Pirates Pound Reds as Emil Yde Silences Cincinnati’s League Leaders
The defending Pirates battered the first-place Reds, 7–2, behind Emil Yde, Glenn Wright, and Pie Traynor, while the Cincinnati Enquirer captured the mood of May 1926 with baseball notes, humor, and sports-page verse.
Coverage of Pittsburgh at Cincinnati from the Monday May 24, 1926 Cincinnati Enquirer
In This Edition
- Blustering Pirates Prove Too Much For League Leaders
- Notes of the Game
- Jess Petty's Mother Dies
- The Bull Pen
- Advertisements
Blustering Pirates Prove Too Much For League Leaders
GREAT DANE Blocks Our Boys.
Reds Unable To Solve Shoots of Emil Yde.
Enemy Twirler Allows Three Safe Blows.
Pete Donohue Knocked Out in the Fourth.
Champions Acquire Fifteen Bingles—Glenn Wright and Pie Traynor Star at Bat and in the Field.
By Jack Ryder.
The Eastern teams were like four courses of delicious pie for the noble first-placers, but the Champion Pirates proved to be something else again. They were more like a tough and underdone piece of horse-meat, impossible of digestion by the celebrated front-runners.
They rolled onto Redland Field to close the long stretch of home games yesterday afternoon and did things to Pete Donohue and the rest of our boys which were rude, crude and quite unusual. The score was 7 to 2.
There is a firm belief that Pete needs one more day of rest than he had enjoyed since working his two-hit contest against the Robins Wednesday. The theory is that he could have pitched a two-hit game Monday, and perhaps he could.
But the Sunday game had to be played and the tall Texan, usually a formidable foe of the champions, looked like the logical choice for the effort.
But there was not very much logic about Pete's pitching. It may be that the Pirates, who are certainly on their way to higher regions, would have slammed anybody in the Red stable for as many blows as they annexed off the Ft. Worth right-hander. But Pete did not appear to have very much of his customary effective stuff. Speed was lacking and he had poor control of his curve ball.
Walks Second Man
From the very first round, when he walked Hal Rhyne, the second man up, and allowed him to score on a couple of singles, he was shaky and far from being in command. His third inning was a terrible one and he was finally blown off the hill in the fourth, by which time the brutal enemy had acquired a lead of seven runs.
At no time during the contest did Pete appear to be himself. So the theory that he needs one more day of rest between contests looks very plausible.
On the other hand Emil Yde had much more success against the Reds than he usually has. Our boys had just finished slamming their way through the crack Brooklyn pitching staff, not one of whom could stop or even check their mad rush. But the Danish southpaw, often a mark for the league leaders, held them to three hits and a couple of tallies and stood them on their bright little beans from start to finish.
But for a couple of passes, whose receivers never advanced beyond first base, Emil would have retired the side in order in seven of the nine rounds. It was the best showing that he has made against the Hendricks herd for a long time.
The big crowd at least saw plenty of heavy hitting, even if it was done by the hated opposition. The attack of the Pirates was fierce and irresistible all the way down the line. To a neutral observer, it must have been quite a treat to see Glenn Wright and Pie Traynor wading into the ball time after time and smacking it to a safe location.
Wright Gets Four Safeties
On most teams, the shortstop and the third baseman are carried for their expert defensive ability, and they are not supposed to carry the heavy artillery.
But Wright peeled off four blows out of five times up, and Traynor followed with three. This pair hit together in the first, third and fourth rounds and were responsible for practically all of the Pirate tallies. Paul Waner, with two resounding triples, showed why he has displaced Clyde Barnhart in the Pirate garden, and the battery members, Johnny Gooch and Yde, were also merciless with the stick.
Jakie May did some fine relief work after he took Pete's place in the fourth, standing up nobly against the reputation of the champions for murdering left-handers. Red Lucas allowed a triple and a single in the ninth, but no runner crossed the plate, due to three gorgeous bits of fielding.
Pete, wobbly from the start, allowed a run in the first on a pass to Rhyne and singles by Wright and Traynor after two were out. The champions came back for more in the third and won the game right then and there by a determined rally. Rhyne was safe on Frank Emmer's fumble of his grounder, followed by a low throw to first. Kiki Cuyler popped to Wally Pipp, but Wright and Traynor singled and Waner socked a wicked triple into right field. Gooch scored the youngster with a single after George Grantham had whiffed.
Rhyne Hit By Ball
With one out in the fourth, Pete hit Rhyne in the slats and Cuyler slapped a hot single to right. Curtains for Texas and a hurry call for North Carolina. Before Jakie could get down to business Wright and Traynor had singled, each for the third time, and two runs were over, both of which had been left on the bases by Donohue. Waner fanned and Stuffy McInnis, who relieved Grantham, flied to Edd Roush.
Jakie did a good piece of work in stopping the enraged Pirates for the next four innings. He was taken out for a pinch-hitter in the last half of the eighth. Lucas crawled out of a tight hole in the ninth, which Waner opened with his second triple. McInnis grounded to Emmer, who got the batter, without allowing Waner to go home, and the latter was caught at the plate on Gooch's high bounder to the box, which Red fielded very fast. Yde singled to right, but Curt Walker's accurate arm killed off Gooch, trying for third, to end the inning.
For the most part, the Reds were quite helpless before Yde. The first nine men up in the game went out in order. Red Dressen walked in the fourth, went to third on Walker's single to center and scored on Roush's sacrifice fly. With one out in the fifth, Bubbles Hargrave, referred to here as Picinich, doubled to left and scored on Emmer's single to center. May walked, but the chance for more runs was broken up when Wright grabbed Dressen's hot liner for a double play.
Yde was the master all the rest of the way. In the last four rounds, only two Reds got on, both on passes, and neither of them could be shoved beyond first base.
This was just one of those off-days in all departments which may not occur again for quite some time. At least, such is to be hoped.
The Score:
Notes of the Game
The Reds left last night for a three-game series with the Cardinals at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, their second visit of the year to the Mound City, where they won two out of three games on their first trip three weeks ago. Manager Jack Hendricks took the entire club with him, so as to be prepared for any emergency. Eppa Rixey will pitch the opening game of the series against the Rogers Hornsby hitters today.
The Pirates left last night for Chicago, where they play three games, and then take the Cubs back with them for three more at Forbes Field. If the Reds can win over in St. Louis, this Pirate-Cub series will not hurt them any, no matter how it comes out, for one or the other of these strong teams is sure to be knocked off, unless they play to an even break, which wouldn't be so bad, either. It is up to our boys to attend to the Cardinals while the other leading contenders are pummeling each other.
The winning streak of the Reds so encouraged their supporters that odds of 13-to-10 were freely offered on them among the speculative fraternity before the game. Hence, there was considerable grief among the deep thinkers, who had failed to estimate correctly the heavy punch which the champions carry into nearly every game.
Curt Walker was presented with a basket of peonies before the game by some of his admirers, who appreciate his wonderful fielding and his heavy and consistent hitting. The Beeville mortician is the only undertaker in the country who can cover ground equal to an entire cemetery in one afternoon. The presentation did not make Curt at all nervous. He got the first hit off Emil Yde, made a perfect throw to third base in the ninth inning and pulled down five lofters in the outfield.
Among the spectators was the entire Lima team of the Ohio-Indiana League. The club had an off day and the boys came down in a body to look over the big leaguers. Those in the party were John and Joe Bauman, Leo Hundschuh, Oren Riddle, Irvin Martin, John Butts, Les Gray, Ed Cruse and Dave Foster.
The veteran scribes, Ed Ballinger, of the Pittsburg Post, and Charley Doyle, of the Gazette-Times, were with the team, as usual. They are not making any official predictions as to the final outcome of the league race, but they wear a knowing look when queried on the subject. It is easy to recognize their firm belief that they will have to visit only one city outside of Pittsburg next fall in order to see all the games of the world series.
A fine crowd of near 22,000 attended the game. The fans know that the Pirates are going to be the real contenders and that the aggressive play of the champions is always worthy of observation. A few temporary boxes projected onto the playing field in deep right, but, fortunately, did not affect the result in any way.
Kiki Cuyler is now in left field for the champions, having played all of the three fields with equal skill. His catch of Hughie Critz's long drive in the second inning was a beauty and the real fielding feature of the game.
Pete Donohue had a dull day. He was evidently not himself from the start, lacking both in speed and his usually excellent control. On many occasions he has been the master of the champions, but this was not his day to shine. All seven of the Pirate tallies were charged against him, and five of them were earned by hard hitting.
Manager Hendricks has thought quite a bit about starting Jakie May in a game of his own. The Wendell southpaw has pitched almost perfect ball in all of the games in which he has been used as a relief hurler. It was quite a feat to stop the Pirates for four rounds yesterday, for they are known to be death on left-handers, and few southpaws are ever used against them. Jakie has shown himself to be a wonderful finisher. Whether he can go nine full innings at top speed remains to be seen, but he is likely to get the chance to try it almost any time now.
Glenn Wright and Pie Traynor are the nifftiest pair playing on the left side of the infield for any club in the country, bar none. A team which boasts of a shortstop and third baseman who are not only wonderful fielders, but bat fourth and fifth, respectively, in the batting order, is likely to be more than dangerous at any time. Wright is the only shortstop since Honus Wagner who bats regularly in the clean-up position, and Pie is an able assistant to him. They are a power with both bat and glove and good base runners as well.
Red Lucas got a good break in the ninth, when Paul Waner led off with his second triple but could not score. Red helped himself by making a fine play on Johnny Gooch's high bounder and getting Waner at the plate. It would have been one of the best finishes ever seen if the Pirates had needed one run to tie or win.
The Pirates hit safely in every inning but one, the Reds in every inning but seven. Pete had about his worst day against the champions and Yde his best against the Reds.
After all, the Reds won 12 games and lost only three during their long stay on the home lot. If they can come anywhere near approaching that gait while on the road, they are going to be battling for something pretty high and valuable all season.
Jess Petty's Mother Dies
New York, May 23 (A. P.).—More than 30,000 persons watched Jess Petty pitch the Brooklyn Nationals to a 2-to-1 victory over the Giants at Ebbets Field today, but none knew of the severe mental strain he suffered. Just before the game a letter, delivered at the clubhouse from his brother, told of the recent death of their mother in Texas. Petty had not been informed sooner as it would have been impossible for him to attend the funeral.
THE BULL PEN.
BY ERM.
Caddie Mine.
You are lovely to behold,
Cheeks of red and hair of gold.
Sparkling eyes and winning smile,
Carefree, ambling boyish style.
Would in golf that that were all!
But you have to find the ball!
Foreign Sports.
There can be little doubt that Pil-
sudski has won the pole vault.
And over in Spain, Paolino Uzcudon
has won the European heavyweight
boxing championship of Europe from
the Italian, Erminio Spalla, in the
Barcelona bull ring before 30,000 spec-
tators. Uzcudon received the amazing
sum of 60,000 pesetas for his winner’s
share, or $3,000 in Amrican money.
Compare this with the six or seven
figures that Dempsey will clean on
his next bout, and you can see why
American champions need fight only
once every four years.
Have You Noticed?
A number of our readers seemed to
have ideas on the same subject as
our little verse entitled “Have You
Noticed?” which we reprint below,
with the contributions it has called
forth:
Whene’er a player’s fame
Has reached its height,
He suddenly discovers
He can write.
—Erm.
And when a runner
Several marks has cracked,
He modestly decides
That he can act.
—F. F. V.
Of course the football hero
Sheds his togs,
And sells his name to sweaters
And to dogs.
—G. Range.
And in the South the champion
Heavyweight,
Employs his mitt promoting
Real estate.
—Toledo Jake.
Are there any more?
Based on Scripture
The die-hards who want the negro
challenger to meet Dempsey are still
hoping that where there’s a Wills
there’s a way.
Lightweight Football.
Jack Heisman, veteran gridiron
mentor, suggests that spring football
be instituted, with weight limit of 140
and 160 pounds, to give the lighter
weight students at college a chance
to play. The big boys would be con-
fined to the usual fall session. But
why drag football in during baseball
season. Baseball is much more enjoy-
able for those who participate, takes
less strenuous training and is less
dangerous for those who haven’t
spent months of hardening. More
games can be played, practice is more
fun and more men can take part.
And besides—football without cold
gray skies, turning leaves and
Thanksgiving Time—well, it just
wouldn’t be football, that’s all.
Don’t Be Misled:
Headline—Hairdresser Causes Dream
Daddy to Fall.
Just the story of a spill at Jamaica
race track.
Fadeaways.
The grounder comes,
The shortstop stoops
And thinks the out is sealed.
Alas! the ball
Goes through his legs
And into center field.
Famous Closing Lines.
Home, Sweet Home.
—Harry, Jr.
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