Brooklyn Pounds Cardinals While Grove Silences Browns in Tough Day for St. Louis Baseball
Contents
- Grimes Yields Five Hits and Robins Trounce Cardinals, 7 to 1
- Grove Holds Browns at Bay as Athletics Win Again, 5 to 1
Grimes Yields Five Hits and Robins Trounce Cardinals, 7 to 1
Dodgers’ Four Runs in First Leave Locals Flatfooted at Post
Douthit’s Sacrifice Bunt with Birds Seven Runs Behind Aids Them to Single Tally in 8th—Sherdel Victim in 1st and 5th.
By MARTIN J. HALEY.
Uncle Robbie’s Round Robins were unbeatable yesterday, so there wasn’t so much as a peep out of the Red Birds. They were clipped, 7 to 1. They didn’t have a chance, being left flat-footed at the post when the Dodgers scored four runs in the first inning. The Birds simply were outclassed by a team that had everything, including the inside track to Frau Fortune’s favor. Not that Brooklyn required luck to win. Nope, don’t peg us wrong in that respect.
There was nothing fluky about the outcome, except probably the one run made by the Cardinals. That was an earned run, true enough, but it was made possible on the strength of a sacrifice bunt in the eighth inning, at a time the Cardinals were seven runs behind. If Jake Flowers Douthit hoped to cross up the opposition with that bunt, his hope probably was fulfilled to a certain degree, but certainly it seemed as if a bunt was as out of place at that stage of the racket as a plumbing display in a florist’s window.
Hornsby Still Out.
However, Douthit probably was merely trying to get in a little practice on laying them down. Perhaps it was just as well, what with Burleigh Grimes in a five-hit frame of mind. Minus their manager, the batting champion, Rogers Hornsby, the Cards were held to that low total, five hits. True enough, it was two hits more than the Birds accomplished Thursday when they conquered, but on Thursday they bunched the three hits they got, whereas yesterday their five hits were sprinkled over as many innings.
Now, the Cardinal pitchers were just as clever as Grimes in seven of the nine innings, but, unfortunately, nine innings constitute a regulation contest, so two innings represented the difference between being a bum and a bear.
The two fatal frames were the first and the fifth. In the first, wee Willie Sherdel was somewhat unlucky as well as wild, but in the fifth the Robins were wild and Sherdel was yanked. In the two innings, Brooklyn totaled seven runs, or as many hits as they made runs, which is a true indication that Brooklyn located unguarded terrain when runs were in the plate’s offing.
Strange as it may seem, Sherdel retired the Robins in order in the other three frames he worked, the second, third and fourth. Also, strange as it may appear, only twelve Robins batted in the last four innings, which was an average of three per round. Jesse Haines, who relieved Sherdel in the fifth, permitted only one hit in the three and two third innings he worked and pitched to only eleven men, while Eddie Dyer, pitching the ninth, also set back the visitors one-two-three.
Great Pitching Wasted.
That was great pitching, but it was wasted. It was wasted for two reasons, because the Cards couldn’t hit Grimes because the Robins had two fruitful innings.
There were two down in the first when the Robins scored their first four runs. Wheat paved the road to the quartet by singling to center. Then, lo and behold, Sherdel walked two men in a row, which is quite unusual for a pitcher whose control normally is perfect. Those two passes, to Herman and Felix, brought up Butler.
Here’s where Brooklyn’s flirtation with Lady luck entered the scene. Butler got a bad hold of an outside ball and popped a fly to right field for a double, Wheat and Herman scoring. Then Rabbit Maranville swung at an outside curve and got a single just inside the first-base line, Felix and Butler scoring.
That was run production enough right there to parcel post the contest to victoryville, but the Robins decided to make it more convincing. Faded by Grimes, they did so in the fifth. Grimes topped his session with a single to center. He rode home on a double down the left field line by Cox, and Cox came to port when Fewster singled to left. Fewster continued on to the midway on the throw in and scored the third run of the inning and Brooklyn’s final of the day when Herman singled to center. It was Herman’s single which caused Hornsby to switch his pitchers.
At no stage of the contest was Uncle Robbie ever inclined to make a firing line change. Grimes was too steady. For seven innings only two Cardinals reached second. Bell doubled to left center in the second and died on base when O’Farrell bounced out to Maranville. Bottomley also perished at the midway after he doubled over Wheat’s head in the fourth. In this instance, following a walk to Holm, Bell hit into the first of two double plays, run off by Maranville and Herman.
The lone Cardinal run bobbed up unexpectedly in the eighth. Blades, batting for Haines, walked. There was one out. Douthit sacrificed. Mueller singled to left, Blades scoring. The fifth and final hit off Grimes was Bell’s right field single in the ninth. It only tended to boost the Cards’ hit total to six.
Third game of the series today.
Field Day for Grimes
Victor Keen or Arthur Reinhart will draw the Knot Hole pitching assignment today against Jess Barnes, who became a Dodger last winter in the three-for-three trade with the Braves.
Pitcher Burleigh Grimes gave the 8000 fans assembled yesterday an indication of the reason why he usually is in the top rank among pitchers in handling chances each season. Last year Grimes paced all N. L. hurlers with ninety-two assists. Yesterday the handed eight assists in nine innings, making partial or full stops with his shins, finger tips and bare hand as well as with his glove.
Three times yesterday Grimes was accredited an assist when the ball caromed off him to another Brooklyn player, who relayed the ball enough to retire the batter at first base. In the third inning, Mueller’s smash struck Grimes flush in the right shin and boomeranged back to Catcher Hargreaves, who tossed to Mueller at first. In the eighth, Thevenow’s grounder was deflected from Grimes to Fewster, while in the ninth Maranville completed the play after Bottomley’s grounder caromed off Grimes’ glove.
Handling those eight assists Grimes had one more than his entire infield, for Herman and Butler went without assists, while Maranville handled six and Fewster only one. The entire Cardinal team had but nine assists, or one more than Grimes’ total.
The two middle infielders dragged down twelve fly balls, Felix having seven. Douthit again was center for the Cards, Holm in left and Mueller in right. Blades got in as a pinch batter in the eighth.
In order to rest Bob O’Farrell, who has caught every Cardinal game to date, Ernie Vick was sent behind the plate in the sixth inning.
The Dodgers had but two men far on base. That’s all we could see. Visibility was fearfully low because of the dark day and the eye-rubbing press box screen.
Grove Holds Browns at Bay as Athletics Win Again, 5 to 1
Outburst in Eighth Virtually Clinches Contest for Mackmen
Sislermen, with Rice on Third and Robertson Second, Fail to Make Hits Count—Zachary Wilts Under Strain.
Special Dispatch to the Globe-Democrat.
PHILADELPHIA, Pa., May 7.—St. Louis dropped its second straight to the Athletics here this afternoon, chiefly because Sisler’s pets could not produce a punch with men on bases. They were up against a tough proposition in the pitching line when Lefty Mose Grove mounted the hill and they were still wondering what made the ball disappear at the end of the battle.
The final score of 5 to 1 was hardly representative of the close play throughout the first seven innings. Tom Zachary hurled beautiful ball for that period. Then weakened, as though in disgust when his mates failed to bat in base runners.
The eighth inning was marked by a final outburst on the part of the A’s, who were all het up over the prospects of making their streak of victories five in a row, which was good for three runs.
An Early Pitching Duel
But up until that time, the 10,000 fans who spent the beautiful day at Shibe Park were well repaid for their time. The battle early resolved itself into a pitching duel between the two portsiders, Grove and Zachary, the latter a former Washington veteran, and pitching battles are meat and drink to the fan of his lugging ore.
Of the two, Grove was the most effective. He employed speed and control to work his havoc, while Zachary depended mostly upon a bewildering change of pace.
The score book shows that the A’s hurler was nicked for six safeties and Zachary for nine, of which one was a home run, injected into the game by Al Simmons in the fourth inning.
That homer gave the Mack’s a lead of two runs, as they crossed a man in the third, though snappy playing would have prevented the counter.
Galloway had singled and was sacrificed to second. He was playing off the bag and Dixon, catching in place of Hargrove, for no good reason at all, pegged the ball to Lamotte. The throw was in plenty of time and Lamotte was there to take it, but it was so high that the act of tagging Galloway was slowed up and he made the bag safely. He should have been out. As it happened, he crossed the plate on Cochrane’s single. This run, followed by Simmons’ homer, which, fortunately, came with no one on the bags, gave the A’s a two-run advantage, but this hardly seemed enough.
Browns Play Fine Afield.
The Brownies were playing great ball in the field and if they could only get to Grove the game was theirs. That little act, however, presented the problem they still are trying to solve.
They came mighty near it in the fourth. George Sisler singled to start things, a vicious drive to deep right. Williams followed with a nasty little Texas Leaguer that Lamar almost broke his neck in trying to reach. Two men were on and none out. It looked like a big inning ahead for the Browns. But hope was raised only to fall. Jacobson grounded to Dyke, who forced Williams at second and, although Robertson drew a walk, one of the two issued by Grove all during the game, Durst’s fly to right field was too short to allow Sisler to make home and Dixon was called out on strikes.
The lone tally accredited to the Sisler outfit came in the next inning, the fifth, and it was the boss himself who pounded home. After Zachary and Rice had made easy put-outs, Lamotte was rewarded for his patience by a ticket to first base and Sisler came through with a wallop that hit the scoreboard deep in center field. Rice made the plate with plenty of time to spare and Sisler halted at third without trouble.
That was the high light of the St. Louis attack, the only time the team found strength for a scoring gesture. Grove was putting lots on the ball. It came up smoking hot and started doing tricks just before reaching the rubber.
Only one more hit was garnered from his delivery after the fifth, a single by Jacobson through the box, which meant nothing for all that it opened the sixth inning.
The St. Louis defense was in good working order throughout the game, but it couldn’t stop that eighth inning rally by the A’s.
Gaston’s experience of yesterday when he went all the way up to the ninth without much harm, only to be slammed around carelessly at that late stage, was repeated this afternoon where Zachary was concerned. Cochrane, Dykes and Miller reached out singles and Hauser, Galloway and Grove all coaxed the Brownie hurler for passes. Three runs represented the total amount of damage, and after the first had crossed Zachary’s face wore that tired look.
St. Louis Punch Missing.
The St. Louis punch was still marked in the ninth, which was marked by Wally Schang’s appearance in the role of a pinch hitter. But Cochrane made beautiful catches of foul flys by Jacobson and Robertson and Wally’s best effort was a grounder to Hauser.
The Browns took the field with a greatly changed lineup from that of yesterday. Rice played third base, being somewhat leary of the right field after the accident to his playmate, Bennett. Durst had no feelings on the matter and took over the distasteful position. Gerber was out with a split finger, received while batting yesterday, and Melillo also was on the fritz, having strained something or other. Robertson was shifted to second and Lamotte inserted at shortstop, making an infield combination as good as any manager could wish.
Bennett will not play ball for another month. He suffered a slightly fractured skull, is in a hospital, and while the doctor there pronounced him out of danger, he also said that he would require rest and observation for a week or two.
Besides a slight fracture of the skull, Bennett suffered concussion of the brain to a minor extent, has a deep gash in the side of his head, a badly sprained shoulder and a pair of blue optics. He said he didn’t mind the black eyes.
