Macks Fell Browns for Fifth Straight Win as Reds Down Phillies Once More
In this Edition
- Groves Triumphs in Battle of Southpaws
- Ninth-Inning Rally Overcomes Quakers
- Phulbits
- Macaroons
- Baseball at a Glance
- Ten Leading Hitters
Groves Triumphs in Battle of Southpaws
Lefty Comes Through to Third Victory of Season While Macks Pound Old Tom Zachary to Rush Through to Another for Climbing House of Mack
By: S.O. Grauley - Philadelphia Inquirer, Saturday Morning, May 8, 1926
Lefty Grove pitched in a masterly exhibition of baseball. In only two rounds did the Missourians threaten and in one of these they got their one tally, while in the other Lefty disposed of two men up in a pinch with a full house.
In the other seven rounds Grove turned aside every St. Louis thrust. He set no new strikeout record, he shattered no mark for handing out passes, but he was strong throughout the battle and accounted for the Macks’ eleventh victory of the year.
Yet Lefty was solely responsible for the solitary marker the Browns tramped over the gum. He put LaMotte on via a pass, in the fifth and George Sisler got the Missourians’ only extra base hit of the tilt, when he tripled to the score board.
That was the sum and substance of the Missourians’ only round in which they circled the 360 feet of runway turf.
Against such flinging Tom Zachary, who toiled for the Harrismen last season, was up against mighty stiff opposition and he also faced a harder, determined crew than did Grove. Those Macks are on the uplift now. They are not out until the final white-uniformed chap takes the count and while they did not need their eighth inning flare-up yesterday they put it on just the same to demonstrate that they are still lugging their thump along while this streak is on.
Eighth Inning Blasts Zachary
Old Zack used his slow curve ball and kept mixin’ ’em up fairly effectively against this never-give-up-Mack crew. And he got away fairly well at that, so well that only a run separated the battling crews when the eighth appeared in the offing.
But that one run margin belonged to the House of Mack. And it represented a solid, savage drive into the upper left field bleacher seats by Al Simmons for his second homer of the year, in the fourth. That run gave the Mackmen their advantage and it began to look as if the 2-1 duel would exist to the finish.
Over this stretch of seven frames Zachary was as good as Grove in hits allowed. Six dotted the H column of the A’s and it was the total credited to the Eastermen.
But as mentioned before don’t forget that this Philadelphia machine, with the same old parts but now well oiled and running on full cylinders, never ceases working while the ball game is on.
Several times during this reform wave which hit Shibe Park this week that machine has assumed the shape and appearance of a ruthless tank, and has come from behind to flatten the foe by its ponderous but not to be denied advance.
Well Zachary felt the blunt of this attack. Earlier in the week Bob Shawkey, Urban Shocker, Sam Jones, Herb Pennock and Milt Gaston had met similar fates, so the blast which blew the ball game out of any possible grasp of the Missourians and melted Zachary’s chance to win and carried the A’s to their fifth straight win was nothing new to the local fans.
Ninth-Inning Rally Overcomes Quakers
Fletchermen Drive Carl Mays to Cover With Five-Run Uprising, But Knight Fails to Hold in Final Frame and Redlegs Pummel Through to Second Straight
By James C. Isaminger - Philadelphia Inquirer, Saturday Morning, May 8, 1926
CINCINNATI, May 7.—Current events in the ninth inning of today’s game were ruinous and painful to the Phillies, for Cincinnati suddenly flared up and nosed out victory in a battle that Fletcher’s men thought they had won.
After one man had been throttled in this agonizing session, the Reds released an attack that knocked the Phils for a row of pagodas and by tabbing three big runs they won the second straight game of the series 6 to 5.
Jack Knight was breezing along blissfully until his foot slipped in the grim ninth. His two-run lead looked to be as long as a kilometer but destiny had shaped a different finish for him.
Triples by Wally Pipp and Hughie Critz, Pinelli’s pass and pinch hitter Fred Luque’s vital single tied the score and swept young Knight off the peak. Mann came on with orders to pass Pinelli purposely, which packed the bases.
Dressen then made it the end of a perfect day for the Ohio customers by walloping a long hit over Mokan’s head that sent emergency runner Zitzman home with the winning run. It was Dressen’s fourth hit of the P. M. and more runs could have been scored had they been needed, for the lick was really good for three bases.
That was a sour finish for the Phils, who thought they had regained their winning streak. The fall was unaccountable. Just one of those things, like a dynamite factory letting go.
Knight was a lion until he turned kitten in the ninth. Once Cincinnati got under way they could not be stopped.
Luque, whose pinch single made victory possible for the Reds, is the unremembered pitcher of the Boston team, who has been a miracle man this year with Cincinnati.
Not content with winning four games out of five starts, Luque broke up today’s battle in the role of rescue hitter.
Makes 13 Safeties
Dressen, who drove home the winning run, was good for four safeties. He drove in two of his pals’ six runs and scored another himself so his bat also was closely associated with the Ohio conquest.
The Reds had a total of thirteen hits, all but one being made off Knight. Bressler with a triple and two singles was another enemy sharpshooter, who scored bull’s-eyes that hurt the chances of the Phils.
The Phils did all their scoring in one inning. They huddled five hits and a pass in the fifth and five runs grew. They blasted Carl Mays off the peak in this offensive and Jakey May came on and changed things so much that the Phils were hitless for the rest of the afternoon. Jakey certainly did take the sting out of bats that had been gathering big results from Carl. Credit for the victory goes to Jakey.
Sand sparkled at short, accepting ten chances without a slip, while Leach made a showy catch in the sixth. Leach tried to duplicate this feat during Cincinnati’s rush in the ninth, but this time he could not come up to the ball, which skipped underneath him and rolled away for a triple. That shady bit was the turning point of the game.
The Phils now have lost three in a row, two here and the last in New York and Fletcher is beginning to worry. If Carlson’s arm is still sore, Ulrich will probably pitch tomorrow.
The Ohioans gathered a run in the home half. After Wilson threw out Walker, Bressler, the batting demon of the Buckeye State, whaled a smoking triple to the distant advertising in left. Soke’s fiery single, shot over Friberg’s dome from Pipp’s bat and Bressler scored.
A double crushing stopped the advance when Critz hit rapidly to Knight, who threw to Sand and Heine’s relay beat Critz to first by a nose.
Cincinnati compiled a shoddy run in the last half. After Knight dispatched the first two to face him, Emmer tore off a single that had thorns on it. Nixon fumbled the ball and the Red streaked to third. The error hurt Fletcher in many places for Emmer was able to score on Dressen’s single.
Knight then tossed out Roush.
Suddenly the Phils flared up in the fifth and before one could count a million, Carl Mays had been demolished and five big runs racked for the Phils.
Huber thumped a live single to right, and Mays lost control and passed Friberg. Huber stole third while Barney stayed on first. There was a blow in Wilson’s bat which nudged the ball to right for a single. Huber scored and Friberg took third.
Knight kept the advance in motion when he pestled a whizzing single to centre. Friberg counted and Wilson stopped at second.
Mr. Sand coyly bunted where they ain’t and had a single, cramming the lanes, Nixon popped to Dressen for the first out. Leach forced Sand on his grounder to Critz, Wilson crossing. Still the Phils were not satisfied. Harper poled a long double between right and centre, Knight scoring and Leach taking third.
This was the office for Jaek Hendricks to accept Carl May’s resignation. Little Jakey May, the southsider, took his place. So Mays succeeded Mays in the merry month of May you may now have realized.
Critz fumbled Bentley’s roller and Leach hauled the fifth run home. In for the second time Huber.
The Reds raped Knight for a run in the home chapter. After Emmer popped to Huber, Dressen singled to left. Roush faked a single to Knight, who deflected the ball to Huber. Walker tried to sneak the ball over first but Leach sprinted forward like a Kentucky Derby candidate and caught it a few inches above the grass tops.
When the ninth dawned Pinelli was at short for the hostiles. Wilson walked and Knight sacrificed. Pipp to Critz.
May hurled the third strike over on Sand. Nixon grounded out to Pipp.
Red Bombs Burst
Cincinnati quickly transformed defeat into victory by wrecking young Knight in the fadeout. The Reds needed three runs to win and promptly made them.
Knight timidly stopped Bressler when the latter hit to Huber and was chucked out. Pipp shook up centre field with a tempestuous triple. Leach tried hard to reach Critz’s short fly to right but the ball squirted through his legs and sped on to deep right for a triple, Pipp legging it home.
This unnerved Knight and he passed Pinelli. Zitzman ran for Pinelli and Luque was delegated to bat for May. The pitchman made good for he shoved a clean single to centre. Critz scoring the tying run and Zitzman taking third. Luque took second on the throw.
To save the game, Fletcher sent Mann to the rubber. Mann passed Pinelli purposely, loading the bases. Then Dressen stepped up and drove the ball far over Mokan’s head. Zitzman depositing the break-up run at the rubber. Dressen had a single, but the hit was good enough for a triple had more runs been needed.
Philbits
Trainer Leo Miller had a clinic full of patients. Heine Sand had a bad cold and on Miller’s advice he consulted a physician this morning and had his throat sprayed. Wrightstone is dragging a dickey leg around as a result of his collision with Pep Young in the New York series. An X-ray will be taken to see if any small bones are broken. Jimmy Wilson is fighting a cold and Harold Carlson has a little engine trouble with his arm.
Because of the ocean of realty that must be covered in the outfield here, Fletcher revised his garden to stiffen defense. Flyhawk Nixon went to centre and Larruping Leach was switched to right. That made a benchman out of Cy Williams.
Jack Hendricks has been doing a lot of shuffling with his infield cards. Just before the Phils came he benched Pinelli in favor of Dressen for the third base post. In this series Bohne, Emmer and Pinelli have seen duty at short.
The population was 3875 and they left the premises happy.
Jack Knight has now lost three games. He has won one. Prior to this afternoon he has pitched admirably.
Jakey May’s ability to quiet Phil bats when he took Carl Mays’ place in the fifth made victory possible for the Reds.
Emmer played short today because Bohne has a game leg. Because of pinch hitting demands, Pinelli finished at short.
Wally Pipp has made a valuable man for the Reds this season. His triple in the ninth started the Reds agoing.
Macaroons
A WIN today and the Macks’ per cent. column will read .500.
Lefty Grove now has wins over Boston, New York and St. Louis.
Five in a row and the sixth in the offing this P. M. They need this one badly, too.
Jimmy Austin got the gate in the third when he let out a most strenuous yell when Clarence Rowland called LaMotte out on strikes.
Charley Willis, one of the Mack rookies was hit in the stomach by a batted ball in early practice and knocked cold.
Jimmy Dykes made the best play of the day when he grabbed Dixon’s rifle-shot with one hand to toss out the Brown catcher in the seventh.
Looks like Slim Harriss against Ernie Wingard this P. M.
Pinch hitting is getting to be one of Mickey Cochrane’s best assets.
Wally Schang appeared as a Brownie for the first time when he hit for Dixon in the ninth to end the game with a savage hopper to Hauser.
Grove gave some pitching exhibition after the Browns got their run. In the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth the three Brownies went down in order, although Jacobson opened the sixth with a hit, but was pinched trying to steal second.
Baseball at a Glance
Ten Leading Hitters
