Another Red Sox - Yankees Classic!
Highlanders at Red Sox, May 6, 1908
Another Red Sox - Yankees Classic!
This was a great one — a back-and-forth battle between two bitter rivals that wasn’t decided until the very end.
Boston went out to a quick 2-0 lead, which it extended to 3-1 in the bottom of the 4th.
Of course, that wasn’t going to get the Highlanders down. New York scored in the 5th and 6th, the highlight being Harry Niles’ league leading 5th home run.
That’s right: Niles has 5 home runs in 20 games, a feat absolutely unheard of in 1908. He had the grand total of 5 home runs in real life.
Anyway, New York staked out a 5-3 lead in the top of the 6th, only to see Boston score 2 to tie it in the bottom of the 6th.
And that led us to the end.
Doc Gessler led things off in the bottom of the 9th:
That triple was really big. The Red Sox had Jim McHale, a fast runner, come in to run for Doc. New York, meanwhile, was pretty much forced to take Jack Chesbro out at this point, replacing him with Doc Newton.
Newton was able to get Bob Unglaub out on strikes:
You might wonder why I wasn’t bunting with Bob. The fear of the strikeout is what kept me from having him lay one down. The last thing you want to do in this situation is allow the runner at third to be thrown out, after all.
There was one away, and that brought up Amby McConnell:
And that clinched it. McConnell’s single drove home the winning run, giving the Red Sox a 6-5 victory.
Neither Chesbro nor Morgan were particularly effective, but I suppose they were good enough. Cy Morgan did manage to give up only 1 walk despite his “W” control rating.
Meanwhile, I’m still amazed at how much offense we see in these 1908 games. We had two New York home runs in this one. There were 5 stolen bases. Meanwhile, Niles, the home run hero, was caught trying to steal twice.
The Highlanders aren’t really a particularly good team, but they do make the games entertaining.
Other Action
Red Sox 6, Highlanders 5: At Boston, the Red Sox and Highlanders traded blows in one of the most exciting games of the year. Boston finally won it on a Doc Gessler triple in the bottom of the ninth, followed by an Amby McConnell single. Watch the game here. Read the summary here.
Naps 4, White Sox 2: At Chicago, the Naps take advantage of starting pitcher Frank Smith being thrown out of the game in the second inning for arguing ball and strike calls. Cleveland scores 2 in the final 2 innings to put this one away. Addie Joss strikes out 5 in the winning effort, walking none. Watch the game here.
Giants 2, Doves 1: At New York, Christy Mathewson keeps the Doves in check, giving up only 5 hits in an excellent complete game. Watch the game here.
Superbas 4, Phillies 2: At Philadelphia, the Superbas string together their base hits brilliantly, winning easily on the road.
Cubs 9, Pirates 2: At Pittsburgh, the Cubs blew a close game open with 6 runs in the top of the 9th. Watch the game here.
Reds 3, Cardinals 1: At St. Louis, the Reds win their 7th game, beating the Cardinals easily behind 10 hits.
Athletics 6, Senators 2: At Washington, Rube Vickers pitches an excellent complete game and the Athletics vault themselves squarely into first place. Watch the game here.
Standings
Philadelphia is starting to make space for itself atop the American League. The Cubs, meanwhile, are getting better and better.