gordon singled home Thurman Tucker with the eventual game winner.
Brooklyn (H) 10 New York (NL) 2
New York start Clint Hartung couldn’t get out of the third as the Dodgers ended up scoring six times in route to an easy win for Preacher Roe (1-0). Roe allowed three hits and three walks, and the only real mistake was giving up a two-run homerun to Giants catcher Mickey Livingston.
Pittsburgh 8 Chicago (NL) (H) 6
The wind must have been blowing out at Wrigley today. The Pirates knocked three homeruns in the first two innings, scoring seven runs, and included a three-run Danny Murtaugh blast. Not to be outdone, the Cubs hit a total of four homeruns, but they were all of the solo variety. Phil Cavarraetta and Andy Pafko went back-to-back in the bottom of the first, and Pafko added a second homerun in the ninth.
St. Louis (NL) 10 Cincinnati (H) 5
The Cardinals pounded three Reds pitchers for sixteen hits and led 9-0 after the top of the fourth. Stan Musial hit his second homerun of the season and catcher Del Rice hit his third. With a nine run lead, Howie Pollet (1-0) took his foot off the gas a little, but the Reds were never really in it.
Note: Rice only had four homeruns for the season, but now has three after only two games.
Friday, April 22, 1949
Boston (AL) (H) 19 New York (AL) 6
The Yankees loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the first, but could only score one run. Boston's offense then unloaded on a series of New York pitchers, scoring six times in the first, twice in the second, and then six more times in the third. Ted Williams got his first homerun of the season, and Birdie Tebbetts picked up six RBI's on the day, three coming on a first inning homerun. This game featured 38 hits, 23 by Boston, 15 for New York. Boston starter Tex Hughson (1-0) kept finding ways to get out of trouble.
Chicago (AL) (H) 2 St. Louis (AL) 1
Chicago's Marino Pieretti (1-0) and the Browns Red Embree (0-1) both pitched masterpieces today. The game was scoreless until two outs in the bottom of the eighth when White Sox left fielder Dave Philley hit a two run triple to break the scoreless tie. Pieretti then gave up back-to-back doubles to start the ninth, and eventually loaded the bases with only one out. Bill Wight came in and induced a game ending 5-2-3 double play to preserve the win for White Sox.
Cleveland (H) 10 Detroit 9 (10)
Larry Doby hit a two-run homerun in the bottom of the second for Cleveland and then added a three-run homerun in the second inning. Still, after Detroit scored three times in the fifth the Tigers had an 8-7 lead. The game eventually went to extra innings when left fielder Thurman Tucker drove home Bob Kennedy with a two out single to make a winner out of reliever Steve Gromek (1-0).
Philadelphia (AL) 5 Washington (H) 3
Philadelphia scored single runs in each of the second through fifth innings and Carl Scheib (1-0) and a pair of relievers held off Washington to pick up the win. First baseman Ferris Fain went 3-for-5 and drove home two runs on the day.
Cincinnati (NL) 9 Pittsburgh (H) 1
Reds starter Howie Fox (1-0) wasn't especially sharp as he gave up nine hits and seven walks, but he kept Pittsburgh scoreless until the bottom of the eighth. Hank Sauer hit two homeruns - a grand slam in the fourth that gave Cincinnati a 6-0 lead, the second being a three run homerun in the eight to put the game out of reach.
St. Louis (NL) (H) 5 Chicago (NL) 4
The Cubs jumped on Cardinals starter Al Brazle (1-0) for four runs in the tip of the first, but Brazle settled down and shut out the visitors the rest of the way. Cubs starter Johnny Schmitz (0-1) pitched well, but some shaky Cubs defense allowed the Cardinals to creep back into the game until a two-run single by Enos Slaughter in the seventh inning finally put St. Louis ahead to stay.
Boston (NL) 6 New York (NL) (H) 6 (Tie Game)
The players in both starting lineups will be credited with a game started and a game played at their defensive position.
Saturday, April 23, 1949
Boston (AL) (H) 6 New York (AL) 4
The Red Sox pushed across two in the second and then again in the fifth to take a 4-0 lead, and starter Chuck Stobbs appeared to be cruising to an easy Boston win. New York then jumped up with a four run seventh, and it was a whole new ballgame. Yankees relief ace Joe Page (0-1) then walked home two runs in the eighth and Ellis Kinder (2-0) kept the Yankees quiet in the ninth to get the win.
Chicago (AL) (H) 3 St. Louis (AL) 1
White Sox starter Al Gettel (2-0) gave up a run in the second and didn’t allow any more Browns runs after that. Gettel did allow fourteen hits and four walks though, pitched out of numerous jams, including a bases loaded with no outs situation in the fourth. Bill Kennedy (0-1) pitched well for the Browns, but gave up three runs in the third and that was Chicago needed today.
Detroit 4 Cleveland (H) 1
Detroit's Hal Newhouser (1-1) didn't allow a run until two outs in the ninth and claimed the win for the Tigers. Catcher Aaron Robinson hit a two-run homerun in the second to give the Tigers an early lead, and in the seventh Cleveland right fielder Bob Kennedy kicked a grounder and allowed two more runs to score for the Tigers.
Philadelphia (AL) 13 Washington (H) 3
The Athletics scored three times in the fifth, sixth, and ninth innings to win easily over the hometown Senators. Dick Fowler (2-0) went all the way for the win and was aided by Taffy Wright going 5-for-6 on the day. Philadelphia stung Washington pitchers for eighteen hits.
New York (NL) (H) 5 Boston (NL) 4
The Giants scored one in the bottom of the first, but nobody scored again until the Braves took the lead with two in the top of the eighth. Boston then added to their lead with two more in the ninth, but in the bottom of the ninth the Giants scored a run and then Johnny Mize tied the game with a two-run homerun. Two batters later third baseman Jack Lohrke poked one over the left field fence to send the home fans home happy.
Philadelphia (NL) (H) 6 Brooklyn 0
Phillies starter Robin Roberts (1-0) didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning and only allowed three hits on the day as the young hurler picked up a shutout victory over the powerful Brooklyn Dodgers. Second baseman Eddie Miller hit his second homerun of the season, a two-run homerun in the second, and then Del Ennis did likewise in the third.
St. Louis (NL) (H) 6 Chicago (NL) 5 (12)
Both teams got on the scoreboard early, with the Cubs having a 4-3 lead at the end of the third. Shortstop Marty Marion tied the score with a solo homerun in the seventh, and the two teams eventually moved into extra innings. Both teams scored a run in the tenth, and then in the bottom of the twelfth Nippy Jones bounced a single off the outfield wall with the bases loaded to give the Cardinals the victory.
Sunday, April 24, 1949
New York (AL) 14 Boston (AL) (H) 8
After having lost the first two game in Boston the Yankees stormed back to take game three from their rivals to the north, and thumped Boston pretty well in doing so. Red Sox starter Joe Dobson allowed seven runs in 2.2 innings, and then Windy McCall came in to give up a three-run homerun in the third to Phil Ruzzuto and then a three-run homerun in the fourth to Gene Woodling. Once they were down 12-0 Boston hit three solo homeruns in an attempted comeback. The Yankees were homerless before today's game.
Chicago (AL) (H) 10 St. Louis (AL) 1 (GM 1)
Browns left fielder Al Zarilla hit a solo homerun in the top of the first, but that was the only run White Sox start Bill Wight (1-0) would allow today. Gus Zernial and Bud Souchock both drove in three runs to lead the White Sox attack.
St. Louis (AL) 4 Chicago (AL) (H) 3 (GM 2)
The Browns finally got one in the win column, but had to do it the hard way. After Chicago scored in the third St. Louis answered back with runs in the fourth and fifth to take a 2-1 lead, only to see the White Sox come back with two in the sixth. In the ninth first baseman Jack Graham put the Browns back on top with a two-run homerun and the visitors held on for the win.
Philadelphia (AL) 8 Washington (H) 1
Lou Brissie (1-1) pitched a gem for the Athletics, not allowing a run until two outs in the ninth. It was a pretty tight game until Sam Chapman hit a three-run homerun in the eighth. Taffy Wright added a two-run triple in the ninth to remove all doubt.
New York (NL) (H) 13 Boston (NL) 4
New York scored four times in the bottom of the first and ended up pounding Braves pitching for the whole game. Johnny Mize had to sit after a HBP in the first and his replacement, veteran Augie Galan, walked four times and scored three runs in his fur plate appearances. Sheldon Jones (1-1) went all the way for the win for the Giants.
Philadelphia (NL) (H) 5 Brooklyn 1 (GM 1)
Phillies starter Ken Heintzelman (1-1) was the star in game one as he did not allow a Dodger run until the seventh and went all the way to pick up the win. Left fielder Del Ennis hit a double and a homerun, drove in three runs and scored three runs to spark the offense.
Brooklyn 11 Philadelphia (NL) (H) 1 (GM 2)
Brooklyn evened their record on the day with Ralph Branca (1-0) going all the way for the win. Jackie Robinson hit a two-run homerun in the first to get the Dodgers off to a fast start and Duke Snider contributed four RBI's to help build that lead.
Cincinnati 10 Pittsburgh (H) 7 (GM 1)
Another day, another Ed Sauer homerun. Today it was a three-run homerun in the third inning, Sauer's fourth homerun in four games, and no solo homeruns either - all have come with men on base, twelve RBI's so far this season. The Reds built a big lead, leading 8-3 after the seventh, and then held on to pick up the win.
Pittsburgh (H) 7 Cincinnati 5 (GM 2)
Reds right fielder Danny Litwhiler gave the Reds a quick lead with a three-run homerun in the first, but Cliff Chambers pretty much shut down Cincinnati for the rest of the game and the Pirates came back to gain a split in the double-header. Ed Sauer hit his fifth homerun in five games, this one a solo shot in the ninth, but it was too little too late.
St. Louis (NL) (H) 10 Chicago (NL) 9 (14)
St. Louis had a comfortable 7-4 lead with two outs in the ninth when sure handed shortstop Marty Marion had the ball in his hands but dropped the potential third out and allowed a run to score. Peanut Lowrey then hit a two-run double to tie the score and the game soon moved into extra innings. The Cubs scored twice in the twelfth, but Eddie Kazak and Ron Northey went back-to-back with homeruns for St. Louis to tie the game back up and keep it going. Finally, in the bottom of the fourteenth, Northey hit his second homerun of the game, both in extra innings, and the Cardinals had their win. Northey didn’t even start the game, but ended up with a 3-for-4 day and a walk to go along with his two homeruns.
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