Seesaw On The Hill

The surprising 1908 Highlanders

Seesaw On The Hill

Yet another seesaw game in this replay.

This one started off with a bang. Hal Chase came up with runners on second and third and one out in the bottom of the 1st:

Then, in the bottom of the third, Harry Niles came up with a runner on second and two out:

And that made this game 2-0 early.

Rally Snuffed Out

Washington has a clear chance to strike back in the top of the 4th.

Jerry Freeman led off the inning with a clean single. He was forced out at second on a fielders choice by Bob Ganley, who replaced him at first. Otis Clymer then singled, placing runners on first and second for Bill Shipke:

Now there is a rare roll. Walter Blair was the guilty party, and the bases were now loaded.

That brought up George McBride, with only 1 out:

Well, that wasn’t particularly useful.

Up next was Gabby Street:

And, just like that, Rube Manning got out of the inning.

Middle Innings

The Senators mounted another comeback in the top of the 6th.

Freeman singled once again. I was smarter this time, and had Ganley sacrifice him to second. That brought up Clymer:

That made the score 2-1. Up came Shipke in another key situation:

Sadly, though, Washington couldn’t do any more with this opportunity. McBridge struck out, and Street grounded out to third — and that was it.

And it got worse for Washington. The Highlanders tacked on another run in the bottom of the 8th, thanks to a good bunt by Manning:

And following this with a big hit by Charlie Hemphill:

Hemphill’s double column double scored the run. And now the score was 3-1 heading into the 9th inning.

9th Inning

After a McBride walk and a Street popup, I put Jack Warner in to pinch hit for the Washington pitcher:

That set things up for Jim Delahanty:

Suddenly the score was tied at 3, and we had a brand new ballgame.

Isn’t 1908 great? You never know what will happen.

Up came Clyde Milan with a big chance to win it. I somewhat arrogantly decided to have him swing away instead of bunting:

If Delahanty had an “F” rating, this game would have been over.

Freeman then grounded out, and we went to the bottom of the 9th.

After Hal Chase grounded out, Jake Stahl came up with one out:

Next came Neal Ball, who I decided to bunt with:

That’s not what you want to see from pitcher Eli Cates. A walk in the 4th inning in this on base situation is fine — but not in the bottom of the 9th with the winning run on base!

Up came Wid Conroy, also to bunt:

And, in theory, that set things up for pinch hitter Kid Elberfeld:

That’s why I said “in theory.”

10th Inning

The Senators went down quickly in the top of the 10th.

Manning led things off for the Highlanders in the bottom half:

And now we can see why it maters where you place your ground balls. Up came Hemphill:

Next came Keeler, with a runner on second:

Should have gone with the pitch, Willie.

There were two outs now, and up came Harry Niles:

And that’s how this one ended. Most pitchers have an “S” speed rating. The Highlanders were helped by Manning’s “F” here.

With 17 hits between the two teams, who said that there was no offense in 1908?

Other Action

Red Sox 3, Athletics 2 (Game 1): At Boston, the Red Sox squeaked out a winner. Watch the game here. Read the writeup here.

Athletics 8, Red Sox 5 (Game 2): At Boston, the Athletics came back, topped off by a 3 run homer in the top of the 9th. Watch the game here. Read the writeup here.

Dodgers 5, Giants 4 (12): At Brooklyn, the Dodgers won a crazy one. Watch the game here. Read the writeup here.

White Sox 4, Browns 3: At Chicago, the White Sox won a game that looked closer on paper than it really was.

Pirates 2, Reds 1: At Cincinnati, the Reds 9th inning comeback fell short. Watch the game here. Read the writeup here.

Naps 7, Tigers 3 (10): At Detroit, this one was ugly. The two teams combined for 9 total errors. Though this was an extra inning game, I decided against writing it due to the ugliness.

Highlanders 4, Senators 3 (10): At New York, see above.

Doves 3, Phillies 2: At Philadelphia, Boston scored 3 in the first 3 innings and held on, which is why I chose not to write about it.

Cubs 6, Cardinals 2 (10): At St. Louis, the Cubs turned a close game into a blowout. Watch the game here.

Standings

Boston and New York are still looking excellent in the American League, though the Red Sox have faltered a bit. And can anybody beat the Cubs?