Monday, June 6, 1949
Cleveland (H) 6 Philadelphia 4
Cleveland scored twice in the first and twice in the second and then held off several Philadelphia rally attempts to claim the win. Steve Gromek (4-3) got the win and Al Benton came in to shut down the Athletics in the eighth and ninth and get the save.
Boston (AL) 7 Detroit (H) 5
Boston quickly built up a 7-0 lead, the last three runs coming on a two-run single by starter Chuck Stobbs (4-0) that then included two Detroit errors that allowed Stobbs to come all the way around and score. Stobbs weakened shortly thereafter and allowed the Tigers to get back into the game but Tex Hughson came in and shut down the Detroit uprising.
Boston (NL) (H) 11 St. Louis (NL) 4
After having lost two in a row to Boston, St. Louis wanted to get back in the win column and to that end, they immediately scored three unearned runs off Warren Spahn (9-1) in the top of the first. The Braves responded with a five-run first and knocked George Munger (4-4) out of the box, and then added four more in the second to make it a rout.
Brooklyn (H) 4 Pittsburgh 3
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| Sid Gordon |
Brooklyn had several chances to blow this game open early, but couldn't get the big hit when they needed it. The Dodgers took a 3-1 lead into the eighth and Ralph Kiner didn’t miss his opportunity when he had one and tied the game with a two-run homerun (#15, 47) to tie the score. Gil Hodges put the Dodgers back on top in the bottom of the eighth with a solo homerun (#5, 28) and Don Newcombe (3-1) finished what he started and got the win.
New York (NL) (H) 5 Cincinnati 0
New York starter Sheldon Jones (9-2) walked six but only gave up five hits and shutout the Reds. Sid Gordon went 3-for-4 and drove in two, his first inning homerun getting the Giants off to a good start.
Tuesday, June 7, 1949
Notes: The Pittsburgh front office had several announcements:
The Johnny Hopp / Marv Rackley trade of May 18 had been voided and Hopp returned to Pittsburgh, Rackley to Brooklyn. I had always read this as the league had voided the trade, but when looking for details I came across an article that said Pittsburgh voided the trade, which it could if the player in question (Rackley) was injured. Apparently, Rackley's arm had a miraculous recovery as soon as he was out of Pittsburgh (link).
Chicago (NL) claimed reliever Bob Muncrief from Pittsburgh in a waiver transaction.
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| Marv Rackley |
Pittsburgh also acquired infielder Bobby Rhawn and reliever Ray Poat from New York (NL) in return for reliever/starter Kirby Higbe.
Chicago (AL) (H) 12 Philadelphia (AL) 7
Chicago scored six times in the first, knocking Philadelphia starter Alex Kellner (3-5) out of the box. The Athletics tried to get back into this game, and Sam Chapman hit a three-run homerun (#11, 49) in the seventh to get them back to within 10-7, but Luke Appling poked a two-run homerun in the eighth to give the White Sox a little breathing room.
Note: Chicago announced that first baseman Gordon Goldsberry had been sent down to Los Angeles. Goldsberry went 6-for-8 in his first two games of the season but hadn't done much since and with very little power.
Washington 6 Cleveland (H) 1
Cleveland starter Bob Lemon (3-4) started well but got into trouble in the seventh and with two outs and the bases loaded left-handed reliever Sam Zoldak was brought in to face left-handed hitting Sherry Robertson. Robertson parked the next pitch in the stands for a grand slam and Mickey Haefner (5-5) had what he needed to close this one out.
New York (AL) 11 Detroit (H) 0
Eddie Lopat (7-1) and Hal Newhouser (6-4) were locked in a classic pitcher's duel, with the Yankees up 2-0 at the end of the seventh. Once Newhouser was lifted for a pinch-hitter the Yankees terrorized the Tigers bullpen for nine runs in the final two innings. Tommy Henrich hit a two-run homerun (#15, 47) and first baseman Jack Phillips added a three-run homerun as part of his four RBI day.
Boston (AL) 10 St. Louis (AL) (H) 3
Mel Parnell (9-1) made a mistake in the third inning and Jerry Priddy hit a three run homerun off of it. Johnny Pesky answered with a three run homerun in the sixth, and then Ted Williams hit a three-run homerun of his own (#13, 49) and the rout was on. Red Embree (2-7) didn’t allow a run until the sixth, but once Boston started hitting they didn’t stop.
Note: The St. Louis Browns front office announced that shortstop Eddie Pellagrini would likely miss the next month of play due to a dislocated left shoulder.
Cincinnati 7 Boston (NL) (H) 4
Marv Rickert and Pete Reiser hit back-to-back homeruns in the second to give Boston an early lead, but then Cincinnati turned it on and roared back to take game one of their series against the Braves. Ted Kluszewski (#6, 21) and Hank Sauer (#14, 37) homered to spark the Reds comeback.
Chicago (NL) 2 Brooklyn (H) 1
Fresh off their three wins over Pittsburgh, Brooklyn had finally passed Pittsburgh in the standings and were eager to face the last-place Chicago Cubs. The newly reacquired Marv Rackley was in left field, but more importantly, third baseman Billy Cox was back on the field for the first time in a month. Backup Chicago catcher Rube Novotney drove in two runs with a surprise triple in the second and Dutch Leonard kept the Dodgers bats shackled to walk away with a Chicago victory.
New York (NL) (H) 2 St. Louis (NL) 1
St. Louis had lost three consecutive games and wanted to right their ship today, but New York came out on top and the losing streak had reached four. Marty Marion drove home Stan Musial in the sixth to break the scoreless tie, but the Giants tied it back up in the seventh. In the bottom of the ninth Bobby Thomson lined one over the wall (#10, 36), giving the Giants the win and Harry Brecheen (9-1) his first loss.
Philadelphia (NL) (H) 2 Pittsburgh 1
Pittsburgh scored first, but Philadelphia soon tied it back up and then catcher Andy Seminick hit a solo homerun in the sixth to put the Phillies ahead to stay. Young Curt Simmons (2-5) got the win over Vic Lombardi (0-1), extending the Pirates losing streak to ten.
Wednesday, June 8, 1949
Philadelphia (AL) 10 Chicago (AL) (H) 0
Philadelphia put a five-spot on the board in the second and cruised to an easy win over Chicago. Alex Kellner (4-2) held the White Sox to only three hits and got the shutout win. Right fielder Wally Moses went 4-for-5 with four RBI's to lead the offense.
Cleveland (H) 1 Washington 0
Washington starter Paul Calvert (3-6) only allowed four hits, but Cleveland managed to score two runs with them, their second run-scoring because of some shaky defense. Bob Lemon (4-4) also allowed only four hits, but kept the Senators off the board and got the shutout won, plus Lemon had two of the four Cleveland hits.
Note: Lemon only went three innings in yesterday's 1949 start and was called upon to start again today.
Detroit (H) 7 New York (AL) 4
Vic Wertz hit a two-run double in the first to get Detroit an early lead, but New York fought back to tie the game at 4-4 after the sixth. In the bottom of the seventh Wertz struck again, this time with a three-run homerun (#7, 40) and Virgil Trucks (6-6) had what he needed to get the win.
Boston (AL) 4 St. Louis (AL) (H) 3
Right fielder Dick Kokos hit a three run homerun in the bottom of the first to put St. Louis ahead 3-0, but that was the only runs Joe Dobson (4-4) would allow today. Ned Garver (4-6) couldn’t hold the lead as Vern Stephens (#18, 53) hit two solo homeruns and later added an RBI single to put the Red Sox ahead. The Red Sox have now won eight in a row.
Cincinnati 5 Boston (NL) (H) 2
This one was tied at 2-2 after the fifth and there it stayed until Cincinnati strung together some hits and scored three times in the eighth. Ken Raffensberger (2-9) finally combined a good pitching performance with some run support to get the win over Johnny Sain (5-5).
Brooklyn (H) 4 Chicago (NL) 3
Chicago scored twice in the first to get an early lead, but this time Rex Barney (4-3) stayed strong and Brooklyn mounted a successful comeback lead by three RBI's from center fielder Duke Snider. Newly acquired Bob Muncrief (3-2) pitched well but could have used some help in the field and at the plate.
St. Louis (NL) 6 New York (NL) (H) 5
Dave Koslo made his first start for New York and pitched extremely well, at least until the ninth inning when he couldn’t quite get the third out and had to be pulled for newly acquire Kirby Higbe. Higbe walked in the tying run and then gave up a sacrifice fly to put the Cardinals in the lead and then George Munger came in and shut down the Giants in the ninth to get the save.
Pittsburgh 14 Philadelphia (NL) (H) 7
Pittsburgh ended its ten game losing streak by pounding a series of Philadelphia pitchers. The Pirates had both a five-run fifth and a five-run seventh, a Wally Westlake grand slam (#9, 34) being the big hit on the day.
Thursday, June 9, 1949
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| Chuck Kress |
Chicago (AL) (H) 1 Philadelphia (AL) 0 (12)
Two pitching masterpieces today as Dick Fowler (5-4) and Bill Wight (6-2) locked it up. There were only eleven hits total on the day, but in the bottom of the eleventh White Sox catcher Don Wheeler drove home Cass Michaels with the only run of the game. Wight had a game score of 95 for his twelve innings of work that included five hits allowed, no walks, and three shutouts.
The White Sox also announced the outfielder Jerry Scala was being sent down to Indianapolis and that outfielder Herb Adams would soon be activated from the injured list, where he had spent the last month.
Note: On this day in 1949 Chicago defeated Philadelphia by a 1-0 score in twelve innings. The Athletics became the first team to reach the fifty games played mark today as well.
Detroit (H) 7 New York (AL) 2
New York scored one in the top of the first, but Detroit tied it in the bottom half of the inning and then the Tigers scored three times in the second, knocking Spec Shea (0-2) out of the box. Art Houtteman (2-1) went all the way for the win.
Boston (AL) 12 St. Louis (AL) (H) 0
Ellis Kinder (8-1) pitched a two-hit shutout but didn't allow a hit until the seventh. The Red Sox offense knocked seven doubles on the day, three by Dom DiMaggio, and Ted Williams went 4-for-5 with a double and home and drove in three (#14, 52). The Browns committed four errors, all leading to a total of six unearned runs.
Cincinnati 4 Boston (NL) (H) 3 (13)
The score was tied 2-2 after the third and there it stayed until the thirteenth. Buddy Lively and Bob Hall both pitched 11 innings of outstanding baseball, but neither was around for the decision. The Reds finally scored twice in the top of the thirteenth, which was enough as Boston tried to rally back but could only score one in the bottom half.
The highlight was the second triple play of the season. In the eighth Ted Kluszewski drilled a sinking line drive to center, but Jim Russell made the diving catch and threw to Eddie Stanky at second who threw to Elbie Fletcher at first, doubling up Johnny Wyrostek and Hank Sauer.
Note: ATMgr had Bobby Adams starting at second base for Cincinnati but Baseball-Reference.com shows Jimmy Bloodworth.
Brooklyn (H) 5 Chicago (NL) 2
Just like yesterday, Chicago scored twice in the first, and just like yesterday Dodgers pitching stiffened and the home team rallied back to claim the win. Ralph Branca (8-2) got the victory and Jackie Robinson's three RBI's led the comeback.
St. Louis (NL) 6 New York (NL) (H) 3
The score was tied 2-2 after the fifth and then the St. Louis bats woke up. Solo homeruns from Rocky Nelson and Marty Marion led the late game rally and Howie Pollet (5-3) went all the way for the victory.
Philadelphia (NL) (H) 6 Pittsburgh 2
Philadelphia bunched most of their hits in the third inning and scored six times, knocking newly acquired Ray Poat (1-1) out of the box and giving Russ Meyer (4-3) the run support he needed. Meyer also went 3-for-4 on the day and drove in one and scored twice.
Friday, June 10, 1949
Boston (AL) 5 Chicago (AL) (H) 0
As the road trip closes on its endpoint Boston gave Earl Johnson (2-0) a spot start and he responded marvelously, only allowing five hits and shutting out Chicago. Vern Stephens hit a two-run homerun (#19, 57) in the fourth and Johnson did the rest.
New York (AL) 3 Cleveland (H) 2
Larry Doby drove home two runs with a double in the bottom of the sixth to break up a scoreless tie, but Gene Bearden (2-6) couldn't hold off the Yankees. Vic Raschi (7-5) went all the way for the victory.
Boston (NL) (H) 5 Chicago (NL) 3
Boston had just lost three in a row at home to lowly Cincinnati and quickly fell behind 3-1 to cellar dweller Chicago, but Warren Spahn (10-1) persevered and the Braves rallied to get one in the win column. Center fielder Jim Russell hit a two-run double in a three-run seventh to put Boston ahead to stay.
Cincinnati 5 Brooklyn (H) 3
Cincinnati won its fourth consecutive game as they got up on Brooklyn early, leading 5-0 after the fourth, and Howie Fox went all the way for the victory. Grady Hatton hit a two-run homerun to get the Reds started in the third and then in the fourth Joe Hatten (1-7) couldn’t get the third out and was pulled early again.
New York (NL) (H) 3 Pittsburgh 1 (12)
Pittsburgh starter Bill Werle (2-5) took a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth but Bobby Thomson tied it up with a long homerun (#11, 37). Walker Cooper ended the game with a two-run shot (#7, 27) in the twelfth to make a winner of reliever Red Webb (2-1).
St. Louis (NL) 6 Philadelphia (NL) (H) 0
Somehow Philadelphia found themselves starting the day in second place and the Phillies were looking to close the distance between them and St. Louis. They couldn’t figure out Al Brazle (5-3) as Brazle went all the way for the shutout victory, plus Brazle scored two of the first three Cardinals runs by hustling and beating throws to home in close plays.
Saturday, June 11, 1949
Notes: The Pittsburgh front office announced they had sent down backup first baseman Les Fleming and had activated outfielder Dino Restelli. Restelli had recently been acquired from San Francisco in a trade for Culley Rikard (DNP) and cash.
Cleveland (H) 4 New York (AL) 3
Allie Reynolds made his first trip to the mound after having missed a couple of starts and was rusty out of the box as Cleveland scored twice in the first and then added another in the third. New York slowly climbed back into it, eventually tying the game at 3-3 in the top of the ninth. In the bottom of the ninth left fielder Dale Mitchell singled home pinch-runner Al Rosen with the game winner.
Note: ATMgr had Gus Niarhos as the starting catcher for New York but Baseball-Reference.com shows Yogi Berra.
Washington 5 Detroit (H) 4 (11)
Washington scored first but couldn’t pull away from Detroit, the Senators leading 3-2 after the third. Nobody scored again until the bottom of the ninth when the Tigers tied the score. Nonplussed, the Senators came right back with a run in the top of the tenth, only to see Detroit tie it again when the Tigers scored one in the bottom of the tenth. In the top of the eleventh Gil Coan led off with a triple and scored on a squeeze bunt by Mark Christman and this time Washington held on for the win.
Note: Before the game, the Washington front office announced that third baseman Eddie Yost would likely miss the next three weeks due to an undisclosed injury.
Boston (NL (H) 10 Chicago (NL) 5
Chicago got on the scoreboard first, but Boston quickly recovered and ran away with this one. Vern Bickford (7-5) got the win with the hitting star being Marv Rickert who went 3-for-5 with a homerun and three RBI's. Rickert has been a part-time outfielder for the most part but has gotten more playing time recently while Pete Reiser and Tommy Holmes can't seem to stay in the lineup. Rickert is making the most of his opportunity as he is hitting .418 with thirteen doubles, seven homeruns, and 28 RBI's. He might have enough appearances to appear on the leaderboards after this week.
Note: After the game, the Chicago front office announced outfielder Billy Bowers had been sent down to Memphis.
Brooklyn (H) 4 Cincinnati 1
For a change, Brooklyn scored first and then Don Newcombe (4-1) took over from there and the Dodgers cruised to an easy victory. Reds starter Ken Raffensberger (2-10) pitched well again but didn’t have much help today.
New York (NL) (H) 4 Pittsburgh 1
Similar to yesterday, Pittsburgh took a 1-0 lead, they were unable to add to it, and then Bobby Thomson hit one out and fortunes flipped. Monty Kennedy (5-4) was the beneficiary of Thomson's seventh-inning three-run homerun (#12, 40).
St. Louis (NL) 8 Philadelphia (NL) (H) 3
Philadelphia had Bill Nicholson back in the lineup after a ten-day absence and quickly led 3-2 after the third, but St. Louis took the lead and then pulled away. George Munger (5-4) got the win, but required a long relief appearance from Ted Wilks when the Phillies loaded the bases in the sixth.
Sunday, June 12, 1949
Another doubleheader Sunday, with six doubleheaders today.
Boston (AL) 11 Chicago (AL) (H) 8 (10) (GM 1)
Boston scored six times in the fifth to take a 7-0 lead, and with Mel Parnell on the mound the outcome seemed certain. In the sixth Parnell suddenly lost his control, walked in a few runs, and then grooved one to Bud Souchock who hit a grand slam to get within one. Chicago tied it with one in the eighth, only to see Boston take the lead in the top of the ninth. Undeterred, the White Sox tied it in the bottom of the ninth and the game went into extras. In the tenth, the Red Sox scored three times and Tex Hughson shutdown the White Sox in the bottom of the tenth. Bobby Doerr was back in the lineup for Boston after missing the last week-and-a-half.
Boston (AL) 6 Chicago (AL) (H) 3 (GM 2)
Chicago scored three runs early off Ellis Kinder (9-1), but then Kinder got stingy with the hits and waited for his teammates to rally, which, of course, they did. Vern Stephens homered (#20, 59) to get Boston on the board and soon after Ted Williams hit a three-run homerun (#15, 57) and the Red Sox were in front to stay. The Red Sox had an eight-game winning streak, they lost one, and now they are sitting on another eight-game winning streak.
New York (AL) 7 Cleveland (H) 5 (GM 1)
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| Yogi Berra |
Yogi Berra hit a two-run homerun (#6) in the first and then added a two-run single in the third to get New York off to a 4-0 lead. Cleveland made a late comeback but Eddie Lopat (8-1) and Joe Page held them off to get the Yankees a game one win.
New York (AL) 10 Cleveland (H) 4 (GM 2)
Yogi Berra had another good game, going 3-for-5 with a triple and five RBI's (35) to lead the offense. Tommy Byrne (5-4) kept his wildness under control and went all the way for the doubleheader sweep.
Washington 5 Detroit (H) 4 (GM 1)
Washington cleanup hitter Clyde Vollmer hit a grand slam in the top of the first to get the Senators a really quick 4-0 lead. Detroit starter Hal Newhouser (6-5) settled down from there but it was too late as Ray Scarborough (1-7) was able to hold off several a Detroit rally attempts to get the win. Vollmer ended up with all five RBI's for Washington.
Washington 12 Detroit (H) 3 (GM 2)
Detroit got off to a good start with a two-run first, but by the end of the fourth inning the score was 10-2 in favor of the visiting Senators. First baseman Eddie Robinson has been hitting for average (.333) all year but has been lacking is power, but hit two homeruns today might be a portent of things to come. Clyde Vollmer added two more RBI's, giving him seven for the day. Sid Hudson (5-4) was happy to walk away with the win and the sweep.
Philadelphia (AL) 11 St. Louis (AL) (H) 1 (GM 1)
Philadelphia scored four times in the third and then four times in the sixth and won game one easily. Eddie Joost hit a three run homerun and Hank Majeski added three RBI's as well. Joe Coleman (4-6) didn’t allow a run until the sixth and cruised to an easy victory.
St. Louis (AL) (H) 1 Philadelphia (AL) 0 (17) (GM 2)
St. Louis avoided the sweep when Bob Dillinger scored from second in the seventeenth when left fielder Elmer Valo dropped a two-out fly ball from the bat of Whitey Platt. Several (actually, all) pitchers saw their ERA's drop in this one.
Chicago (NL) 5 Boston (NL) (H) 4 (GM 1)
Boston got off to an early lead but the Cubs then hit four solo homeruns and Johnny Schmitz (6-5) made their newfound lead stand up to get the game one victory. Catcher Rube Walker hit two of the homeruns, his first two of the season.
Boston (NL) (H) 6 Chicago (NL) 2 (GM 2)
Boston knocked starter Dutch Leonard (2-7) out of the box with a four-run first and Johnny Antonelli (2-2), making his usual second-game-of-the-Sunday-doubleheader start, went all the way for the win.
After the game, the Cubs front office announced that longtime manager Charlie Grimm had been fired and would be replaced by Frankie Frisch. The Cubs have been pretty moribund all season, and while I don’t think their problems were related to Grimm's managerial prowess, it is easier to change the manager then it is to change the team.
Brooklyn (H) 10 Cincinnati 4
As has been their wont recently, Brooklyn fell behind 2-0 early but came back to win. This time they responded with a six-run second and cruised to an easy win. Rex Barney (5-3) went 3-for-4 with three RBI's and Duke Snider chipped in with four RBI's.
New York (NL) (H) 5 Pittsburgh 4
Pittsburgh scored three times in the third and had a 4-1 lead after the top of the sixth, but in the bottom of the inning Willard Marshall hit a two-out three-run homerun and suddenly the score was tied. The Giants pushed across another run in the seventh and then held on for a come-from-behind victory over the struggling Pirates.
St. Louis (NL) 10 Philadelphia (NL) (H) 4 (GM 1)
St. Louis scored three in the third and three in the fifth and rolled to an easy game one victory. Harry Brecheen (10-1) got the win and scored two runs on the day and third baseman Eddie Kazak drove in three runs to spark the Cardinals.
Note: With two outs and two on in the bottom of the ninth Del Ennis popped up a foul ball over near the first base stands and was called out when a fan leaned over the railing and interfered with a ball in play.
St. Louis (NL) 8 Philadelphia (NL) (H) 4 (GM 2)
St. Louis just kept nicking away at Robin Roberts (4-5) and walked away with a doubleheader sweep. First baseman Nippy Jones went 3-for-5 with a double, a homerun, and four RBI's in support of Gerry Staley (3-0).
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