What An Ending!
Tigers at Browns, May 5, 1908
What An Ending!
This one was a joy to watch.
St. Louis came into this game in second place, hoping to gain ground on the Athletics, who lost earlier. Detroit, meanwhile, has climbed up out of the cellar despite poor hitting by Ty Cobb.
Cobb did his share in this one, though.
The Tigers tied this game up in the 7th inning on a bizarre sequence of events. They had runners on first and third with nobody out, down 2-0 to Rube Waddell and the formidable Browns.
Germany Schaefer came up and rolled a 61 for a 39 result — an unusual play. And this one really was unusual:
Basically Sam Crawford, who I’ve got hitting 8th for some reason, worked out a great double steal with pitcher Ed Killian, of all people. I interpret this as Killian stealing second first, and then Crawford coming barreling home as soon as Jim Stephens released the throw.
Schaefer made an out afterwards, leaving things up to Bill Coughlin:
Again, this play was somewhat bizarre, as Coughlin inexplicably tried to stretch his single into a double. The run scored, though. I guess we can credit him with keeping the throw away from the plate.
Cobb Emerges?
That set things up for Ty Cobb.
Cobb has been pretty disappointing. His batting average is nowhere near the .300 mark, and he just hasn’t been hitting for power.
He came through in the top of the 9th of this one, though, with a runner on second:
That made the score 3-2, and I thought for certain that Detroit would win.
However, those Browns came back quickly. First it was pinch hitter Al Schweitzer, who I put in to hit for Waddell:
Then it was Hobe Ferris:
That second column double tied the game at 3, setting the stage for a winner.
And, two outs later, it finally came in the form of George Stone:
Waddell wound up with 8 strikeouts and 5 walks in a really remarkable complete game performance. Both teams combined for 24 hits, something I would consider to be very anti-deadball of them. Overall, it was a great game to play through.
Other Action
Superbas 3, Doves 0: At Boston, Jim Pastorious strikes out 5 as the Superbas crush the hometown Doves. Boston commits 5 errors in the loss.
Naps 4, White Sox 1: At Chicago, the White Sox commit 5 errors as they hand the game over to Cleveland. Big Ed Walsh strikes out 10 Cleveland batters in a losing effort. Watch the game here.
Phillies 2, Giants 0: At New York, the Giants botch two squeeze play attempts in two different innings, stranding a total of 9 runners. Lew Richie earns the 6 hit shutout victory despite giving up 5 walks. Watch the game here.
Red Sox 9, Athletics 8: At Philadelphia, the Athletics almost overcame allowing 6 Red Sox runs in the top of the 3rd inning. Philadelphia reduced a 9-3 gap to 9-8 with a 5 run outburst in the bottom of the 7th. Alas, they came no closer. Watch the game here. Read the summary here.
Cubs 4, Pirates 2 (11): At Pittsburgh, the Cubs win this one on small ball, outlasting the Pirates in one of the best games to date. Watch the game here. Read the summary here.
Browns 4, Tigers 3: At St. Louis, see above.
Senators 2, Highlanders 0: At Washington, Long Tom Hughes holds the Highlanders at bay, allowing only 3 hits in a masterful shutout. Watch the game here.
Standings
Following this American League race is nothing short of exhausting. Meanwhile, the Cubs and Giants are starting to pull out in the National League, now that the Pirates have forgotten how to win.