Cardinals Rally From 6–1 Deficit as Rogers Hornsby's Homer Stuns Cubs
Rogers Hornsby's three-run homer capped a six-run seventh inning as the Cardinals rallied from a 6–1 deficit to defeat the Cubs, seize second place in the National League, and continue one of baseball's hottest pennant races.
Content from the St. Louis Globe-Democrat Sunday, June 27, 1926
In This Edition
CARDS DEFEAT CUBS, 8-7, FOR SECOND PLACE
Rogers Hornsby’s Home Run with Two on Thrilling Climax to Six-Run Rally in Seventh Inning.
BOTH TEAMS USE FOUR PITCHERS
Lester Bell Starts Avalanche of Hitting and Three Chicago Hurlers Are Routed in Succession.
Cards and Cubs Meet in Twin Bill Today; First Game, 2 O’Clock
Grover Cleveland Alexander, who came to the Cardinals last Tuesday from the Chicago Cubs via the waiver route, is slated to pitch against his former teammates in one of the games in today’s twin bill. The first contest is scheduled to start at 2 o’clock.
Herman Bell will probably hurl for St. Louis in the other game.
Tony Kaufmann and “Sheriff” Blake appear set to work the double program for the Cubs.
By MARTIN J. HALEY.
Rising to the pulsating pinnacle, typical of their courageous spirit and pulverizing punch in the pinch, the rampant Red Birds winged their glorious way into second place in the National League yesterday by crushing Chicago’s Cubs, 8 to 7, after the Windy Cityans had breezed into a 6 to 1 lead in the infant and middle innings. To make the grade, the Cardinals staged a salubrious six-run seventh-inning rally, the climactic clout of which was Rajah Hornsby’s home run into the right-field pavilion with two men on the runways.
Going into that seventh inning, the Cardinals had the 12,000 pennant buzzing fans writhing in their seats. Time and again, prior to the seventh, the Cards had Southpaw Percy Jones out on a limb and appeared all set to knock him into an impromptu shower bath, but time and again this thinly built Bruin turned the Cards back into the dugout. Jones was in the hole so often and eased out of the hole so often that in the first six innings the Cardinals had twelve men stranded in the aisles.
Bell Starts Rally
Then up stepped Lester Bell, leading off the seventh, with a long double down the left field line. It was a terrific crash and presaged trouble for the Chicago southpaw. It had the fans on their toes shouting lustily. They had been fooled for six innings but they had undying faith in the Cardinal punch in the pinch. The shouting became more general when Bob O'Farrell followed with a double against the right field wall.
“They’re off now, sure,” the fans yelled confidently, and they were right. Southpaw Jones seemed to realize it, for he walked Tommy Thevenow to fill the bases, Bell having been held to third base on O’Farrell’s double when he feared Riggs Stephenson would make a catch.
Jones Is Routed
With the sacks loaded Manager Joe McCarthy of the Bruins decided it was time to yank Jones, so Charley Root, a right-hander and an ex-Brownie, was shoved into the breach. Root’s fast ball managed to subdue Wattie Holm on a fly to Stephenson in shallow right, but Root’s speed was just to the liking of Ray Blades, whose single to right scored Bell and left the corners crowded for Taylor Douthit, whose contribution was a single to center on which O’Farrell and Thevenow rode across the plate, while Blades pedaled to third base.
More wigwagging from the Chicago dugout. Root had been punished enough. He followed Jones across the trail of sighs to make room for the lanky right-handing Guy Bush. The latter took his five warmup pitches and play was resumed. Bush was facing Rogers Hornsby, king pin of all modern day hitsmiths. The score now was 6 to 5 in Chicago’s faltering favor and two Cardinals were on base.
Hornsby Hits Homer
Whether Bush figured to catch Hornsby napping, or whether he thought Hornsby would “take” the first pitch, or whether he decided he might just as well pitch the ball into the heart of the strike zone as well as any other place to Hornsby, who has no weakness, is not known, but it is an unadulterated truth that Bush did pitch his first offering right up toward the middle of the strike alley, and when Hornsby finished his swing the ball was on its unstoppable way into the pocket of a fan who was seated in the pavilion down towards center field.
That blow had the fans in a delirium of frenzied joy. If there were any straw hat makers in the crowd they must have rubbed their business hands in “get-the-glue” glee, for the straw hats which were hurled into the playing field meant bigger and better business. It looks as if the Cards are due a royalty.
In Second Place
“We’re in second place,” the fans shouted, and they were right, because Pittsburgh’s world champions had been humbled again by the Reds and because the Cubs were unable to overtake the Cards in the last two innings. The Cubs tried their best, but the best was none too good.
In the eighth inning they rallied for one run and had men on first and second, but two were out and Jess Haines made it three by “getting” Shorty Adams on a grounder to Thevenow. In the ninth, to keep the conquest clinched for the Hornsboys, Haines retired the Cubs in order by taming Scotty Scott on a tap to the mound and Freigau and Hack Wilson on drives to Holm.
Three Runs in First
The Cubs indirectly paved the way to the dramatic scenes of the seventh inning by taking a three-run lead at the outset, when Charlie Grimm, St. Louis boy, tripled to right center with the bases loaded in the first inning. In their first, the Cards scored one run, but they also had two men left on base. In the second and third the Cubs were downed easily by Bill Sherdel and the Cards again passed up sweet opportunities.
A similar fate befell the Knot Holers in the fourth and fifth, but not so the Cubs, who added one run in the fourth and two more in the sixth. The score now was 6 to 1, Chicago on the sugared end. It was time for the Cards to go to work, and they did by scoring one run in their own sixth as a “tune up” for their six runs in the seventh.
Both Use Four Pitchers
In their victory, the Cardinals employed four pitchers. Sherdel, the starter, was kayoed in the sixth and was followed by Syl Johnson, who gave way to a pinch hitter in the Cards’ sixth. Then came Southpaw Bill Hallahan to hold the Cubs in the seventh and Haines to finish the game. The Cubs, in addition to Jones, Root and Bush, also worked Walter Piercy.
Off these four hurlers, the Cards totaled eleven hits, or three fewer than the Bruins fashioned off the Cardinal quartet. The Cards, however, while they were outbatted, proved better on defense. Theirs was a spotless fielding game, whereas there were two errors charged against Chicago.
Sherdel’s Scoreless String Ends
When the game opened, Sherdel had to his credit twenty-one successive scoreless innings, but this cluster was ticketed to end at that figure. Adams, first up against Sherry, dropped a single in right center. Scott singled to left. Freigau forced Adams at third, Sherdel to Bell on an attempted sacrifice. Wilson walked, packing the aisles. Stephenson popped to Jim Bottomley, but Grimm lined to right center and when the ball went through both Billy Southworth and Douthit, Grimm was credited with a triple, scoring Scott, Freigau and Wilson. Mickey Cooney’s bounce to Bottomley ended the inning.
In the Card’s first, both Blades and Douthit walked. Hornsby struck out. Bottomley singled to center, Blades scoring, Douthit moving to third. It was up to Southworth, but he fouled to Grimm and it was then up to Bell, but he struck out. The Cubs had only one base runner in the second and third, the Cards had six and yet they could not score. Hornsby himself came up with the bases loaded and two gone in the second and lined straight to center fielder Wilson. In the third, after Grimm’s error and Bell’s double placed men on third and second with but one out, O’Farrell was called out on strikes and Thevenow was thrown out by Cooney.
The fourth inning had Stephenson doubling to left and scoring on Cooney’s single to center. The fifth saw the Cards again kiss the veteran opportunity good bye, after Bottomley opened with a single and was sacrificed to second. The sixth brought the end of Sherdel’s tenure of the mound.
Johnson Relieves Sherdel
In this inning, Stephenson, Grimm and Cooney singled in succession to right field, Stephenson scoring. Then Johnson replaced Sherdel, and Gabby Hartnett hit a long fly to Douthit, Grimm scoring. Six to one against. It was a tough hill for any kind of a stepper, but the Cards kept trying. They crept up to within four of a tie in their sixth on the strength of Holm’s single, a pass to Douthit and Hornsby’s double to right field. At this juncture, there was but one out with men on second and third, but Jones, still maintaining his mastery in the pinch, struck out Bottomley and erased pinch batter Flowers on a grounder to Freigau.
Holm, who had batted for Johnson in the sixth, went to right field at the start of the seventh, succeeding Southworth, who had given way to pinch batter Flowers. Hallahan, pitching for the Cards in the seventh, was touched for Scott’s double, but the latter was killed at third on Freigau’s grounder and Freigau was nailed at third to close the inning when he tried for the far corner on Wilson’s infield tap to Hornsby.
The eighth inning run produced by the Cubs resulted from clean singles by Grimm and Cooney and pinch batter Kelly’s infield hit to Bell with two out. Bell made a fine stop behind third base but his long throw across the diamond was a trifle wide, Kelly being credited with a hit, Grimm scoring. It was the Cubs’ final run.
Two games today, the first starting at 2 o’clock.
Cardinal Notes
The Cardinals are in second place by a two-point margin over the Pirates. The Reds continue to lead the Cards by two games. The percentages of the first three teams are: Cincinnati, .600; Cardinals, .569; Pittsburgh, .567.
In the first six innings yesterday the Cards had 18 base runners, but could score only two runs. In the first five innings, the Cards had only three hits.
Percy Jones walked eight men and struck out five. His right hand must be sore today, for Catcher Gabby Hartnett rifled the ball back at Jones each time the latter threw a ball wide of the strike zone.
Rogers Hornsby’s homers have won two of the last three games in the seventh inning. On Thursday the Rajah hit the bull's eye with the bases loaded to beat Pittsburgh, 6 to 2.
Freigau, one time Cardinal third sacker, robbed Ray Blades of a hit in the second by diving headlong for Ray’s ground smash.
Tommy Thevenow turned the best fielding play of the game in the eighth inning. With men on first and second, Silent Tommy sprinted behind second base, speared Hartnett’s bid for a single and flipped the ball over his shoulder to Hornsby in time for a forceout play at the midway.
In the fifth, Thevenow’s grounder was fumbled by Mickey Cooney, but the ball was deflected to Shorty Adams, who picked up the leather as he stood on second, thus forcing Bob O'Farrell, who had walked.
There was a loud uproar from the fans at the start of the Cards’ eighth, when O’Farrell walked to the plate. The fans thought Lester Bell should be batting, but Bell had closed the seventh by looking over a third strike, although to those who were not watching Umpire Bill Reardon’s right arm, it appeared as if the seventh inning closed on Jim Bottomley’s attempted steal.
Bottomley drew applause when he chased to the stands in the fourth and took Charlie Grimm’s foul fly with his glove.
The Pirates and Reds moved from Pittsburgh last night for Cincinnati, where they resume their “grudge” today. Three games are booked in Cincy. The Reds won the two played in Pittsburgh.
If the Cards win today and the Reds bow to Pittsburgh the Cards will be a half game out of first place.
Browns Break Even with White Sox by Winning, 5-4, and Losing, 6-3
Sisler’s Steal of Home Brings Victory for His Team in First Conflict
Lyons Weakens in Ninth Inning of This Affair—Chicago Pounds Davis to Win Second After He Relieves Wingard.
Special Dispatch to the Globe-Democrat.
CHICAGO, ILL., June 26.—The White Sox would have declared a 100 per cent profit on the afternoon’s toil today if a few unexpected things hadn’t befallen young Ted Lyons. Disturbed by an error, he fell apart in the ninth round of the first portion of a double-header and the Browns smacked him for a 5-to-4 trimming, whereupon the pale hose came back and attained an even break by copping the second half of the show by a 6-to-3 margin before 17,000 more or less congealed customers.
The night cap worked out satisfactorily for the Eddie Collins troupe, because Tommy Thomas, the Baltimore blonde, refused to do as Lyons had done. Tommy had one bad inning, due to some bum luck, but aside from that was a well-nigh perfect hurler and finished with only five hits against his record. While Tommy was doing this to the Brownie batters the hose were having a large time with Wingard and Davis, both of whom had to walk out before the show was over.
Hunnefield Hits Homer
In the opening battle Lyons had quite an even argument with Tom Zachary, the former Washington southpaw. With a few things such as a homer into the left field seats by Fred Hunnefield in the sixth and a single by Patsy Barrett and double by Willie Kamm in the seventh the Sox were able to get into possession of a 3 to 2 lead. With Lyons going well, even that slim margin looked sufficiently potent to cop. It wasn’t however, but there is a possibility that Lyons might have weathered the last round successfully if Boss Collins, in his anxiety to make a double play, hadn’t chucked the ball away.
The ninth round of Lyons’ defeat started with Ken Williams batting for Zachary. He singled. Roy Durst did the same and Williams legged it for third. Chick Melillo lined into Collins’ hands and the manager tried to shoot the ball to Earl Sheely to put Durst off first, but his aim was bad, so Williams ran home and Durst to second.
Sisler promptly singled Durst across and went to second on the throw in. A fly ball moved him to third and then, without serving notice of his intentions, he stole home. Lyons' pitch was so high that Johnny Grabowski couldn't get down in time to tag the brazen runner.
Sox Take Nightcap
When the second round of the nightcap was completed it looked as if the Sox might be in for another disappointment. Three Browns registered in that chapter, which was Thomas’ only shaky inning. Two clean singles with a pass scored two of the runs and another went over because Barrett, getting the sun in his eyes, let Wingard’s fly fall for a double. After that jolting Thomas acted to suit himself and nobody even reached second base on him.
The Sox started to whittle down the hostiles’ lead by getting one in their half of the second on hits by Bibb Falk and Barrett. In the third they did a bit better by scoring twice and tying matters. A pass to Thomas followed by hits off the clubs of Hunnefield, Collins, Sheely and Falk did this. They also caused the removal of Wingard in favor of Davis. The rescuer went fine for a while, but in the sixth a pass to Johnny Mostil with wallops by Sheely, Falk, and Kamm shoved three over the plate and that meant the ball game.
Brownie Notes
The Browns will be the visiting attraction again tomorrow afternoon. Collins probably will pit Ted Blankenship against the visitors.
Ballou pitched the tail end of each game and in the ninth frame of the opener was almost ruined by a line driven off Falk’s bat. The ball plunked the pitcher in the neck, but he picked it up and threw out the runner. Then he started to wilt, but his mates held him up and in about a half minute he was ready to resume pitching.
One of Lou Comiskey’s pop butchers must attend a wedding tomorrow. Today he asked his employer if it would be all right to wear brown shoes with a dress suit and he wasn’t kidding.
A South Chicago delegation attended the bargain bill and brought with them a floral horseshoe and a diamond ring, both of which were presented to Melillo, the Browns’ second sacker.
Some of the bugs whose idea of a perfect umpire is one who gives the home club everything, booed Umpire Brick Owens in the first game and when he reappeared for the second affair he was greeted by a couple cannon crackers that exploded at his feet. “Brick” looked down as if he thought one of his corns had popped.
Thomas, who always strikes out quite a number of batters in the first part of the game, fanned seven. Two of them were in the third and two in the fourth.
Around The League
Burns of Indians Is First Major Leaguer to Get 100 Safeties
By Associated Press.
CLEVELAND, OHIO, June 26.—George Burns of the Indians is the first major league player to make 100 hits this season. He made his 100th blow, a single, in the second game at Detroit today.
In sixty-eight games, Burns has been at bat 273 times and scored forty-three runs and 100 hits for an average of .366.
Reds Defeat Pirates, 9-1, in Easy Game
Carl Mays Pitches Good Game and Champs Aid in Own Defeat with Loose Fielding.
By Associated Press.
PITTSBURGH, PA., June 26.—(National)—Cincinnati tightened its grip on first place today by making it two straight over Pittsburgh, 9 to 1, in a well-pitched game by Carl Mays and a loosely fielded affair by the Pirates. Lee Meadows’ string of consecutive victories was shattered at eight and today’s defeat was his first of the season. Glenn Wright, local shortstop, was missing from the game due to an attack of influenza and he was unable to accompany the team to Cincinnati tonight. Score:
Senators Win from Macks by 3-2 Score
Howard Ehmke Walberg and Sad Sam Pate Hold Winners to Four Hits—Walter Johnson Gets Credit for Victory.
By Associated Press.
WASHINGTON, June 26.—(American)—Although they were let down with four hits by Walberg and Pate, the Senators defeated the Athletics, 3 to 2, today in the first of a two-game series. Johnson, after losing seven games, was credited with the victory, although he was relieved by Firpo Marberry in the seventh with three on bases. Hale, batting for Walberg in the seventh, was hit on the body by one of Johnson’s fast ones, and had to be attended by the Philadelphia club’s trainer before he could proceed to first base. Score:
TIGERS TAKE DOUBLE BILL FROM INDIANS
Cobbmen Run String of Consecutive Victories to Six—Win First Game, 5 to 0, and Second 7 to 2.
By Associated Press.
DETROIT, MICH., June 26.—(American)—The Detroit Tigers ran their string of consecutive victories to six today by winning a double-header from Cleveland, 5 to 0 and 7 to 2. Ed Wells held the Indians to five hits in the first game to score his fourth shutout victory of the season and his second over Cleveland.
Detroit scored four runs off Emil "Dutch" Karr in the first inning of that game on three doubles and a single. After that Karr held Detroit to two hits until he was relieved for a pinch hitter in the seventh.
The second game was a pitchers' battle between Buckeye and Frank Gibson for six innings, but Detroit scored five runs in the eighth off George Shaute, who pitched the last two innings. Scores:
PHILS DEFEAT BRAVES TWICE, 5-4 AND 7-5
Mokan Gets Seven Hits for Twelve Bases in Two Games.
By Associated Press.
PHILADELPHIA, PA., (National), June 26.—The Philadelphia Nationals climbed out of last place by trouncing the Boston Braves twice today, taking the front end of a double header, 5 to 4, and then winning the second game, 7 to 5. In both games the Phils came from behind to nose out the visitors. Mokan’s batting was a feature, making seven hits for a total of twelve bases in two contests. Scores:
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