Pitching Duel
Great game between two great teams
Pitching Duel
After playing through this one, I started worrying that there was something wrong with my dice.
And then came this Cubs - Pirates game.
Chicago came into the bottom of the 7th with a 2-1 lead. It didn’t last long, however. George Gibson hit a deep fly ball with Ed Abbaticchio on at third base:
It’s not easy to see here, but Abbaticchio actually didn’t score. That’s what happens when you have an “S” rating.
I thought that would be Pittsburgh’s last chance, but then up came Harry Swacina:
Swacina’s sacrifice fly tied us at 2.
Chicago then had a chance to score in the top of the 8th after Johnny Evers came up:
After Frank Chance made an out, Jimmy Sheckard did his best to drive Evers in:
Sadly, Evers was thrown out trying to score. Jimmy Slagle made the third out, and that set the stage for what was to come.
Why Bunt?
People might wonder why I bunt in these games.
I’ve seen comments to that effect on YouTube. I understand. I mean, it makes sense. You’d naturally think that bunting would only hurt you, regardless of the situation.
I bunt for two reasons:
It’s what a real life 1908 manager would have done.
Sometimes it’s the only way to manufacture a run.
And, yes, sometimes it means missing an opportunity that would have won the game.
Honus Wagner led off the bottom of the 8th in style:
Fred Clarke, the next batter, hasn’t been hitting well. His average isn’t high. He has been getting on base, but, of course, a walk doesn’t help the Pirates much here. I decided to bunt with him:
That 11 result would have given the Pirates the lead. Instead, it only meant that Wagner moved over to third base.
Then came Tommy Leach:
Once again, the lack of an “F” prevented the run from scoring. Owen Wilson made another out, and this game continued.
Suitable Ending
We stretched this one out into extra innings.
Jimmy Sheckard led off the top of the 11th in a big way:
In retrospect, I probably should have taken Camnitz out. It’s hard to say. Part of me just likes seeing these guys throw long complete games.
Up next was Slagle:
I don’t know if this means I learned my lesson about bunting or not. Camnitz threw wildly to first, the run scored, and the Pirates were behind in a big way.
Chicago scored a second run before the inning ended, the Pirates went down quietly in the bottom of the 11th, and that’s how this one ended.
Both pitchers went the distance. Camnitz had a bit of bad luck, though it was his error that gave the Cubs the lead.
Of course, you might notice all the bunting. There were 5 sacrifice hits, as well as at least one unsuccessful sacrifice attempt that I can think of. We also saw 5 stolen bases and 4 men caught stealing. Honus Wagner stole 2 bases and was caught once.
This felt like the ultimate 1908 game.