The Duke

And Day in Review, May 5, 1949

The Duke

The Dodgers were playing fairly well at this stage in real life, but they weren’t exactly destroying the National League.

From Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 6, 1949, page 22

It’s been different in this replay, though.

This was a game that the Dodgers should have won easily. Cincinnati is simply not a good club.

However, Brooklyn simply couldn’t make a breakthrough until the bottom of the 6th inning. It was Gil Hodges who finally figured out a way to drive somebody in:

Even when these Dodgers score, something bad seems to happen.

Brooklyn did add another tally before the inning ended, though, and went out of there with a 2-0 lead.

Self Destruction

It didn’t take long for the Reds to counter, though.

Brooklyn had only itself to blame. The top of the 8th featured a walk to pinch hitter Chuck Kress, which loaded the bases with nobody out:

That brought up Jimmy Bloodworth, who is very dangerous:

That was a good thing for Brooklyn, yes, but there was still one more out to get. Up came Danny Litwhiler:

Those bases on balls will always get you, won’t they?

That set the stage for Ted Kluszewski, and the computer manager wasn’t going to pinch hit for him this time around:

And, just like that, we were tied at 2.

The Hero

Snider made up for his inability to snag that line drive.

Up came the Duke in the bottom of the 10th inning:

And, just like that, Brooklyn had won another.

It was a win for the Dodgers, true, but it was ugly. Rex Barney struck out 6, but also walked 3. The Dodger hitters still look weak, which is not what I was expecting at all.

Other Action

Indians 3, Red Sox 2: At Cleveland, Bob Feller walks 3, strikes out 0, earns 3 strikeouts himself at the plate, and still comes away with a 2-hit victory. Read the summary here. Watch the game here.

Yankees 6, White Sox 1: At New York, Fred Sanford throws a 5 hitter, giving up only 1 run despite allowing 6 walks. Watch the game here.

Tigers 8, Athletics 2: At Detroit, Ted Grey strikes out 8 but walks 5 in a 3-hit complete game. Watch the game here.

Browns 6, Senators 3: At Washington, the Browns overcome over 150 minutes of rain delays to win.

Dodgers 3, Reds 2 (10): At Brooklyn, see above.

Pirates 5, Giants 0: At New York, Vic Lombardi shuts down the Giants on 6 hits. The Pirates are still the team to beat in the National League. Watch the game here.

Cardinals 5, Phillies 2: At Philadelphia, Red Munger strikes out 7 and manages to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the 8th, earning a complete game win in the process.

Standings

Pittsburgh wound up victorious in the battle for first place in the National League, beating the Giants in 2 out of 3. I find it incredible that the Pirates have only given up 39 runs in 16 games. The Braves are kind of within striking room, but haven’t been impressive enough to convince me.

The Yankees, meanwhile, are red hot, winning 5 in a row and playing extremely well even without Joe DiMaggio. Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Boston could all give them a run for their money.