Monday, May 2, 1949
It's a Monday and it’s the start of Week 3, so that means it's a travel day and there are no games scheduled. In looking through the schedule I see another Monday or two with no games scheduled, plus several that have only one game scheduled. Trains are still the primary mode of team transportation, and while I am sure the trains of 1949 are more modern and more comfortable than the trains of 1930, a train ride from St. Louis to or from anywhere on the east coast is still a long train ride. My guess is that baseball figured out it wasn't worth the effort of trying to have teams rush across the country and then try to squeeze a game in on the same day - get on the train Sunday evening, ride all night and part of the next day, get to your hotel, get some rest (or not) and be ready to go the next day.
Conversely, both Sundays so far have featured multiple doubleheaders, and looking through the schedule ahead I can see that every Sunday features not one or two, but large numbers of doubleheaders every Sunday. This allows for the occasional free day for travel purposes but also keeps the league from falling too far behind due to rain-outs and having the season become too heavily back-laden with makeup games. And after all, who doesn't love a Sunday doubleheader?
As far as today's travel goes, the westernmost NL teams are heading east, while in the AL it is the easternmost teams heading westward. Get a good night's sleep in your sleeping car berth and let's be ready to play on Tuesday.
Tuesday, May 3, 1949
Chicago (AL) (H) 5 Washington 2
Washington second baseman Sherry Robertson cracked a two run homerun in the top of the first, but that was the only time the Senators would crack the scoreboard today. Randy Gumpert (1-2) went all the way for the victory plus he went 2-for-3 at the plate and scored a run.
St. Louis (AL) (H) 5 New York (AL) 2
St. Louis starter Ned Garver (2-2) only allowed two unearned runs in the fifth as he kept the Yankees in check all game and got the complete game victory. Roy Sievers is going to be given a chance to start for The Browns and he responded with a 3-for-4 day with two doubles.
Boston (AL) 14 Detroit 14 (H) (13) (Tie Game)
The players in both starting lineups will be credited with a game started and a game played at their defensive position.
Boston (NL) 2 Chicago (NL) (H) 0
The Braves started their road trip off on a positive note as Vern Bickford (2-2) shut-out the Cubs. Third baseman Bob Elliott was back in the starting lineup after being out for the last five games and scored the first run, and Jim Russell later added a solo homerun to give Bickford a little breathing room.
Brooklyn (H) 3 Cincinnati 1
Ralph Branca (2-1) had a shutout going until the eighth when it was his own throwing error that allowed in an unearned run for the Reds. The Dodgers got their three runs in the second and it was all Branca needed today.
Pittsburgh 13 New York (NL) (H) 2
Pittsburgh and New York started the day tied for second place and both wanted to get the win in this one. Pittsburgh's claim was stronger as the Pirates scored five times in the first and then scored on every Giants pitcher they faced. Eddie Bockman continued his hot start with his fifth homerun of the season, bumping his RBI total to 19.
Note: Bockman actually only had six homeruns and 19 RBI's in 1949.
Philadelphia (NL) (H) 6 St. Louis (NL) 5
St. Louis scored two runs in each of the first two innings, but the Philadelphia would not be denied. The Phillies fought back to tie the score at 4-4 after the fourth, only to see the Cardinals take the lead again with one in the fifth. Del Ennis hit a two run homerun in the sixth and this time Philadelphia made that lead stand up.
Wednesday, May 4, 1949
Washington 18 Chicago (AL) (H) 1
The Senators had scored 38 runs in their first fifteen games but busted loose for eighteen today. Washington had twenty hits and nine walks and hit three homeruns as once they got into the White Sox bullpen they simply feasted. Sid Hudson (1-2) welcomed the run support as four different Senators had three hits on the day and Bud Stewart and Mark Christman both had four RBI's.
Philadelphia (AL) 2 Cleveland (H) 0
Philadelphia and Dick Fowler (3-1) walked into Cleveland and promptly shutout the powerful Indians. Fowler allowed six hits and gave up five walks, but twice he got out of bases-loaded situations and got the win. Cleveland outfielder Minnie Minoso made his major league debut in this game.
Boston (AL) 6 Detroit (H) 2
Some shaky Detroit defense and homerun #6 from Vern Stephens helped the Red Sox build up a quick 6-0 lead over the Tigers. Mickey Harris (2-0) had his second consecutive strong outing, not allowing a run until the sixth inning and going all the way for the win.
St. Louis (AL) (H) 15 New York (AL) 4
It looked like it was going to be a pitcher's duel but then St. Louis suddenly exploded for six runs in the fourth and then they couldn’t stop hitting, picking up twenty hits and three homeruns on the day. Bill Kennedy (1-1) got the win, although he did give up a two-run pinch-hit homerun to Cliff Mapes in the seventh.
Chicago (NL) 10 Boston (NL) (H) 7 (10)
Boston jumped off to an early 5-0 lead after the third, but the usually reliable Johnny Sain didn't have the good stuff today and Chicago roared back to take a 6-5 lead after six. Boston left fielder Marv Rickert hit his second homerun of the game, a solo shot in the bottom of the eighth, to tie the score at 7-7 and the game eventually went into extra innings. In the tenth, the Cubs offense pounded out three more runs and then held on for the win.
Cincinnati 13 Brooklyn (H) 11
Cincinnati scored six times in the second inning, chasing Brooklyn starter Joe Hatten from the game. By the end of the third though the score was 7-7 and Reds starter Howie Fox had departed as well. And then the game got interesting. Hank Sauer homered (#7) to give Cincinnati the lead, only to see the Dodgers retake the lead with two in the fifth. The Reds tied the score at 9-9 in the sixth, but then the Dodgers scored two in the seventh to lead 11-9. Sauer hit his second homerun of the game (#8) in a three-run eighth and this time Cincinnati managed to hold on to the lead. The teams combined for 34 hits and eight walks and hit five homeruns on the day. Cincinnati's win allowed them to climb past Brooklyn into sixth place in the NL.
Pittsburgh 6 New York (NL) (H) 4
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| Willard Marshall |
Pittsburgh shortstop Stan Rojek and right fielder Dixie Walker were both in the starting lineup for the first time in a week. In the second inning, the Giants went back-to-back-to-back when Bobby Thomson, Willard Marshall, and Walker Cooper hit consecutive homeruns to give New York a 3-0 lead. The Pirates answered right back with three of their own in the third, and then New York scored once in the bottom of the third to take a 4-3 lead, and there the score stayed until the eighth. Aided by Eddie Bockman's sixth homerun the Pirates regained the lead and held on for the win, the fifth consecutive win.
Philadelphia (NL) (H) 4 St. Louis (NL) 3 (10)
Philadelphia built an early 3-1 lead and it looked like starter Ken Heintzelman would be able to take it home, but with two outs in the ninth inning Enos Slaughter launched a game-tying two-run homerun and extra innings were looming. The Phillies wasted no time though and Eddie Waitkus singled home Richie Ashburn with the game-winner in the tenth.
Thursday, May 5, 1949
New York (AL) 8 Chicago (AL) (H) 0
New York and Chicago started today with identical 8-7 records, but today was New York's day. The Yankees batted around in both the first and second inning, scoring four runs in each, and knocking White Sox starter Billy Pierce (0-2) from the box. Allie Reynolds (2-2) took over from there and went all the way for the shutout win.
Note: ATMgr has Bud Souchock starting at 1B for Chicago, but Baseball-Reference.com has Gordon Goldsberry making the start
Cleveland (H) 11 Boston (AL) 5
The first and second place teams in the AL squared off today and Cleveland struck first, scoring five times in the first. Bob Feller (2-0) didn't allow a run until the sixth, but with a 6-1 lead Feller started to look shaky and Boston tried to climb back into it. Boston right fielder Sam Mele hit two homeruns to help cut into that lead, but the Indians answered with some firepower of their own. Joe Gordon and Mickey Vernon hit back-to-back homeruns in the seventh, and then Gordon hit his second homerun of the game in the eighth.
Philadelphia (AL) 7 Detroit (H) 3
The Athletics scored one in the first, but Detroit starter Ted Gray tightened up quickly and started shutting down the Philadelphia bats. Detroit climbed back into the game and took at 3-1 lead, but Gray weakened and Philadelphia scored four times in the eighth and then held on from there for the win.
Washington 10 St. Louis (AL) (H) 3
Washington starter Mickey Haefner (1-3) gave up a two-run homerun to Brown's second baseman Jerry Priddy in the first, but wouldn't give up any more until St. Louis scored an unearned run in the eight. In between the Senators scored ten times, often benefitting from one of the Browns four errors. Left fielder Gil Coan went 4-for-6 on the day with three RBI's to lead the Senators.
Brooklyn (H) 10 Cincinnati 6
With the score tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth, Jackie Robinson hit a two-run single to give the Dodgers the lead, and then Robinson added a three-run homerun in the seventh to put the game out of reach. The extra runs did come in handy though, as Hank Sauer hit a three-run homerun (#9) in the ninth and then second baseman Jimmy Bloodworth went back-to-back with a solo homerun of his own.
New York (NL) (H) 5 Pittsburgh 1
Pittsburgh scored a run in the top of the first without the benefit of a hit, but New York starter Sheldon Jones didn't allow any more runs and only allowed two hits as the Giants took the final game of the series. New York catcher Walker Cooper knocked a two-run triple in the eighth to give the home team a little breathing room.
St. Louis (NL) 7 Philadelphia (NL) (H) 1
Philadelphia scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the fifth, but then St. Louis blew open the tightly contested game with a seven-run sixth inning. George Munger (1-1) kept the Phillies bats quiet after that and went all the way for the win.
Friday, May 6, 1949
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| Al Zarilla |
News: The Boston Red Sox traded outfielder Stan Spence with cash to the St. Louis Browns for outfielder Al Zarilla. Boston expects Zarilla to solve their right field problem, and St. Louis always likes it when Boston throws in some cash, and besides this move will allow them to move young Roy Sievers into a full-time position in the lineup.
New York (AL) 17 Chicago (AL) (H) 8
New York scraped across a few runs early to build up a quick 4-1 lead, but Yankee starter Spec Shea made a mistake to Gus Zernial and the young left fielder deposited a three-run homerun into the upper deck. That was the only White Sox highlight though, as the Yankees offense soon awoke and thumped the Chicago bullpen for 21 hits and seven walks. Cliff Mapes went 4-for-6 with two doubles and a homerun and drove in six runs in the game.
Note: ATMgr has Marino Pierettti as the starting pitcher for the White Sox, while Baseball-Reference.com has Bill Wight
Detroit (H) 7 Philadelphia (AL) 0
Detroit had lost seven in a row, but their pitching staff is much better than that. Hal Newhouser (2-3) got them back on the winning track today with a complete game shutout. The Tigers scored two in the seventh and then four in the eighth to blow it open. Hoot Evers hit a two run homerun in the seventh and drove in four runs on the day.
St. Louis (AL) (H) 9 Washington 5
Browns starter Karl Drews gave up two runs in the first but shut down the Senators offense after that until it was much too late. The Browns got the lead back with three in the second, and then Roy Sievers hit a three run homerun in the fifth. The Browns added three more in the sixth, and that was enough to overcome an Eddie Yost pinch-hit three-run homerun in the ninth.
Boston (NL) (H) 3 Cincinnati 0
Warren Spahn (4-0) spun a beauty today, only allowing two Cincinnati hits and one walk on his way to a complete shutout. All of the Braves runs came on two homeruns by backup outfielder Clint Conatser.
Brooklyn (H) 12 Chicago (NL) 5
Brooklyn starter Rex Barney (1-1) gave up ten hits but only walked one today and went all the way for the win. Carl Furillo and Jackie Robinson both had three RBI's as the Dodgers relied on clutch hitting and some shaky Cubs defense in this one.
St. Louis (NL) 1 New York (NL) (H) 0
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| Jim Hearn |
St. Louis and New York started the day tied for second place in the NL, the Cardinals ahead only by percentage points. Jim Hearn (1-0) got a spot start for the Cardinals and didn't allow a hit until the seventh inning, going all the way for the shutout. Stan Musial drove home Ed Sauer on a fifth-inning groundout to score the game's only run. Monty Kennedy (1-2) was the hard-luck loser.
Pittsburgh 7 Philadelphia (N) (H) 6
In a battle of interstate rivals, Pittsburgh built an early lead and then withstood a furious Philadelphia comeback attempt to win game one of the series. Wally Westlake drove in four runs with a triple and a homerun to lead the Pirates. Eddie Miller and Andy Seminick hit back-to-back homeruns in the fifth to start to cut into the Pirates lead, and then three runs in the ninth could do nothing but make it close.
Saturday, May 7, 1949
Yankees (AL) (H) 6 Chicago (AL) 4
The Yankees Bob Porterfield (1-0) made his first appearance of the season today and made the Yankees faithful happy with a strong outing. Right fielder Tommy Henrich went 4-for-5 on the day and hit two homeruns to lead the offense. When Porterfield tired in the seventh Joe Page came in to finish for the save.
Boston (AL) 6 Cleveland (H) 0
In a battle of aces, Mel Parnell (3-1) bested Bob Lemon (2-2) in today's game. The Red Sox had a 1-0 lead heading into the sixth when Bobby Doerr hit a three run homerun and then Parnell did the rest. Doerr has 24 RBI's for the season already.
Detroit (H) 3 Philadelphia (AL) 1
After having been absolutely hammered in his previous starts Fred Hutchinson (1-1) finally put together a good game for Detroit. The Tigers scored three times in the first, two runs coming in on a Vic Wertz triple. Wertz added a solo homerun later in the game to help salt this one away.
Washington 4 St. Louis (AL) (H) 1
No offensive explosion was needed to get Washington over the finish line today as Walt Masterson (1-0) allowed only three hits and no walks in shutting down the Browns. Sherry Robertson had a triple and a homerun and Mark Christman added a solo homerun late to give Masterson some cushion.
Boston (NL) (H) 4 Cincinnati 0
Cincinnati starter Buddy Lively (0-3) walked seven on the day, but unfortunately for him, four of them came consecutively in the third inning as Boston took advantage of his wildness to put together a four-run inning. Bill Voiselle (2-2) then went to work and shut down the Reds from there.
Chicago (NL) 9 Brooklyn (H) 6
Brooklyn took advantage of good two-out hitting and built a 5-1 lead through the seventh inning, but then Andy Pafko hit a two-run homerun to cut into that lead. In the ninth Dodger starter Ralph Branca loaded the bases and was relieved by Erv Palica (1-3), who walked the next three batters. The Cubs added a couple of hits after that, adding up to a six-run ninth inning and a come from behind win.
St. Louis (NL) 7 New York (NL) (H) 2
Sid Gordon hit a two run homerun in the first for New York but that was the only mistake Harry Brecheen (4-0) made today and he shut out the Giants the rest of the way to pick up the win. Brecheen also went 2-for-3 with three RBI's on the day, including a two-run double in the second inning that put St. Louis ahead to stay.
Philadelphia (AL) (H) 4 Pittsburgh 0
39-year-old Schoolboy Rowe (1-0) brought back some of the glory days of his youth with a complete game one-hit shutout over first place Pittsburgh. Shortstop Granny Hamner hit a two run homerun in the fifth to give Rowe and the Phillies a little cushion.
Sunday, May 8, 1949
It's a doubleheader Sunday, with five doubleheaders today. Surprisingly, all of the teams ended their previous series yesterday, and are starting their next series on a Sunday. It's not illegal I suppose, it just struck me as odd.
News: Chicago (AL) traded Don Kolloway to Detroit for Earl Rapp. The 30-year-old Kolloway had been the White Sox regular second baseman for the past four years but had found himself displaced by Cass Michaels. 28-year-old Earl Rapp had just recently made his major league debut with Detroit and I think the White Sox are looking for a little help in the outfield. Also, Chicago (NL) claimed Hank Edwards from Cleveland. The Indians had a glut of outfielders and the 30-year-old Edwards was the odd man out.
Chicago (AL) (H) 7 Philadelphia (AL) 1 (GM 1)
Philadelphia committed four errors in the game, three of them on consecutive batters in a five-run Chicago sixth. Randy Gumpert (2-2) didn’t allow a run until the eighth and went all the way for the win.
Philadelphia (AL) 6 Chicago (AL) (H) 2 (GM 2)
The Athletics led 6-0 after the third and starter Bill McCahan (1-0) didn’t allow a White Sox run until the sixth. McCahan and Sam Chapman both had two RBI's to help Philadelphia earn the doubleheader split.
Cleveland (H) 5 Washington 4 (GM 1)
Cleveland appeared to have this one locked up, but Gene Beardon loaded the bases with only one out in the ninth and forced the Indians to bring in veteran reliever Al Benton (1-0). Benton promptly gave up a two-run single to Buddy Lewis and suddenly the score was tied at 4-4. Benton got out of the inning with no more harm and then vultured the win when Dale Mitchell drove home Ken Keltner with the game-winner in the bottom of the ninth.
Cleveland (H) 8 Washington 1 (GM 2)
It was still a tight game, although Cleveland had a relatively safe 5-1 lead, and then backup shortstop Ray Boone hit a three run homerun and from there it was an easy doubleheader sweep for Cleveland. Al Benton (2-0) got the win in this one also.
Note: ATMgr had Jim Hegan starting at catcher for Cleveland and baseball-Reference.com shows Mike Tresh as the starter.
New York (AL) 5 Detroit (H) 3
It was a close game all the way but New York built up an early lead and held on for the victory. Tommy Byrne (2-1) gave up ten hits but only one walk in a complete game victory.
St. Louis (AL) (H) 4 Boston (AL) 3 (GM 1)
Boston starter Joe Dobson (1-2) took a 3-1 lead into the ninth inning but Jack Graham was able to tie the game with a two-run double and then Graham scored the game-winner on a Roy Sievers single.
Boston (AL) 19 St. Louis (AL) (H) 0 (GM 2)
Obviously annoyed at having lost game one the Red Sox pounded multiple Browns pitchers to the tune of 25 hits, eight walks, and 19 runs. Ted Williams and Dom DiMaggio both drove in three runs, and Al Zarilla drove in four against his old teammates. Ellis Kinder (4-0) only allowed two hits in the complete game shutout.
Pittsburgh 11 Boston (NL) (H) 2 (GM 1)
Pittsburgh scored three times in the first and then a Johnny Hopp three-run homerun knocked Braves starter Johnny Sain out of the box in the third inning and the Pirates cruised to an easy game one victory. Pittsburgh starter Cliff Chambers (3-0) was in complete control in this one.
Boston (NL) (H) 5 Pittsburgh 1 (GM 2)
Boston earned a split in the doubleheader as Vern Bickford (3-2) limited Pittsburgh to only six hits and two walks in the game. Center fielder Jim Russell hit a two run homerun in the second to give the Braves a lead they would not relinquish.
Brooklyn (H) 11 St. Louis (NL) 2
Brooklyn scored three times in the first, but only held a 3-2 lead after the fifth. Then in the sixth, the Dodgers put up a five spot, a Billy Cox three-run homerun being the big hit. Brooklyn starter Joe Hatten (1-2) has had a rough start to the season but he had the good stuff today and went all the way for the win.
New York (NL) (H) 4 Chicago (NL) 1
Chicago scored first with a run in the third, but Sid Gordon had a two-run single in the bottom of the inning to get Larry Jansen (3-1) and the Giants a lead they wouldn't give back. The Giants added two insurance runs in the seventh when the Cubs defense went wobbly on them.
Philadelphia (NL) (H) 4 Cincinnati 1 (GM 1)
Philadelphia second baseman Eddie Miller hit a three-run double in the fourth inning and that was all Curt Simmons (1-2) needed to take game one. Simmons limited the Reds to only five hits and one unearned run in the sixth.
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| Eddie Erautt |
Note: In 1949 33-year-old third string catcher Ken Silvestri found himself plugged in at shortstop in the eleventh and twelfth innings when the Phillies had successfully kept the game going by pinch-hitting for the other shortstops. Second baseman Eddie Miller and Silvestri swapped spots several times during these two innings, but to no avail as Cincinnati scored seven runs in the top of the twelfth to walk away with a 14-7 victory.
Cincinnati 2 Philadelphia (NL) (H) 0 (GM 2)
Cincinnati earned a split as starter Eddie Erautt (1-0) only allowed three hits in shutting out the Phillies in game two. Phillies starter Robin Roberts (1-2) didn’t allow any hits until the seventh inning but back-to-back doubles accounted for two unearned runs for the Reds.
Note: This was the eleventh shutout of the week
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