Cardinals, at Home After Losing 7 of 10 on Road, Tackle Cincinnati Today

Hornsby and His Men Expect to Prosper at Sportsman’s Park

Team Won Two of Three at Pittsburgh, 1 of 3 With Reds and Lost Four in Chicago.

By Herman Wecke. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch May 3, 1926

“We’ll be a tough bunch to beat, now that we are back on our own field.” That was the consensus among Cardinal players upon their return home from a disastrous road trip today. As an away-from-home club, the men of Rogers Hornsby started right where they finished in 1923. Of the 10 clashes on foreign soil only three were chalked up on the right side of the ledger, while seven were dropped, for a percentage of .300.

That poor showing dropped the St. Louisans two games under the .500 mark. And when the start from home was made the team was playing at a .625 clip.

However, all the players are in good condition. They figure that 23 tilts in 24 days on the new Sportsman’s Park greensward will again put them on the right side of the ledger. The stand opens this afternoon with the Cincinnati Reds furnishing the opposition. Then come the Eastern clubs, after which the Reds call again before the men of Hornsby start on their first Eastern invasion of the year.

Keen to Pitch Today.

Victor Keen, the former Cub, who has won three starts for Hornsby, is scheduled to go to the hill today. Away from home he won from the Pirates and Reds, appearing against his former mates only as a relief pitcher.

Briefly, the Cardinals’ first trip can be summed up as follows:

**At Pittsburgh—**Won two and lost one. Fine pitching and timely hitting. The one game lost came because of an error of commission and another of omission.

**At Cincinnati—**Won one and lost two. Good pitching and weak hitting.

**At Chicago—**Lost four straight. Here the batting punch returned, but the pitching fell down. Then every mistake the Cardinals made worked to the advantage of the Bruins.

That the swat punch returned during the series with the Cubs was evidenced by the figures. The Cardinals made 49 hits and scored 27 runs. That’s an average of more than 12 hits a game and better than six runs. But the pitching was so poor that even with this slugging the team was unable to capture a single start.

How to Lose Games.

The late rounds proved the fatal ones for the men of Hornsby. In each tilt the Cardinals got off to a running start, only to see the Cubs come from behind to pass them.

The first game was lost in the eighth round and the winning rally for the Cubs was started by Walter Mails’ wild throw. In the second, the Bruins tied it with two tallies in the ninth and then won out in the eleventh. In the third the Cardinals were working behind a two-run lead as late as the eighth when the Cubs pounded over five tallies.

This rally came after the side should have been retired. It all came about when Tommy Thevenow hesitated in making a throw to first base.

Yesterday Grover Cleveland Alexander beat Bill Sherdel. The Cardinals had a lead, saw it overcome, tied it in the ninth, and then saw the Cubs win in their portion. The winning tally for the Bruins came as follows: Gabby Hartnett doubled into the overflow crowd in left field. Alexander sacrificed, and on Jim Bottomley’s terribly wild heave, trying for a play at third, the deciding marker went over.

Those four reverses in the Windy City hurt. They came in contests in which it looked as if it was all over but the shouting. But the shouting turned to moaning, as far as the Cards were concerned.

33,641 Persons Pay to See Cards’ Final in Chicago

One of the greatest crowds in the history of the Cardinal baseball club saw the team play in its final game at Chicago yesterday. Estimates variously placed the crowd between 35,000 and 40,000 persons. The paid attendance was 33,641.

The spectators jammed every inch of space. An hour before game time the unreserved grand stand seats were filled. Half an hour before starting time the crowd got on the field, making ground rules necessary. As a result, smashes into the crowd went for two bases. In this respect the Cubs had the better of it with five two-baggers against three for the Cardinals.

The one by Gabby Hartnett, which started the final rally, fell just out of Blades’ reach in left field.

Home Run by Williams in Ninth Enables Browns to Beat Tigers, 9-6

Timely Smash Drives in Two Other Runners Ahead of “Big Moose”

Browns Garner 15 Hits Off Gibson and Wells, While Robertson and Wingard Yield 13—Bennett and Cobb Pole Circuit Blows.

By JOHN J. SHERIDAN. - St. Louis Globe-Democrat May 3, 1926

A home run by Kenny Williams, his fourth of the season, with two on in the ninth, blasted the strategy of Ty Cobb into the well-known depths of limbo and gave the Browns a 9-to-6 victory over Detroit’s Tigers at Sportsmans Park yesterday’s warm afternoon, the locals’ last here until late this month. Probably angered over Cobb’s orders to the left-hand pitching Edwin Wells to pass George Sisler to get to him, Williams smote the ball on top of the roof protecting the right center-field pavilion and it rolled onto Grand boulevard. Meanwhile, Herschel Bennett, who has become a fixture in right field, and Manager Sisler himself, pranced cheerily across the rubber in front of the “Big Moose.”

Bennett incidentally blazed the trail to this thrilling ninth-inning victory. The fleet-footed gardener, pacing the final round, which likely would have been the last for the Browns had to catch an early train for Cleveland, beat out a swinging bunt, sliding into first a half foot ahead of Charlie Gehringer’s snap toss to Neun. Mellilo sacrificed perfectly and with the winning run on second base Chief Cobb of the Tigers elected to take no chances with Sisler, hence his intentional pass.

That timely long-distance clout of Ken’s was a fitting climax to a well-played Brownie game, although the pitching was again off color. In every other respect, however, the Sisler men were superior to the Cobblers. They outhit them, fifteen to thirteen, outfielded them and outdid them on the bases.

Wells Losing Hurler.

Those fifteen hits the Browns assembled off Sam Gibson, a right-hander, who was decisively routed in the seventh inning, and off Edwin Wells, the huge left-hander, who is charged with the defeat, included, in addition to Williams’ home run, doubles by Mellilo and Sisler and a penetrating triple by that same Kenny Williams, whom fate had cut out to break up yesterday’s game and end St. Louis’ monotony of defeat.

Heading the Brownies’ undeniable attack were Bennett and Marty McManus, each of whom combed the opposing moundsmen for three hits. On his last safety, a scratch, which caromed off Pitcher Wells’ glove, McManus came close to scoring what would have proved the winning run in regulation time without the aid of any clubmate, but in trying to do so on what appeared to be a wild pitch, the Browns’ third baseman was ripped at the plate. Bassler to Wells, and he was also so severely injured in his collision with the big Detroit hurler that he was forced to retire from the game after he found that he could only hobble around when Tavener bunted his way starting the Tiger eighth.

Reaching first on his infield bingle “Mac” continued to second when Wells finally picked up the ball and threw over Neun’s head. The Detroit first baseman hurriedly retrieved the leather, but his throw found no target at second and McManus continued to third. Then Wells threw a bad ball to the plate. It rolled a few feet from Bassler, who quickly recovered it, however, and Marty expired at the plate. It proved to be an expensive expiration, for Lamotte had to finish out the game at third.

Tigers Rout Robertson.

While the Brownies were having one of their few great hitting days of late, the Tigers were by no means weaklings with the ash. They took a such a fond liking to the right-hand offerings of Charlie Robertson, Sisler’s starter, that they had him out of there before a man was retired in the seventh. Relieving him, Ernie Wingard, the Alabama southpaw, held the Bengals at bay, giving up only two hits in the three innings he labored.

Three of the Tigers’ thirteen hits were for extra bases. One of them was a triple by Heinie Manush, which sent Robertson on his way in the seventh. Another was a home run by Ty Cobb himself, which unfortunately for the Tigers came in the sixth inning with nobody on, and the third was a double by Warner, which had no hand in the scoring.

This same little Warner, though, was greatly instrumental in getting the Tigers their first run off Robertson in the second inning. His single to center followed one to the same spot by Heilmann, who hot-footed it to third on the blow, to be in a position to score on Bassler’s sacrifice fly to Durst. Robertson kept the Bengals away from the plate then until the fifth, when a pass to Bassler, Gibson’s single, Neun’s scratch hit, which filled the bases, and a double play gave the visitors another tally. Bassler scoring, while Mellilo, Gerber and Sisler were retiring Neun and Gehringer.

Browns Score Four in Third.

These two runs, however, were three less than the Brownies garnered in the same five-inning stretch. Four of the St. Louis markers were registered in the third inning, when Cobb twice threatened to remove Gibson from the hill.

After Gerber had been disposed of on a pop to Tavener, C. Robertson started the rally by looping a hit to left after a ball from his own bat had struck him on the right instep and laid him low for a few moments. His single was long enough to enable him to trot to first and thus not aggravate his injury, and Bennett’s home run into the right field seats permitted him to trot the rest of the way. Then, after Mellilo had fouled out, Sisler singled to right and took second on a wild pitch. He scored on Williams’ triple to deep left, and Kenny crossed the plate on McManus’ second consecutive ace.

The fifth run in the fifth inning was the result of Bennett’s single, Mellilo’s sacrifice, Sisler’s infield out, and a pass to Williams, who, finding the Tigers somewhat asleep, attempted the delayed steal. He did so as Bassler lazily tossed the ball back to Gibson who fired it to Tavener. The shortstop muffed the throw, at least that’s what the official scorer ruled, and Williams was safe at second while Bennett slid safely over the rubber.

Cobb Knocks Home Run.

Cobb’s home run cut this lead down by one in the sixth and a walk to Neun, Gehringer’s single, Manush’s triple and Cobb’s ace gave the Bengals three runs and a one-point margin in the seventh. Robertson was derricked after Manush’s drive and Cobb’s safety was made off Wingard, who then made Heilmann force Cobb and Warner smash into a double play.

It was the Brownies’ turn to knock somebody off the parapet, and they did pronto. Mellilo opened the seventh with a double to center, Cobb trying a shoe-string catch but succeeding in nabbing the ball on the short hop only, although he sought to make the umpires believe he had caught it on a fly. Sisler’s double down the right-field line scored Oscar and drove Gibson to the showers. Facing Wells, Williams lined to Manush, who ran in and touched second to double Sisler.

Thus was the score tied at 8-all when the Browns went into the ninth, out of which they came with victory. They departed for Cleveland directly after the contest to open a series there today.