Close, But Not Close Enough!
Plus Day In Review, April 30, 1908
Close, But Not Close Enough!
Cincinnati has only won 2 games so far in my 1908 replay. They’re awful, and I’m not entirely certain that I understand why. This is one of the worst early season performances I’ve seen by any team in any replay project.
On paper, they didn’t stand a chance against the Pirates. But, well, that’s the reason why we play the games.
Comeback
Pittsburgh was up 7-3 going into the top of the 9th inning. Lefty Leifield might not have been pitching perfectly, but he was pitching well enough.
Leifield gave up a leadoff triple to Hans Lobert, but I figured that didn’t matter. It was going to take a lot of triples for Cincinnati to get back into this game, after all.
Dode Paskert was up next. He hit a ground ball over to third base. Tommy Leach was playing deep, of course - but he still managed to boot it. Lobert scored, and there was now a runner on at first base in a 7-4 ballgame.
Up next was Miller Huggins, who slapped a base hit, sending Paskert to third base with nobody out.
I still wasn’t worried, of course. I’ve seen this before. A quick double play would get this ball game back in order. I didn’t even take any screenshots.
Larry McLean, Cincinnati’s regular catcher, came in to pinch hit for Bunny Pearce, who had a rare start for the Reds. I started paying attention with this at bat:
McLean rolled a 7, slapping a single that scored both runners and winding up on second base with the tying run.
That brought up the pitcher’s spot next, which meant that it was Admiral Schlei’s turn to pinch hit. Meanwhile, Leifield left the game for Harley Young, a sign of Pittsburgh’s anxiety.
If McLean had better wheels, he would have been on third base, and this game would have been different. Maybe I should have bunted with Schlei.
Up next was leadoff hitter Mike Mitchell, with a runner in scoring position and only one out:
Now there were two outs, and it was all up to Rudy Hulswitt:
You can’t get much closer than this. The play result 18 was changed to a 16, which meant that McLean was thrown out at the plate.
Close, but not close enough.
The Pirates really got away with one here.
Other Action
Phillies 2, Superbas 1: At Brooklyn, Harry Pattee’s poor baserunning loses it for the Superbas. Read the summary here.
Giants 5, Doves 4 (12): At Boston, the Giants and Doves play a legendary game. Watch the game here. Read the summary here.
Cubs 4, Cardinals 0: At Chicago, Ed Reulbach throws a 5 hitter. Watch the game here.
White Sox 11, Tigers 1: At Detroit, the Tigers manage only 2 hits off Frank Smith as they get crushed. Watch the game here.
Red Sox 3, Highlanders 2: At New York, the Highlanders come very close to tying this one in the bottom of the 9th before losing. Watch the game here. Read the summary here.
Athletics 2, Senators 1: At Philadelphia, the Athletics win despite being outhit and outplayed. Watch the game here.
Pirates 7, Reds 6: At Pittsburgh, See above.
Browns 2, Naps 0: At St. Louis, Rube Waddell strikes out 8 as the Browns remain in control of the American League. Watch the game here.
Standings
I’ll have a complete statistical breakdown for you tomorrow. Enjoy!